Yep, Sydney is ranked #4 yet is currently experiencing a severe shortage of rental properties where the average rent is now 40% higher[1] than 2 years ago.
I would describe my personal experience in Zurich (and having lived in Berlin before) a bit differently.
Everyone loves whining about finding a place to rent in both places, but in Berlin it's about finding anything at all whereas in Zurich it's usually about finding something cheap and ideally in a desirable Kreis 3 or Kreis 4 neighborhood. Yes it's competitive, but you will find something with realistic expectations + budget.
NB: I don't earn a big tech salary either. If you land a Google/Meta/IBM/Disney/adjacent job, the (rental) housing market should not give you any headaches.
Indeed. Which is worst, cities like Zurich and London where housing is very expensive but is available especially with a skilled job, or Berlin where housing is not too expensive, but almost non available to newcomers even on skilled jobs?
> Berlin where housing is not too expensive, but almost non available to newcomers even on skilled jobs?
It's not available to long term residents either. In Berlin one has to compile and update monthly the application portfolio. Good luck having a landlord who'll issue debt free certificate more often than once a year. Think will get away without debt free certificate? Someone else will have it, sorry.
Finding an expensive apartment vs. not finding an apartment at all, really?
Say you are single, have some experience and get low-balled into a CHF 100k contract. Not counting 13th salary this translates to CHF 7.7k per month gross / CHF 6k net (before health insurance). I.e. at up to 1/3 of your monthly net you can spend up to 2k per month on an apartment. There are plenty of those to choose from inside Zurich city, even if some might be small for the price or have other drawbacks. You can find cheaper/bigger/nicer easily by expanding your search radius to the (extremely well-connected) suburbs.
Only if you're a relentless hunter. Otherwise it looks more like >2.5k CHF monthly. 400-500 CHF monthly on health insurance, 500 CHF monthly for random tickets, fees, fines, and other "disciplinary measures". Suddenly you find yourself being poor in Switzerland. Being poor among rich hurts multiplied.
In life you often have to choose the least worst option for you out of two bad ones if you want to survive. It's rare to have your cake and eat it too, especially when it comes to housing in desirable metro areas and you not being wealthy. Beggars can't be choosers.
Granted, nobody put a gun to your head and said you must live in Zurich, London, Dublin, Berlin, or any other city with a housing shortage, it's your own voluntary decision to do that, but doing so you must be mindful of the compromises and sacrifices such a choice requires.
I heard this in Germany a lot in various circumstances while seeing on my monthly payslips deductions totalling well over 40%.
> nobody put a gun to your head and said you must live in Zurich, London, Dublin, Berlin
I didn't force myself to that bloody miserable country either, but got qualified job and was granted relocation there. At which point I'm not a beggar anymore and can start posing even a smallest demand?
Swiss companies are glad to hire EU folks just below the average Swiss salary. The relocation package is "we expect you to show up in the office on the first day".
I think that's most cities. Toronto's rents have gone up about the same since two years ago, but many cities in Ontario and British Columbia have had rents go up quite a lot as well. I think Nova Scotia also saw pretty significant rent increases as well but I could be mixing it up with Prince Edward Island.
They’re nice to live “if” you could afford to.