Downsides of living in Switzerland 🇨🇭👎

Moving to Switzerland! Even though Switzerland is a very attractive country for people from all over the globe, this small country still has its drawbacks. In this video, we'll take a look at the 9 greatest downsides of Switzerland.

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[MovingAbroad]

Some points in this video are exaggerated - sorry for that & don't take it too seriously

"Downsides of moving to ..."-playlist:

[knelle]

I’d still rather live in Switzerland than the United States.

[vanax]

As an Italian living in Switzerland for over than 6 years the only true downside mentioned in this video is the expensive lifestyle especially in the beginning, cus when you start working and you have a stable job you don't have a problem, plus it's all worth it due to their excellent services.

[alexsteven.m]

The thought of retirement makes me cry, My apologies to everyone who have retired and filing social security during this time after putting in all those years of work just to lose everything to a problem you never imagined to happen. . It’s so difficult for people who are retired.

[alexanderrey]

I live in Switzerland and never heard, that it is forbidden to flush the toilet after 10 p.m.

[nashtags]

The Flushing-Toilets Urban Legend will never die. 😂You can flush your toilets after 10 PM. No worries.

[eaubert]

The biggest downside of living in Switzerland is the cost of living. Even though salaries are higher than in most other places, everybody's constantly cutting corners when it comes to finances.

[LeCalmar]

Am I the only one who thinks those downsides are actually mostly upsides?

[allanlees]

I spent 19 wonderful months in Lausanne and it took only about a month to realize that most of the Swiss quirks are associated with protecting the family and quality of life. Yes, the cost of living is high, with food costing nearly three times as much as in the USA and about three times as much as in the UK. But the quality is higher (no adulteration with high fructose corn syrup...) and so it's worth the expense. Although the Swiss are very dour, I found it fairly easy to chat with people, especially once I'd adjusted to the Vaudoise accent, and my French actually improved during my sojourn. As 40% of the population of Lausanne are expats, socializing was very easy. And the weather is amazing - most days I could see clouds ringing the surrounding Alps but because of the sunlight on Lac Leman creating an updraft, Lausanne was almost always cloud-free. And I'd far rather swim in a large freshwater lake than in a salty ocean. Unfortunately, I had to leave because of family commitments, but I still visit the city in my dreams.

[nashtags]

Switzerland has direct connection to the sea and has a Merchant navy. It's actually the biggest navy for any other landlock countries. In fact, the country is member of the Rhine Commission which allows Swiss ships to freely navigate through the Rhine River till North Sea. Basel is an international Port and the other «port» is Rotterdam (and to some extend Marseille in France). What is said in the video is wrong therefore about sea trade. The whole economy and industry rely on this route between the North Sea and Basel. Furthermore, it also has a long tradition of sailing.

[ilovesuisse]

Switzerland has it’s rules re speeding etc, but it is in no way a police state. Most normal countries have laws, rules and regulations, and that’s certainly not exclusive to Switzerland.

[ilovesuisse]

The rules you mention about flushing the toilet, closing the car door, high heels, sound ridiculous, i have never experienced that, it sounds like something someone has made up. I have lived in Zurich, St. Gallen, Flims and now several places in the state of Thurgau, have never come across these issues. There is enough untouched nature in Switzerland to enjoy, there are enough places where you can go to without encountering a lot of other people. I think you are forgetting that we are a very small country, we only have so much space so it is silly to try to compare us to a large country like the US, Canada, Australia, or other larger countries.

[Widestone]

Maybe one more massive downside:
Our society at large is success-driven and employment-driven. Part-time jobs are on the rise but still fairly uncommon - and I count 80% part-time jobs while you're working on a degree of any kind as at least full-time. Many businesses pit their own employees against each other in competition for promotion - being good enough is only one part of succeeding and if you're only good enough you'll be overtaken by a more competitive person.
Further, Swiss need to go get degrees left and right to have a chance to be successful in the first place (or be really lucky) - so the pressure on a young Swiss who just finished his initial professional training is titanic nowadays.
That means that stress, overworking, depression and especially light alcohol abuse is everywhere. Japan is still worse, we don't have a specific word for death by overworking yet.

[yuanlei]

When visiting a forgein country, we need to pay attention to cultural differences. We have our way to live, Swiss have theirs. Too many people have made easy but not really fair critiques based on limited observation/experiences.

[SMB_]

Despite of never visited Switzerland..yet..I believe is the most beautiful and lovely country...

[amarug]

Low taxes = not free public transport, less child money, no state health insurance (but insurance is mandatory so you might as well just count it to the taxes) etc etc. people complain about high taxes, people complain about paying for transport, for insurance ... at the end it doesnt matter what system you use, life just ends up costing about the same. you just name things differently

[simonepeverelli]

I flush my toilet whenever I want, I walk in my appartement during the night and I listen to music! And I'm swiss! My mother language is italian and I have always spoken with german swiss in english. Don't judge switzerland according to those videos, but be careful with the speed limits. That is true!

