6 ms·

I live in Zurich - the tightest rental market in the world (.7% availability) but don't really have a homeless problem for some reason. I have met a lot of peop

I live in Zurich - the tightest rental market in the world (.7% availability) but don't really have a homeless problem for some reason. I have met a lot of people that have had to move to neighboring cities though.

scandox 1y ago
In Dublin on 1st of February 2025 there were 1200 properties available to rent in a city of 1.5 million.
- gadders 1y ago
  I wonder what could have happened in Dublin to use up loads of the available housing? Does anyone know?
  - borosuxks 1y ago
    Probably AirBNB
  - Filligree 1y ago
    Years and years of insufficient building, combined with zoning rules that discourage apartment buildings. EDIT: It's fascinating that I'm downvoted for this. I wonder if the voters also live in Dublin?
    - nikanj 1y ago
      They’d much rather blame brown people and tech workers than admit that fixing things might require allowing more homes
    - bootsmann 1y ago
      With most housing things, people like to blame everything else except for supply restrictions, you can also see this in the other replies to the comment you replied to. It's way easier to blame ghosts than it is for any politician to piss off the homeowner constituency.
      - disgruntledphd2 1y ago
        It's (unfortunately) rational for politicians to respond to home owners, as they stay in one place for longer, and therefore are more likely to vote for you in the future. But it's also significant infrastructural deficits (water and power) that are downstream of incredible debt taken on by the government as a result of the 2007 crash (as well as a planning system where dogs have the right to object to planning applications).
  - arrowsmith 1y ago
    Many such cases
  - fakedang 1y ago
    Airbnb, free migrant housing, rampant unvetted immigration and a tech industry that pays more in comparison to other industries.
    - ujkhsjkdhf234 1y ago
      Ireland doesn't give free immigrant housing. They have processing centers where you can stay while your application is being processed. They are very bare bones accommodations and you only stay there for up to 14 days.
      - gadders 1y ago
        Where do they live after the 14 days? Who pays their rent? I know in the UK private landlords are offered very favourable terms via SERCO, which would beat those they would get if they rented to individuals.
      - fakedang 1y ago
        And where do they go on day 15? Mars? Uranus? Please don't kid around, we know exactly how the government facilitates the migrations. If it weren't a biggie, why are there protests happening on the streets of Dublin? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_anti-immigration_protests https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_anti-immigration_prote...
  - silver_silver 1y ago
    I was told by a local while living there a major factor was Google and Meta (and others) buying out entire buildings to house their staff
    - Cthulhu_ 1y ago
      It makes for a compelling argument for these companies to build campusses / cities, offering housing as another perk for working for them. Of course, it would have to be regulated to avoid the mining town exploitation. I wouldn't mind working in e.g. Ireland if a furnished apartment was part of the offer.
    - spwa4 1y ago
      ... because after Ireland agreed to implement the OECD minimum corporate tax rate (15%) same as everyone else, Ireland just didn't do as agreed, came up with some excuse (I would tell you which excuse, but they keep retroactively changing it), the prime minister explained in at least 5 extensive speeches how fabulous, fantastic and great he was for implementing it, and kept it at 12.5%. Then the minister of finance signed up to another minimum tax initiative in 2023 (the "EU Minimum Tax Directive"), in trade for EU money. In this they agreed to retroactively impose EU taxes up to 15% on all companies (oh and no deductions allowed to get it below 15%), and pay most of that money to the EU instead. ... which Ireland proceeded not to do. Then the new prime minister went onto TV declaring what a great success all this was for Ireland (... while ignoring that this is literally stealing money from other EU countries), and how they intend to continue this and were putting some of the money into a new "Irish" sovereign wealth fund (isif.ie) that has since used the money to hire the