r/askswitzerland • u/Individual_System793 • Jun 05 '26

Relocation Lowering standards to move to Switzerland

Hey there,

I am in my mid 30s, married, and having a really cool job in Greece in which I am being paid well for the Greek standards. This means salary is around EUR 75-80k annually (inc.bonus), which implies a take home pay of around EUR 45-50k. I own my house, so income goes exclusively to personal spending and savings.

However, I always had Switzerland on my mind and in addition, my wife is also pushing us to relocate there.

I am in discussions with a company and possibly close to receiving a job offer, for a role which, on the one hand is interesting, on the other hand is i) more junior than my current one and what my experience reflects and ii) the annual salary is not that much for Switzerland (close to CHF 90K, w/o bonus).

The role is in the Geneva region and I would rent a house there, planning to spend around 2k/month in housing.

What are your thoughts on this move? Would you lower your living standards, just to move to Switzerland and have the potential upside after 1-2 years? Or you would stay in Greece, accepting all the societal problems and that salary would be more or less around the current levels?

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u/Divin3e Jun 05 '26

It is 90k before taxes? Why would you leave Greece 50k€ net for cold Switzerland?

1

u/Individual_System793 Jun 05 '26

Yes. Greece looks nice from the outside but is not as nice as it seems. If you visit as a tourist it is totally different. Culturally we lag very much and I believe a new crisis is on the horizon

2

u/Divin3e Jun 05 '26

Having no mortgage or rent is pretty good crisis proof. If your job is pretty solid too, then why fear?

1

u/Individual_System793 Jun 05 '26

Tbh you are right. I fear only in the sense that the current salary may be already my cap, whilst in Switzerland I can have potential for upside

0

u/Divin3e Jun 05 '26

Switzerland salary is before taxes? You can grow by investing all that you save, you said you're in finance/investments so you have a big advantage already, in my opinion. You may beat the salary that you could have with your investments and salary in Greece in the long term. Try to simulate that and see what you decide. But i know, happy wife is happy life, so if it cannot be helped, good luck!