Switzerland is great. But I'm surprised at the "relatively cheap life" bit - everything there felt 2x as much as what we were paying in Germany, especially food

Switzerland is great. But I'm surprised at the "relatively cheap life" bit - everything there felt 2x as much as what we were paying in Germany, especially food. Restaurants were obscene. Many locals eat at the cafeteria at the local Migros, which was like the cafeteria at Whole Foods, just more expensive and not as good. Having said that, it's also very safe, very clean, very pretty, and city infrastructure that makes the Midwest feel like Kabul. Software engineer salaries in most of Europe are quite low compared to what you get in the US. In the US, I make about $110k before the perks kick in, and someone like me might make 50k Euros in place like Amsterdam, if lucky, so it's good that Switzerland is competitive.