u/Helpful-Staff9562

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I'm genuinely curious to hear how other people see it.

I personally don't plan to have children, and one of the main reasons is that I find the decision to create a child inherently quite selfish.

The child doesn't choose to be born. We, as adults, make that decision for them. And when we decide to have a child, we also decide the circumstances into which they're going to be born: the country, economic situation, family environment, quality of life, education, stability, and so on.

But what is the motivation behind that decision? In many cases, isn't it ultimately about what we want? Companionship, love, a sense of purpose, the experience of being a parent, creating a family, leaving a legacy, or simply the biological desire to reproduce.

I've also seen situations where parents have children partly with the expectation that those children will support them later in life. Then, decades later, the child may feel obligated to move back home, sacrifice a career, relationship, or lifestyle, and spend years taking care of their aging parents.

That seems particularly strange to me because the child never agreed to that responsibility. They were brought into existence partly because the parents wanted something, and then they can end up carrying obligations that were effectively imposed on them from birth.

I understand the counterargument: parents can genuinely believe that they're giving their child a good life, and that the benefits of existence outweigh the risks and suffering that come with it. And obviously, many parents love their children deeply and make enormous sacrifices for them.

But I still struggle with the fundamental question:

If a person cannot consent to being born, and the decision to create them is ultimately made because the parents want something from parenthood, can having children ever really be considered an unselfish act?

I'm not saying that people who have children are bad people. I'm interested in whether the decision itself is inherently self-interested, and whether that necessarily makes it selfish in a morally problematic sense.

I'd be interested in hearing both sides, particularly from parents and people who deliberately chose not to have children.

What am I missing in this line of thinking?

Let me start, I came to Switzerland 12 years ago, pretty much randomly, because of a job offer. I had no particular interest in moving to Switzerland.

I’m 36 now, and looking back, the first year was fine. Everything was new and exciting, although I already felt quite early on that Switzerland probably wasn’t really for me. But I kept staying because of relationships, jobs, stability, and, eventually, life simply became very comfortable.

Now, at 36, I’m realizing more clearly that Switzerland doesn’t offer much of what I’m looking for in life. Lifestyle, weather, food, spontaneity, friendships, and relationships have become increasingly important to me.

I’m someone who enjoys spontaneity and warm, open social interactions. I like being able to meet people easily, have a coffee somewhere, start talking to someone, make plans spontaneously, and generally have a more flexible lifestyle. Switzerland can feel quite the opposite of that. A lot of life revolves around routines, planning and structure, and I’ve realized that this simply doesn’t suit me that well.

Career wise, I also feel that Switzerland is relatively limited depending on what you’re looking for. There are obviously great opportunities, but a lot of the market is concentrated around areas like banking, pharma, consulting and a few other major industries (not to mention language that makes it all more complex). For me personally, it hasn’t provided the kind of career flexibility and lifestyle I’m looking for.

I have absolutely no regrets about moving here. Switzerland has given me a lot, including financial stability and a very comfortable life. But I’ve reached a point where I’m asking myself whether comfort and money are enough if the overall lifestyle doesn’t really fit you.

If I could go back to my younger self, I would probably put more weight on lifestyle and the kind of environment I wanted to live in, rather than simply following the best financial opportunity.

So I think the time may have finally come to pull the plug and move somewhere that fits me better.

I’d be really interested to hear from others who moved to Switzerland, especially those who have been here for 5, 10, 15+ years. Are you happier here than before? Did Switzerland turn out to be what you expected? And if you left, or are thinking about leaving, what changed your mind?

I’m less interested in the usual “VT vs. VOO vs. VWCE / accumulation vs. distributing” discussion and more interested in the bigger picture: what are your financial goals, and how have those goals shaped your investment strategy?

For example, are you:

- Pursuing FIRE and trying to retire as early as possible?

- Building a portfolio specifically to generate income?

- Living in Switzerland and structuring your investments around Swiss taxes and costs?

- Trying to supplement your salary with investment income?

- Planning to move to another country and investing differently because of that?

- Using a combination of ETFs, individual stocks, real estate, bonds, crypto, or other instruments for a specific objective?

I’d be particularly interested in hearing why you chose your strategy, rather than just what you invest in.

What’s your end goal, what approach are you taking to get there, and what factors (taxation, country of residence, income needs, risk tolerance, time horizon, etc.) have influenced your decisions?

I’m hoping to hear from people with different objectives and approaches rather than another discussion about which global ETF is best.

I'm currently invested heavily in VT and I'm considering switching my core equity allocation to IOO.

I'm looking for long-term wealth accumulation (im 36yo), and I value simplicity.

