Switzerland summers are epic but winters last long and it can get boring very quick. It is amazing for its mountain nature, lakes, medium sized cities, calm vibe. The work ethics is good if you like to work hard. People are very methodical and smart at work and they also don't rush things. If you tend to get bored easilly while things are too slow around you, don't go to Switzerland. You don't find the buzzing and creative intense energy you find in other countries. That's due to mountain climate and lack of oxygen, that makes things appear more austere somehow. Many people still love that "sanctuary" vibe. That said, if you love to live your life without people interrupting you all the time, while you create your own bubble quietly and with a sense of privacy, Switzerland can be the ideal place, assuming you love mountain landscape, won't miss the sea/ocean breeze and can tolerate cold winters that aren't as cold as north of Europe unless if you live at a very high altitude. Switzerland has still that minimal level of sun. You won't spend 2 weeks in a row never seing the sun in winter unlike in some places in northern Germany etc.
This video is just too qualitative. You should build and publish an ongoing table in a series you'll do, country by country, where you map different taxes. That will set you apart from nomad capitalist and bring value to your viewers
It's so refreshing watching your videos. I know there's a lot of people in this space that do videos all the time, but I find your videos and are the most logical. One of the biggest problems that people have on relocation is where to go? And I think you really did a pretty good analysis of all the various countries in the world that a person could choose from. I especially liked your logic saying don't look where people go, but rather where people stay. I did look at Switzerland, and I hate cold weather which is one of the reasons why I left Toronto. The cost of living is high which is true, but there's also a wealth tax which I looked up zug and it was 20 pips overall.
Everyone complaining about boring in Swiss, live in Lugano so its surrounded by lakes, privacy, very crypto friendly, and if you want fun, Milan is 1 hour away, plus 3 airports of Milan for crazy connections. Lugano is the spot to be in Swiss, plus more sunny, warmer. Because Zurich etc is a city, but not really still can be boring. And Ticino canton has one of the lowest wealth tax.
I think the reason I never think of Switzerland is because I always think the super wealthy only move there. I've enjoyed my time traveling there, and I don't think it's any more expensive than England for day to day living. I'm willing to hear more of this being an option. Currently living in Calgary.
When I check out weatherspark for the climate of an area, Mauritius looks very attractive during the southern hemisphere's winter, and spending some time during the southern hemisphere's summer as a tourist each year in Mendoza in Argentina, or Santiago in Chile, or Cape Town in South Africa, or Perth in Australia as a tourist seems like the best possible lifestyle. 6 months of May to October in Mauritius, not too hot or humid, or too rainy. November to April in small doses in Mendoza, Santiago, or maybe Arica in Chile, maybe a month in Cape Town and maybe a month or two in Perth seem like weatherwise good places to be. Mauritius, Argentina, Chile, and South Africa as a tourist have the advantage of being relatively inexpensive places to live. Perth might be a bit pricier, but for a month or two being in an English speaking country with great weather ie sunny & 70s seems like the hot set up to me.
😂 I agree. It's the price pretty much every where. A home coffee😊 the best. We, I don't know enough about tx, cost of living. I agree, quality env. air, safety lots of big plus. Although I hate tx like we have in Canada.
I would wait and see: There will soon be a vote on an inheritance tax of 50%, if your assets are higher than 50 million. The probability is small that it will be accepted.
I came as an immigrant to Switzerland and love it. But only if your earning potential is high enough or you are wealthy and earn a lot of income. I earn 110k chf a year and pay a very fair amount of taxes and have a very well regulated pension fund system. Living quality is great in Zurich and I never felt unsafe. Bad side are the high rents, although still fair with high income. For a single person with 150k live is really good.
I live in Zurich and have lived here for 5 years (migrated from London) and today our weather was 33 degrees. We have had blue clear skies many days in the summer thus far.
I have lived 6 years in Switzerland so far and in 3 different areas (Ticino, Zug, Vaud). Corporations are ok and easy to manage, and the tax office is friendly and easy to manage. BUT the elefant in the room is Social Security. It has no cap (like in most countries) and with all the other small parts it arrives to 17% on your earned income. And for them almost everything is “earned”, also your dividends if you manage the company. On the bright side, there’s no bright side since you get almost nothing back.
On a sunny day, visit the Beau Rivage Palace terrace bar in Lausanne. This is one of the most spectacular outdoor places with an incredible view. There are beautiful parks and an awesome lake walk next to it, and also the Olympics Museum. Lausanne cathedral is the highest of all Switzerland. Lavaux region between Lausanne and Vevey is part of the UNESCO heritage and has amongst the most spectacular landscapes, with the vineyards facing the lake.
There is no Utopia… so do your research and pick your “poison”. You may be surprised by some advantages offered by something that, at face value, you perceived as a major drawback. And know that political, economic and social issues do not remain the same, conditions change
After leaving my country of birth nearly three years ago, I'm surprised at how much I miss my favourite foods. Coming to a smaller city, I'm used to flavoursome foods, and the usual blandness and lack of variety are boring daily.
