Housing costs drive 92.000 Swiss residents to consider moving to France

The price of housing in Switzerland has finally become too much for some. In French-speaking Switzerland, almost 100.000 residents want to emigrate to France to find a cheaper place to live.

92.400 residents looking for housing across the French border

A new survey by the comparison website Comparis highlighted that around 92.400 people living in French-speaking Switzerland (including cities like Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel) are actively looking for somewhere to live across the border in France. 

A significant factor pushing people to leave Switzerland is the cost of living. The survey found that 70 percent of residents in western Switzerland believe rent and property prices to be high. Housing also takes up a large chunk of residents’ income, with one in four respondents sharing that they spend around 36 percent of their budget on housing costs in Switzerland.

"While Switzerland is debating limiting immigration, many French-speaking Swiss are considering crossing the border themselves due to cost. This shows how significantly housing costs now impact daily life," explained Comparis real estate expert Harry Büsser. 

The picture varies across different parts of French-speaking Switzerland, with 50 percent of survey respondents living in canton Geneva rating it as “very expensive”, while the figure in Bern was 10 percent, 11 percent in Jura and 12 percent in Valais.

Residents concerned about commuting and cross-border practicalities

While moving from Switzerland to France comes with cost savings, particularly for housing, 75 percent of respondents said they would not want to commute further than 30 minutes just to find cheaper rent or buy a cheaper house. 

Proximity to friends and family, as well as uncertainty about taxes and cross-border health insurance, were also a barrier to moving.

"France can be financially attractive for French-speaking Swiss. However, whether a move works out depends on whether it remains sustainable in daily life,” commented Büsser.