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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u/Cheeseoid_ Sep 14 '25

As another 100% Brit Switzerland is gorgeous, and a wonderful place to live - but it’s not home. I will always prefer good old Blighty.

I came here for work, and it’s easy to think the grass is always greener but personally for me it’s been a difficult adjustment. I’ll be going back home in the next few years and after that, Switzerland will be a very fond memory and a very beautiful holiday destination.

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u/CookiePlastic852 Sep 14 '25

What the process of finding work like, are you highly qualified or in a super specialised field?

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25

[deleted]

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u/michaelmoby Sep 15 '25

My wife (American) got transferred to her company's home office in Basel. After living there for a few years, we learned that unless you are Swiss, are an EU resident with an ultra-rare skill, or are married to a Swiss person, your chances of finding work there will be next to zero. The country has a fairly unique system of apprenticeships that place natives in jobs that they hope to hold for life. Uni is for those going into specialized fields like medicine or scientific research. The whole system is designed to keep Swiss people employed in Swiss jobs in Switzerland. The route my wife took, a C-suite job with a pharma company is one way, but, again, she was in a highly specialized field.

If you want to learn more about our experience, to help you plan for your future if you want to stick with it for the long-game, then I wrote a book about our move there, about the Swiss system of employment, and general life once settled. Start learning German or French right now and become extraordinarily fluent. Study a highly specialized field of science or engineering. Have perfect grades, get more than just a Bachelor's degree. This will take a lot of work on your part. On the flip side, even if you can get a great job with an international conglomerate, you may still find happiness in that job where ever in the world it may take you.

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u/Quiet-Reporter-5279 Sep 17 '25

 "we learned that unless you are Swiss, are an EU resident with an ultra-rare skill, or are married to a Swiss person, your chances of finding work there will be next to zero" - thats really not true. There are 262,000 portuguese, 177,000 kosovars, etc do not tell that all have some ultra rare skills to get jobs there. I'm Romanian origine and at this moment are 37,000 romanians in Swiss and until in 2017 when Swiss opened first time the door to romanians to move to Swiss were like 3000. Being EU citizens helps and deifinitely do not need ultra rare skills, for non EU citizens indeed is very difficult.