switzerland most things are probably great but i get the feeling they are very rule based for example alot of speed cameras and the weather is not so great maybe for say 4-5 mounth of they year
I had a 15 min call with Michael. In just a few minutes he understood what I needed to do. It turned out to be 110% correct, ans I realised I had just wasted 2 weeks researching all kinds of options. haha
Look, having lived in Switzerland for 6 years (4y Züri 2y Basel), here's the *true* group of people this country is for: wealthy 65+ Don't be fooled by its *breathtaking* nature, air & water quality (unmatched)...it's quite boring for young people/couples, cities are more like big towns (if cities are your thing), we're more the countryside type but there it's even more limited in everything.... founding a family is NOT welcome and will be very overpriced (by design), strong currency but limited purchasing power, and if you go to one of the 4 neighbouring countries to buy stuff it's a pain importing it back thru customs/border (even food). Getting citizenship is long and fastedious (and NOT guaranteed btw), even then you'll never be seen as Swiss and you'll never make Swiss friends. If you're not self-employed you'll work 43+ hours a week. I'm not even getting started on the weather. We now live in Marbella during summer, Dubai & KL during winter, and are able to enjoy/live life to its fullest. We will return to Switzerland as it had the best quality of life and service we've ever experienced, but only as seniors. Oh....and beware of their deep anchored Gestapo-like mentality. Walk your dog on the wrong field, leave your car running too long while parked (for example during winter to heat it up while you scratch your windshield) or park in the wrong spot/street and at least 3 neighbours will make sure to call you up on it or directly report you to the authorities. By the time we plan to come back the last generation of snitches will be gone, at least we hope so...the one calling *the cops* at a guy for letting his car engine on too long was 24 at the time 🙄
Very accurate description, except that the weekly work time for employees is 42.5 hours (don't over exagerate things). Switzerland fits only to people who love calm and nature and aren't afraid getting bored. People are well educated and often nice but quite cold and boring. Also you need to be wealthy if you plan to build a familly. The weather isn't superb but I'd say it's acceptable compared to England, north Germany etc.
I can disagree with that. From experience. For decades. Of course there are cities like Zurich where people tend to be a bit snobbish and concerned about their public image, but you definitely can't draw conclusions about the whole German-speaking part of Switzerland from one city. I find the people in central Switzerland in particular to be friendly, natural and reliable.
Wages do make up for the cost of living, but two times I’ve been two Switzerland, the turn off was the people. In two drastically different areas (one in “Italian-Speaking", the other "French-Speaking,” to overgeneralize…) were so cold, so unwelcoming. Anywhere I go I make a point to at least speak basics in the language (and I actually know quite a bit of Italian). NO difference here. Just cold. If the people are unwelcoming, there is nothing that will balance out that lack of community welcome.
Mike, I just spent a month in Switzerland. I found the french part to be really cozy. Travelling around by train was great. I got used to paying 25-30 CHF (approx 25-30 USD) for a burrito. But hotels and cell phone plans were actually not that expensive. Lump-sum tax regimens I've heard range from 400k-1M. The question I have is, how is it for long term hodlers of crypto. There are some requirements to avoid the capital gains tax from articles I have read. According to Koinly, you only get the full exemption if your net capital gain is
@@pak74x Yes and very small. Monaco sounds nice, but when you consider the size of it and the fact that you have to stay there for 6 months at a minimum in order to maintain your tax residency, then it starts sounds less appealing. It may be a great option for some people, but others would get bored pretty quickly stuck on the world's richest playground. :)
From what I understand capital gains are only tax free in Switzerland if they don't make up the majority of your income (you would be classified as a trader or investor). Otherwise it would be considered regular income.
As I said above, this is extremely rare and almost never happens. You can make a deal beforehand if you want to be safe. I don't think it's necessary in 99.99% of cases.
What about Poland? They recently introduced the lump sum tax system. I found Warsaw to have a great quality of life, weather, safety and connectivity. I used to live in the balkans but after a certain income level it's lacking a lot in the things you described
war within 2 years? youll get taxed soon (energy prices goes up) safety? they already receiving engineers and doctors and nobel prize winners from africa xD
I was in Switzerland in 1989 and fell in love with the country and how the people cared for their country, how it looked and what the people were like. Is it still that way, whose to say. But, although poor presently, should I EVER be able to afford to leave North America which has become a Totalitarian Society, moving towards Communist of the elite, then I shall return. I'm not a hard core capitalist. I've always considered myself a Conservative Socialist with the mind set that if you abuse it you will loose it. So, I believe in good and fair health care. I legal protection and of equal opportunity. I'm not a fan of nepotism and whether I'm right or not deserve no special privileges, but nor do I deserve to be pushed to the side if I'm not wealthy. I believe, or maybe would like to believe that Switzerland would be an ideal place for me to return should I ever be able to do so. I understand why Switzerland has done what it's done, which is to protect itself from the vast majority of selfish idiots who are simply about me, myself and I, which I am not. Will I be able to make my way back. I hope so. That or find an Island somewhere, where I'll be happy without intrusive governments looking to steal what you have or have worked for without a plan, without reason, other than the fact that this is the easiest way for them to get their hands on your money without having had to work for it themselves. The End. Good-Luck and Good-Bye. Amen. Shalom. AD. The Teacher.
I read that the swiss tax agency released new guidelines recently regarding capital gains tax. It was adressing people that have majority of the income from capital gains, even though they dont trade much an are mainly buy and hold. They want to tax those people as income tax. Do you have more information on that?
I m based in Zurich. All cantons are quite relaxed about investment income. They can, in theory, qualify your taxfree investment income as taxable business income. This requires them to classify your investment activities as your (main and only) business profession. Usually they only do this if it really looks like that's your job (e.g. you have no other job and are not a pensioner or student, it is your only source of income, you advertise yourself as a professional investor to clients or on your homepage, you take aggressive risk positions using options/leverage based on your education as a financial professional, you do day trading as in reinvesting your entire portfolio each week). They have 5 safe haven rules that disqualify you from being considered a professional investor with business income. It doesnt mean that if you violate 1 or 2 rules, you d automatically be considered a professional investor. It is really chill. Some cantons have publicly announced that they have only a dozen people that they consider professional investors. Also, you can legally somewhat "hide" your investment activities if you hold no aggressive investment positions on 31.12. (= date when you need to report all your assets in the wealth tax assessment, it is advisable to not report excessive amounts of debt or obscure investment instruments that wouldnt normally be used by retail investors such as crazy options, warrants). In 99.99% of cases, you will be fine, even if you have a huge portfolio size of many million CHF and hold some debt against it. I would day the chances are 0% if you report some employment income.
