Why I don't want to live in Zurich anymore

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In my previous post I gave an overview of what it was like for me living in Zurich for 2+ years. I've now moved out, and will spend at least the first part of this year traveling. I have no plans to move back to Zurich. A few of my friends have asked me why, as on the surface, Zurich has a lot of nice characteristics, like high salaries, good working conditions, accessibility of nature, English being widely spoken. These factors conspire to give Zurich very high scores on the various algorithms used to define various quality of life / livability metrics. However, these reductionist metrics can't hope to capture je ne sais quoi aspects, such as the affability of Australians, the deemphasis of material accumulation in France, the innovativeness of San Franciscans, or the xenophobia of the Japanese. Intangibles like these can have a pretty big impact on how you will feel living in those cities.

I tried to like Zurich, and at first was wooed by her beauty, functionality, and freedoms. But after the novelty wore off, I started to be bothered by what I'll call a lack of soul in the city. I often had the feeling that Zurich is a kind of post-modern doldrums where all of the serious problems of society (poverty, equality, education, stability, law-and-order) had been adequately solved for the vast majority. What remains is to give life meaning, purpose, and vivacity by looking beyond your narrow material well-being, connecting with greater society, and enriching it in a way that flows from your interests and passions.

Zurich largely fails at this. The dominant swathe of society is either ignorant of, or blithely pretends to ignore the issue of greater purpose. Certain ideals, such as environmentalism, are by-and-large recognized as important and supported in basic ways. But very few are willing to go out an a limb, leave their safe job, and dedicate their lives to such ideals. Accumulation of personal wealth and social status (e.g. the “I want to FIT IN ” desire, parodied in American Psycho ), combined with extreme aversions towards openness, social risk, and financial risk has lead to a hum-drum society of introverts who mind their own business, secure safe careers, find a mate that their parents approve of, and go through the conformist rituals of their society. I often had the feeling that this absence of soul was sensed by the people, but that they were lacking the perspective or freedom to diagnose or address it. It occurred to me that Zurich society would be an ideal setting for a Desperate Housewives style dramady - except that too few here are willing to address their malaise with action to make for anything interesting.

As a counterpoint to my above diatribe, I would say that the first derivative is positive (i.e. things seem to be moving in a better direction). It's noticeable that the youth are more willing to take risks and go off the beaten path than their elders. I tried to surround myself with such people while there, and it was possible to create a good bubble world by doing so. Thanks to those people - you know who you are - for enriching my time in Zurich. But you always feel that you are paddling against the overall currents of society. Social norms still exert a strong influence towards conformity, and Zurich is a long way off from more open and avant-garde cities like San Francisco, Austin, and Berlin.

If stability, order, safety, material wealth and nature are the magic ingredients for your happiness, then Zurich may be a paradise for you. I personally don't need all those things, but do value an open society, passionate about their careers, willing to fearlessly experiment with their lifestyle, and embracing, rather than suppressing, the basic curiosity that we are all born with. Zurich does not resemble such a place, and I'm moving on.

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Comments

[Home and Away]

I had a Swiss neighbor in Brussels...
he built his house with the exact floor plan as his former home in Switzerland so that he could arrange his furniture the same way. Was he eccentric or is this normal for the Swiss?

[Winslow]

Somehow. . .that doesn't surprise me ;D

[julia]

Great read!
Thanks for posting! Just got back from russia would have to say its somewhat the same there.. Enjoy your travels be safe!