Should you Move Abroad?

Insights and reflections from people who've done it: Switzerland addition.

I know Americans are expressing a surge in interest in moving abroad, and some of my longtime readers know I have thoughts about this. Do I think you should do it? Probably not, but it’s not my call. It is a deeply personal choice, and what’s wrong for me might be perfect for you.

So, to help give people a better idea of what’s involved from those who have done it, I put together a little survey I’ll be sending to my fellow expat Substackers to fill out. Of course, if you want to learn more, you should follow them to get a deeper dive into their experiences.

I’ll go first:

1. Background:

   • Country of origin: United States

   • Country of current residence: Switzerland

   • Length of time living abroad: 20 years (not all of them in Switzerland)

2. Motivation:

   • What was the primary reason(s) for your move? (e.g., work, study, retirement, lifestyle): My husband got a great job, and we moved for him.

3. Practicalities:

   • How challenging was the visa and work permit process? It was dead easy. My husband’s company did 90% of the paperwork. Because my husband is a French citizen, he has the right to live and work in Switzerland, and my visa is attached to his. As an American, I did not have the same rights and needed him to get my Swiss visa.

   • What were the biggest hurdles in setting up your life abroad (e.g., housing, healthcare, banking)? Banking for US citizens in Switzerland is a hellscape. They won’t touch you because of stringent US banking laws that they would rather avoid dealing with. We got our bank account because my husband’s employer had a deal with UBS. Otherwise, it would have been impossible. Switzerland has superb public infrastructure. The websites for healthcare and taxes are straightforward to navigate, and because French is one of their national languages, we can easily understand them, as our German is limited. And I will die on this hill; Swiss health care is the best in the world. We pay a fortune for our insurance but rarely see a bill. And for serious illness or accident, you won’t pay a dime.

4. Cultural Adaptation:

   • What were the most significant cultural adjustments you had to make? The rules that make life here run like a Swiss watch take a human toll: people aren’t perfect, but the societal rules and laws demand superhuman perfection that makes people angry: road rage is a thing here. Just know that you will fail, and you will get fined. Oh, and you will not make friends with the locals for about ten years, if even then.

   • How did you handle language barriers and cultural misunderstandings? The Swiss in my region speak a dialect (spoken, not written) called Swiss German, which is not German at all. The language is not taught in schools but at home, and you will have difficulty learning it until you befriend Swiss people (see above: ten years). I speak French, one of the national languages, so I get by.

5. Quality of Life:

   • How would you rate your overall quality of life compared to the US? I wrote this question, but I hate it. This is such a fuzzy, subjective thing to assess. My quality of life in San Francisco was excellent. But the public sector here in Switzerland is so well run; the streets are clean, and the health care is exquisite, so it’s hard to compare. But that’s not to say my life in San Fransico was bad; for me, it was, in many ways, better. I like diversity, and I don’t mind a little graffiti, and I would sacrifice a lot for the food scene in California—there are only so many bratwursts you can eat. That said, the political vibe in the US wasn’t as horrible when I left, so I might feel differently now.

   • Are you satisfied with the cost of living, healthcare, and education systems in your host country? The cost of living here is on par with Tokyo or New York, and I mean the whole country, not just the cities. That said, the salaries are also higher. But still, it’s very expensive to live in Switzerland. For example, while health insurance is compulsory, some people forgo luxuries like eating beef (the most expensive in the world, $45.94 1kg) to pay for it. Education is free but very old-fashioned in many ways and not to my taste—the emphasis is on conformity.

6. Professional Experience:

   • How has living abroad impacted your career? It killed it. That’s why I am writing for Substack now and making next to nothing. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

7. Advice for Future Expats:

   • What are the top three things you wish you knew before moving abroad? How it would impact my kid, and my family back home, and that no matter how much research you do, you won’t know if it’s a good fit until you do it.

   • What advice would you give to someone considering a similar move? If you are fleeing something, remember that you are also going to a place with its own unique set of problems. Unless you speak the language, it will be much more challenging to sort out. The culture shock you feel at home now, after the election, would be much more accute in an actual foreign country.

8. Overall Experience:

   • Looking back, would you say moving abroad was a positive experience? Why or why not? I don’t believe in regret; we make the best decision we can in the moment, given what we know then. However, Switzerland has been a mixed bag for me and my family. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t do it again.

   • If you have kids, how do they feel about it? He loved the freedom he had here. Trams everywhere, not needing a parent to schlep him around, drinking at 16 (a whole other problem), and the safety of a small town. However, when given the choice to stay in Europe for his university or go to the US, he jumped at the chance to study in NYC, where he happily enjoys life in the big city. He does not miss it here but has a French passport, so he’s free to come and go.

9. Additional Comments:

   1. Please feel free to share any other insights or experiences you have. It’s going to be an awful four years, and the world is going to change in ways we can’t predict due to the destruction of our democratic norms and standards. But you will still care, and it will break your heart—even from afar. Most of you will remain Americans, no matter where you move to for the duration of the administration. Remember, too, that the people wherever you plan on moving also care about what’s happening in the US. You can’t escape it, but maybe a little distance is what you need to survive it, and moving will certainly give you that.

   

   Greetings from Switzerland, where the high quality of life extends all the way down to its cows.