zero-experience-and-suspiciously-young-for-such-positions-but-totally-awesome investement team [2] composed of members of his own party that have been tasked with investing in Irish x business (please replace x with "the taoseach's new business" when making investment decisions and leave it out when publishing in the paper) For unknown reasons, there is nothing on the isif.ie site about what they effectively do: steal money from EU hospitals, schools, pensions ... to personally enrich large US companies, and of course themselves. This is also missing from the government speeches on how fantastic they are. But do not worry. Meanwhile in Brussels and Strasbourg, the requisition for a meeting about the approval of the color of the bikeshed (so called because when you call the place where you park your armoured Audi A9 motorcade a bikeshed chances of reelection go up dramatically. It IS, of course, a garage that was built where a park with a playground used to be) where then the request for the beginning of the process to requisition a meeting room to discuss who will make the agenda for discussing a meeting room for the actual issue is making great progress! [1] https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-finance/press-releases/minister-mcgrath-notes-irelands-application-of-effective-15-corporation-tax-rate-for-in-scope-businesses/ https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-finance/press-releases/m... [2] https://isif.ie/about/meet-the-team https://isif.ie/about/meet-the-team
maxweylandt 1y ago
How is public transport to nearby commuter towns? If it's affordable/convenient/reasonably quick that can help a lot, I suspect. (But am quite ignorant so appreciate correction!)
- joshvm 1y ago
  Very good, generally. It's affordable by Swiss standards, which is to say expensive for tourists but remarkably good value if you're a resident on a median salary. The cost of the whole-country annual rail pass costs less than a point to point season ticket in the UK, and there is no peak travel. So you should never pay more than 3-4k a year. Most people just get a half price card (often employer subsidised) and/or a local pass which is generally better value unless you're commuting between cities.
- _petronius 1y ago
  Switzerland has the best rail system in the world (IMHO). One app can manage ticketing across all public transit in the entire country, and it is extremely fast and reliable. Lots of people who work in Zürich, for example, commute in from Zug (due to lower taxes in the neighboring canton).
  - nic547 1y ago
    > extremely fast It's generally called "as fast as necessary", more focused on total journey lenght with the clock-face schedule across the whole country. Other countries certainly have faster trains.
    - _petronius 1y ago
      I guess "fast" is what I mean when I think "on time, efficient" (compared to, say, the struggles Deutsche Bahn has had in recent years). There are no bullet trains laterally crossing Switzerland in under an hour, I suppose.
      - nic547 1y ago
fakedang 1y ago
Switzerland ships the homeless by bus to other European capitals for free. https://www.joe.co.uk/news/swiss-city-offers-beggars-one-way-ticket-to-anywhere-in-europe-if-they-agree-not-to-return-271667 https://www.joe.co.uk/news/swiss-city-offers-beggars-one-way...
- comrade1234 1y ago
  I think that has more to do with the summer gypsies than an endemic homeless problem.
  - bmicraft 1y ago
    You realize that's a slur, right?
    - bmn__ 1y ago
      Really, you wanna police speech on HN? What priggishness. smh As long as the gypsies in Slovakia call themselves thus, you have no moral leg to stand on.
      - bmicraft 1y ago
        > As long as the gypsies in Slovakia call themselves thus As is the case with the n-word. I'm not policing anything (obviously, since I'm not in any position of authority) - I am however pointing it out since I've come across people that truly didn't know.
        glowiefedposter 1y ago
        [dead]
      - 542354234235 1y ago
        I call my wife “baby” but that doesn’t mean it is ok for random men to call her that. You are free to use ethnic slurs if you want, and people are free to point out that they are in fact slurs.
lifestyleguru 1y ago
> but don't really have a homeless problem for some reason. You border security and permit system kicks out anyone with even a remote chance to become homeless, you're welcome.
casey2 1y ago
There is definitely a large homelessness problem in Zurich. Maybe you just don't go outside?

