This is a bit of a difficult article to write. Quite ambitious in some ways.
Let’s start.
Why Switzerland as a remote worker
Important premise.
Switzerland is often characterised as a “good place to make money as an employee at the cost of a boring city life”.
Which is mostly correct.
In short, that’s because the system works well:
And due to the fact that there aren’t clear better alternatives out there
Having said that, assuming you’re now curious about moving to Switzerland as a remote worker / online business owner…
Where should you actually base yourself in, in Switzerland?
This will be the topic of today’s article.
I’m going to share the research I’ve been doing after going remote myself, and the insights I’ve gathered so far.
Of course, you should expect a tradeoff:
The value of a research done for an actual real life scenario (insights based on which I am actually making real life decisions)
Some bias towards things I prioritise (at the end of the day everyone has different priorities). Although, I’ll also try my best to highlight what works best for whom, so many people can benefit.
As you’ll see, for a lot of the research, I’ve used my own AI software Remote Compass - which you should check out if you’re looking for a great tool to jumpstart or deepen your relocation and international setup research.
Here’s a few testimonials from people who’ve used it:
Methodology
Here’s what I care mostly about in my Swiss city research:
(spoiler: can’t have all these things in just one place)
Connections:
Close to airport, decent train connections.
Cost of living:
We try…
Nature:
Water in summer, mountains in winter, hiking trails in autumn/spring.
Society:
Cafes, restaurants, social life, activities.
Vibes:
Beauty, architecture, local culture, how people live and are, etc. Vibes.
Language:
Either English or Italian. Else, German > French. Cause I speak English, I’m Italian native, I speak some German, but unfortunately don’t speak French (although wouldn’t mind to learn it a bit).
Taxes:
Including health insurance costs.
Food delivery options:
What if I’m busy wrapping up an article like this, gf had a harsh day at work, and we got no easy to cook dinner at home?
Some yummy delivered food can save the day. Uh!
Maybe other things too that I’m forgetting right now.
Health insurance costs:
Let me pull up some quotes I’d get as a 31 y.o. male with no kids in some cities:
For you to understand:
Swiss health insurance works with “deductibles”: I ran the quotes with 300 and 2500 CHF - which are the min and the max.
300 CHF deductible means you pay healthcare costs up to 300 CHF per year, then insurance pays 90-100% of them.
2500 CHF means you pay up until 2500, then insurance pays.
So 300 CHF deductible will yield a higher monthly insurance: difference is usually around 100 CHF per month, so it doesn’t change too much.
Usually I pay the higher fee so in my head I live with “free healthcare”, but if for some years I’m almost sure I will have no healthcare costs, or spend a lot of time abroad, then I might go for the higher deductible
So, summarising, from best to worst:
Zug
Luzern
Zurich
Bern (Basel is similar)
Lugano
Biggest gap is at 300 CHF deductible, Zug-Lugano: 200 CHF vs 570 CHF (i.e. 370 CHF difference).
Not pennies.
Context/caveat:
Zug health insurance is particularly cheap
Zug housing market is very competitive: small city, high demand because of corporate workers + HNWI, little liquidity. Rent is a bit higher than in Zurich, and supply isn’t higher.
Zurich / Bern / Basel aren’t far off.
Luzern is a bit better than Zurich, and Lugano is a bit worse.
Healthcare-wise, Lugano is not the best deal, considering that the best Swiss hospitals and professionals are in Zurich, Bern and Basel.
That said, I have had good experience with healthcare providers in Lugano (got a specialist help me up with my TMJ). I think they can be more empathetic than “germanic” healthcare providers in Zurich etc.
In general: most healthcare specialists in Lugano are Italian. And Italian healthcare is generally good, and less “transactional” than in Switzerland (which works a bit like the US).
So, Lugano:
Higher health insurance costs
Technically less renowned hospitals and specialists (especially for niche/advanced work)
Good empathy
All in all, the difference in absolute cost is not huge: 100-200 CHF per months.
Bern review
A great option:
Top-tier nature: great water and river access in summer (both with current and with chill beaches), amazing alps very closeby
Often rated as the “most liveable city in the world”
More chill than Zurich (which is a bit overwork/overachiever and corporate vibe)
Good dining options
Let’s dive deeper:
1. Nature access
Close to stunning lakes:
Excellent river / water spots in town:
Review from Remote Compass:
2. Food options
Food is Switzerland can be good/OK, but it can also be VERY BAD.
So you want to be careful not to end up in a spot where everything outside of your house is overpriced and disgusting.
Bern does quite well, food wise. Especially for its size.
The below site (raisin.digital) gathers restaurants, bars and shops that serve natural wine. In the food industry, from my experience, there’s often a somewhat high correlation between quality of menu and modern/tasty/organic wine list.
In general, quite often, restaurants and bars on Raisin have good food too (also from my experience trying them out).
It tells only part of the story (there’s plenty of good food places that don’t serve natural wine / aren’t featured here), but it’s one of the signals.
Bern has a lot of places for its size: 15.
Consider that Basel, a “modern and trendy” city in Switzerland, only has 3.
Zurich something like 40, Lugano around 4.
And the traditional restaurants and coffee shops options are also not bad.
(for Switzerland)
Bern cons:
3. Transport connections
Airport connection worse than Zurich but doable:
Not the worst not the best
4. Size and internationality
Not top-tier for an expat (Zurich, Basel and Geneva probably do better here).
5. Taxes
As you’ve seen already from the above health insurance costs, Bern isn’t one of these “low tax cantons”.
But it’s also not too bad. It’s still Switzerland.
General overview (from remotecompass.ai):
Now, I spend a huge amount of time researching this stuff in utmost detail…
So, in order to fully justify the ROI of my time spent on it (other than finding a good place to live in myself), I need you to pay to continue reading this article.
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