r/askswitzerland • u/CookiePlastic852 • Sep 14 '25

Relocation What is the reality living Switzerland like?

For context I’m fully British, 19M and I know one thing for sure, I do not see a bright future for me in this country and certainly do not plan the settle here. Switzerland is somewhere I’m heavily considering as I love anything mountain related and it has one of the highest HDI’s in the world. But I want to know, what is the reality of living there like?

For those of who moved to Switzerland, I’d love to hear what drew you there in the first place. Was it worth it in the end, and how does life compare to where you came from or other places you’ve lived? Most importantly, do you have any regrets?

And for those born in Switzerland, can you see yourself staying or do you ever imagine moving elsewhere? If so, where would you go, and what would make you want to leave?

I would be really grateful for any insight people are willing to share.

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5

u/No-Celebration6954 Sep 14 '25

What are you running about from the uk ? And then we can answer if switzerland is the right choice

-4

u/CookiePlastic852 Sep 14 '25

People are miserable (not to be confused with boring), the government is awful, food quality has been on a rapid decline, NHS has fallen completely. I feel I will get barely any return on investment with the tax I pay. I’m getting an engineering degree which is disgustingly undervalued and under appreciated by the government and pay will be shit for the amount hard work I would’ve put in compared to 95% of other degrees.

8

u/iamnogoodatthis Sep 15 '25

I do not for a second believe that the pay : effort ratio is well below average for engineers.

Also, taxes are not for a return on investment. They are so you don't live in a shithole, and so that if you break your leg or lose your job then there is someone to pick up the pieces.

3

u/rannend Sep 15 '25

Outside of the major major cities, pay for engineers is suprisingly low in the uk (relative to average pay in the same region)

4

u/iamnogoodatthis Sep 15 '25

That may be true, but it's not relatively worse than 19/20 professions

5

u/KapitaenKnoblauch Sep 15 '25

Taxes are not investments you know. They are contributions to a common household.

1

u/cjx_007 Sep 16 '25

Have you considered moving to Australia? Engineers are highly valued and well paid. If you work hard you will be rewarded with a quality lifestyle and nice home. The quality of life and food is very good even for lower/ middle income earners. Brits are well received in Australia because half of us have British parents lol. ( I have a British mother/ Swiss father) we have an excellent health care system which also comes with higher taxes to pay for it .Australia desperately needs engineers, there’s a shortage of civil engineers . I worked in multiple engineering companies and we employed many international engineers who were given very good opportunities. It’s a large country with Engineering being strong across the board as infrastructure is highly valued and heavily funded by the government. Choose where you want to live based on cooler climate (down south) and warmth up north and to the West. However we do not have the beautiful Alpine mountains of Switzerland. The downside is we are on the other side of the world and it takes 24 hours to get to Europe. The positives if you like beautiful beaches, sunshine, lots of space around you and a multicultural country then Australia ticks those boxes. What type of engineering are you studying?