Es scheint, dass jeder zweite Beitrag in diesem Subreddit von jemandem handelt, der sagt, die Schweiz sei zwar gut, aber hey! Wenn sie doch nur so gut sein könnte wie die Niederlande oder Dänemark oder was auch immer. Normalerweise sind es Beschwerden darüber, dass Züge nicht schnell genug sind, über Fahrradwege, öffentliche Schulen oder andere Schweizer Infrastruktur/Einrichtungen.
Nun, da wir auf r/Schweizkann ich sagen: GOTT SEI DANK, dass ich SO froh bin, dass ich nicht an einem dieser Orte lebe?
Hier sind einige Dinge, für die ich dankbar bin:
- Ich muss keine 40-50% meines Einkommens an Steuern zahlen.
- Bei meiner Rente handelt es sich (zum größten Teil) um einen tatsächlich in meinem Namen angelegten Geldbetrag und nicht um ein staatlich garantiertes Schneeballsystem.
- Ich darf an einem Ort leben, der Berge, eine herrliche Natur und tatsächlich ein sehr angenehmes Klima hat.
- Ich lebe in einem Land, in dem die Meinung der Bürger und die direkte Demokratie geschätzt werden.
- Ich kann sparen und Dinge kaufen/tun, die mir gefallen (wow! Was für ein Konsum-Statement, oder? Nun, ich denke, ein gesundes Maß an Individualismus ist Teil der Schweizer Kultur)
Ja, die Schweiz ist alles andere als perfekt, und trotzdem sehe ich nicht so viele Menschen, die darum KÄMPFEN, von hier zu fliehen?
Behalten Sie Ihre Radwege und Ihre Schnellzüge. Ich bleibe gerne in der Schweiz.
EDIT: Ich habe nicht damit gerechnet, dass das so einschlägt. Ich werde jetzt aufhören zu antworten, weil ich ehrlich gesagt Besseres zu tun habe – viele Leute stimmen mir zu, viele wurden durch meinen Witz „Behaltet eure Fahrradwege“ provoziert. Das war nicht der Sinn des Beitrags, sondern nur ein Witz. Wie auch immer, es scheint, dass Ihre Meinung automatisch ungültig ist, wenn Sie kein ultraorthodoxer Anhänger des Radfahrens sind. Also scheiß auf Ihre Fahrräder und haben Sie einen schönen Tag 🙂
EDIT 2: lebe gerade diese OECD-Studie zur GESAMTEN STEUERLAST, da offenbar sogar die Tatsache bestritten wird, dass die Schweiz tiefere Steuern hat:
https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/global/tax-burden-on-labor-oecd-2024/
Thank God I live in Switzerland and not in Northern Europe
byu/SegheCoiPiedi1777 inSwitzerland
Von SegheCoiPiedi1777
37 Comments
Thanking God you can keep your money for yourself? Seems you are the perfect fit for Switzerland.
Healthy individualism lol
While I mostly agree, the stink of SVP in here is disgusting.
I come from Sweden but live in Switzerland. What I really enjoy about Switzerland is:
Proper pay.
Reliable and frequent public transport.
Clean and safe.
Staffed public offices.
Climate & the alps.
What I do appreciate about Sweden:
Parental leave.
Holidays (most swedish white collat workers enjoy often up to or more than 40 days holidays including more public holidays, bridge days, working shortage hours etc). Alot of swedes do e.g. take four consequtive weeks during summer, two weeks at christmas, one week at easter and some additional days here and there.
Healthcare is tricky, but guess you get what you pay for. Very expensive in Switzerland but very high quality. Long queues and sometimes poor care for minor/non-lethal issues in Sweden. On the other hand completely funded by tax the tax bill.
I love both countries!!
*Laughing in italian*
Direct democracy? *laughsinlobbying*
It’s also not dark in winter. Although I *Love* our northern Scandinavian countries, this is key for me.
Norway, Finland, and Sweden are heaven on Earth in Springtime.
Amen. I moved here years ago and I get mildly upset when I leave and go back to my home country. Don’t get me wrong, I still think “back home” is okay, but we are truly spoiled here! I can drive just over an hour ( or go by train) and it feels like a paradise break. There is a forest behind my house that I can get lost in for hours. The autumn can be depressing as we have the 3 months of grey around Zurich, but still there is plenty to see and do, even in heavy snow, things still work.
> My pension is (for the most part) an actual sum of money invested in my name, and not a state-guaranteed Ponzi scheme
FYI: Everybody putting their funds into the same 4 ETFs and putting half of the country’s pension fund into buildings is borderline ponzi-esque
I just came back from Denmark thinking the exact same thing. I love Switzerland 🫶🏼
Nothing wrong with bike lanes. Switzerland is good, but with road design keeping in mind the safety of all traffic participants it would be even better!
