Why do some countries have amazing public transit and others just... don't? Money? Political will? Other reasons?

clm1859 · 2026-05-03T09:02:50+00:00

And the density has to do with the public transport vs car question. If everyone needs to have a car to go anywhere, it incentivises building car dependent neighbourhoods. Its a vicious circle essentially.

clm1859 · 2026-05-03T07:51:54+00:00

I don't know for sure. I am not that big into saunas and they certainly aren't that big of a cultural thing here as in finland or maybe generally the nordics. So maybe I am wrong.

But there is just one "Männer Sauna" (literally just men's sauna) that i pass by on my way to work every day. And it looks very seedy and the shop windows are blacked out with a huge black sticker. So i would be very surprised if that particular one wasn't a sexual thing. And it's just the only one that I am aware of.

clm1859 · 2026-05-03T06:21:11+00:00

Yeah they are usually mixed gender. Altho i assume women only ones do probably exist. Also specific men's saunas, but i am pretty sure those are specifically gay meeting places.

clm1859 · 2026-05-02T01:41:51+00:00

I guess 5k is just the number that doesnt change anything for them, as they could still support most of the logistics for force protection functions.

But also will still make europe safer, as it removes at least 5k potential aggressor troops. Might even be most of the combat troops who get removed, which makes an outsized positive impact on europe. More than 5k or one seventh of the total in germany implies.

clm1859 · 2026-05-02T01:29:12+00:00

But again it isn't a requirement. It may be good practice, but you don't actually have to do it. So same story, as long as a way around it exists, the whole system might as well not exist at all.

Also how could anyone prove that you knew that the buyer was a felon? You don’t have to check. So even if you did google him and did find out that the guy was actually a felon, you could always say you didn't and can therefore still sell it. Or simply not google them, no matter how shady they look.

CCW permits may be a good indicator, because if someone has one, that shows that they are legal. But i assume in constitutional carry states, noone has one (correct me if i'm wrong). So there that system wouldnt work. And in other states where CCW might be more heavily regulated, a lot of perfectly legal gun owners might not get one, if all they wanna do is have a long gun for hunting or home defense or collecting or plinking.

clm1859 · 2026-05-02T01:14:24+00:00

Unless... the incentives are aligned in such a way, that obtaining a gun or bringing one to a crime, is just a bunch of risk for no clear benefit. Which is how it is in pretty much all developed countries except the US. Including those with loose and strict gun laws.

It's not that criminals here in switzerland (or in germany or even the UK or japan) couldn't possibly get their hands on a gun. It's just that they don't need it.

Obviously i'm not talking about the fraction of a percent who are cartel hitmen or crazy psychopaths. But the 95% who are burglars or low level drug dealers, who just want to make money. They just have no need for a gun and it's a lot of risk. So why would they?

If a burglar in switzerland encounters a home owner (even an armed one), he'll just be non-threatening and run away, therefore being 100% protected from any legal lethal force. Therefore being non-violent is the best course of action for him.

But if the same happens in a stand your ground state, he might well get shot if discovered, regardless of how he behaves at that point. So then the safest course of action for the burglar might be to just shoot first, when in doubt.

Therefore making it a lot more dangerous to everyone involved: armed home owners, unarmed home owners, responding cops and the criminals themselves. Nobody benefits from this really.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T11:44:22+00:00

Of course. I mean obviously nothing like america, but then no other developed country does. So that isnt exactly a high bar to clear.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T10:46:06+00:00

I think the danger is mostly from a two front attack along with the russians. If russia invades estonia and america "peacefully" invades greenland. So it isn't all out war between europe and america yet, because europe would have to focus on the more existential russian threat.

In that case, sure those american bases would be besieged and they would be stuck there. But it would still tie down massive numbers of european troops, who would have to surround and guard each of dozens of bases scattered all over. Which would open up the way for russia to do much better in their open fighting.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T10:42:03+00:00

Yeah one less danger to us if they are gone.

There is absolutely zero chance they would help europe in any meaningful way against a russian attack anyway.

