Article:Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its work culture (crime, life)
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She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language and went right back to her pitch: long commute, full-time, no benefits. No way, I thought. Who would want to do that? And then it hit me: Either I had become a completely privileged jerk or my own country was not as amazing as I had once thought it to be. This wasn't an unusually bad offer: It was just American Reality.
I've only visited; lovely place and people, but the article seems right inline with what a friend of mine went through as well. Lived and worked out there for a few years, came back to the US and damn near fell into a depression at his new reality. We've got to get with times here.
Sounds great, don't get me wrong, but there has to be a catch for some people?
What's the cost of living like for housing and such things?
Is Switzerland in general tolerant or intolerant of immigrants?
About 30% of Switzerland's population was born abroad, in the US its 13%. 500 million people in Europe can also freely move to Switzerland if they want, no restrictions.
Switzerland receives about 20 times as many asylum seekers as the US relative to its population.
What is the catch? Sure cost of living is high, but so are wages, poverty is low, people are happy and the Swiss actually elect people for office who serves the people, as strange as that sounds. Not the donor class! When that happens, amazing things can happen. Huge numbers of Americans are very submissive of wealth and power though and fear the consequences of standing up for themselves and their interests.
I lived and worked in Geneva for 2 years. Beautiful place, clean, efficient, and the natives are very law-abiding. After the mid-1990s there was an influx of Eastern Europeans due to refugees from the Balkans war. I personally saw and experienced more petty crime then, though it's still very low by US standards.
The catch is a horrendously expensive COL. While most companies adjust your pay upwards, it's still not enough. If I had lots of money, that's where I'd retire.
Although I don't live there anymore, I still read the Geneva press online. I've noticed an increasing amount of xenophobia among the Swiss. Not only is it directed at folks who look "different", the frontaliers (French folks who live in France but work in Switzerland - Geneva is only a few mins away from France, by car) are much resented, too.
I've only visited; lovely place and people, but the article seems right inline with what a friend of mine went through as well. Lived and worked out there for a few years, came back to the US and damn near fell into a depression at his new reality. We've got to get with times here.
If the worker is so disgusted, then they can 2 things, work for the change (Instead of whining in an article) or.....
I've only visited; lovely place and people, but the article seems right inline with what a friend of mine went through as well. Lived and worked out there for a few years, came back to the US and damn near fell into a depression at his new reality. We've got to get with times here.
If he's happier there maybe he should try to go back (not being sarcastic).
The people in power don't want to "get with the times here".
Nice article and informative. The difference I see is the population number and their needs. Country size and the terean also a factor to look at.
Say you have 5 people waiting at a bus stop....easy on and a easy off at your stop. Increase the n umber to 20 people and now there is a pushing to get on while others are trying to get off.
Triple the number like I experienced in Mexico City with the Metro and a disaster is in the mental mode.
Now with the influx of the middle eastern people and their living habits the Swiss will soon be crying a river.
Last edited by Steve Bagu; 07-16-2016 at 03:38 PM..
Reason: correct typo
If the worker is so disgusted, then they can 2 things, work for the change (Instead of whining in an article) or.....
Isnt work for change what she is doing? By raising awareness in order to get people to vote for people that represent them, and not the big money donor class that dont care about workers?
Most of what she says holds true for most of the western world. Americans are crazy about being seen to be at work. The horror of part time work is so weird. No one at home believes me when I tell them my only two choices are full time work or no work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Bagu
Nice article and informative. The difference I see is the population number and their needs. Country size and the terean also a factor to look at.
Say you have 5 people waiting at a bus stop....easy on and a easy off at your stop. Increase the n umber to 20 people and now there is a pushing to get on while others are trying to get off.
Triple the number like I experienced in Mexico City with the Metro and a disaster is in the mental mode.
Now with the influx of the middle eastern people and their living habits the Swiss will soon be crying a river.
Have you ever used public transport? The biggest problem they face is getting enough ridership to justify more frequent service, but more frequent service is needed to attract higher ridership.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suburban_Guy
Sounds great, don't get me wrong, but there has to be a catch for some people?
What's the cost of living like for housing and such things?
Is Switzerland in general tolerant or intolerant of immigrants?
No, there's not a catch. The reason Americans put up with their system is the rah-rah-USA! stuff which has conditioned them to think it's some sort of privilege to be at work all the time, eat lunch at your desk, take no holidays, etc, etc. Literally every other first world western country works harder, spend more time outside of work and has significantly better quality of life. Just look at how many people on city data rave about how wonderful America is without ever having lived and worked overseas or often even travelled overseas or read about how different systems work.
About 30% of Switzerland's population was born abroad, in the US its 13%. 500 million people in Europe can also freely move to Switzerland if they want, no restrictions.
What percentage of the Swiss are white?
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