The reason I'm considering IOO is that it gives exposure to the 100 largest global companies, rather than owning essentially the entire global market. It currently has a much higher concentration in large, established companies, particularly US mega-cap companies.

My thinking is:

- The largest companies tend to have strong profitability, global reach, pricing power and balance sheets.

- The global economy increasingly seems to be dominated by a relatively small number of mega-cap companies.

- VT owns thousands of companies, including many smaller companies that may never become meaningful contributors to returns.

- If the largest global companies continue to outperform, IOO should benefit disproportionately.

- I'm willing to accept more concentration risk in exchange for potentially higher returns.

- IOO has existed since 2000, so this isn't simply a brand-new thematic ETF.

- The main obvious disadvantage I see is cost: IOO charges 0.40% versus 0.06% for VT.

Also IOO rebalances gt market cap anyways like VT.

So, what am I missing?

Why should I not simply put my equity allocation into IOO instead of VT and leave it alone?

I'm particularly interested in arguments beyond the generic "VT is more diversified."

For example:

1. What specific scenario could cause IOO to materially underperform VT over the next 5–10 years?

2. Is the concentration in mega-cap companies actually a meaningful risk, or is it simply a different form of market-cap weighting?

3. Is there a fundamental reason to expect smaller companies or emerging markets to outperform large global companies going forward?

4. Does the annual fee difference materially change the long-term equation?

5. Is IOO effectively making a bet that the current global leaders will remain the global leaders?

6. If you had to choose one ETF today for the next 5–10-15 years, would you choose VT or IOO, and why?

I'm deliberately trying to challenge the IOO thesis rather than looking for confirmation bias.

Convince me that VT is the better choice.

I'm 36 and in a bit of a weird situation. I've spent most of my adult life working, progressing, earning, investing, travelling, having relationships, etc. I genuily had a great life so far. I have hobbies, good friends, a great family and a pretty good life, but I feel like I'm lacking a bigger purpose.

For a couple of years I've assumed that FIRE would solve this, that having complete freedom and my time back (though I manage pretty well with work) would allow me to figure out what I actually want from life.

But I'm starting to question that. I already have a decent amount of free time, so maybe my problem isn't lack of time, but simply not knowing what I want to use it for. I do some sports, go out with friends, have often had relationships, i travel a lot, but what else?

For those who actually FIRE'd: did it give you a greater sense of purpose and happiness, or did you find that you still had to figure that part out separately?

I'd especially love to hear real-life experiences rather than theory and how and what purpose did you find.

I’m curious how others in the European FIRE community would approach this situation.

I’m 36M with around €2M net worth, mostly invested, and I currently have a very good job. The job itself is actually pretty comfortable: no crazy hours, relatively low stress, and some flexibility. The problem is that I’m very unhappy living in the country where the job is based (Switzerland, long story short it drains me, doesnt fit my lifestyle, i dont connect with the people there, I just feel empty in this place).

The main reason I’m still there is the job. If I left, I could move to another European country, but the alternatives I’ve looked at are not particularly appealing. They would likely mean longer hours, more pressure, and going through the whole corporate bullshit cycle again, something I’ve increasingly realised I really don’t enjoy.

And this is where I’m struggling with the FIRE decision.

With €2M at 36, I’m already at a point where I’m wondering whether working significantly more just to build a larger buffer is actually worth it.

I’m not talking about retiring in the traditional sense and sitting on the couch doing nothing. By FIRE, I mean living primarily from the portfolio and having the freedom to decide how I spend my time.

I’d probably spend a lot of time on things I actually enjoy: sports, travelling, meeting people, potentially doing something with the community, and maybe experimenting with small projects or businesses. If something eventually turned into income, great. But I wouldn’t need the income.

The alternative is to stay where I am, keep the comfortable job, and perhaps work until 40. That would give me another 3–4 years of contributions and, hopefully, a larger portfolio. It would also give me more time to see how markets, inflation, geopolitics, etc. develop before making an irreversible decision.

But there’s a part of me thinking:

If I already have enough to potentially FIRE at 36, why spend the next four years of my life in a place where I’m unhappy just to make the number more comfortable?

On the other hand, €2M isn't an infinite amount of money, especially with potentially 50+ years ahead of me.

So, assuming you were in exactly this position:

- 36 years old

- ~€2M invested

- No debt / relatively low expenses (as of now its 3.5k eur monthly)

- Very good, low-stress job (work only a cpuple hours a day)

- But unhappy with the country you're living in

- Moving elsewhere for work would probably mean significantly more stress and corporate life

- You don't hate working per se, but you don't particularly value climbing the corporate ladder anymore

- You could FIRE now, but with less margin for error than if you worked until 40

- FIRE would be in sputhern europe where I'm from

Would you FIRE now, or keep working for another 3–4 years (where im based now i also have no capital gain taxes so extra accumulation years of gains wont be taxed)?