Also you can always get a tax deal before moving to the municipality in which they guarantee a certain tax treatment. As municipalities compete for high income high wealth individuals, they will usually make big concessions if they feel it is worth it.
How does it work having a company offshore? AFAIK even if Switzerland doesn't have CFC rules, you still need to report your worldwide income and if your company doesn't have employees abroad, then you'll need to report the company profits too. Language could be an issue, especially if you have kids and don't want to pay 6 figures for each kid to get them into private schools.
I am based in Switzerland. They are chill about companies abroad. You report all assets you hold on 31.12. in your wealth tax declaration. If you have up to 50% in a foreign company, they don't care. If you have more, they might ask if the company has a local manager. They would even accept if you report that you work for the company locally outside Switzerland. But your report should be consistent (you have some foreign income, some deductions for travels). Of course it helps if your company is in a tax treaty jurisdiction and not a blacklisted Island. You can make a tax deal with them before moving. They usually accept any EU/EFTA setup, which includes attractive locations like Malta, Cyprus, Liechtenstein.
I love Switzerland but concerned about cost-of-living and (e.g.) high initial cost (for me) to open a bank account. So considering living in Italy close to the CH border to reduce costs. BTW-understand Campione is becoming more EU-like so benefits (like access to Swiss healthcare) may be eliminated. True? Would appreciate an update. Cheers. 👍🏻
There are various banks that offer free account management, such as Aargauer Kantonalbank, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Spar- und Leihkasse Frutigen, etc. It is therefore worth comparing. By the way, I'm talking about official banks here, not neo-brokers.
You almost never mention something that is important for many wealthy families: Switzerland is home to some of the best primary and secondary schools and the best universities in all of continental Europe. This allows families that move to Switzerland to stay together with their children, instead of shipping them across the globe to prestigious schools, and it allows them to share many weekends and vacations together, skiing or hiking with their children. In addition, Switzerland routinely ranks as one of the countries with the highest standard of living, which - for wealthy individuals - would seem to be close to the top of their preference list, yet you never mention those things. What am I missing?
@@walex5462 Very true. I actually know the guy that was Kim's bff in primary school in a suberb of Bern. Of course his classmates didn't know who he really was. My friend and Kim once had a spat and a fist fight, which Kim lost. I always tell my friend he should write a book, as he is probably the only person on this planet that had an altercation with Kim and is still alive! 🤣🤣
I m 🇨🇭 and i am leaving. I grew up on land that was aquired by my familie 1442, so this comes not easely. Mass migration destroyed our school and healthcare systems. Real estate prices are beyond reasoning and knice criminality is exploded. Secondly 🇨🇭 will join EU and NATO shortly. Negotiations are finalizing and the elite has a plot to convience the voter by altering the voting mechanism in favor of urban areas. So, the long standing truth that 🇨🇭 is only 10years behind Germany is still valid. A lwftist distopua drunk by the success of our ancestors😢
This is a very one-sided and insufficiently reflective way of looking at things and I would rather regard it as alternative facts and unfortunately somewhat right-wing. Switzerland will certainly not join the EU, that is simply nonsense. Please don't forget that we have a direct democracy here in Switzerland, statements like that 'the elite has a secret plan' sound like they come from the folding instructions for an aluminum hat. Sorry for these clear words, but sometimes they have to be.
Would it be too much to ask to make a video about the latest news concerning how the HNWI fleeing (ie UK and France) and moving to other countries, namely UAE, USA, Singapore, Canada, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal and Japan? Your take on why are they choosing those specific countries. I'm particularly interested in the US and Japan.
You can do the “lum sum agreement” in Switzerland. For about 150,000 a year. Otherwise you will have wealth tax, etc. And its very boring place to live with terrible food overall, specially in Zurich
Switzerland is great if you can live off your capital. Working in Swiss companies as foreigner however is hell on earth. Bullying and backstabbing is the norm if your not born and raised Swiss, Xenophobia is real...strangely enough, foreigners that survive there long enough seem to develop this mentallity too. Shocking...
Michael, Campione d'Italia is an exclave of Italy surrounded by Switzerland. All the benefits of Switzerland, including Swiss mail service, with Italian taxes. WG Hill of Scope Press UK wrote a report 30 years ago. I highly recommend most of his reports.
Interesting-Not one comment was overwhelmingly positive. It is one of those countries one stays for the best 90 days of the year and has a permanent residence elsewhere. What does suisse produce or manufacture? The food is better in italy and france as the suisse spend weekends eating cross border and we found these people quite amiable.
They produce TONS of stuff much more than for example neighboring Austria For the size of the nation it packs a heavy punch I'll agree with you on the food
@@OffshoreCitizen I live next door and see nothing from suisse, not even the pocket knives which were once everywhere. What we do see is the austrians buying up the major department stores. We can't even find the suisse white wine to go with our suisse fondue cheeses of which we can get at specialty stores as they are no longer sold at the local grocery level. I will admit we can get better buys on gold which, as far as we know, they do not mine. As to restaurants, we enjoy eating with the suise gourmands next door in italy and france.
This video is devoid of usefulness due to possibility of conflict in WW3 scenario. This is kind of like you suggesting retiring in Ukraine before the war (of course deleting those videos when war started) As an American who wants to leave, I would love to move to Switzerland but I will not because Switzerland is no longer neutral according to Russia since they imposed sanctions. Why would I move to a country that could possibly be involved in a conflict like WW3? If there is a war in Western Europe, which seems more likely than ever, I would not want to be in that continent. I wish sellers of services to acquire residencies and citizenships would consider how useful what they are selling really is.
