Live data from Hacker News

Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

swissdevjobs.ch

71–80 of 345 posts

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#71
post #38

> In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF Is USD 2500 - USD 4000 supposed to be cheap?!

50m^2 is about 534 sqft for comparison. I haven't looked at renting in SF in a long time but 2500-4000 CHF for that seems pretty high.

You don't need to live in the city center though.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#73
post #38

> In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF Is USD 2500 - USD 4000 supposed to be cheap?!

Zurich itself is crazy expensive. If you're willing to travel by train for 20 minutes (direct, no changes), then prices quickly drop to around 2k for 120 square meters

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#74

Bullshit alert They start with: "Maybe it is because of the outrageous rents eating over 30% of the salary and houses you cannot afford unless you joined Facebook or Google at the right time? " Regarding the SV. Then, this is what they (proudly) say about Switzerland: 1) "In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF " 2) "In Switzerland a Software Developer can easily e…

10 years ago, the rule was rent should not be more than 1/4 of your gross salary. The rule just gets adjusted, we're currently at 1/3. Same thing goes down with health care costs. People are squeezed for it, because they have no choice. Meanwhile wages are stagnating and can't keep up with the rising cost of living.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#75
post #67

Few things: 1) Salaries are essentially capped at $120,000. 2) Stock options are very rare. Basically, you can't get rich. No different than working at Google but with lower salary potential. This is why Switzerland will never be the next SV.

I’m pretty sure Google Zurich pays more than $120k.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#76

Bullshit alert They start with: "Maybe it is because of the outrageous rents eating over 30% of the salary and houses you cannot afford unless you joined Facebook or Google at the right time? " Regarding the SV. Then, this is what they (proudly) say about Switzerland: 1) "In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF " 2) "In Switzerland a Software Developer can easily e…

Note that this rent buys you less than 20 minute of commute every day and life near nature while still being able to reach a modern city center in short order.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#77

Bullshit alert They start with: "Maybe it is because of the outrageous rents eating over 30% of the salary and houses you cannot afford unless you joined Facebook or Google at the right time? " Regarding the SV. Then, this is what they (proudly) say about Switzerland: 1) "In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF " 2) "In Switzerland a Software Developer can easily e…

Personally, I'd rather avoid both SV and CH and just live in Texas.

$1/sq. ft. ($10.76/m²) is still the norm in Dallas, and it's not too hard to find cheaper. You would pay less money for a decent-size house in the suburbs of Dallas than the cheapest 1-bedroom apartment in SV or Zurich.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#78
post #43

A maybe minor point: It's more or less impossible to become a Swiss if you aren't already whereas it's kind of possible to become an American. If your company makes it it's entirely possible this can become a problem down the line, for instance regarding your tax status or rights and obligations. Also, the culture is remarkably different, so if you're expecting something similar to the american college campus-like ex…

> A maybe minor point: It's more or less impossible to become a Swiss if you aren't already whereas it's kind of possible to become an American. If your company makes it it's entirely possible this can become a problem down the line, for instance regarding your tax status or rights and obligations.

These days it's significantly easier to get a Swiss passport than a US one for most nations.

Re: Switzerland vs Silicon Valley for Software Developers

#79

Bullshit alert They start with: "Maybe it is because of the outrageous rents eating over 30% of the salary and houses you cannot afford unless you joined Facebook or Google at the right time? " Regarding the SV. Then, this is what they (proudly) say about Switzerland: 1) "In Zurich, you can rent a whole flat (50+ square meters) for something between 2500-4000 CHF " 2) "In Switzerland a Software Developer can easily e…

They also have a chart of "How Switzerland tax measures up internationally" which lists the corp tax rates for each country, which have nothing to do with personal income tax.
Post reply on HN