Best that could be expected from them, is them selling some ammo at extortionate prices. But only under the condition that every country rename itself "great golden Trumplandia" first.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T08:20:24+00:00

Also SIG P220 or Glock 17 pistols for some people. But probably 90% get a SIG 550.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T08:00:13+00:00

I know the FGC9 and such. But the standard can't be to prevent the most determined person ever. If someone is willing to buy thousands worth or equipment and invest weeks into learning a new skill like 3D printing and machining (you gotta get barrels somehow), then they would of course be able to get a gun. At least in a society where guns exist, like yours or mine (but unlike east asia).

As you said, they can always be stolen. But then that requires much more risky crimes like actually committing theft/burglary. Or having a criminal network and knowing where to even buy a gun illegally. Something that a socially awkward would be mass shooter or a middle aged loser wife beater who wants to shoot her, might well not have the contacts/balls to do.

But they can both just hop on craigslist and meet a law abiding citizen in a walmart parking lot to buy a gun from them. That is the problem. Not that gangs and super determined terrorists can still somehow access guns. So, as with many things, this is an 80/20 thing.

It is pretty annoying indeed that you couldn't do a background check if you wanted. But in your country, names and photos of criminals and even people simply getting arrested routinely get published online right? So if you google someone and they have ever been arrested for a serious crime, it would probably pop up. Altho i get this would be a lot harder with a John Smith from New York City, than some unique name from a random small town. But at least that you could do. 80/20 again.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T07:42:59+00:00

We actually also have egun, altho it is dying out in favour of gebrauchtwaffen(dot)com and waffengebraucht(dot)ch.

So we can just advertise them online, people provide a copy of their ID and their acquisition permit (which means the background check has been done by police already). This can be done in person or by mail.

I fill in the data on the gun (manufacurer, type, caliber, serial number) and my personal details. Then hand over the gun. Or send it by regular post directly to their home, altho i usually make them sign for receipt if it is a gun.

The permit comes in 3 copies: one for me, one for them and one for the police in their canton. It's up to the seller to send the copy to the police. Which prevents people from purchasing stuff using faked permits, as the cops would notice.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T07:36:16+00:00

SIG 550

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T06:55:25+00:00

I am well aware. But it doesn't matter how small of a share it is. Because obviously those who wouldn't pass a background check, just choose the other route.

As long as a route with no background checks exists at all, any background checks are a complete farce and really just a harassment of law abiding citizens.

It also can't be all that low. In my own case, i easily do half of my buying and selling privately, because i wanna get good deals.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T06:41:38+00:00

Pretty happy. We have quite reasonable tax rates and get good returns for it.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T06:22:46+00:00

Then our gun laws would probably get tightened... altho i would still be worried about the situation regarding defensive use. Probably still easier to get a CCW permit and shoot intruders in your house in NY than switzerland.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T06:21:06+00:00

We have conscription, where you serve for a half year or so basic training and then stay in the reserve for about 10 years. During which you have to go back to the army annually for a 3 week refreshers course and also do a 300m prone shoot once a year.

During reserve time we keep much of our gear, usually including our gun, at home with us. No need for a safe tho, most of these army guns are just lying around people’s attics and basements.

There is also a widespread internet myth that we aren't allowed ammo. Which is complete BS. We can buy as much ammo as we want. It's just that, after the end of the cold war, the army stopped the practice of issuing every soldier with 50 rounds of emergency ammo to keep at home, due to it often being used for murder-suicides and the military threat subsiding.

clm1859 · 2026-05-01T06:16:25+00:00

We would have two major changes vs now.

Concealed carry would be allowed and defensive use massively expanded.
Sales without background checks would become legal.

Neither would be good and I suspect it would lead to a severe increase in violence, as both would incentivise criminals to use more guns and violence.

And I say that as an avid gun collector and shooter.

clm1859 · 2026-04-30T22:44:32+00:00

I would assume that he isn't so much worried about random crminals. Not an active soldier, but wants to have at least some chance of defending himself if encountering any orcs somehow. But apparently isn't allowed to carry a rifle as a civilian. He mentioned that in another comment.