Switzerland is a neutral country and has adopted a controversial strategy regarding its relations with Russia. Switzerland has to follow many EU decisions, but it maintains its independence and, in fact, allows Russian oligarchs to hide their money in secret Swiss bank accounts
If there's WW3 it's questionable anywhere will be safe per the old Einstein quote Is a person willing to move to the tip of south America to avoid such risks? Personal choice of course but I'd say life is about more than just risk mitigation, you need to live
Switzerland is a beautiful country but I cannot imagine living there, as it's too boring. It's like a rich old person, with expensive hobbies but super repetitive retired lifestyle.
Curious what the things are you do day to day that you'd miss and where you look instead? I find it FEELS boring but in reality not much difference in what's available day to day vs much of the world. But depends a lot on what you like
This is very low and more in the student range and also statistically in the minimum subsistence range. If you want to live a normal life without much luxury or sacrifice, you need about $3500/month. Keep in mind that the minimum wage for someone working at a supermarket checkout is CHF/USD 4000; so that should make it clear that $2000 is at the low end.
can you do a video of Vietnam its cheap hot safe and clean problably its wha i heard downside not may talk english its a communist / socialist country ?
2 місяці тому
How you're talking. I didn't think it wasn't popular
No. It is super expensive and it is full. Cities are plaged by criminat migrants and the incompetence due to DEI hires is at levels never experienced before. Do not expect to find a house below $1.5M or to rent below $1800/mo.
It's expensive but not insane compared to many other places in Europe such as Lisbon, Paris, London, Stockholm, Oslo, etc also less expensive than taxes in most places I'd you've got a significant income
@@OffshoreCitizen The house i bought 2018 for 1M goes for 1.5M now, 2M if renovated. Just because it is 40 min form Zürich in tax heaven SZ. That price is absolutely insane.
no rent below 1800?? Just don't look for apartments in cities. you can get to the cities quickly by public transport. and those prices are mostly in cantons with low taxes like ZH and zg
Well it's regional. So there's are French, German and Italian areas. Also a 4th called Romansh, which I can't even spell correctly, but you will never really be exposed to it. And in the German region, they actually speak Swiss German, which is very, very distinct. You can find some channels here on youtube so you can hear the vast difference from "regular" German. However, English is widely understood--but the more you're able to communicate in one of those languages, the better.
I am a student from India who wanted to study in another country for citizenship. In the future I wanted to become an Investor ( Stocks, Currency, Real estate, Business). But didn't want to give 50% in taxes. Which countries are suitable for me ?
7 Euros for a bottle of water ?? Ha ha ha. You're smoking something. I can go to my local Aldi in Zurich and buy a 1.5 litre bottle of water starting at about 25 rappen for the cheapest (30 US cents or 26 EU cents).
The lump sum tax is also only attractive if you have massive income annually. If you are not north of $10 million in annual income Switzerland does not look too competitive and they have a very short stay requirement in terms of what will make you tax resident in Switzerland. It may be a great place to vacation if you want to ski or need a cooler place for the summer, but it's just another high tax country for most people.
Firstly it is called and spelled Switzerland and Dubai, secondly Switzerland being 3x more expensive than DXB is utterly false, I have been living in both places (double residency) for more then 20 years…
Not at all true that it's 3x more expensive than Dubai. In many regards it is cheaper than Dubai but depends for what. I find it pretty comparable overall
Thanks for the continuous update! I am super excited about how I got retired earning more income and stop depending on anyone. My family are happy once again and I can now afford anything for my family even with my Retirement. With a step of $50k and getting $19k weekly returns has been life changing, after so much struggles.
Some really ignorant remarks in this video tho: ‘infrastructure in Europe is fairly okay’ 😯. Coming from an US person, where public infrastructure is a total disaster
Switzerland summers are epic but winters last long and it can get boring very quick. It is amazing for its mountain nature, lakes, medium sized cities, calm vibe. The work ethics is good if you like to work hard. People are very methodical and smart at work and they also don't rush things.
If you tend to get bored easilly while things are too slow around you, don't go to Switzerland. You don't find the buzzing and creative intense energy you find in other countries. That's due to mountain climate and lack of oxygen, that makes things appear more austere somehow. Many people still love that "sanctuary" vibe.
That said, if you love to live your life without people interrupting you all the time, while you create your own bubble quietly and with a sense of privacy, Switzerland can be the ideal place, assuming you love mountain landscape, won't miss the sea/ocean breeze and can tolerate cold winters that aren't as cold as north of Europe unless if you live at a very high altitude. Switzerland has still that minimal level of sun. You won't spend 2 weeks in a row never seing the sun in winter unlike in some places in northern Germany etc.
People are sleeping on Switzerland, which is a good thing because it‘s already getting way too crowded.
If you don't like people, don't live in the city. The country is vast and agricultural which is easily verified from the air.
People are not sleeping, it is to expensive. Andorra is better
This video is just too qualitative. You should build and publish an ongoing table in a series you'll do, country by country, where you map different taxes. That will set you apart from nomad capitalist and bring value to your viewers
Wrong logic! First you choose the country, than you make it work. You wouldn't move to Uruguay just because your complex integrated score says so
Why don't you do it?
Good suggestion we will actually do that
@@OffshoreCitizen Great ... and adding a profession specific section (Futures/Crypto/Stock traders and others) will knock it out of the park!
I don't know a whole lot about Switzerland, but the flag is a big plus.
It's so refreshing watching your videos. I know there's a lot of people in this space that do videos all the time, but I find your videos and are the most logical. One of the biggest problems that people have on relocation is where to go? And I think you really did a pretty good analysis of all the various countries in the world that a person could choose from. I especially liked your logic saying don't look where people go, but rather where people stay. I did look at Switzerland, and I hate cold weather which is one of the reasons why I left Toronto. The cost of living is high which is true, but there's also a wealth tax which I looked up zug and it was 20 pips overall.
