[MITSardine]

If your country is Italy that might be the case, but groceries are at most 30% more expensive than France, and some are nearly the same price (vegetables). Meat and fish do cost an arm and a leg (100% tax on border crossing).

Meanwhile, median net salary in CH is 5'000-5'500 per month, double to triple its neighbors. So food is actually very affordable.

The food that costs more is the one someone cooked for you, which is logical considering the cook is likely paid more than your engineer (assuming that's your case) salary. But then again, minimum wage Italians are not eating out at the restaurant with any frequency. If you were an engineer in Switzerland instead, you could afford eating out there. The restaurants and terraces are never empty, anyways.

Now, if you want to enjoy a beer in the sun, you can get a 2CHF can at the supermarket and go fire up a barbecue at the lake of Zurich, I see people doing that all the time.