Incredible scenery, clean air, a good quality of life… Moving to Switzerland has many benefits attached, but what puts most people off is the cost of living in one of the world’s foremost economies. Perhaps getting paid £50,000 to make the move would help?
This is what Albinen, in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, is proposing. The gorgeous village is offering families of four people 25,000 Swiss Francs (around £22,300) per adult and 10,000 Swiss Francs (around £8,900) per child to move there, to try and reverse a drastically declining population, caused by people moving away to nearby cities for employment.
Sounds appealing, right? Unsurprisingly, there are some conditions attached to this sweet deal. Firstly, the offer is only open to under-45s. Still reading? There’s a bigger catch: you need to be a Swiss citizen with a permit C residence. That can be obtained by living in Switzerland for five years if you’re an EU citizen, but British citizens need to double that number to a whole decade.
If you’re still interested, you’ve got to commit to Albinen for the long-term and live in the village for ten years, in a home worth at least 200,000 Swiss Francs (around £178,000). If you take up the offer and move out before the ten years is over, you’ll need to repay that golden gift when you leave.
Those who do qualify and do stay can expect to live in a stunningly scenic Swiss village, with snow-capped mountain views at every turn, gloriously clean air, tons of sunshine every year and plenty of thermal spring bathing in nearby Leukerbad. Better start looking into that Swiss residency permit…
It’s not just Albinen that enjoys a great quality of life – find out why Switzerland is consistently voted as one of the happiest countries in the world.