The best and worst aspects of life in Switzerland for foreigners

The best and worst aspects of life in Switzerland for foreigners

Foreign residents rate some aspects of life in Switzerland poorly, while giving others high marks, a new global survey reveals.

Tens of thousands of foreign nationals come to work in Switzerland every year, but the reality of living in this expensive country and their inability to make friends discourages many of them.

This is one of the findings of the latest Expat Insider Survey published by InterNations, which places Switzerland in 29th place out of 46 countries included, The Local writes, reports albinfo.ch.

This year’s ranking was based on responses from 10,000 expats living and working in 46 countries. The survey ranks everything from quality of life to ease of settling in and how easy it is to make friends in the country. It also examines job prospects for expats.

Panama (first place), Colombia (second) and Mexico (third) took the top spots in this year’s ranking.

The report notes that “the quality of life may be high in Switzerland, but immigrants continue to face unaffordable housing and making local friends.”

But even though Switzerland is in the bottom half of the rankings this year, it scored better than in 2024, when it was in 34th place.

What does the survey show about Switzerland?

On the positive side, the Quality of Life Index ranks Switzerland 11th overall and 1st for political stability, travel accessibility, and natural environment.

Also rated by foreign residents are air quality (4th), personal safety (9th), opportunities for recreational sports (10th), availability of public transportation (8th), and quality of healthcare (11th).

As for the negative aspects, two themes dominate: the difficulty of making local friends (language is one of the reasons cited – read more about it below) and the high cost of living.

The results for the latter category are, however, mixed.

While expats complained about the cost of housing and health insurance, many said they appreciate the state of the Swiss economy (3rd); agree that moving to Switzerland has somewhat improved their career prospects (16th); and find that they are paid fairly for their work (18th).

‘Difficult dialect’

Commenting on the challenges of establishing contact with the local population, an Irish national living in Basel found that “the local dialect is difficult to understand even with a relatively good knowledge of German. I think this makes it more difficult for immigrants to blend into the local community. This, combined with the general attitude towards foreigners in the country, can make it difficult to make friends.”

Another respondent, an American expatriate in Zurich, had a more positive view of life in Switzerland.

“I like Switzerland’s nature and outdoor activities, the safety, public transportation, cleanliness, low political drama, ease of travel within Europe, and the fact that there is no need for a car.”

On the other hand, “the cost of living is high, especially eating/drinking out and healthcare,” she said.

And there’s more…

Despite the country’s relatively low overall ranking, nearly a third (28 percent) of survey participants “want to stay in Switzerland forever” and 13 percent do not plan to move for a long time.

The majority (40 percent) are still unsure about their future plans.