anyone here living / working in CH / Zurich?

[dsc]

It would be useful if you tell us your skillset.

I seriously doubt you would get 200kCHF whatever your skills are

Maybe go for 140kChf if you think you are in demand, but consider an important part of the package is pension contribution which are usually way more generous than the UK.

Whatever you earning you will have a massive lifestyle adjustment. Almost no one in Switzerland lives in a house and your kids will have to go to the local school and speak German/ Swiss German.

Depending on their age this could be a problem, in order to go to University your kids will have to go to a Gymnasium School (like a grammar school). If they arrive too late they have no chance of going to that school.

Having said all that I reckon your kids would have a better future in Switzerland than the UK, so it might be worth adjusting.

I actually agree talked to someone who was offered a head tech dept position a few years back and they got an offer of 200k, so I very much doubt a dev, even senior can be close to that. With 120k being the median (8k take home), 140k (9.5k take home) seems more reasonable, but even on that it would be tight with only one person working, bloody kindergarten seems to cost around 3k per child, which is almost as much as rent in Zurich (4k) ffs, then on top you have to pay medical insurance for everyone, which is around 1k for adults alone. Could move just for a year or so, but it's perm and not a contract, so with money being, well normal ie. not high enough to live comfortably with 2 kids, it would be more of a survival year than enjoyment.

Anyways, thanks for the input.

[vetran]

I actually agree talked to someone who was offered a head tech dept position a few years back and they got an offer of 200k, so I very much doubt a dev, even senior can be close to that. With 120k being the median (8k take home), 140k (9.5k take home) seems more reasonable, but even on that it would be tight with only one person working, bloody kindergarten seems to cost around 3k per child, which is almost as much as rent in Zurich (4k) ffs, then on top you have to pay medical insurance for everyone, which is around 1k for adults alone. Could move just for a year or so, but it's perm and not a contract, so with money being, well normal ie. not high enough to live comfortably with 2 kids, it would be more of a survival year than enjoyment.

Anyways, thanks for the input.

see if you can bunk up with Sasgoo

He may have space in his stables.

[reddog]

I actually agree talked to someone who was offered a head tech dept position a few years back and they got an offer of 200k, so I very much doubt a dev, even senior can be close to that. With 120k being the median (8k take home), 140k (9.5k take home) seems more reasonable, but even on that it would be tight with only one person working, bloody kindergarten seems to cost around 3k per child, which is almost as much as rent in Zurich (4k) ffs, then on top you have to pay medical insurance for everyone, which is around 1k for adults alone. Could move just for a year or so, but it's perm and not a contract, so with money being, well normal ie. not high enough to live comfortably with 2 kids, it would be more of a survival year than enjoyment.

Anyways, thanks for the input.

But if your kids are young it would be the perfect time. I suppose it depends on how much you like your life in the UK.

I wouldn't just go for a year. Also don't you have to be out of the country for 2 years to be a non resident?

Not everything is expensive in Switzerland. Electronics are cheaper, IKEA is the same price and you could get your food from Germany (though it is too much hassle for me).

Your wife could get a job, even if she has no skills she could be a cleaner for at least 30chf p/h.

[tazdevil]

Your wife could get a job, even if she has no skills she could be a cleaner.

Quick way to a divorce Back in the 1980's I went for a job in the States but didn't take it when the HR guy told my wife she was just an appendage and they wouldn't support her in getting a job or studying 40th anniversary this year so staying away from that one was the best decision I ever made

[dsc]

But if your kids are young it would be the perfect time. I suppose it depends on how much you like your life in the UK.

I wouldn't just go for a year. Also don't you have to be out of the country for 2 years to be a non resident?

Not everything is expensive in Switzerland. Electronics are cheaper, IKEA is the same price and you could get your food from Germany (though it is too much hassle for me).

Your wife could get a job, even if she has no skills she could be a cleaner for at least 30chf p/h.

Definitely leaving the UK (can always comeback, we all have dual nationality, but I doubt this will happen seeing where UK is headed), the question is where to go atm. Switzerland has it's positives and one can always live outside Zurich, but overall I'm not super keen as most people there rent for life as houses are silly expensive. I'd rather move to Scandi somewhere and be able to buy a decent house, than to keep renting in CH like we are now in the UK.

Wife is skilled, but you need to know the local language to work with locals, so that's a bit of a feckery. She used to speak fairly good German though, so it's not impossible, but a cleaning job is out of the question

[NotAllThere]

I'm in loose talks about a perm position there, would be moving a family of 4, it's a fairly niche skillset they need which I can help with, but I have absolutely no idea what salaries are there. Google says IT median is 120kCHF gross per year, but from my very limited research that would definitely not be enough to even survive with two kids and a jobless wife. They were nice enough to give me some time to research and come back to them with a suggested salary, but I'm getting a vibe that to have enough to not live on a tight budget, I'd have to throw a figure at which they will just laugh and tell me to bugger off.

Also, additional question for all the locals there, how do you find the work culture? heard various things, that it's like Germany and / or US, so long, hard hours, tulip work / life balance. True? Bollocks?

Please ignore the testicular nonsense above. I speak as someone who has lived and worked in Switzerland for over 20 years. I don't want to live anywhere else. I even acquired Swiss citizenship. I own a house. My eldest has just bought one. Renting in CH is far different from the UK. You have more rights for one thing, and if mortgage rates go down, you can insist on a rent reduction.

120K is a good salary. Of course you can live quite well on it. I lived for 3 years on 144K with a non-working wife and 3 kids. 90K is perfectly enough for a very nice life with a non-working spouse and 2 kids. I know people who do it!

The work culture depends on the company. If you're working for one that's run by US management, expect crap. But usually there's an emphasis on work-life balance.

Many companies will actively work to help your wife find work, if she wants to. My wife didn't, but once the kids were of an age, she gained a Swiss bookkeeping qualification... and promptly got a job as an English teacher.

If you want informed advice, you can pm me, or, better, post on englishforum.ch

... but you need to know the local language to work with locals, so that's a bit of a feckery. She used to speak fairly good German though, so it's not impossible, but a cleaning job is out of the question

Rubbish. We had two Ukrainian women living with us for five months a couple of years ago. They both got cleaning jobs with practically zero German.

But yeah, Zürich is rubbish. In environs of Basel are far nicer.