Interested particularly in perspectives from people who have already FIRE'd or who made a similar decision in their 30s.

​

I’ve been looking into buying an apartment in Lisbon and comparing it with simply continuing to invest the same money in broad equity ETFs.

Based on the calculations I’ve been doing, purely as an investment, Lisbon real estate doesn’t seem particularly compelling over the long term compared with diversified equities. It also introduces quite a lot of concentration risk, especially if a large portion of your net worth ends up in one property.

That said, I can see the appeal of owning a place for personal use as well. For example, I could live there when I’m in Lisbon, rent out a second bedroom when I’m away, and have a permanent base rather than constantly renting.

Has anyone here gone down this route and bought property in Lisbon? How do you feel about the decision in hindsight?

In particular, I’d be interested in hearing from people who:

Bought primarily as an investment but also use the property themselves

Compared the purchase with simply keeping the money invested in ETFs

Eventually regretted buying and wished they had stayed in equities

Had a positive experience and think the property was worth the opportunity cost

I’ve been investing in equity markets for over a decade, so I’m comfortable with ETFs, but I have zero experience with real estate. That makes me somewhat reluctant to put a significant amount of money into an asset class I don’t know well.

I’m not necessarily looking for the usual “property always goes up” vs. “stocks always outperform” debate. I’m more interested in people who have actually bought in Lisbon and can share what they learned about the financial side, maintenance, taxes, rental income, liquidity, and the lifestyle benefits/costs of owning.

I’m exploring the idea rather than having made a decision yet.

Hi all,

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Around 10% of my portfolio is currently sitting in cash after a house sale. While 10% may not sound like much, it represents roughly four years of living expenses for me, so it's a significant amount.

I'm struggling with what to do next.

On one hand, I'm hesitant to invest it all into the market because we're near all time highs. On the other hand, keeping it in a high-yield savings account or a money market fund means I'm effectively waiting for a better entry point, which feels a bit like market timing.

Another option I've considered is putting it into dividend ETFs as they are a bit more resilient to possible market drops (if the happen i can then sell into my Core growth etf, if they dont i let then ride in those dividend growth etfs).

Their yields are around 3% or higher, which is similar to what money market funds currently offer, but with the added potential for dividend growth and capital appreciation over the long term.

My current portfolio is:

\- 90% VT

\- 10% Bitcoin

So if you were in my position, would you:

\- Invest the cash into VT now?

\- Keep it in a money market fund until better opportunities arise (but that means market tining)?

\- Park it in dividend ETFs like SCHD or VYMI as a middle ground?

\- Do something else entirely?

I'm interested in hearing how you would approach this and why.

Hi all,

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Around 10% of my portfolio is currently sitting in cash after a house sale. While 10% may not sound like much, it represents roughly four years of living expenses for me, so it's a significant amount.

I'm struggling with what to do next.

On one hand, I'm hesitant to invest it all into the market because we're near all time highs. On the other hand, keeping it in a high-yield savings account or a money market fund means I'm effectively waiting for a better entry point, which feels a bit like market timing.

Another option I've considered is putting it into dividend ETFs as they are a bit more resilient to possible market drops (if the happen i can then sell into my Core growth etf, if they dont i let then ride in those dividend growth etfs).

Their yields are around 3% or higher, which is similar to what money market funds currently offer, but with the added potential for dividend growth and capital appreciation over the long term.

My current portfolio is:

\- 90% VT

\- 10% Bitcoin

So if you were in my position, would you:

\- Invest the cash into VT now?

\- Keep it in a money market fund until better opportunities arise (but that means market tining)?

\- Park it in dividend ETFs like SCHD or VYMI as a middle ground?

\- Do something else entirely?

I'm interested in hearing how you would approach this and why.

If so can you share your investment setup, withdrawal strategy, tax setup and age?

What the title says, curious to know if you keep your savings in eur/chf/usd in interest bearing accounts (like on a brokerage) with the intention of investing them and DCA in the market

What do you do now? Can you descrive your transition? I'm sick and tired of the corporate politics and want to live this soul sucking space and looking for inspirartion

I'm trying to build a portfolio that I could eventually live off without sacrificing long-term growth.

My ideal ETF would:

- Have consistently growing dividends (to help beat inflation).

- Still deliver strong capital appreciation over the long run.

- Focus on quality companies rather than just high yield.

