What's it like to work in Swiss academia?

Hi there I worked in Geneva as a postdoc for three years. The main difficulty is finding an apartment- which is incredibly difficult unless you already know people there who can help you. My wife and I were able to rent a place just over the border in france with a private landlord. In that situation I was paid my salary in swiss francs and paid my rent in euros, which got progressively cheaper! However it was a hassle having to transfer my rent every month. (There are methods to transfer between branches of banks in the same group but I didn't learn about that until I was about to leave). Bureaucratically, my university took care of the tax, so that meant I paid swiss tax rates, which are much lower than french, but I also had to pay french council tax, which isn't too bad. In general it wasn't too onerous, though sometimes my deficiencies in French made it hard. You just have to write a letter every year to confirm your tax status. Child benefit was also a bit of a hassle but in the end I got it from both countries. You also have to find medical insurance which is a major hassle (as an academic, you will be able to use the company 'Swisscare' which caters to students mostly and is much, much cheaper-however you won't get dental on that, so make sure you see a dentist every time you are in the UK if you go that route- private dentists are v expensive both sides of the border). Importing a car from UK can also be a big hassle. Yes Switzerland is expensive but your salary will take care of that. Some people did their grocery shopping in France as it is cheaper, but I didn't notice too much difference. Petrol is much cheaper in Switzerland as well. On the academic side I'm not sure about the pressures on a permanent lecturer, but I know that it can be pretty bureaucratic. I don't recall there being a country-wide research ratings exercise, but of course it is still just as important for your institution. There are also very good opportunities for funding, but as a senior academic you would mostly be supervising other people getting paid and not really get it yourself (you are still expected to contribute reearch though). The main body for funding is the Swiss National Science Foundation, and they have been very good to me in general. There are also various other smaller funding bodies. I would say if you have managed to land a permanent position in Switzerland, and you can speak the language then you are very lucky and should hold on to it. It's a difficult system to break into, and once you are there it will be easier for you to find other positions. The quality of life is generally higher than the UK with better restaurants, climate (hot in summer! cold in winter!), public transport, landscape, safety, cafe culture etc... Plus everyone is crazy about skiing and mountains etc. Also as an academic you get more respect than you would in the UK. There's also plenty going on in terms of conferences and academic collaborations-though that can depend on where you are as well. You should ask your university if you want sponsoring to learn another language. I got a little of this but not much. If you are moving to Geneva then I can give you more specific information. Memail me if you like!

You might want to look into long term residency issues.

I'm a British citizen, working in a British university (but have worked in a US university in the past). The job would certainly be paid in Swiss francs.