Hi all, I’d like to start a conversation here about the affordability of having a young kids in major Swiss cities. I took Zurich (where I live) as a reference and ran the numbers on what it actually costs to raise two kids on slightly above average salaries. The median salary in Zurich is 84k CHF, so I decided to be generous and use 100k CHF salary as a reference. Two working parents, CHF 100K each, 2 young kids under the age of 4. Net income is roughly 13K. Here’s a monthly budget: Rent (4.5 room somewhere in Zürich): CHF 3,200 Kita x2: CHF 6,500 Health insurance x4: CHF 1,600 Food: CHF 1,300 Transport: CHF 700 Utilities + phone: CHF 400 Clothing, misc: CHF 400 Total: CHF 14,100 They’re CHF 1,100 in the red. Before a holiday, a dentist bill, savings, anything unexpected. But what if one parent stays home to cut the Kita cost? One salary of CHF 100K nets CHF 6,100. Without childcare, fixed costs are still CHF 7,600. Now they’re CHF 1,500 in the red. Neither model works. The point isn’t to debate on the budget details. Maybe your rent is lower, your grocery bill different. Of course they can move to a cheaper canton, go without, use their savings to make up for the gap, space out the children, etc. But why do we have to do financial acrobatics for something as simple as having a couple of kids? Two people on what should be pretty good salaries, in one of the richest countries in the world, cannot straightforwardly afford to have two children living in a city unless they space them out 3+ years. Not everyone can or wants to do that, for a variety of reasons from fertility to preference. How have we become a country where having two young kids on 2 above average salaries is a financial minefield? submitted by /u/LallieDoo
Originally posted by u/LallieDoo on r/Switzerland