Also not a fan of the cold. May I ask where you moved to? Looking for ideas
Everyone complaining about boring in Swiss, live in Lugano so its surrounded by lakes, privacy, very crypto friendly, and if you want fun, Milan is 1 hour away, plus 3 airports of Milan for crazy connections. Lugano is the spot to be in Swiss, plus more sunny, warmer. Because Zurich etc is a city, but not really still can be boring. And Ticino canton has one of the lowest wealth tax.
I think the reason I never think of Switzerland is because I always think the super wealthy only move there. I've enjoyed my time traveling there, and I don't think it's any more expensive than England for day to day living. I'm willing to hear more of this being an option. Currently living in Calgary.
I don't like spending money! I'm sure it's lovely but 10€ for a coffee might make me cry everyday!
When I check out weatherspark for the climate of an area, Mauritius looks very attractive during the southern hemisphere's winter, and spending some time during the southern hemisphere's summer as a tourist each year in Mendoza in Argentina, or Santiago in Chile, or Cape Town in South Africa, or Perth in Australia as a tourist seems like the best possible lifestyle. 6 months of May to October in Mauritius, not too hot or humid, or too rainy. November to April in small doses in Mendoza, Santiago, or maybe Arica in Chile, maybe a month in Cape Town and maybe a month or two in Perth seem like weatherwise good places to be. Mauritius, Argentina, Chile, and South Africa as a tourist have the advantage of being relatively inexpensive places to live. Perth might be a bit pricier, but for a month or two being in an English speaking country with great weather ie sunny & 70s seems like the hot set up to me.
It’s 6 dollars.
😂 I agree. It's the price pretty much every where. A home coffee😊 the best.
We, I don't know enough about tx, cost of living.
I agree, quality env. air, safety lots of big plus. Although I hate tx like we have in Canada.
I can get a coffee in Switzerland for Sfr.3.50, certainly not 10 Euros.
I would wait and see: There will soon be a vote on an inheritance tax of 50%, if your assets are higher than 50 million. The probability is small that it will be accepted.
I came as an immigrant to Switzerland and love it. But only if your earning potential is high enough or you are wealthy and earn a lot of income. I earn 110k chf a year and pay a very fair amount of taxes and have a very well regulated pension fund system. Living quality is great in Zurich and I never felt unsafe. Bad side are the high rents, although still fair with high income. For a single person with 150k live is really good.
I love Swissy but there are 2 dealbreakers for me:
1) No sunshine, gloomy weather that tends to make me depressed
2) No big exciting cities around
No sunshine?
its way to hot for me at the moment in the summer, without any clouds ...
I live in Zurich and have lived here for 5 years (migrated from London) and today our weather was 33 degrees. We have had blue clear skies many days in the summer thus far.
Take a look at Lugano, lots of sunny days
DRAWBACKS
1. No access to sea
2. It's borning
3. Hard to assimilate
4. Swiss German it's very hard to understand even if you are a German
Are you German? What makes Swiss German so hard? I'm curious.
Switzerland & Italy would be the two candidates for me.
What puts the two at the top of your list?
No capital gains tax but they do have a wealth tax, which in some parts of the country is very high
True though in some places it is quite low
I have lived 6 years in Switzerland so far and in 3 different areas (Ticino, Zug, Vaud).
Corporations are ok and easy to manage, and the tax office is friendly and easy to manage.
BUT the elefant in the room is Social Security.
It has no cap (like in most countries) and with all the other small parts it arrives to 17% on your earned income.
And for them almost everything is “earned”, also your dividends if you manage the company.
On the bright side, there’s no bright side since you get almost nothing back.
On a sunny day, visit the Beau Rivage Palace terrace bar in Lausanne. This is one of the most spectacular outdoor places with an incredible view. There are beautiful parks and an awesome lake walk next to it, and also the Olympics Museum. Lausanne cathedral is the highest of all Switzerland. Lavaux region between Lausanne and Vevey is part of the UNESCO heritage and has amongst the most spectacular landscapes, with the vineyards facing the lake.
There is no Utopia… so do your research and pick your “poison”. You may be surprised by some advantages offered by something that, at face value, you perceived as a major drawback. And know that political, economic and social issues do not remain the same, conditions change
After leaving my country of birth nearly three years ago, I'm surprised at how much I miss my favourite foods. Coming to a smaller city, I'm used to flavoursome foods, and the usual blandness and lack of variety are boring daily.
switzerland most things are probably great but i get the feeling they are very rule based for example alot of speed cameras and the weather is not so great maybe for say 4-5 mounth of they year
I had a 15 min call with Michael. In just a few minutes he understood what I needed to do. It turned out to be 110% correct, ans I realised I had just wasted 2 weeks researching all kinds of options. haha
Glad to be able to help! :)
Switzerland is beautiful but very expensive, and you must speak one of the 4 official languages.
You can pretty easily get by with English
Would love residency & actual realistic breakdown of tax & equivalents in swiss
Look, having lived in Switzerland for 6 years (4y Züri 2y Basel), here's the *true* group of people this country is for: wealthy 65+
Don't be fooled by its *breathtaking* nature, air & water quality (unmatched)...it's quite boring for young people/couples, cities are more like big towns (if cities are your thing), we're more the countryside type but there it's even more limited in everything.... founding a family is NOT welcome and will be very overpriced (by design), strong currency but limited purchasing power, and if you go to one of the 4 neighbouring countries to buy stuff it's a pain importing it back thru customs/border (even food).
Getting citizenship is long and fastedious (and NOT guaranteed btw), even then you'll never be seen as Swiss and you'll never make Swiss friends.
If you're not self-employed you'll work 43+ hours a week.