- Be suitable as a "buy and hold forever" investment.

For the U.S. side, SCHD seems to be the obvious recommendation, but what about international exposure?

Do you prefer:

- SCHD + an international dividend ETF (Vymi, VIGI, SCHY, IGRO, etc.)?

- A single global dividend ETF? Does it even exist?

I'm more interested in dividend growth than chasing the highest current yield like cc etfs as tbey won't grow theyield over time and nav is not expected to grow.

Curious what experienced dividend investors would choose and why.

I'm trying to explore the world of options and I'd love to hear from people with real long term experience.

For those of you who've been trading options for several years:

- Have you actually outperformed a simple buy-and-hold ETF strategy (e.g. VTI, VT) over the long term?

- If yes, by roughly how much, and over what time period?

- What's your primary strategy?

- How much time do you spend managing your positions?

- How does your risk and drawdown compare to just holding ETFs?

- Have you factored in all trading costs, including commissions, fees, slippage, and taxes? In many jurisdictions, options trading can generate more taxable events than simply buying and holding ETFs, so I'm curious about your after-tax, net-of-cost returns.

I'm especially interested in real world results rather than theoretical backtests. If you're comfortable sharing actual annualized returns (CAGR) or total performance versus a comparable ETF over the same period, that would be incredibly helpful.

Thanks!

I'm approaching FIRE with a portfolio invested mostly in a global total market ETF. On paper, I understand the total return argument. Mathematically, dividends are just one part of total return, and selling shares can replicate an income stream.

But psychologically, I can't get comfortable with the idea of selling my own shares to fund my life.

Receiving dividends feels like getting paid by my investments, while selling shares feels like slowly dismantling the portfolio even though I know that's not technically what's happening. I also wonder how easy it really is to keep selling during a prolonged bear market when emotions are involved.

What I'm looking for isn't another "dividends are irrelevant" vs. "dividends are king" debate. I'm more interested in hearing from people who are actually living off their portfolios.

- If you're using a total return strategy, how do you structure withdrawals, especially during market downturns? Has it become psychologically easy over time?

- If you're living off dividends, how have you built your portfolio? Have the tax costs been worth the peace of mind?

- Has anyone ended up using a hybrid approach, with a core global index fund plus a dividend sleeve to cover part of their annual spending?

I'm based in Europe, so taxes are part of the equation, but I'm also wondering whether optimizing every last percentage point is worth sacrificing a strategy that helps you sleep at night.

I'd really appreciate hearing from people with real life experience rather than theoretical arguments. If you've been retired and living from your portfolio for several years, what has actually worked for you, both financially and psychologically?

I'm approaching FIRE with a portfolio invested mostly in a global total market ETF. On paper, I understand the total return argument. Mathematically, dividends are just one part of total return, and selling shares can replicate an income stream.

But psychologically, I can't get comfortable with the idea of selling my own shares to fund my life.

Receiving dividends feels like getting paid by my investments, while selling shares feels like slowly dismantling the portfolio even though I know that's not technically what's happening. I also wonder how easy it really is to keep selling during a prolonged bear market when emotions are involved.

What I'm looking for isn't another "dividends are irrelevant" vs. "dividends are king" debate. I'm more interested in hearing from people who are actually living off their portfolios.

- If you're using a total return strategy, how do you structure withdrawals, especially during market downturns? Has it become psychologically easy over time?

- If you're living off dividends, how have you built your portfolio? Have the tax costs been worth the peace of mind?

- Has anyone ended up using a hybrid approach, with a core global index fund plus a dividend sleeve to cover part of their annual spending?

I'm based in Europe, so taxes are part of the equation, but I'm also wondering whether optimizing every last percentage point is worth sacrificing a strategy that helps you sleep at night.

I'd really appreciate hearing from people with real life experience rather than theoretical arguments. If you've been retired and living from your portfolio for several years, what has actually worked for you, both financially and psychologically?

I'm exploring AI automation platforms as a first timer to see if its something id enjoy/good at and could monetize. Not sure if to learn n8n, male, zipper or what else. Whats your advice in terms of whats best in todays automation market?

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and one of my biggest struggles is concentrating in an office environment. The constant conversations, people walking around, and overall distractions make it really hard for me to focus.

Ironically, I work much better from home. I'm more productive, can concentrate for longer, and generally perform better.

Has anyone in Switzerland managed to get a medical recommendation or workplace accommodation that allows them to work from home because of ADHD? If so, what was the process like? Did your psychiatrist provide a letter, and how did your employer respond positvely/negatively?

I'm particularly interested in experiences at larger companies, but any advice would be appreciated.