scandox 1y ago

In Dublin on 1st of February 2025 there were 1200 properties available to rent in a city of 1.5 million.

gadders 1y ago
I wonder what could have happened in Dublin to use up loads of the available housing? Does anyone know?
- borosuxks 1y ago
  Probably AirBNB
- Filligree 1y ago
  Years and years of insufficient building, combined with zoning rules that discourage apartment buildings. EDIT: It's fascinating that I'm downvoted for this. I wonder if the voters also live in Dublin?
  - nikanj 1y ago
    They’d much rather blame brown people and tech workers than admit that fixing things might require allowing more homes
  - bootsmann 1y ago
    With most housing things, people like to blame everything else except for supply restrictions, you can also see this in the other replies to the comment you replied to. It's way easier to blame ghosts than it is for any politician to piss off the homeowner constituency.
    - disgruntledphd2 1y ago
      It's (unfortunately) rational for politicians to respond to home owners, as they stay in one place for longer, and therefore are more likely to vote for you in the future. But it's also significant infrastructural deficits (water and power) that are downstream of incredible debt taken on by the government as a result of the 2007 crash (as well as a planning system where dogs have the right to object to planning applications).
- arrowsmith 1y ago
  Many such cases
- fakedang 1y ago
  Airbnb, free migrant housing, rampant unvetted immigration and a tech industry that pays more in comparison to other industries.
  - ujkhsjkdhf234 1y ago
    Ireland doesn't give free immigrant housing. They have processing centers where you can stay while your application is being processed. They are very bare bones accommodations and you only stay there for up to 14 days.
    - gadders 1y ago
      Where do they live after the 14 days? Who pays their rent? I know in the UK private landlords are offered very favourable terms via SERCO, which would beat those they would get if they rented to individuals.
    - fakedang 1y ago
      And where do they go on day 15? Mars? Uranus? Please don't kid around, we know exactly how the government facilitates the migrations. If it weren't a biggie, why are there protests happening on the streets of Dublin? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_anti-immigration_protests https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_anti-immigration_prote...
- silver_silver 1y ago
  I was told by a local while living there a major factor was Google and Meta (and others) buying out entire buildings to house their staff
  - Cthulhu_ 1y ago
    It makes for a compelling argument for these companies to build campusses / cities, offering housing as another perk for working for them. Of course, it would have to be regulated to avoid the mining town exploitation. I wouldn't mind working in e.g. Ireland if a furnished apartment was part of the offer.
  - spwa4 1y ago
    ... because after Ireland agreed to implement the OECD minimum corporate tax rate (15%) same as everyone else, Ireland just didn't do as agreed, came up with some excuse (I would tell you which excuse, but they keep retroactively changing it), the prime minister explained in at least 5 extensive speeches how fabulous, fantastic and great he was for implementing it, and kept it at 12.5%. Then the minister of finance signed up to another minimum tax initiative in 2023 (the "EU Minimum Tax Directive"), in trade for EU money. In this they agreed to retroactively impose EU taxes up to 15% on all companies (oh and no deductions allowed to get it below 15%), and pay most of that money to the EU instead. ... which Ireland proceeded not to do. Then the new prime minister went onto TV declaring what a great success all this was for Ireland (... while ignoring that this is literally stealing money from other EU countries), and how they intend to continue this and were putting some of the money into a new "Irish" sovereign wealth fund (isif.ie) that has since used the money to hire the zero-experience-and-suspiciously-young-for-such-positions-but-totally-awesome investement team [2] composed of members of his own party that have been tasked with investing in Irish x business (please replace x with "the taoseach's new business" when making investment decisions and leave it out when publishing in the paper) For unknown reasons, there is nothing on the isif.ie site about what they effectively do: steal money from EU hospitals, schools, pensions ... to personally enrich large US companies, and of course themselves. This is also missing from the government speeches on how fantastic they are. But do not worry. Meanwhile in Brussels and Strasbourg, the requisition for a meeting about the approval of the color of the bikeshed (so called because when you call the place where you park your armoured Audi A9 motorcade a bikeshed chances of reelection go up dramatically. It IS, of course, a garage that was built where a park with a playground used to be) where then the request for the beginning of the process to requisition a meeting room to discuss who will make the agenda for discussing a meeting room for the actual issue is making great progress! [1] https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-finance/press-releases/minister-mcgrath-notes-irelands-application-of-effective-15-corporation-tax-rate-for-in-scope-businesses/ https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-finance/press-releases/m... [2] https://isif.ie/about/meet-the-team https://isif.ie/about/meet-the-team

maxweylandt 1y ago

How is public transport to nearby commuter towns? If it's affordable/convenient/reasonably quick that can help a lot, I suspect. (But am quite ignorant so appreciate correction!)

joshvm 1y ago
Very good, generally. It's affordable by Swiss standards, which is to say expensive for tourists but remarkably good value if you're a resident on a median salary. The cost of the whole-country annual rail pass costs less than a point to point season ticket in the UK, and there is no peak travel. So you should never pay more than 3-4k a year. Most people just get a half price card (often employer subsidised) and/or a local pass which is generally better value unless you're commuting between cities.
_petronius 1y ago
Switzerland has the best rail system in the world (IMHO). One app can manage ticketing across all public transit in the entire country, and it is extremely fast and reliable. Lots of people who work in Zürich, for example, commute in from Zug (due to lower taxes in the neighboring canton).
- nic547 1y ago
  > extremely fast It's generally called "as fast as necessary", more focused on total journey lenght with the clock-face schedule across the whole country. Other countries certainly have faster trains.
  - _petronius 1y ago
    I guess "fast" is what I mean when I think "on time, efficient" (compared to, say, the struggles Deutsche Bahn has had in recent years). There are no bullet trains laterally crossing Switzerland in under an hour, I suppose.
    - nic547 1y ago

fakedang 1y ago

Switzerland ships the homeless by bus to other European capitals for free. https://www.joe.co.uk/news/swiss-city-offers-beggars-one-way-ticket-to-anywhere-in-europe-if-they-agree-not-to-return-271667 https://www.joe.co.uk/news/swiss-city-offers-beggars-one-way...

comrade1234 1y ago
I think that has more to do with the summer gypsies than an endemic homeless problem.
- bmicraft 1y ago
  You realize that's a slur, right?
  - bmn__ 1y ago
    Really, you wanna police speech on HN? What priggishness. smh As long as the gypsies in Slovakia call themselves thus, you have no moral leg to stand on.
    - bmicraft 1y ago
      > As long as the gypsies in Slovakia call themselves thus As is the case with the n-word. I'm not policing anything (obviously, since I'm not in any position of authority) - I am however pointing it out since I've come across people that truly didn't know.
      - glowiefedposter 1y ago
        [dead]
    - 542354234235 1y ago
      I call my wife “baby” but that doesn’t mean it is ok for random men to call her that. You are free to use ethnic slurs if you want, and people are free to point out that they are in fact slurs.

lifestyleguru 1y ago

> but don't really have a homeless problem for some reason. You border security and permit system kicks out anyone with even a remote chance to become homeless, you're welcome.

casey2 1y ago

There is definitely a large homelessness problem in Zurich. Maybe you just don't go outside?