Sounds pretty salty. Bike infra in fact would save money and reduce the chances of increasing taxes. Maintaining huge road infra does cost a lot unlike bike infra, that’s why gradually cities will implement this change. There are other benefits too like healthier population(bike use, less pollution from gas/tire microplastic), less traffic deaths, increased tax revenue from sq meter in a city where less space is dedicated to road/parking. Imo the biggest train infra challenge now isn’t speed, it’s acceptable – it’s unexpected delays and slow expansion (both tracks and lanes). Not saying in other countries it’s better, but it could be better in Switzerland if some money could be redirected there from road maintenance/extension costs
I was with you (mostly) until the last two sentences. If you love Switzerland so much (and you really have every reason to do so), why “keep your bike lanes and fast trains”? Why can’t Switzerland have those as well? If we love this country so much, why not look at others to learn how to make it even better?
I lived many years in the Netherlands and we miss it but the money we saved in almost 10 years in Switzerland I would have never saved anywhere
All countries have pros and cons, it’s about balance
I lived as an expat in different parts of Europe and let me tell you, the public transport infrastructure alone is elevating Switzerland to another level. We don’t even have to start talking about the other awesome stuff, like the swiss nature, the direct democracy and so on and so forth.
Just because things are mostly great in Switzerland doesn’t mean there aren’t areas that can be improved. I have no idea why people are so butthurt about this. Just image 100 years ago the swiss decided the country was perfect and there is no way we can improve anything anymore.
how can you say northern Europe doesnt have mountains/gorgeous nature when Norway, Sweden and Finland exist lmao
Sweden and Norway offer you a pension that is not a Ponzi scheme. Many northern countries also have beautiful nature, such as fjords, mountains, beaches and forests. They do not have direct democracy, but that does not mean they do not value your opinion. You can save, buy and do things in all countries.
Switzerland is more than just low taxes…
I really like switzerland, spent almost 16 years here and i think i ll try to become swiss one day.
But i am afraid of state wide gentrification, and i think the healthcare system could be redisigned somehow.
Last i really do not like the feeling that a lot of things are designed to promote the fact that some one (a woman) should stay home to take care of the kids.
Ah the weekly “our value comes by comparison to others” post
Good to see.
It would suck to live here if other places didn’t exist lol.
>My pension is (for the most part) an actual sum of money invested in my name, and not a state-guaranteed Ponzi scheme.
>Keep your bike lanes and your fast trains. I will gladly stay in Switzerland.
Absolutely brain-dead takes. I’m glad you like the country, but Switzerland’s qualities are *not* lack of bike lanes and lack of fast trains (wtf?). Also by your logic the AHV is also a ponzi scheme.
Dutchy here and love living in Switzerland, but I do miss the Dutch bike culture and infrastructure.
Northern Europe can’t save and buy things they like?
Except your health insurance and 3rd pillar is basically a Ponzi scheme too hahaha
We also get posts like yours just as much. You can claim that this was a joke but your comments betray how much it hurts your feelings. I guess nothing much happens in Switzerland so we have to post “the greatest country in the world pissing contest” posts to entertain ourselves as if we’re not all old enough to know everywhere has pros and cons and its subjective.
People responding seriously when your nametag is “footjob1777”
I just moved from Switzerland to Denmark. Just to debunk the taxes: The actual tax rate I will have to pay is around 37%. This covers healthcare. Looking at how much I had to pay for healthcare in Switzerland, there’s virtually no difference.
I am from Switzerland and live in Denmark, and don’t particularly like it here, but:
* Denmark does not have fast trains 😉 the trains are actually really shit
* I pay 36 % in taxes, but don’t have to pay for health insurance, so taken together, I’m pretty much spending the exact same amount I did when I lived in Switzerland – and on the plus side, it comes directly out of my salary
* We are paying less than 2000 CHF / month to pay off our mortgage incl. interest and will own our house fully after 30 years (for comparison, in Switzerland I paid 900.- in rent for less than half the square metres)
* The above means that I have plenty of disposable income to save up / spend (and I am not a particularly high earner)
* My pension as a state employee is in a pension fund that works the same way as a Pensionskasse does in Switzerland; private employees have more freedom to invest it themselves
* have you been to Sweden / Norway? The nature there is pretty great, too… 😉 Denmark sucks, though…
That being said, I agree, I absolutely hate Scandinavians droning on about their ‘welfare state’ like the rest of Europe does not have health care / unemployment insurance etc. …
Ah yes low taxes and individualistic mindset. The American dream
Lower income taxes is something that people miss ALL THE TIME.
People like to complain about health insurance but the extra income we can keep thanks to the lower taxes makes a big difference.
I was going through the expenses of living in Switzerland with an Italian friend and he was shocked by how low the income tax was, the car insurance and car tax. Whereas eating out is almost the same price in both Italy and Switzerland, groceries are also relatively cheap especially considering the salary. Public transportation is similar in price.