I'm not even getting started on the weather.
We now live in Marbella during summer, Dubai & KL during winter, and are able to enjoy/live life to its fullest. We will return to Switzerland as it had the best quality of life and service we've ever experienced, but only as seniors.
Oh....and beware of their deep anchored Gestapo-like mentality. Walk your dog on the wrong field, leave your car running too long while parked (for example during winter to heat it up while you scratch your windshield) or park in the wrong spot/street and at least 3 neighbours will make sure to call you up on it or directly report you to the authorities.
By the time we plan to come back the last generation of snitches will be gone, at least we hope so...the one calling *the cops* at a guy for letting his car engine on too long was 24 at the time 🙄
Very accurate description, except that the weekly work time for employees is 42.5 hours (don't over exagerate things). Switzerland fits only to people who love calm and nature and aren't afraid getting bored. People are well educated and often nice but quite cold and boring. Also you need to be wealthy if you plan to build a familly. The weather isn't superb but I'd say it's acceptable compared to England, north Germany etc.
You’re right about the fkn painful people! This is experienced way back in 1993! I wouldn’t hold your breathe for them changing
I can totally see Switzerland as a country for rich old people. Everything this country offers perfectly fits that demographic.
@@lolknight4364 it was a typo lol. Thanks for catching it
The problem in the German part of Switzerland is the inhabitants… then the food.
What's wrong with the German population there?
I can disagree with that. From experience. For decades. Of course there are cities like Zurich where people tend to be a bit snobbish and concerned about their public image, but you definitely can't draw conclusions about the whole German-speaking part of Switzerland from one city. I find the people in central Switzerland in particular to be friendly, natural and reliable.
@@netcoin fair enough. My time was in Zurich.
How it compares to Monaco in terms of price & difficultly to set up?
Wages do make up for the cost of living, but two times I’ve been two Switzerland, the turn off was the people. In two drastically different areas (one in “Italian-Speaking", the other "French-Speaking,” to overgeneralize…) were so cold, so unwelcoming. Anywhere I go I make a point to at least speak basics in the language (and I actually know quite a bit of Italian). NO difference here. Just cold. If the people are unwelcoming, there is nothing that will balance out that lack of community welcome.
Mike, I just spent a month in Switzerland. I found the french part to be really cozy. Travelling around by train was great. I got used to paying 25-30 CHF (approx 25-30 USD) for a burrito. But hotels and cell phone plans were actually not that expensive. Lump-sum tax regimens I've heard range from 400k-1M. The question I have is, how is it for long term hodlers of crypto. There are some requirements to avoid the capital gains tax from articles I have read. According to Koinly, you only get the full exemption if your net capital gain is
Why would you pay 400k lump sum tax when you can pay higher rent in Monaco (lets say 100k more) a have nicer weather, sea and same safety
@@pak74x Yes and very small. Monaco sounds nice, but when you consider the size of it and the fact that you have to stay there for 6 months at a minimum in order to maintain your tax residency, then it starts sounds less appealing. It may be a great option for some people, but others would get bored pretty quickly stuck on the world's richest playground. :)
From what I understand capital gains are only tax free in Switzerland if they don't make up the majority of your income (you would be classified as a trader or investor). Otherwise it would be considered regular income.
As I said above, this is extremely rare and almost never happens. You can make a deal beforehand if you want to be safe. I don't think it's necessary in 99.99% of cases.
What about Poland? They recently introduced the lump sum tax system. I found Warsaw to have a great quality of life, weather, safety and connectivity. I used to live in the balkans but after a certain income level it's lacking a lot in the things you described
war within 2 years? youll get taxed soon (energy prices goes up)
safety? they already receiving engineers and doctors and nobel prize winners from africa xD
Yes I've made a video about the Polish lump sum, which is quite attractive
I was in Switzerland in 1989 and fell in love with the country and how the people cared for their country, how it looked and what the people were like. Is it still that way, whose to say. But, although poor presently, should I EVER be able to afford to leave North America which has become a Totalitarian Society, moving towards Communist of the elite, then I shall return. I'm not a hard core capitalist. I've always considered myself a Conservative Socialist with the mind set that if you abuse it you will loose it. So, I believe in good and fair health care. I legal protection and of equal opportunity. I'm not a fan of nepotism and whether I'm right or not deserve no special privileges, but nor do I deserve to be pushed to the side if I'm not wealthy.
I believe, or maybe would like to believe that Switzerland would be an ideal place for me to return should I ever be able to do so. I understand why Switzerland has done what it's done, which is to protect itself from the vast majority of selfish idiots who are simply about me, myself and I, which I am not.
Will I be able to make my way back. I hope so. That or find an Island somewhere, where I'll be happy without intrusive governments looking to steal what you have or have worked for without a plan, without reason, other than the fact that this is the easiest way for them to get their hands on your money without having had to work for it themselves. The End. Good-Luck and Good-Bye. Amen. Shalom. AD. The Teacher.
maybe one of the best country to move to if you're fairly rich. a lot of people are looking for low cost of living.
I read that the swiss tax agency released new guidelines recently regarding capital gains tax. It was adressing people that have majority of the income from capital gains, even though they dont trade much an are mainly buy and hold. They want to tax those people as income tax. Do you have more information on that?
