You've probably heard that Switzerland is expensive. Maybe from a friend who stopped over while backpacking through Europe in college, or maybe you've been here yourself. Either way, I'm here to tell you it's true. Switzerland can be insanely expensive. After a while, you get to know where to go and how to shop, but on the whole, you can count on paying more than you would elsewhere. A little joke of mine is that everything costs double. The other day, after we opened our bank account, we walked past, and noticed for the first time, the "2 Franc Store." As in the Dollar Store.
Probably the most expensive thing here is dining out. If you live here, you can avoid it, but if you're a visitor, it will bankrupt you. Last week J and I went out to dinner with Romy, from Half the Sugar Bowl, and her husband. This was our first experience eating out since arriving in Switzerland. We took out plenty of cash, expecting high prices, but looking forward to meeting some other Anglophones right here in the neighborhood. Our neighbors are lovely people. And the menu? Completely blew me out of the water. We paid $20 for a basic cheeseburger! Is that a typo you ask? No. Luckily I was not very hungry, so Joel and I opted to share our solid gold burger.
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| Isn't the sparkler thing a nice touch? |
At a restaurant in Baden, the hamburger is $30! Needless to say, we don't eat out much! But the prices don't seem to stop most Swiss people...
ReplyDeleteA $30 hamburger?!?! And I thought $20 was beyond the pale. I hear that once you get used to the prices, everywhere else seems so cheap. But I don't think we will get there. Like yourself, we are going to avoid eating out!! It's not as if there is a shortage of expensive things to blow money on here. ;)
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