PsyGuy wrote:
> @Heliotrope
>
> No they dont. They dont have the elite tier IS in HK, Switzerland, Germany,
> etc. We dont share lists of elite tier ISs. Regardless, those ISs are as I
> described before, Shills.

They definitely have one of the top schools in both HK and Switzerland.
In Germany, they have one of what most consider the top 3, although personally I've heard stories that would disqualify it from that top 3.
You might have a different list than what most people consider tier 1.
Their list would be impressive to most ITs who do their research.

If you read my post you'll see I'm not saying these ISs use it to recruit a lot (or at all), I'm actually doubting that, so whether or not they are all 'shills' is for someone else to comment on.

PsyGuy wrote:
> If you go to the end of that paragraph it states the cost of living
> difference directly "Consumer Prices in The Hague (Den Haag) are
> 41.36% lower than in Zurich".

That's what I said ("So cost of living in The Hague however is only around 59% of what it is in Zürich")


Then at the bottom of the page it states
> "Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 6,107.82 Fr.(5,529.31
> €) 2,533.80 Fr.(2,293.81 €) -58.52 %"

Note the word 'average'. Shocker: the average expat salary is higher than the average IT salary (even though lots of ITs don't seem to accept that and still try to live the same lifestyle as other expats), but ITs salaries aren't always a fixed percentage of the average expat salary. I've lived in cities where ITs made about the same as the average expat in the same city, and I've lived in cities where the average expat made about double.
When it comes to consumer prices, the ITs expenses are more easily compared between cities, as prices at supermarkets, bars, etc. will be the same for both groups (average expats & ITs).


Interesting to note btw, is that Numbeo sets the average rent per month for a 3 bedroom apartment in The Hague, outside of centre (so where the ISs are) at € 1243 (and starting as low as € 800). Even in the centre they are a lot cheaper than € 1900.

Yes, the 'excellent school in Manilla' is basically my dream school, but unfortunately it's not exactly in a dream city. I hear they get loads and loads of applications though, despite being located in Manilla.
It's an interesting country for travelling though.

@Illiane_Blues

Since I had some time to kill, I averaged all scores given for 'Cost of living in relation to salary' in reviews for ISs in both Switzerland and The Netherlands.
I didn't expect the averages to be hugely different, but it turned out they are exactly the same for both countries: 5.2

Of course it's hardly scientific evidence that the savings potential is the same in both, but it's interesting to see ITs aren't very happy in either country, although you can't discount the effect disgruntled teachers (as well as fake admin-written reviews) have on these scores.

> Im the sole and exclusive authority on what is and isnt a waste of my time.

Nobody is disputing that, but it says something that you don't mind investing time to engage in endless discussions that have nothing to do with the the OP's questions, but don't want to take two seconds to introduce an acronym (which you then quite often have to explain later anyway, thus rendering your time-saving argument irrelevant).

And yes, I also frequently engage in endless discussions. Like TO (this one).

If you go to Numbeo, and compare Zurich with The Hague, the first thing you read is:
"You would need around € 6609 in Zurich to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with € 3900 in The Hague (assuming you rent in both cities).
So cost of living in The Hague however is only around 59% of what it is in Zürich.
So with the income in The Hague being around 70% of what it is in Zürich at the best paying ISs in both cities, I wouldn't say Zürich automatically has a better savings potential. It depends on your lifestyle, and on your family size. A teacher couple without kids would perhaps do better in Zürich, an IT with kids and a trailing spouse might do better in The Hague.

I wonder what you would find an impressive list then...
They have the 2 best schools in Japan,
they have the 2 best schools in Thailand,
the best school in Taiwan,
they have the 4 best schools in China,
the best school in Hong Kong,
they have the 2 best schools in Vietnam,
the best school in South Korea,
one of the best schools in Singapore (one of the 3 tied for best).

And these are still only the more popular countries in Asia.
Maybe a complete list is better...
They have the best school in (get comfortable, this may take a while):

Argentina
Bangladesh
Belgium
Brazil
Burkinafaso
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cayman Islands
Chile
China
Colombia
Czech Republic
Ecuador
Ethiopia
Egypt
Germany (of of the 3 tied for best)
Ghana
Great Britain
Guyana
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Israel
Italy
Japan
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Madagascar
Mexico
Mongolia
Mozambique
Nigeria
Oman
Panama
Peru
Phillipines
Poland
Qatar
Russia
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
UAE (Abu Dhabi)
UAE (Dubai)
Uganda
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam

In quite a few countries they also represent the second-best IS, some of which are also higher tier.
And those are only the countries where I know which school most ITs consider to be the best IS (I have no idea which schools in Ukraine or Cayman Islands are best).

I know your list of higher tier schools is very different from what most ITs's lists, so you might not find it impressive, but I do.
That's probably also why you think ISS has the same number of tier 1 ISs as SA.

But as mentioned, I do believe most of the top tier schools don't use GRC as their main method of recruiting ITs, so I would use SA rather than GRC if I had to choose. But with GRC being free I don't have to choose, and I can use both.

The list of schools on the GRC website is impressive, a lot of the tier 1 schools are on there, and about half of their schools are higher tier. Whether those schools use GRC to hire most or any of their new ITs is doubtful though. But some will do, and registering is free, so you could give it a go.

Search has more tier 1 schools than ISS, and more schools overall. But of course you might not necessarily be looking for a tier 1 school, but even then, Search usually has more options. I wouldn't mind spending money to register at both. If it lands me a great job, it's worth the investment. So far I've only used Search though.
Personally, I always have a shortlist of ISs that I would like to work at if my current school ever takes turn for the worse. For fairs I just look at which fair will have has the most of those schools represented (with a job opening for me), and it's always been either the SA Bangkok or the SA London fair.

You're right, she did.

And you don't disagree with me, but with Numbeo (although I do admit Numbeo is quite often off by a bit).

YOU brought up Zürich and The Hague first, I didn't.
And at the top paying schools in those two cities, income in The Hague is around 70% of what it is in Zürich


, but cost of living in The Hague however is only 59% of what it is in Zürich (Numbeo).
You have to factor in lifestyle and family size before it's obvious where you will save more.

I don't have the time to compare all cities, but I have done research on both Zurich and The Hague not too long ago.

Looking at the top paying schools in both cities, after taxes, income in The Hague is around 70% of what it is in Zürich


 (salary steps in The Hague are bigger though, so the difference will become smaller once you stay longer).
Cost of living in The Hague however is 59% of what it is in Zürich.

You have to factor in lifestyle and family size before it's obvious where you will save more.

Yep.

Glad to see you agree.

> Six figure in Switzerland goes further than five figures elsewhere in the
> WEu.

If it does depends on what the first number of those five numbers is, what the second number of those six numbers is (the first being a 1 for sure), and on where in WE you are.

I don't agree.
It's primary purpose is to help people asking questions about IE.
And throwing acronyms at them that aren't introduced properly in the thread but are explained in a glossary they don't know exists isn't helping.
If you can't spare 2 extra seconds to do so, you might not be very eager to make your answers accessible to the readers, and it makes me wonder why you reply at length about many many things unrelated to the topics posted, such as telling @Thames Pirate that you know more about how much she's saving than she does herself. If you'd used all the seconds you've spend typing about that you could have explained a whole lot of acronyms upon first use in threads.
I admit I digress frequently as well, but then again I don't claim my time is so precious that I can't type two words to explain acronyms upon first use in the thread.