I m based in Zurich. All cantons are quite relaxed about investment income. They can, in theory, qualify your taxfree investment income as taxable business income. This requires them to classify your investment activities as your (main and only) business profession. Usually they only do this if it really looks like that's your job (e.g. you have no other job and are not a pensioner or student, it is your only source of income, you advertise yourself as a professional investor to clients or on your homepage, you take aggressive risk positions using options/leverage based on your education as a financial professional, you do day trading as in reinvesting your entire portfolio each week). They have 5 safe haven rules that disqualify you from being considered a professional investor with business income. It doesnt mean that if you violate 1 or 2 rules, you d automatically be considered a professional investor. It is really chill. Some cantons have publicly announced that they have only a dozen people that they consider professional investors. Also, you can legally somewhat "hide" your investment activities if you hold no aggressive investment positions on 31.12. (= date when you need to report all your assets in the wealth tax assessment, it is advisable to not report excessive amounts of debt or obscure investment instruments that wouldnt normally be used by retail investors such as crazy options, warrants). In 99.99% of cases, you will be fine, even if you have a huge portfolio size of many million CHF and hold some debt against it. I would day the chances are 0% if you report some employment income.
Also you can always get a tax deal before moving to the municipality in which they guarantee a certain tax treatment. As municipalities compete for high income high wealth individuals, they will usually make big concessions if they feel it is worth it.
How does it work having a company offshore? AFAIK even if Switzerland doesn't have CFC rules, you still need to report your worldwide income and if your company doesn't have employees abroad, then you'll need to report the company profits too.
Language could be an issue, especially if you have kids and don't want to pay 6 figures for each kid to get them into private schools.
I am based in Switzerland. They are chill about companies abroad. You report all assets you hold on 31.12. in your wealth tax declaration. If you have up to 50% in a foreign company, they don't care. If you have more, they might ask if the company has a local manager. They would even accept if you report that you work for the company locally outside Switzerland. But your report should be consistent (you have some foreign income, some deductions for travels). Of course it helps if your company is in a tax treaty jurisdiction and not a blacklisted Island. You can make a tax deal with them before moving. They usually accept any EU/EFTA setup, which includes attractive locations like Malta, Cyprus, Liechtenstein.
@@wizbizkizthanks. Do you how it would work with an Estonian company with undistributed profits at 0% tax rate? In case you’re a solopreneur
I love Switzerland but concerned about cost-of-living and (e.g.) high initial cost (for me) to open a bank account. So considering living in Italy close to the CH border to reduce costs. BTW-understand Campione is becoming more EU-like so benefits (like access to Swiss healthcare) may be eliminated. True? Would appreciate an update. Cheers. 👍🏻
There are various banks that offer free account management, such as Aargauer Kantonalbank, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Spar- und Leihkasse Frutigen, etc. It is therefore worth comparing. By the way, I'm talking about official banks here, not neo-brokers.
Exactly!! But don't let the cat out of the bag 😉😊😉
i've been thinking about Armenia recently. No crypto tax (atm), nicest people, best food, one of the lowest crime rate in the world...
How would it compare to Georgia?
And sandwiched between two hostile countries, one of whom has committed a genocide against its people.
@@jeremyleonbarlow You mean like the US towards native Indian Americans?
You almost never mention something that is important for many wealthy families: Switzerland is home to some of the best primary and secondary schools and the best universities in all of continental Europe. This allows families that move to Switzerland to stay together with their children, instead of shipping them across the globe to prestigious schools, and it allows them to share many weekends and vacations together, skiing or hiking with their children. In addition, Switzerland routinely ranks as one of the countries with the highest standard of living, which - for wealthy individuals - would seem to be close to the top of their preference list, yet you never mention those things. What am I missing?
Very good point. Education is a big deal for many families
Yes your kids will be raised well and might even be dictator of their own country too some day 😂
@@walex5462 Very true. I actually know the guy that was Kim's bff in primary school in a suberb of Bern. Of course his classmates didn't know who he really was. My friend and Kim once had a spat and a fist fight, which Kim lost. I always tell my friend he should write a book, as he is probably the only person on this planet that had an altercation with Kim and is still alive! 🤣🤣
I m 🇨🇭 and i am leaving. I grew up on land that was aquired by my familie 1442, so this comes not easely. Mass migration destroyed our school and healthcare systems. Real estate prices are beyond reasoning and knice criminality is exploded.
Secondly 🇨🇭 will join EU and NATO shortly. Negotiations are finalizing and the elite has a plot to convience the voter by altering the voting mechanism in favor of urban areas.
So, the long standing truth that 🇨🇭 is only 10years behind Germany is still valid. A lwftist distopua drunk by the success of our ancestors😢
This is a very one-sided and insufficiently reflective way of looking at things and I would rather regard it as alternative facts and unfortunately somewhat right-wing. Switzerland will certainly not join the EU, that is simply nonsense. Please don't forget that we have a direct democracy here in Switzerland, statements like that 'the elite has a secret plan' sound like they come from the folding instructions for an aluminum hat. Sorry for these clear words, but sometimes they have to be.
Where are you moving as an alternative?
Would it be too much to ask to make a video about the latest news concerning how the HNWI fleeing (ie UK and France) and moving to other countries, namely UAE, USA, Singapore, Canada, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal and Japan? Your take on why are they choosing those specific countries. I'm particularly interested in the US and Japan.
You can do the “lum sum agreement” in Switzerland. For about 150,000 a year. Otherwise you will have wealth tax, etc. And its very boring place to live with terrible food overall, specially in Zurich
Usually it costs much more but yes they do have an option like that in certain cantons
Switzerland is great if you can live off your capital. Working in Swiss companies as foreigner however is hell on earth. Bullying and backstabbing is the norm if your not born and raised Swiss, Xenophobia is real...strangely enough, foreigners that survive there long enough seem to develop this mentallity too. Shocking...
Michael, Campione d'Italia is an exclave of Italy surrounded by Switzerland. All the benefits of Switzerland, including Swiss mail service, with Italian taxes.
WG Hill of Scope Press UK wrote a report 30 years ago. I highly recommend most of his reports.
We've actually made a video on it a while ago - ua-cam.com/video/cyVNgbE6oVY/v-deo.html
@@OffshoreCitizen thank you.
