I am an American who has lived in Switzerland for the past five years, and I agree that it is paradise here. A couple of Swiss advantages to add to this excellent post:
Switzerland preserves Sunday as a rest day and time for families. Almost no businesses are open, and the culture very strongly encourages spending time together in the outdoors. Every Sunday I see several generations hiking together, swimming in the river, or picnicking together. It’s much better for our health and happiness than racing around running errands or putting in extra hours at work!
Switzerland also enjoys a law-abiding culture. They can be surprisingly libertarian (for example, drugs and sex work are decriminalized), but everyone obeys the laws they do have. One reason Switzerland is so successful with its high rates of immigration is that there is almost no illegal immigration here. Everyone cooperates in following the law. Employers won’t hire you and banks, landlords, car dealerships, etc. won’t do business with you unless you show a residency permit (heck, I even had to show my Ausweis to get a cell phone contract). Another example of how Switzerland imposes few laws, but then those laws are obeyed by the majority (instead of imposing many laws that everyone ignores because they find them too burdensome) happened during the pandemic. Except for the first six weeks of partial lockdown, Switzerland was similar to Sweden in having minimal restrictions, which everyone followed because they seemed fair and reasonable. The result was one of the lowest per capita death rates in the world, plus a population that was happier and psychologically and economically healthier.
As for housing, I think most people rent for two reasons. First, the apartments available for rent are very nice—much nicer than is typical in the US in my experience—and it is assumed that tenants will be permanent. It is very difficult to evict tenants here. The result is a virtuous cycle, where tenants have a reason to invest in the community and keep the apartments nice.
The second reason is financial. Rents are high but lower than what Americans would pay for a comparable apartment in US cities. But buying a house is insanely expensive. Some friends recently bought a house that is about 1800 square feet on a nice lot. The house is in a safe but not especially fashionable area. The cost of the house was about 1.1 million in US dollars, and they have spent several hundred thousand additional dollars on renovations. And this is considered a good price! In addition, Switzerland taxes property based on the expected rental value, which strongly incentivizes property owners to convert to rental properties.
I really enjoyed this excellent article. Like you, I am amazed that Switzerland is such a well-kept secret, because it is a truly wonderful place.
I also want to point that Switzerland has full freedom of movement with the EU and EFTA countries. It is not quite the same as it would if Switzerland was a full EU member state but it is pretty darn close. Switzerland is also a member of the EU's passport free Schengen zone. Both of these policies which are interconnected for the most part i.e. free movement of people was a prerequisite for Schengen, have been shown to have rough 65 to 70 percent backing among the Swiss people yet have been rejected by both sides of mainstream British politics post Brexit.
I lived there two years, and I still wonder how do they keep the secret. An obvious observation: the Austrian school of economics had a very close inspiration for their libertarian speculations…
I would point out that the Swiss Franc does essentially have a "dirty" peg with the Euro. I am not sure everyone is happy with this arrangement but it does make a relatively easy conversion as both currencies trade roughly at parity.
I am an American who has lived in Switzerland for the past five years, and I agree that it is paradise here. A couple of Swiss advantages to add to this excellent post:
Switzerland preserves Sunday as a rest day and time for families. Almost no businesses are open, and the culture very strongly encourages spending time together in the outdoors. Every Sunday I see several generations hiking together, swimming in the river, or picnicking together. It’s much better for our health and happiness than racing around running errands or putting in extra hours at work!
Switzerland also enjoys a law-abiding culture. They can be surprisingly libertarian (for example, drugs and sex work are decriminalized), but everyone obeys the laws they do have. One reason Switzerland is so successful with its high rates of immigration is that there is almost no illegal immigration here. Everyone cooperates in following the law. Employers won’t hire you and banks, landlords, car dealerships, etc. won’t do business with you unless you show a residency permit (heck, I even had to show my Ausweis to get a cell phone contract). Another example of how Switzerland imposes few laws, but then those laws are obeyed by the majority (instead of imposing many laws that everyone ignores because they find them too burdensome) happened during the pandemic. Except for the first six weeks of partial lockdown, Switzerland was similar to Sweden in having minimal restrictions, which everyone followed because they seemed fair and reasonable. The result was one of the lowest per capita death rates in the world, plus a population that was happier and psychologically and economically healthier.
As for housing, I think most people rent for two reasons. First, the apartments available for rent are very nice—much nicer than is typical in the US in my experience—and it is assumed that tenants will be permanent. It is very difficult to evict tenants here. The result is a virtuous cycle, where tenants have a reason to invest in the community and keep the apartments nice.
The second reason is financial. Rents are high but lower than what Americans would pay for a comparable apartment in US cities. But buying a house is insanely expensive. Some friends recently bought a house that is about 1800 square feet on a nice lot. The house is in a safe but not especially fashionable area. The cost of the house was about 1.1 million in US dollars, and they have spent several hundred thousand additional dollars on renovations. And this is considered a good price! In addition, Switzerland taxes property based on the expected rental value, which strongly incentivizes property owners to convert to rental properties.
I really enjoyed this excellent article. Like you, I am amazed that Switzerland is such a well-kept secret, because it is a truly wonderful place.
Thanks for your comment, Mari.
I also want to point that Switzerland has full freedom of movement with the EU and EFTA countries. It is not quite the same as it would if Switzerland was a full EU member state but it is pretty darn close. Switzerland is also a member of the EU's passport free Schengen zone. Both of these policies which are interconnected for the most part i.e. free movement of people was a prerequisite for Schengen, have been shown to have rough 65 to 70 percent backing among the Swiss people yet have been rejected by both sides of mainstream British politics post Brexit.
I lived there two years, and I still wonder how do they keep the secret. An obvious observation: the Austrian school of economics had a very close inspiration for their libertarian speculations…
I would point out that the Swiss Franc does essentially have a "dirty" peg with the Euro. I am not sure everyone is happy with this arrangement but it does make a relatively easy conversion as both currencies trade roughly at parity.
Swiss healthcare system, like the Singaporean one, is frequently at the top of actuaries dream systems.