'Pricey... unfriendly': Why some foreigners in Switzerland don't want to retire here
While retiring in Europe may be the dream for many, there’s a significant number of international workers living in Switzerland who do not plan to stay after retirement.
The Local surveyed readers to understand how they feel about the prospect of life beyond their career in Switzerland. For the third of respondents who indicated that they don’t intend to retire in the Alpine nation, their reasons were revealing.
Too pricey
For many respondents, the high cost of living in Switzerland was cited as the reason they did not wish to stay.
Hitesh Sawlani, a Product Manager living in Bulach told The Local: “It’s too expensive to stay. My retirement money will go further in my home country.”
Rohit Ramesh, a Sustainability Manager living in Lausanne felt that inflation was squeezing the nest egg he was accumulating: “With the retirement pension we are accumulating, it’s tough to support ourselves as the inflation is pretty high.”
Andrew, 45, an Engineer living in Zurich, went into more detail: “I can't afford a deposit on a house, and don't want to rent when I retire. Rent is too high, and I would only be able to afford a small place to lived, and would never be able to have my kids and (hopefully) grandkids staying over.”
Emma, 44, a Marketing Specialist, was succinct: “Because it’s unbelievably expensive and I don’t see a chance to save enough money before retirement.”
Read More: How much should you save for a comfortable retirement in Switzerland?
Too unfriendly
For other respondents, a recurring theme was that they felt Swiss were unfriendly, and that was holding them back from retiring in Switzerland.
‘MC’, a Communications Specialist working in Basel responded: “Language issues, unfriendly people, (and a) lack of satisfactory social life.”
An anonymous respondent who works in Zug indicated that a lack of shared hobbies may be a factor: “No family (or) friends (outside of work); too expensive; not a skier.”
Firuza Balzaretti suggested the work culture may be leading to a lack of socialising: “Not a fun country to stay if (you’re) not working.”
Sebastian, living in Vettel, was blunt: “(The) Swiss are less friendly to foreigners.”
Read More: Are the Swiss really unfriendly - or are foreigners to blame?
Too cold
Finally, Switzerland’s cold winters played a very real role in leading survey respondents not to stay in the country following retirement.
Hitesh, quoted earlier, also added: “I prefer the weather of my home country.”
Alessandro Vanzulli, a Software Engineer working in Zurich indicated: “I’m looking for a country with a more nice weather in both winter and summer.”
An anonymous respondent simply responded: “Boring, not sunny enough.”
Many respondents, including Amy Lambert, 57, living in Zurich, got straight to the point: “Too cold.”
Read More: Health, prices and safety - is Switzerland a good place to retire in?
Do you agree with the reasons respondents gave for not wanting to retire in Switzerland? Let us know in the comments section below.
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The Local surveyed readers to understand how they feel about the prospect of life beyond their career in Switzerland. For the third of respondents who indicated that they don’t intend to retire in the Alpine nation, their reasons were revealing.
Too pricey
For many respondents, the high cost of living in Switzerland was cited as the reason they did not wish to stay.
Hitesh Sawlani, a Product Manager living in Bulach told The Local: “It’s too expensive to stay. My retirement money will go further in my home country.”
Rohit Ramesh, a Sustainability Manager living in Lausanne felt that inflation was squeezing the nest egg he was accumulating: “With the retirement pension we are accumulating, it’s tough to support ourselves as the inflation is pretty high.”
Andrew, 45, an Engineer living in Zurich, went into more detail: “I can't afford a deposit on a house, and don't want to rent when I retire. Rent is too high, and I would only be able to afford a small place to lived, and would never be able to have my kids and (hopefully) grandkids staying over.”
Emma, 44, a Marketing Specialist, was succinct: “Because it’s unbelievably expensive and I don’t see a chance to save enough money before retirement.”
Read More: How much should you save for a comfortable retirement in Switzerland?
Too unfriendly
For other respondents, a recurring theme was that they felt Swiss were unfriendly, and that was holding them back from retiring in Switzerland.
‘MC’, a Communications Specialist working in Basel responded: “Language issues, unfriendly people, (and a) lack of satisfactory social life.”
An anonymous respondent who works in Zug indicated that a lack of shared hobbies may be a factor: “No family (or) friends (outside of work); too expensive; not a skier.”
Firuza Balzaretti suggested the work culture may be leading to a lack of socialising: “Not a fun country to stay if (you’re) not working.”
Sebastian, living in Vettel, was blunt: “(The) Swiss are less friendly to foreigners.”
Read More: Are the Swiss really unfriendly - or are foreigners to blame?
Too cold
Finally, Switzerland’s cold winters played a very real role in leading survey respondents not to stay in the country following retirement.
Hitesh, quoted earlier, also added: “I prefer the weather of my home country.”
Alessandro Vanzulli, a Software Engineer working in Zurich indicated: “I’m looking for a country with a more nice weather in both winter and summer.”
An anonymous respondent simply responded: “Boring, not sunny enough.”
Many respondents, including Amy Lambert, 57, living in Zurich, got straight to the point: “Too cold.”
Read More: Health, prices and safety - is Switzerland a good place to retire in?
Do you agree with the reasons respondents gave for not wanting to retire in Switzerland? Let us know in the comments section below.
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