Practicing Practicality in Zürich

Zürich is one of the most expensive cities in the world. I guess this is so because the Swiss don't really care about the price of goods, just the quality. Probably this is the origin of the "Swiss Quality" label that you find around the world from ice cream to heavy machinery. There is one downside to this obsession with quality though---cheap goods are not trusted because low price is synonymous to low quality. Outlets and discount shops are not very popular in Switzerland. Most of time only foreigners like me can be found wasting time scavenging outlet aisles.

I have a passion for frugality. Brainwashed from childhood by television commercials applauding the wise (Filipinized as "wais") and the budget conscious shopper. I always need to get the best value for my money. Money hard-earned should be well-spent no matter how plenty.

I am already living a practical lifestyle in one of the most expensive cities in the world and still having everything that everyone's got and more, I thought that I might as well blog about it. I hope this blog helps you in getting the most of your swiss francs.

My second home, Zurich

Zurich, according to William M. Mercer, a London-based consulting firm, is the city with the highest quality of life in the world for 6 consecutive years. They analyzed 215 cities based on 39 different criteria, including leisure and relaxation, safety, cleanliness, political and economical stability, and medical care (Manila is 123). Well, since this is where I live, I guess, life cannot get better than this. Actually, in the same survey, Switzerland together with Germany are the only countries with 3 cities in the top 10 (Zurich-1, Geneva-2, Berne-9) . Well, that confirms it then , it really doesn't get better than this.

What do these criteria translate to in everyday life? Well...
1. The Zurich Lake, around which the city is built is so clean! When the weather is nice in the summer, people would go by the lake to swim. No fee, just bring your swimsuit. The place just transforms into a resort. I won't even be surprised if one can directly drink from from the lake actually.
2. The trains and trams arrive precisely on time (to the second!). Now, I start getting irritated if the tram is 1 minute late.
3. The city vacuums (!) the street everyday.
4. The swiss franc is one of the most stable currencies in the world.
5. Everyone has health insurance.
6. Very low crime rate (in fact probably there is none at all that sometimes the big news of the day is that of man caught peeping in the women's changing room of a department store!).
7. The city supplies red plastic bags and trash cans for dog poop. You can find dog poop plastic dispensers throughout the city specially in parks (even in the forest!). The Swiss diligently picks up the poop after their dogs. It is totally embarrassing NOT to do it. This results in a totally dog poop free city.

Though famous for being an overly expensive city (9th in the world in terms of cost of living), it also gives the world's highest salaries. It's so expensive here that if one is earning less than 3500 sfr (3200 USD), one is considered to be living below the poverty line.

Technorati Tags: zurich zurich+quality+of+life life+in+zurich mercer best+quality+of+life

Contact Me

If you have comments, suggestions, violent reactions, or if you would like to exchange links or even advertise on this site, please leave a comment or email me at the address below:

cathy@catswalks.com

Thanks a lot!

Cheers!

Cathy