London is competitive with tier 2 US cities (i.e. not SF/NYC/Seattle). Switzerland is competitive even with Tier 1 US cities. COL and taxes are higher though.
So it’s not competitive if taxes are higher and COL is higher. What one cares about is the final income in pocket and purchasing power. I don’t really care if my salary says “1 million” if I keep 50k of that, I only care about the final number unless there is some tax loophole one can exercise like pre tax deductions, but still…
I don't buy that COL is significantly higher unless you're firehosing money everywhere for the hell of it. You can spend scads of money, but you're not obligated to. I lived there for five years, and left in December. My grocery bill was the same as it is now in Ireland (but still less than my parents pay in Chicagoland) and while I don't pay rent in Ireland, a friend just got a "steal" on an apartment @ €2500/mo in outer Dublin, while I was paying CHF 2250 for a 3-storey townhouse with private parking in outer Zürich. Road tax is similar. Health insurance more in CH, but we're talking 6k/yr vs 2.4k. And income tax was so low in CH that the foreign tax credit didn't do much for me, and I ended up having to cut a check to the IRS for 5 figures every year. Switzerland is truly exceptional, and you can make crazy money there.
