Should foreigners in Switzerland live in the city or the countryside?
Statistics show that immigrants to Switzerland tend to settle in, or close to, urban areas. But could rural regions offer better living conditions?
Historically, foreign nationals in Switzerland have been flocking to cities, which is a logical trend because that is where most jobs are.
This is the reason why highest numbers of foreigners are found in and around urban centres that offer the best economic opportunities — primarily the areas around Lakes Zurich and Geneva, but other ‘industrial’ regions as well.
READ ALSO: Vaud, Basel, Zug: Where are Switzerland’s largest companies?
Also, evidence suggests that immigrants like to settle on ‘familiar’ territory — that is, where people of the same nationality already live — forming linguistically and culturally-specific clusters within Swiss cities.
All this explains why the proportion of foreigners is much higher in Switzerland’s urban, rather than suburban, areas.
This has been a longtime trend, but should foreigners break with tradition and consider settling down farther from the cities?
This question is all the more relevant now.
Cause and effect
The growing demand for skilled workers to fill the gaps in Switzerland’s labour market has brought a higher than usual influx of immigrants.
According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), 114,393 people arrived in Switzerland in 2022 – nearly 20,000 more than in 2021 — and more are still coming.
As a result, Switzerland’s population should cross the 9-million mark (from the current 8.9 million) later in 2023 — an increase exceeding that of neighbouring countries.
While this inflow of immigrants is good for the country’s economy, it is also exacerbating the already dire housing shortage in major cities.
READ ALSO: Zurich hit by affordable housing shortage amid record-high immigration
As there are not enough affordable dwellings in large cities, logic dictates that people should instead settle in suburban and rural areas.
According to Ursina Kubli, head of property research at Zurich Cantonal Bank, many Zurich residents are now settling farther away, for instance in cantons of Schaffhausen and Aargau, where more affordable housing can be found — at least for now.
The same phenomenon is also observed in Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, and Bern,
Should you join this trend as well?
The answer depends on various factors.
If you are a city dweller — and especially if that is where your job is — you may want to stay put, especially if you are satisfied with your housing situation and enjoy urban lifestyle.
But if you have housing problems or are unsure where you want to live, consider how life in a small community or village could impact you and your family.
Could country life be for you? Photo: Pixabay
Housing
You can find cheaper, and often better, accommodations away from cities.
For instance, the small town of Olten, located 60 km from Zurich, has lots of empty dwellings at reasonable rents.
A local politician, Christian Ginsig, said that 100 out of 420 flats in a residential complex called "Olten Südwest" are currently empty.
"Here you can get a 5.5-room apartment for 2,000 francs," he said — a good price for a dwelling of this size, which would cost much more in big cities (if you could find it in the first place).
There are similar possibilities in other regions of Switzerland as well.
Cost of living
Generally speaking, the farther away you are from a major city or tourist resort, the less expensive the life is — not only housing, but other prices as well.
The ability to get more bang out of your money (which is often is not possible in cities) could be a powerful magnet.
Commute
An important consideration is the distance between your home and workplace, and the time it takes you to get to and from the office.
A good thing about Switzerland is not only that it is small and rural areas often lie close to urban conglomerations, but also because it has an efficient public transport network that can get you pretty much everywhere from point A to point B.
Shopping
Obviously, cities offer more varied and convenient shopping possibilities than small towns and, even less so, rural regions.
So that is one thing to keep in mind.
Activities
By the same token, there is much more to do, in terms of culture, recreation, and dining, in cities than in rural areas.
On the other hand, if you like nature, then living in the countryside will be a paradise for you.
Social life
Needless to say, opportunities to socialise, and especially with other foreigners, are far greater in the city than in a small community.
It could also be harder to make friends, though that is not an easy undertaking anywhere in Switzerland.
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Historically, foreign nationals in Switzerland have been flocking to cities, which is a logical trend because that is where most jobs are.
This is the reason why highest numbers of foreigners are found in and around urban centres that offer the best economic opportunities — primarily the areas around Lakes Zurich and Geneva, but other ‘industrial’ regions as well.
READ ALSO: Vaud, Basel, Zug: Where are Switzerland’s largest companies?
Also, evidence suggests that immigrants like to settle on ‘familiar’ territory — that is, where people of the same nationality already live — forming linguistically and culturally-specific clusters within Swiss cities.
All this explains why the proportion of foreigners is much higher in Switzerland’s urban, rather than suburban, areas.
This has been a longtime trend, but should foreigners break with tradition and consider settling down farther from the cities?
This question is all the more relevant now.
Cause and effect
The growing demand for skilled workers to fill the gaps in Switzerland’s labour market has brought a higher than usual influx of immigrants.
According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), 114,393 people arrived in Switzerland in 2022 – nearly 20,000 more than in 2021 — and more are still coming.
As a result, Switzerland’s population should cross the 9-million mark (from the current 8.9 million) later in 2023 — an increase exceeding that of neighbouring countries.
While this inflow of immigrants is good for the country’s economy, it is also exacerbating the already dire housing shortage in major cities.
READ ALSO: Zurich hit by affordable housing shortage amid record-high immigration
As there are not enough affordable dwellings in large cities, logic dictates that people should instead settle in suburban and rural areas.
According to Ursina Kubli, head of property research at Zurich Cantonal Bank, many Zurich residents are now settling farther away, for instance in cantons of Schaffhausen and Aargau, where more affordable housing can be found — at least for now.
The same phenomenon is also observed in Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, and Bern,
Should you join this trend as well?
The answer depends on various factors.
If you are a city dweller — and especially if that is where your job is — you may want to stay put, especially if you are satisfied with your housing situation and enjoy urban lifestyle.
But if you have housing problems or are unsure where you want to live, consider how life in a small community or village could impact you and your family.
Housing
You can find cheaper, and often better, accommodations away from cities.
For instance, the small town of Olten, located 60 km from Zurich, has lots of empty dwellings at reasonable rents.
A local politician, Christian Ginsig, said that 100 out of 420 flats in a residential complex called "Olten Südwest" are currently empty.
"Here you can get a 5.5-room apartment for 2,000 francs," he said — a good price for a dwelling of this size, which would cost much more in big cities (if you could find it in the first place).
There are similar possibilities in other regions of Switzerland as well.
Cost of living
Generally speaking, the farther away you are from a major city or tourist resort, the less expensive the life is — not only housing, but other prices as well.
The ability to get more bang out of your money (which is often is not possible in cities) could be a powerful magnet.
Commute
An important consideration is the distance between your home and workplace, and the time it takes you to get to and from the office.
A good thing about Switzerland is not only that it is small and rural areas often lie close to urban conglomerations, but also because it has an efficient public transport network that can get you pretty much everywhere from point A to point B.
Shopping
Obviously, cities offer more varied and convenient shopping possibilities than small towns and, even less so, rural regions.
So that is one thing to keep in mind.
Activities
By the same token, there is much more to do, in terms of culture, recreation, and dining, in cities than in rural areas.
On the other hand, if you like nature, then living in the countryside will be a paradise for you.
Social life
Needless to say, opportunities to socialise, and especially with other foreigners, are far greater in the city than in a small community.
It could also be harder to make friends, though that is not an easy undertaking anywhere in Switzerland.
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