Population
≈445,000 (city); ≈1.4 million (metro)
AI city illustration · Artistic impressionWhat people learn after moving
Four things newcomers say matter most about life in Zurich
Languages
Swiss German spoken, Standard German written; English widely used at work
Currency
Swiss franc (CHF)
Time zone
CET (GMT+1); CEST (GMT+2) in summer
AI city illustration · Artistic impressionCost of living in Zurich
Typical newcomer prices
CHFOne-bed apartment, cityCHF 2,000–2,900 / month
ZVV monthly pass (zones 110)≈CHF 85 / month
Groceries, one personCHF 500–750 / month
CoffeeCHF 4.50–6.00
Compulsory KVG health insurance (adult)CHF 350–550 / month
Check your eligibility
Can you move to Switzerland?
Pick your passport to see entry rules and the long-stay routes we have researched.
Pick your passport to see whether you can enter Switzerland — and what it takes to stay.
Your move, in order
Getting set up in Switzerland
1
Legal & IDMedium confidence
Residence permits and the 14-day registration
Whatever your nationality, the operative deadline is the same: register your address at your district office within 14 days of arrival. That Anmeldung is what produces your permit card, starts your health-insurance clock and unlocks banking. Permit B is the standard multi-year residence permit; Permit L is short-term; Permit C is settlement after five or ten years.
2
DrivingMedium confidence
Exchanging your driving licence
You may drive on a valid foreign licence for twelve months after taking up residence. Within that window you must exchange it for a Swiss one. After twelve months the foreign licence stops being valid for driving here, and driving on it is treated as driving without a permit — a criminal offence, not an administrative slip. A late exchange is often still possible, but you can be fined and pushed into a theory exam or control drive you would otherwise have avoided; the exact handling is cantonal.
3
BankingMedium confidence
Opening a Swiss bank account
Swiss banks want your registration confirmation and permit, and the process is otherwise unremarkable. The complications are FATCA reporting for US citizens, which leads many Swiss banks to refuse them outright, and the fact that Swiss retail banking carries real monthly fees.
4
HealthHigh confidence
Compulsory KVG health insurance
Swiss basic health insurance (KVG in German, LAMal in French) is compulsory, privately purchased, and individually paid — there is no employer scheme and no payroll deduction. You have three months from taking up residence in Switzerland — not from your Anmeldung — to choose an insurer. Enrol inside that window and cover backdates to your arrival date, so nothing you spend in the meantime is lost. Enrol late and cover starts only from the day you join, with a premium surcharge where the delay is not excusable, and your commune can assign you an insurer if you never do.
5
TelecomMedium confidence
Getting a Swiss mobile number
Three networks — Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt — with discount brands running on each. SIM registration against an identity document is mandatory. Switzerland is not in the EU, so EU roaming rules do not apply and roaming here can be expensive, which is a reason to sort a local SIM promptly.
6
TaxMedium confidence
Withholding tax, AHV and the three-tier system
Switzerland taxes at three levels — federal, cantonal and municipal — so your bill depends on which commune you live in, sometimes dramatically. Foreign residents on B permits are generally taxed at source through payroll. Social security (AHV/IV/EO) is deducted alongside, and the second-pillar occupational pension is a substantial additional deduction.
Each guide has verified costs, timelines, required documents, and the non-obvious gotchas — sourced from official government pages. Last verified July 2026.
Language
Essential German phrases
GrüeziGreetings
GROO-et-si — Swiss German, not Hochdeutsch
Hello, formal. The default greeting to strangers, shopkeepers and colleagues.
Grüezi mitenandGreetings
GROO-et-si MIT-en-and
Hello, to a group. Using it correctly marks you as someone who's paying attention.
Merci vielmalSocial
MER-si FEEL-mal — French borrowing in a German dialect
Thank you very much. Swiss German borrows freely from French.
Hochdeutsch vs SchwiizerdütschDaily life
The written vs the spoken language
Standard German is written and taught; Swiss German is spoken. Your German classes will not prepare you for the street.
AnmeldungDaily life
AN-mel-doong
Registering your address at the Kreisbüro — legally required within 14 days and the trigger for everything else.
Gemeinde / KreisDaily life
ge-MYNE-de / kryce
Municipality / city district. Zurich has 12 Kreise and much of your admin is district-level.
ZVVDaily life
tset-fau-fau
The Zurich transport network — trams, buses, S-Bahn and lake boats on one integrated ticket.
FeierabendWork
FY-er-ah-bent
The end of the working day, treated as a real boundary. People leave on time and mean it.
Znüni / ZvieriFood
TSNOO-nee / TSFEE-ri
The nine-o'clock and four-o'clock snacks. Small rituals that structure the Swiss day.
Serviceabo / HalbtaxDaily life
HALB-taks
The half-fare travel card. Almost every resident has one; it halves rail fares nationwide.
