Anyone know? Working in Switzerland as an Ex-Pat

Ran across a job opportunity that fits my experience pretty much to a T-- in Switzerland!  
 

Exact location information not yet provided, but it looks to have something to do with Augusta Westland Helicopters. 
 

It does look like some locations there are pretty much New York City expensive, but I'd have some flexibility on that already being kind of sort of semi-retired. And if the financials can't be made to work, that's a pretty simple answer. 
 

The harder question to answer is whether or not Switzerland is so awesome it would be worth seriously upending our lives to go there.   I mean I have other opportunities available that would give me someplace else to go during the work day where the impact is driving 40 minutes north instead of south. 
 

Anyone have any knowledge of working as an ex-Pat in this part of the world?

No experience but I do know a few fun facts about the place: They have THE most expensive cities to live in on the planet, so it's worse than NYC-level expensive. They have the highest minimum wages on the planet at the city level to go along with it. It's also one of the most restrictive places on the planet for gun ownership - don't be fooled by the high ownership stat created by mandatory military service.

For a short while, I did IT work for a company that had a customer that had a subsidiary that was involved in some way shape or form with finance in Switzerland.  I had to sign a legal document that holds me personally liable in perpetuity if I were ever to divulge any details on how their systems were architected.  That was apparently a government requirement as it was explained to me.  So stay away from that sort of thing if you can.

My mum has been living in Switzerland since the early 90s, so I do have a little insight.

Yes, it really is that expensive, especially around the major cities like Bern, Geneva and Zurich. OTOH in a lot of cases, the pay makes up for it as the salaries tend to be pretty high by European standards. Some of this can be offset by shopping abroad if you're in the right location - my mum does a lot of her monthly shopping in Austria, and shopping in Germany or France can also make a big difference if you're close enough to the border.

Yes, the place really looks like the picture postcards, only cleaner.

If you think that the cost of living is expensive, wait until you get a speeding ticket. Hint: don't speed, it's really bad for your wallet. They do have spectacular roads though.

If you can swing it financially I think it would be worth doing. I'd get a better idea of the location though - one thing that people don't appreciate is that Switzerland basically is made up of bits from about three nation states and each of the areas (ie the German, French or Italian) part has its own underlying vibe. It's still all very much Swiss, just different.

Most of the people in the large cities will speak some English. If you do speak some German it might help, although Swiss German is ... special. Think of it as a dialect like Scottish "English" is to British English.

Like everywhere in Europe, foreigners are mostly welcome when they're part of the professional class, but in general the Swiss are pretty welcoming, especially for a country that turned its mountains into a Swiss (err) cheese fortress . Not to mention that every male citizen of military age really has an assault rifle in their closet.

Mind you, even if you're integrated like my mum is, you'll never really be one of "them", but 99% of the time it doesn't matter.

Public transport is spectacular - even my mum (who doesn't drive) can get anywhere she needs to by public transport, and she lives in a little village at the posterior end of nowhere that maybe has a couple of hundred people living there on a good day.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Thanks a ton!

Also, if this goes anywhere, it's probably worth asking the prospective employer if they offer any help with relocation. Not necessarily financial, but with stuff like a referral to a bank that will open a bank account for a US citizen living in Switzerland, referral to a realtor/letting agent who can help finding an apartment etc. Also, ask them which visa type they're sponsoring/helping with - most likely a "B Bewilligung", aka "Ausweis B", which is good for up five years.

I visited my brother when he was living in Bern about a year ago. I found the people to be very friendly and welcoming.  I drove around and hit Lucerne, the Matterhorn, Interlachen, popped into Lichtenstein then Zurich.  Didnt make it to the south end  

Eating out was wildly expensive but the food was good.  The scenery is absolutely fantastic.  

He was there with his wife who was on assignment there so cant speak to actually moving or working there.