Interesting-Not one comment was overwhelmingly positive. It is one of those countries one stays for the best 90 days of the year and has a permanent residence elsewhere. What does suisse produce or manufacture? The food is better in italy and france as the suisse spend weekends eating cross border and we found these people quite amiable.
They produce TONS of stuff much more than for example neighboring Austria
For the size of the nation it packs a heavy punch
I'll agree with you on the food
@@OffshoreCitizen I live next door and see nothing from suisse, not even the pocket knives which were once everywhere. What we do see is the austrians buying up the major department stores. We can't even find the suisse white wine to go with our suisse fondue cheeses of which we can get at specialty stores as they are no longer sold at the local grocery level. I will admit we can get better buys on gold which, as far as we know, they do not mine. As to restaurants, we enjoy eating with the suise gourmands next door in italy and france.
This video is devoid of usefulness due to possibility of conflict in WW3 scenario. This is kind of like you suggesting retiring in Ukraine before the war (of course deleting those videos when war started) As an American who wants to leave, I would love to move to Switzerland but I will not because Switzerland is no longer neutral according to Russia since they imposed sanctions. Why would I move to a country that could possibly be involved in a conflict like WW3? If there is a war in Western Europe, which seems more likely than ever, I would not want to be in that continent. I wish sellers of services to acquire residencies and citizenships would consider how useful what they are selling really is.
Switzerland is a neutral country and has adopted a controversial strategy regarding its relations with Russia. Switzerland has to follow many EU decisions, but it maintains its independence and, in fact, allows Russian oligarchs to hide their money in secret Swiss bank accounts
If there's WW3 it's questionable anywhere will be safe per the old Einstein quote
Is a person willing to move to the tip of south America to avoid such risks?
Personal choice of course but I'd say life is about more than just risk mitigation, you need to live
Switzerland is a beautiful country but I cannot imagine living there, as it's too boring.
It's like a rich old person, with expensive hobbies but super repetitive retired lifestyle.
Curious what the things are you do day to day that you'd miss and where you look instead?
I find it FEELS boring but in reality not much difference in what's available day to day vs much of the world. But depends a lot on what you like
Absolutely hated my time in Dubai, lots of xold greedy fake people
Bermuda ? expensive but other then that ? rainy maybe ?
Most people don't like living on small islands
Sion a single person can live
This is very low and more in the student range and also statistically in the minimum subsistence range. If you want to live a normal life without much luxury or sacrifice, you need about $3500/month. Keep in mind that the minimum wage for someone working at a supermarket checkout is CHF/USD 4000; so that should make it clear that $2000 is at the low end.
can you do a video of Vietnam its cheap hot safe and clean problably its wha i heard downside not may talk english its a communist / socialist country ?
How you're talking. I didn't think it wasn't popular
No. It is super expensive and it is full.
Cities are plaged by criminat migrants and the incompetence due to DEI hires is at levels never experienced before.
Do not expect to find a house below $1.5M or to rent below $1800/mo.
It's expensive but not insane compared to many other places in Europe such as Lisbon, Paris, London, Stockholm, Oslo, etc also less expensive than taxes in most places I'd you've got a significant income
@@OffshoreCitizen The house i bought 2018 for 1M goes for 1.5M now, 2M if renovated. Just because it is 40 min form Zürich in tax heaven SZ. That price is absolutely insane.
no rent below 1800?? Just don't look for apartments in cities. you can get to the cities quickly by public transport. and those prices are mostly in cantons with low taxes like ZH and zg
What is the official language there?
Well it's regional. So there's are French, German and Italian areas. Also a 4th called Romansh, which I can't even spell correctly, but you will never really be exposed to it. And in the German region, they actually speak Swiss German, which is very, very distinct. You can find some channels here on youtube so you can hear the vast difference from "regular" German. However, English is widely understood--but the more you're able to communicate in one of those languages, the better.
I am a student from India who wanted to study in another country for citizenship.
In the future I wanted to become an Investor ( Stocks, Currency, Real estate, Business). But didn't want to give 50% in taxes. Which countries are suitable for me ?
It's beautiful but 7€ for a bottle of water is madening. They make maximum money out if Indians
7 Euros for a bottle of water ?? Ha ha ha. You're smoking something. I can go to my local Aldi in Zurich and buy a 1.5 litre bottle of water starting at about 25 rappen for the cheapest (30 US cents or 26 EU cents).
I really haven't found the food terribly expensive there
If I had the money, Switzerland would be my top choice.
Swiss is x3 more expensive than Dibai.
And you are totally surrounded by the EUSSR.
The lump sum tax is also only attractive if you have massive income annually. If you are not north of $10 million in annual income Switzerland does not look too competitive and they have a very short stay requirement in terms of what will make you tax resident in Switzerland. It may be a great place to vacation if you want to ski or need a cooler place for the summer, but it's just another high tax country for most people.
But 100 percent less muslims
Firstly it is called and spelled Switzerland and Dubai, secondly Switzerland being 3x more expensive than DXB is utterly false, I have been living in both places (double residency) for more then 20 years…
Not at all true that it's 3x more expensive than Dubai. In many regards it is cheaper than Dubai but depends for what. I find it pretty comparable overall
Thanks for the continuous update! I am super excited about how I got retired earning more income and stop depending on anyone. My family are happy once again and I can now afford anything for my family even with my Retirement. With a step of $50k and getting $19k weekly returns has been life changing, after so much struggles.
Hmmmmm
Too expensive and boring
Hmmmm Switzerland??? May for millionaire...they don't want everyone
Stupidly expensive country, but beautiful.
Some really ignorant remarks in this video tho: ‘infrastructure in Europe is fairly okay’ 😯. Coming from an US person, where public infrastructure is a total disaster
Michael is from Canada 🇨🇦