From our special correspondent in Zurich,
The waiter has barely turned on his heel when Sarah grimaces at the bill for her coffee. Five Swiss francs (5.50 euros) for an espresso, at that price, even all the free sugar that she frantically adds to her cup won’t be enough to remove the bitterness.
After a decade of living among the Helvetians, certain amounts continue to cause jolts in the thirty-something. Prices in Zurich are a bit like mourning: you can try to get used to it, but you never really get used to it. Grief is precisely what pushed Sarah to cross the Alps. A husband who dies, bills piling up and the dream of a life much more comfortable than in France. “When we see the salaries here, multiplied as if by magic by two or three, we say to ourselves that we will inevitably have a much better standard of living…”
27 euros per pizza, enough to put your salary into perspective
Not necessarily. Because the prices, too, have everything of witchcraft. Count 12 Swiss francs – 14 euros – for a poor glass of mulled wine at the Christmas market. No truffle or caviar inside. But also 28 Swiss francs (30 euros) a ticket to the cinema, 21 Swiss francs (23 euros) a sandwich in a bakery, 24 francs (27 euros) a pizza… Consequence: “The smallest pleasure becomes a big expense,” complains Sarah . So much so that her situation quickly resembled the one she had fled in Paris: “Count your money, be careful with each purchase, weigh the pros and cons each time…”
A doctoral student at university – with 4,300 Swiss francs (4,500 euros) per month – she is far from having found the financial comfort she desired. “Once the rent, food, insurance, shopping and transportation are paid, what do I have left? Enough to do two or three outings per month, at most. »
1,800 euros for daycare
Anthony, who works in insurance, is also surprised “not to have more margin than that. In the end, we have to be careful. Switzerland is not about winning the Lotto.” Illustration during food shopping: 1,500 francs per month (1,600 euros) for a family of three (including a 4-year-old child), and “at 100 francs (107 euros) per kilo, chopped steak is once a month. »
Only one car, an apartment in a village far from Zurich, because the rent is too expensive in the mainland, 1h40 round trip by train every day to get to work… And costs much more expensive than expected. In particular daycare for toddlers – school ends at noon – at 1,750 francs (1,870 euros) per month. An entire French salary swallowed up. “It’s a price that we hadn’t anticipated,” admits the expatriate, despite being an ace at planning.
Little space to take up and many disappointed people
So even if Anthony works full time and his wife works 80%, “at the end of the month, there is little left for leisure, once housing, insurance and expenses are paid.” Around 300 francs per month, which, given the prices mentioned above, does not lead to La Dolce Vita.
Switzerland therefore brings in thousands of disappointed people every year, who discover that the Eldorado offers less comfort than its crazy promises. Some of its castaways end up in the office of Jenny Rachel Kollmann, a job search consultant and professional help for executives. This last alert on the Swiss mirage: “The vision is somewhat truncated. You are still in the middle class with 6,000 francs per month (6,500 euros). Below 90,000 francs (95,000 euros) per year, it is difficult to live adequately. Especially since it is often only one person among expatriates who works because professional positions are so expensive. »
The astonishing precariousness of employment
Unemployment – at only 2.5% – constitutes the country’s other economic illusion. “In reality, the number of non-workers is much higher, but out of social and reputational shame, many Swiss do not register as unemployed,” indicates the expert. Be careful not to underestimate closed doors and sending CVs into the void. “Believing that you just need to arrive from France with your HEC diploma to have a job is to be seriously mistaken,” warns Jenny Rachel Kollmann.
Lucile paid the price. A “golden” contract in Zurich, but after a hasty end – just a few months – as a specialist in coffee extraction, the job market suddenly becomes elusive. With its internal wealth, “Switzerland only seeks hyper-specialized and rare profiles among expatriates. So once you’re thrown out, it’s very difficult to find a job given your ultra-specialization. »
And it’s hard to complain about this express ending. “There is no industrial tribunal in Switzerland,” says Jenny Rachel Kollmann, “and we always leave on good terms with our company, whatever the outcome. Switzerland is the country where there are the most boomerangs – employees who leave and then return to the same company – so it is very frowned upon to leave angry. »
Precariousness even among nationals
By the time a new door opens, here is Lucile working part-time in a supermarket – 2,300 Swiss francs per month, almost the poverty line. Barely enough to get your head above water, with a few cups of drinking. “I avoid going out as much as possible because life is so expensive outside. And the rent – 1,600 francs – is already taking so much away from me. » The question of returning to France arises, but remains difficult to envisage. “It would be a terrible admission of failure. Ending up precariously in Switzerland, where you have to succeed, sounds really shameful. Everyone expects me to end up a millionaire, not in debt! “.
But it’s not just French expatriates who skate. Michael and his salary of 3,500 Swiss francs (3,700 euros) is ironic: “Switzerland does not only produce bankers or salespeople”. Every end of the month, this postman posts pay slips two to three times higher than his own – the median salary in the canton of Zurich is 7,000 francs. “It gets difficult from the 20th. From the 25th in the best months. For a frouze [un Français]it must seem surprising to struggle with such a salary, or to see a Swiss person not rich. But our prices are not yours, and not everyone drives a BMW. » But this problem of perception is also… Swiss. “Even here, it seems almost surprising not to win 10,000 francs. »
Proof of this is with the waiter who brought Sarah her coffee. 3,900 francs per month, accommodation outside Zurich, a child to feed, no brand purchased while shopping, and customers who grimace at the prices “even though I must earn less than them. » Definitely, “Switzerland is neither an Eldorado nor the country of empathy. »
