When I lived in Switzerland, colleagues constantly asked me why I would live in Switzerland when I could be living in Sydney (Sydney, Australia for our US friends). That said, whenever I asked "Who wouldn't want to live in this beautiful country?", the warmth and pleasure on the faces of the Swiss was palpable (or perhaps I should say "almost palpable" because, if we are to believe everything we are told, the Swiss have a strong tendency towards inscrutability).
Today Sydney has a high of 23˚C and a low of 8˚C while Zurich has a high of 20˚C and a low of 14˚C - not much to choose between there. Sydney promises no precipitation and some cloud while Zurich promises cloud and some precipitation. Sydney promises that the sun will shine on some Spring green on the trees (though it will never be the same spring green as Europe's) while Zurich's sun will light up the early Autumn hues.
That said, magnificent magnolias and azaleas have been telling us for some time that Winter is dead and gone and we are already starting to ask ourselves if it will ever rain again. So is the question only about weather or what other factors are involved?
If you are interested in balance, living in Zurich is just about as perfect as it gets. You can work in the city and commute for about 30 to 45 minutes from the outskirts where you can enjoy proximity to forests, lakes and farms while at the same time being only 30 to 45 minutes by public transport from an international airport with good access to most parts of the world. Your accommodation while not generously spacious will be of high quality materials and usually well maintained. Food from supermarkets will be of good quality and can be readily supplemented by food fresh from the farm and from home or homestyle/artisinal kitchens. Usually, you will be warm to hot in Summer and not too cold in Winter ... and in between is often perfect. You can cycle to work more or less safely in most places etc etc etc.
If balance is not your primary motivator, Sydney must be about as good as it gets - ocean, mountains (sort of), rivers, bush, open space, trees, theatre, opera, museums and art galleries, shopping, street markets, organic food, sports facilities, golf courses etc etc etc. Except that it's up to 24 hours travel from places you might want to visit on a regular basis.
At this point I must come back to the question of weather. It is much easier to be happy and healthy in the sunshine than it is to be happy in gloom. And Sydney rarely has a week-long spell of bad weather. So as long as you make yourself go out into the sunshine regularly (but not in the heat of the day), Sydney has to be better for your general and mental health. And the blue skies are at least in part why when you walk around the streets, people seem just generally more sociable. More people smile back at you here than in Zurich where they tend to regard you as something akin to an alien if they happen to encounter a smiling face.
On the other hand, in Zurich people take more responsibility for ... why oh why did I begin this silly posting. Let's just say, if you look for the good wherever you are, you will find it. And if you smile enough, enough people will smile back.
Today Sydney has a high of 23˚C and a low of 8˚C while Zurich has a high of 20˚C and a low of 14˚C - not much to choose between there. Sydney promises no precipitation and some cloud while Zurich promises cloud and some precipitation. Sydney promises that the sun will shine on some Spring green on the trees (though it will never be the same spring green as Europe's) while Zurich's sun will light up the early Autumn hues.
That said, magnificent magnolias and azaleas have been telling us for some time that Winter is dead and gone and we are already starting to ask ourselves if it will ever rain again. So is the question only about weather or what other factors are involved?
If you are interested in balance, living in Zurich is just about as perfect as it gets. You can work in the city and commute for about 30 to 45 minutes from the outskirts where you can enjoy proximity to forests, lakes and farms while at the same time being only 30 to 45 minutes by public transport from an international airport with good access to most parts of the world. Your accommodation while not generously spacious will be of high quality materials and usually well maintained. Food from supermarkets will be of good quality and can be readily supplemented by food fresh from the farm and from home or homestyle/artisinal kitchens. Usually, you will be warm to hot in Summer and not too cold in Winter ... and in between is often perfect. You can cycle to work more or less safely in most places etc etc etc.
If balance is not your primary motivator, Sydney must be about as good as it gets - ocean, mountains (sort of), rivers, bush, open space, trees, theatre, opera, museums and art galleries, shopping, street markets, organic food, sports facilities, golf courses etc etc etc. Except that it's up to 24 hours travel from places you might want to visit on a regular basis.
At this point I must come back to the question of weather. It is much easier to be happy and healthy in the sunshine than it is to be happy in gloom. And Sydney rarely has a week-long spell of bad weather. So as long as you make yourself go out into the sunshine regularly (but not in the heat of the day), Sydney has to be better for your general and mental health. And the blue skies are at least in part why when you walk around the streets, people seem just generally more sociable. More people smile back at you here than in Zurich where they tend to regard you as something akin to an alien if they happen to encounter a smiling face.
On the other hand, in Zurich people take more responsibility for ... why oh why did I begin this silly posting. Let's just say, if you look for the good wherever you are, you will find it. And if you smile enough, enough people will smile back.
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