Do expats in Switzerland protest too much? With an average salary of $200,000 and some of the planet’s most beautiful scenery on their doorstep, what’s not to like? “Hell is other people,” wrote French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. While this is possibly too strong to describe foreigners’ attitudes towards locals in Switzerland, the Swiss regularly rank near the bottom of expat surveys for friendliness. “When it comes to safety and security, Switzerland is number one,” Malte Zeeck, the German founder and co-CEO of expat network InterNations, told swissinfo.ch. The problem is settling in, feeling welcome and making friends. “Here, Switzerland ranks really badly.” Before we go any further, we should try to define “expat”. Anyone living abroad? Professionals working in multinationals for a set period? Somewhere in between? Here's some food for thought: If money does indeed play a role in defining an expat, those in Switzerland are at the top of the tree, bringing home an...
