Re: Switzerland
there *are* ways to live economically in Switzerland.
The mandatory health insurance, for example, is quite steep wherever you have a major hospital city, as you are directly paying for the hospital. Living in a small village, you qualify for a much cheaper health insurance rate, but you can visit the big hospitals if and when you need it, of course. Transport is so good that living in the sticks is very fulfilling. Train tickets are much cheaper than the UK, many discount schemes apply, free city bikes etc. It usually works.
The starting salary in Switzerland, for a neophyte computer graduate, is possibly zero - because you *really* need a Masters degree to get a real job. With the MSc you can expect about £67K for your first job going upto £85K after five years. For a squirrel-security- sorry, cyber-security job at a bank in Zürich, name your own salary! (until 'Putin' hacks you)
it's really just food & accomodation that remain expensive, a simple meal I had there yesterday was £28 for 3 people, eating at a Ma-Migros diner, and a hand basket of frozen food items quickly got to £50. A birthday cake sized Schweizer Schwarzwäldertorte was £25, the food is allegedly much healthier than the UK. Hmm? ALDI is a great shop there, and sells beer unlike Migros.
Some electronic hardware, iPhone, iWatch, iPad is cheaper due the low VAT rates there - but many companies price-gouge due to the captive "rich" market. I looked yesterday at a Mario Kart 7 2DS bundle for 119.- CHF, whilst in UK it is £15 cheaper, even with our much higher VAT rate. I think the biggest price shock to me was a Bosch build-in oven which was still being sold for a couple of thousand Swizz francs, whilst it was on Amazon for just three hundred quid.
The million Franc homes in GE, ZH, well - you can get two concurrent mortgages (a 60% & a 20% - with hundred years' payback times & low interest, (but in hard CHF not declining £?)) Your pension fund (can) guarantee 10%, and you just need £76K in cash as a deposit! I believe there is at least one apartment to rent somewhere in CH, probably, tho you can't rent it until you have correct permit papers from your village, and you can't get these permit papers unless you have a permanent address :-)
If you live as a Frontalier, based in France, Germany or Italy, expect a hour long queue to get to work & home each day, and only a doubled salary compared to your EU nation of residence; the Swiss do pay Frontaliers much less than their locally resident CH persons. They are almost, but not quite, in the EU. There were zero border formalities when I passed thru yesterday, but occasionally the Swiss can stop you and weigh your EU purchased cheese etc (sure to be horrific duty on more than 3oz.?)
If you qualify with an MSc in anything techical/useful, and speak a bit of French or German or Italian and good English, then move there rather smartly as who knows what May come soon.
it is sunny today https://www.srf.ch/meteo with a dash of snow on the mountains, nice.