Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
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Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#2Sure, but it's also really expensive to live in Switzerland. Not factoring in the cost of living over there is pretty disingenuous. And it's going to be a serious project to get residency there if you're not a Swiss citizen.
Edit: This is not an opinion, cost of living in Switzerland is highest in the world, twice as high as in the US. Even if you make twice as much money, you're basically making the same amount. And if food cost that much where I live, you're damn right I'm bringing a sandwich to the office. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.js...
Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#3Sure, but it's also really expensive to live in Switzerland. Not factoring in the cost of living over there is pretty disingenuous. And it's going to be a serious project to get residency there if you're not a Swiss citizen. Edit: This is not an opinion, cost of living in Switzerland is highest in the world, twice as high as in the US. Even if you make twice as much money, you're basically making the same amount. And…
It's okay, you can sub most any country in Europe in, and still end up with a much more sane work culture than the US.
Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#4Sure, but it's also really expensive to live in Switzerland. Not factoring in the cost of living over there is pretty disingenuous. And it's going to be a serious project to get residency there if you're not a Swiss citizen. Edit: This is not an opinion, cost of living in Switzerland is highest in the world, twice as high as in the US. Even if you make twice as much money, you're basically making the same amount. And…
The point isn't that all of america should move to Switzerland but that America can take some Swiss ideas and implement them here.
In Switzerland, your neighborhood votes on whether you should become a citizen.
Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#5Sure, but it's also really expensive to live in Switzerland. Not factoring in the cost of living over there is pretty disingenuous. And it's going to be a serious project to get residency there if you're not a Swiss citizen. Edit: This is not an opinion, cost of living in Switzerland is highest in the world, twice as high as in the US. Even if you make twice as much money, you're basically making the same amount. And…
The cost of living in relative terms, compared to average salaries, is actually rather low. Rents, food is all really expensive judging from the numbers, but you get to keep a larger amount. Switzlerland is expensive for tourists - but for citizens not so much.
Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#6[deleted]
Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#7Sure, but it's also really expensive to live in Switzerland. Not factoring in the cost of living over there is pretty disingenuous. And it's going to be a serious project to get residency there if you're not a Swiss citizen. Edit: This is not an opinion, cost of living in Switzerland is highest in the world, twice as high as in the US. Even if you make twice as much money, you're basically making the same amount. And…
It's okay, you can sub most any country in Europe in, and still end up with a much more sane work culture than the US.
Many people (including myself), don't want a laid back work culture. I want to kill myself for the firm, and work as hard as humanly possible. I think I just derive the most happiness from working (though I do like drinking as well). I know a lot of other people like this. Maybe you can call us brainwashed or whatever, but this is how myself and most of my co-workers are.
I don't think it's an accident that America is the most rich and powerful country in the world. Or that American Tech dominant the world (except for China). It's because Americans have a protestant work ethic, they're willing to suffer and kill themselves for greatness.
This of course isn't for everyone. But as a highly ambitious person who wants to win no matter the cost, I couldn't imagine ever working in Europe.
Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#8Transportation is the biggest difference between the us and a lot of the rest of the world. Switzerland is the size of a small New England state. Mass transit is a tough thing to scale.
That said I’ve noticed that a lot of the jobs in the us that would be considered “glamorous” are by and large the lowest paying jobs with the longest hours. Looking past the status of a company and career and looking into the practical details of a job will make finding a fulfilling and well paying job easier. All in all I think the article is not really apples to apples but has some valid points.
Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#9Is Switzerland producing anything like SpaceX? Or Google? Or Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Tesla, Stripe, Y Combinator?
More importantly, would we have produced these with their system? If so, then great, but let's see the evidence.
No problem to have a work culture preference, and things could definitely be improved(!!), but I think we're kidding ourselves that there are no tradeoffs and everything would simply be better. And that we'd still have the same rate of innovation.
Also a lot of people like that stores are open on Sundays.
Re: Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture (2016)
#10How I moved to another country, used its health and social insurance to achieve a positive balance. Then I shame someone who paid $3M in income tax on their not-so-risk-free income that could turn from $21M to $-21M very quickly.
Really?