RuhezeitDaily life
ROO-e-tsyte
Quiet hours — typically nights and all of Sunday. Enforced socially and sometimes contractually.
144 / 117 / 118Emergency
Ambulance / police / fire
Switzerland's emergency numbers. 112 also works.
Reading a list isn’t learning it. Globe Quest turns these into a trainer — hear each phrase spoken, drill them with spaced repetition, and get scored as you say them out loud.
Culture
What to know before you go
Register within 14 days — everything hangs off it
CriticalYou must register your address at your district office within 14 days of arriving. That Anmeldung date starts your health-insurance clock, unlocks your residence permit card, and is what banks, employers and insurers ask for. Do it in your first week, not your third.
Buy health insurance within three months, or the canton picks for you
CriticalBasic KVG cover is compulsory for every resident. You have three months from your Anmeldung to choose an insurer. Enrol in time and cover backdates to your arrival; miss it and the canton assigns you to an insurer and bills you retroactively anyway — with no choice of policy.
Sunday is genuinely closed
CriticalShops shut, and doing laundry, vacuuming, drilling or recycling glass on a Sunday will earn you a note from a neighbour. Quiet hours apply at night too. This is not folklore — it's in most tenancy agreements.
Recycling is regulated and rubbish is taxed
ImportantIn Zurich general waste must go in official paid Züri-Sack bags. Putting rubbish out in an unofficial bag is fined, and inspectors do check. Glass, PET, paper, aluminium and batteries all go to separate collection points.
Salaries are high and so is everything else
ImportantZurich pays more than almost anywhere, but rent, health insurance, and eating out consume it fast. Compare a Swiss offer on what's left after rent and compulsory insurance, not on the headline figure.
Punctuality is a form of respect
Good to knowTrains run to the minute and so do meetings. Arriving five minutes late without warning reads as carelessness rather than bad luck. The flip side: things start and end when they say they will.
Work
Top industries & employers
Banking & wealth management
UBS, Julius Bär, Pictet, Vontobel, Zürcher Kantonalbank
Zurich is one of the world's principal private-banking and asset-management centres, concentrated around Paradeplatz and Bahnhofstrasse.
Insurance & reinsurance
Swiss Re, Zurich Insurance, Swiss Life
A globally significant reinsurance cluster — Swiss Re is one of the two largest reinsurers on earth.
Technology & research
Google, IBM Research, Disney Research, Microsoft, ETH spin-offs
Google's largest engineering office outside the US is here, drawing on ETH Zürich's exceptional computer-science pipeline.
Pharmaceuticals & life sciences
Roche, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson
Headquartered mainly in Basel but with substantial Zurich-region presence and a dense biotech ecosystem.
Commodities trading
Glencore, Trafigura and Zug-based traders
Neighbouring Zug is one of the world's biggest commodity-trading hubs, twenty-five minutes from Zurich by train.
Academia
ETH Zürich, University of Zurich
ETH is consistently ranked among the best technical universities in the world and is a major employer in its own right.
Explore
Where to go in Zurich
Lake Zurich & the Badis
Nature · Along both shores
The lake is clean enough to swim in from the centre, with public bathing areas (Badis) dotted along both shores.
Local tip: Frauenbad and Seebad Enge are the classic city swims. In summer, locals swim after work — the Badis serve drinks and stay open into the evening.
Kreis 4 & Kreis 5 (Langstrasse, Zürich West)
Nightlife · West of the river
The former red-light and industrial districts, now the city's bar, club and street-food quarter.
Local tip: Frau Gerolds Garten and the Viadukt arches are where Zurich actually goes out. It's the antidote to the buttoned-up reputation.
Uetliberg
Nature · South-west, above the city
The mountain on Zurich's doorstep, reachable by S-Bahn, with a ridge walk and views across the lake to the Alps.
Local tip: Take the S10 up and walk the Planetenweg ridge to Felsenegg, then the cable car down. It's a half-day and costs a transit fare.
Altstadt & Niederdorf
Landmark · Old town, both banks
Medieval lanes, the Grossmünster and Fraumünster with their Chagall and Giacometti windows.
Local tip: The Fraumünster's Chagall windows are worth the entry fee; the Grossmünster tower climb gives the better view of the two.
Zürich West food halls
Food · Kreis 5
Markthalle im Viadukt and the surrounding arches — the best casual eating in a city where dining out is otherwise punishing.
Local tip: Lunch menus (Mittagsmenü) across the city are dramatically cheaper than the same restaurant at dinner. This is how locals eat out.
Rheinfall and the Zurich Oberland
Hidden gemNature · 40–60 minutes by train
Europe's largest waterfall by volume, plus rolling countryside and lakes within an easy train ride.
Local tip: With a Halbtax card, weekend trips across Switzerland become genuinely cheap. Zurich's real amenity is the rail network radiating from it.
Safety
Emergency numbers in Zurich
144
Ambulance
117
Police
118
Fire
112
European emergency number
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