I want to live in Switzerland !

Hello,

My name is Val and I am from Cincinnati, OH USA. Me and my wife want to move, and after research and just a gut feeling, we area considering Switzerland. And I got so many questions. I really hope you guys can take a moment to answer some of them, it will really help us. I am reading previous posts on the topics I will be asking, so don't think I am lazy))

1.    I work in Offshore Oil industry, currently in Africa. So if I am working overseas, but live in Switzerland, how do I go about taxes? Is there a mandatory tax for living in Switzerland?
2.    My wife is attending university, she studying master's degree in business administration program. A) What is the best city to possibly find a job? B) Is it hard to find a job with her degree, and speaking only English?

3.    Is there recruiting/ or other web sites where you can submit a resume?

4.    I assume we will have to move to a bigger city, where she will have more chances of getting employment. Is this thought correct?

5.    How much income is enough for both of us to live on? 2 bedroom apartment, not a fancy live style etc?

Thank you so much guys! I hope we will go through with moving in Switzerland, and I will be meeting some of you in person…

Hi and welcome to Expat.com Val !

I hope the forum members will be able to help you with your various questions.
Maybe you should try having a look at the Switzerland jobs section.
It might be helpful.

Good luck
Armand

Hi Val

I can't answer all your questions, but I will try.

Because I'm Swiss myself, I have no idea how you would be taxed if you live here but work overseas as a foreigner. But I'm sure there are people on this forum with more experience than me on this topic who might be able to help you on this one. :-)
Apart from normal taxes there are several other mandatory or semi-mandatory expenditures like health care insurance, private insurance, transport costs etc.


How easy it will be for your wife to find a job, will depend on the "quality" of her Master (renown of institution) and her previous work experiences. Only speaking English doesn't really help unfortunately. Because there isn't a shortage of Business Administators in Switzerland and most Swiss workers in this field have a good education and usually speak good English. Her best chances will be, to look for work in the areas with lots of international companies like Zürich, Zug, Geneva etc.

Web sites where you can search for jobs are plenty. For example: jobs.ch and jobscout24.ch
Keep in mind that many big companies (UBS, Novartis ...) have their own web sites for vacant jobs.

Depending on where you want to make your home, between 4000-5000 CHF per month (incl. a 13th month salary) should be enough for you two. Others here might disagree on this, so please correct me.

Regards Manuel