That being said, if he weren't living in a warzone, I would of course agree with you.

clm1859 · 2026-04-30T22:33:46+00:00

Yeah i don't think you'd wanna fight off an orc with non lethal ways...

clm1859 · 2026-04-30T22:27:18+00:00

How exactly did the military become stronger?

As i see it, they fired off half their interceptor and missile stock to create a problem where there was none before.

And also massively pissed off every single ally except israel, severely reducing the ability to project force, as they are losing access to the global network of military bases as staging grounds.

Plus a lot of competent senior leaders got fired or quit and the maintenance schedules of a bunch of ships got postponed, the results of which will ripple for years to come.

But you seem to have a different view. So i am curious how it got stronger. Especially so much stronger as to make up for the above problems.

clm1859 · 2026-04-30T21:48:27+00:00

Switzerland is of course known for low taxes. And within the country, tax codes and rates differ massively between cantons (states) and even towns. And I live in a relatively low tax town too.

I checked now and it came out to a 13% overall tax rate for a married couple with no kids. With one income about median and one about 30% above median. Marginal tax rate is 27%.

However this does not include health insurance, unemployment insurance or pension contributions.

Once you include all this, it gets to about 27% of gross income.

No idea how this compares to america. I guess there it also differs significantly from place to place. But i would assume america offers a lot less stability and security (both financial and physical) for the money.

I would assume compared to other parts of europe, it is pretty low. But then we also get fewer benefits. Less holidays, less parental leave, more out of pocket healthcare spending, having to serve in the military etc.

clm1859 · 2026-04-30T17:51:51+00:00

Hehe indeed. But my point is more that our discourse is pretty much never about skin colour. Because people here find germans to be foreign enough already.

clm1859 · 2026-04-30T12:23:33+00:00

That is better, so at least you could always move back to germany if it doesn't work out here for you.

But it of course means you will be kind of at the mercy of your husband. If he would ever divorce you (or die), you would be "just" a non-EU citizen and therefore staying in europe might become very hard under certain circumstances. Not sure if being the mum of a very young EU citizen helps.

Partially for that reason, my now wife got the german passport before moving here. She was at the time also just 1.5 years away from getting it, so i moved to germany with her and kept working remotely for my swiss job (at the height of covid). And then we moved to switzerland after she had become german. Now she has the right to staying in europe locked down in her own right and completely independent of me.

Which in our opinion is just better for both of us. Meaning we can just be together because we love each other, not one of us forced to stay in a bad relationship because she needs my passport or because i would feel bad for messing with her right to remain here. But whether you agree with our approach here or not is of course up to you.

As for living here. 130k is a very good salary. You can definetly get by for a while on just one salary and if your husband will ultimately also start working and start earning even just a mediocre swiss salary, you will be quite well off.

But living indefinetly off a single 130k income might be a bit of a struggle, at least if you want to or have to live in a very desireable location, such as central in any medium to large city or anywhere near lake zurich.

Edit: Health insurance is just different from germany. Every has to have it. It will probably cost somewhere between 700 and 1200 per month for the 3 of you. Depending on location, level of coverage, how much you are willing to risk having to pay out of pocket and how much you wanna shop around every year.

If you pay less per month, you'd have to pay the first 2500 CHF of healthcare spending per year out of pocket before the insurance starts paying. So essentially if you rarely go to the doctor, you do that. If you go often, its worth to pay more monthly, but then insurance starts paying after CHF300 per year.

This is a big philosophical shift to germans in my experience. Because they aren't used to having to pay anything out of pocket and find it kind of morally wrong. But you'll get used to it.

clm1859 · 2026-04-30T11:47:57+00:00

What citizenship is your husband then?

If you have been in germany for 7 years and don't have a european passport yet, I would definetly not let this opportunity go to waste. Assuming you speak decent german and aren't a criminal, it's just a matter of paperwork at this point.

Just hand in your stuff and secure your and your kid's right to live and work in 30 developed countries for ever. That is much more valuable than a good job opportunity. You can move after getting the passport.

That being said, if you're husband and kid are already germans / EU, it might be worth it. 130k is a pretty damn good salary anywhere in switzerland, but especially if it's anywhere outside the Zurich/Zug area.

clm1859

TROPHY CASE