[georgevavoulis]

Nothing is " FREE", somebody has to pay

[mariahiller]

I have been living in the Zürich area for about 1.5 years. I agree with most of the things mentioned, but I also disagree with a few things. Here are my comments: 1. I often hear people talk about how closed the Swiss are and how it's almost impossible to befriend them. Some people I have met have lived in Switzerland for a number of years without making Swiss friends. I really have to say that my experience has been very different. To begin with, most Swiss people are very friendly, helpful and polite. Perhaps I may have an advantage since I come from a very similar culture (Scandinavia), and probably have an easier time befriending people in Switzerland than someone from a very different culture. I have made wonderful, close friends here. In fact, I socialize almost entirely with locals. I lived for several years in the United States, and I found it much harder to make close friends in the US. My children attend a bilingual school where half the student population is Swiss. They both have two best friends at school, and all are Swiss. 2. I also disagree regarding the second point. Since I have not lived in Switzerland very long, my German is still quite basic, and one must learn standard German before learning Swiss German. At least 90% of the time when I address strangers in Switzerland, they switch to standard German. Some Swiss don't know it well, so they will understandably not do so. But in almost every case, people switch when they hear me struggling to communicate. 3. It is very true that there are traffic cameras everywhere here. It is also very easy to get a speeding ticket. When I first arrived here, my husband got speeding tickets every week. Usually for driving between 2-6 km too fast. But then we discovered that we can control the speed. This is an absolute must. You get used to constantly looking at signs that tell you the speed and adjust the speed control accordingly. It's easy when you get used to it, and neither my husband nor I have received a single speeding ticket since. It should be noted that Switzerland's strict speeding rules are not without benefit, since Switzerland boasts the lowest percentage of traffic accidents out of all European countries. What you said about frequent fines is also true. You have to pay for everything. You have to pay for parking when you go to the supermarket (in many places). One should allot a certain amount every months for these sorts of things. But again, you get used to it. 5. Yes, there are many unusual laws and rules that must be followed. You can only use "approved" garbage bags (which cost around 2 euros per bag). You should never make noise in public. Don't talk loudly on the train, don't make noise between 10 pm and 7 am, or on Sundays. I still feel like I need to be conscious about always being quiet, but most of these rules make sense. Does anyone, in any country, want their neighbors playing the drums at midnight? Some of these rules are also exaggerated. It makes for a funny story to claim that flushing the toilet after 10 pm is not permitted. In reality, most Swiss apartments have more than enough sound isolation to allow people to flush late. I personally don't know anyone who follows this rule. 6. The prices are high. They are crazy high. Only a small percentage of people in Switzerland are home owners, because real estate is so, so expensive. Even if you want even to buy high quality ice cream, the price will be ridiculous. Not to mention eating at restaurants. I often feel like the best thing to do is to close your eyes and pay. 7. Swiss nature is stunning and picture perfect. I personally have no problem with not having a large piece of land without a village. 8. Yes, Switzerland is landlocked, but I have never heard anyone complain about that. There are lakes where people can go swimming all over (the Swiss love that), and France is a 1 hour drive away. 9. I come from a cold part of the world, so for me, Switzerland is almost like a tropical paradise! It's pretty much still the middle of winter now, and today the temperature is 12 degrees Celsius (yesterday was warmer).

Here are a few things that I think were left out: 1. Swiss schools put a lot of pressure on students to be "the same." There is little room for being different. Unfortunately, Swiss public school teachers receive less training than teachers in most other countries. This causes problems. This is, for instance, not a country I would recommend for parents of an autistic child. Furthermore, children are separated at age 12 into those who will stand a chance of going to university, and those who won't. 2. You are completely incorrect when you state that "almost all Swiss people know some English." I am guessing that you live in Zürich city, which is an exception due to the high percentage of foreigners and professionals. Only around 59% of people in German speaking Switzerland know English, and that number includes basic English. In both the French speaking and Italian speaking parts, the number is under 50%. When I first moved here, I often received a negative reaction when addressing people in English. Some people will respond to it with anger. Not only might they not know English, but they definitely feel strongly that foreigners living in Switzerland should learn the local language. Obviously, that is true, but it takes time to learn a language. People will usually be much happier to speak with you if you use terrible German than English. If you don't learn some German, you will constantly get into a situation where you simply cannot communicate. Obviously, all the Swiss kids speak good English because of YouTube. 3. Raising children while having a career is very hard for women here. Preschools are unbelievably expensive. The school day at Swiss public schools takes a 2 hour break every day for children to go home and eat lunch. Obviously, someone needs to be there when they come home hungry. Swiss schools, both public and private, take a 2 week break every 6 weeks. These things make having a career extremely challenging for women, which is why only a low percentage of Swiss mothers work full time.

There are more positive things and more negative things, of course, which is normal for any country.

[annenoir]

Don't worry. I speak perfectly Swiss German and still wasn't able to make any friends. I left after 30 years, so happy in my new country where I for the first time have a social life