But I probably won't be in the same role indefinitely. The Google job is actually a worse fit, focusing mostly on data volume, schema management and APIs. My background in data volume and query optimization, along with compiler development, made me a particular fit. It's AWS Redshift in particular, in Berlin. I imagine with Brexit, UK citizens are now in the harder category. It generally takes 5 years on a B permit (work visa) to get a C permit (permanent residence) if you're EU, 10 if you're not. You can get checked for this at the border.įun fact #2: IIRC years ago the supermarket just across the border in Germany had the highest revenue of any supermarket in Germany.Īs for work authorization, it is relatively easy for EU citizens to get and somewhat harder for non-EU citizens. There a bunch of mandatory insurances you need but my experience was your net income position was substantially better than being a salaried employee in London (although food in particular is MUCH more expensive in Switzerland such that people will drive an hour to Aldi across the border in Germany to go shopping).įun fact #1: there are limits to how many groceries you can bring into Switzerland. You only need a car if you live in a rural area. Switzerland is actually a dream for car-free living. I worked for a time in Zurich years ago so this may not be current but there are some tech jobs in Switzerland (eg Google has a decently sized office there). Of course, with Brexit, I'm headed for Zurich. There's fewer food delivery options, and an Uber home is (or was) the preferred route after a night out, vs a night bus to Bow, but overall it's a higher quality of life. Mortgage now is £1500 rent (for over 10 years, nice landlord) used to be £1300. We used to live in a very small 60 sqm 3 bed house with garden in Bow, which was about 30 minutes from Clerkenwell. I live in a 120sqm 4 bed house with garden in Enfield, 40 minutes motorcycle commute from Clerkenwell, or 60-80 minutes by tube and train, depending on delays and timing (don't leave enough slack and you miss a connection). Free or cheap parking, mostly unaffected by traffic (filtering), not stuck when the trains are cancelled, not constrained by the sparseness of the rail and tube network as you get further from the centre.Ĭrossrail isn't open yet (due next year, but I wouldn't bet on it) Crossrail 2 is mothballed and probably won't be built for a few decades. Motorcycles and scooters, and increasingly, electric bicycles, are the big hack. If you're inside the M25 but outside the North / South Circular, you need to be very close to a station or you're practically worse off than someone living in a town on the railway. There's little difference, time-wise, between being located in a town on commuter rail, vs somewhere three connections away on the tube.