4 ms·

> Zurich also has a high cost of living and well above any US cities. SF and NYC are a lot more expensive. You're right about the size of the job market thoug

> Zurich also has a high cost of living and well above any US cities. SF and NYC are a lot more expensive. You're right about the size of the job market though, it's tiny, even relative to the population size.

kgwgk 9y ago
It depends on how you calculate the cost. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_cities_for_expatriate_employees https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_citie... https://www.atlasandboots.com/remote-jobs/most-expensive-cities-for-expats/ https://www.atlasandboots.com/remote-jobs/most-expensive-cit... https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index
- hocuspocus 9y ago
  If you calculate unrealistically, yes, sure :) Day-to-day expenses are a tiny part of a typical budget. In most scenarios, housing, income taxes and transportation alone will easily cost you twice as much in SF compared to Zürich. As a software engineer, the salary difference should make up for it, or even reach levels that are unlikely in Switzerland. That's great, but for most people, I can guarantee you, Zürich is a lot cheaper.
  - kgwgk 9y ago
    I don’t argue that Zurich can be affordable (mostly because salaries are higher in general). But the median single family home seems to go for $1.5mn both in Switzerland and Zurich. I don’t think transportation is cheaper in Zurich but I guess income taxes alone can make a difference. The point is that many things, including many things that “rich foreigners” use to do, are more expensive in Zurich than in San Francisco. For example [1] a hair cut is twice as much ($62 vs $30), a basic dinner at a neighborhood pub for two is 50% more ($74 vs $50), going to the cinema is 30% more ($18 vs $14), a gym membership is 30% more ($118 vs 91$), etc. [1] https://www.finews.ch/images/download/Mapping.the.worlds.prices.2017.pdf https://www.finews.ch/images/download/Mapping.the.worlds.pri... edit: in the linked document, monthly rent for a mid-range 2-bedroom apartment is 37% higher in San Francisco ($3449 vs $2520). However, the cost of transportation in its different forms is higher in Zurich.
    - kgwgk 9y ago
      > the median single family home seems to go for $1.5mn both in Switzerland and Zurich. I meant both in SF an Zurich.

kgwgk 9y ago

It depends on how you calculate the cost. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_cities_for_expatriate_employees https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_citie... https://www.atlasandboots.com/remote-jobs/most-expensive-cities-for-expats/ https://www.atlasandboots.com/remote-jobs/most-expensive-cit... https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index

hocuspocus 9y ago
If you calculate unrealistically, yes, sure :) Day-to-day expenses are a tiny part of a typical budget. In most scenarios, housing, income taxes and transportation alone will easily cost you twice as much in SF compared to Zürich. As a software engineer, the salary difference should make up for it, or even reach levels that are unlikely in Switzerland. That's great, but for most people, I can guarantee you, Zürich is a lot cheaper.
- kgwgk 9y ago
  I don’t argue that Zurich can be affordable (mostly because salaries are higher in general). But the median single family home seems to go for $1.5mn both in Switzerland and Zurich. I don’t think transportation is cheaper in Zurich but I guess income taxes alone can make a difference. The point is that many things, including many things that “rich foreigners” use to do, are more expensive in Zurich than in San Francisco. For example [1] a hair cut is twice as much ($62 vs $30), a basic dinner at a neighborhood pub for two is 50% more ($74 vs $50), going to the cinema is 30% more ($18 vs $14), a gym membership is 30% more ($118 vs 91$), etc. [1] https://www.finews.ch/images/download/Mapping.the.worlds.prices.2017.pdf https://www.finews.ch/images/download/Mapping.the.worlds.pri... edit: in the linked document, monthly rent for a mid-range 2-bedroom apartment is 37% higher in San Francisco ($3449 vs $2520). However, the cost of transportation in its different forms is higher in Zurich.
  - kgwgk 9y ago
    > the median single family home seems to go for $1.5mn both in Switzerland and Zurich. I meant both in SF an Zurich.