And in addition to this: most things simply work
Living in both switzerland and norway. Northern countries have far better parental rights, as of parental leave, pay, infrastructures they are second to noone. Switzerland has far better climate, pay and taxes, especially as a small business owner. Norway is just terrible for small biz owners with their insane taxes and rules. Switzerland is ruthless with their work mentality, it has similiar mentality to the USA but you CAN get rich. While norway is waaaaay more laid back, they aren’t nowhere near as stressed about that like in Switzerland as it’s nearly impossible to get fired from a job while in switzerland is extremely easy. Norway has also incredible bike roads which switzerland is just too small for. Depends what you are looking for. They are both amazing in different ways. I want both so I stay in both lol. I remember when I just moved to norway as a swiss citizen I used to always get stressed if I got sick and was unable to work as I thought id lose my job, this was ingrained in my head for many years coming from CH, took awhile to realize this is faaaar from the truth in norway.
That’s personal preference (and most likely an unpopular opinion), but if Switzerland had a climate between 20-25° all year round, and didn’t have a mafia-like health system, I would definitely stay here forever. It’s a great country overall (stable, safe, beautiful). If that has any relevance, I am Swiss and grew up in Geneva.
I work with a lot of Norwegians and Icelanders and all I can say is that it would be very difficult to return to the Swiss/French workplace. Nordic people are really warm people, very nice to work with (pragmatic and not stuck in a hierarchical system like the outdated one in Switzerland). Most of them are also much more open minded (and dare I say, educated) in general. When I visit family in places far from (bigger) cities, I feel like I’m travelling 40 years in the past mindset-wise.
I hate cold climates but I would honestly move north only for the people (the landscapes are nice too).
You really need to be delusional or being ill informed to make such statements. I love Switzerland, but I’ve also lived in the North of Europe… and I’m from Spain.
> * I don’t have to pay 40-50% of my income in taxes.
LOL! I’m sorry to tell but between some things and other things you pay that on taxes or more. The only difference is that your income is so high and other regular cost so low that you have more disposable income.
> * My pension is (for the most part) an actual sum of money invested in my name, and not a state-guaranteed Ponzi scheme.
Part of your pension is like any other pension in Europe… current workers support current pensioners. The only different here is that usually the most wealthy don’t support the most. And that workers have the option to have a supplement on the form of special savings.
> * I get to live in a place that has mountains, gorgeous nature and actually a very decent climate.
There are other places with mountains… Norway have a quite beautiful mountains.
Swiss here… Ok Naturalized Swiss… Switzerland is not a utopia, it has problems, and benefits like every other country.
The biggest difference I notice is the choice of different hobbies. If you are into hiking or biking then this country is awesome. If you like say boating, yeah not gonna happen. Like to fish or hunt? Yeah that’s going to be a problem. Like to tweak and build around your home, yeah partially going to be a problem.
We had / have property in Switzerland, France and Portugal. I am also German. All of the countries are basically equal in terms of cost of living if you earn ok. What you gain in one, lose in the other. For example due to the wealth tax it is actually cheaper for us to not live in Switzerland. We are not super rich by any stretch of the imagination. We just have some wealth and that bites us in the ass.
If you factor in all of the taxes, and all of the costs such as health care then living in Switzerland is not cheaper. I am not dissing my country just am realistic…
Oh BTW nice climate… BS! I am not in Zurich anymore, nor Zug, nor Schindellegi… I hated with a passion the winters where you would have two to three months of no sun. It drove me batshit crazy! Always fog, fog and more fog… I seriously hated that. Our house in Jura 500m from the French border of Alsace has a much nicer climate.
Wait until you have kids to see how expensive it gets. Especially the Creche
“I live in a country that values what citizens think and direct democracy.”
Except when the conservative thinking folks in the smaller cantons don’t like it and block it because their votes count more.
i come from switzerland and live in norway.
* i seriously dont pay 50% of my income in taxes
* the pension is, as far as i could see, quite similar than swiss. one part is “state promised” (like 1er pilier in swiss/AVS… not an actual sum invested in your name, but state promised), and one is contributed by my workplace in a bank in my name (like 2e pilier in swiss…) honestly that different
* while the nature is very gorgeous here, i have to admit that i have to grind my teeth everytime i hear the locals talking about their such high mountains (700m above sea level… yea OKAY we literally live at sea level, idc, i used to live 700m, i wont call it mountain xD)
* nothing to say about direct democracy, this part is true, altho i CANT wait that swiss has more digitalisation like we have here, cuz sorry but i aint paying to vote.
* i dont think with my income, id ever have been able to buy a 3floor house in swiss, which in norway i achieved on a cashier’s salary, so id disagree on this a bit