Zurich is not the only attractive destination for city lovers. Winterthur has also a lot to offer and has advantage of a better value for money. Rental prices in Winterthur are comparatively low. But how cheap are the rents compared with the city of Zurich?
According to the most recent data, the district Seen is the cheapest spot in the city of Winterthur. Rental prices for 80m2 apartment are around CHF 1,633 per month. Those who want to live in the heart of the city don’t have to dig much deeper into their pockets. The city centre costs around CHF 1,900 for the same living space. Followed by Mattenbach (1,833 CHF), Oberwinterthur (also 1,833 CHF), Töss (1767 CHF), Wülflingen (1,700 CHF).
Compared to Zurich, these prices are very reasonable. For the same living space, you would have to pay around 4,500 CHF. The Aussersihl, which is a further away from the centre, also offers more expensive flats. For a living space of 80 m2 you would pay (district 4) around 3’000 CHF.
To summarise: An apartment in the city centre of Winterthur costs you less than half the price of an apartment in the city centre of Zurich.
Zurich or Winterthur – Which one should I choose?
If you work in the city of Zurich, you will consider an apartment in the city. However, the shuttle services from Winterthur to Zurich would still cause additional cost. Given the high price differences, however, the GA would pay for itself very quickly and those who prefer the rural region to the big city of Zurich should seriously consider looking for an apartment in Winterthur.
Not in the mood for daily commuting? Well, commuting can no longer be a reason not to move to Winterthur these days. The S11 only takes 21 minutes to get from Winterthur to Stadelhofen station. If you rent an apartment in the city centre of Winterthur, you will only be a few minutes away from the main station.
But if you live in the city of Zurich, you can’t just get on the train and get to Stadelhofen station within 5 minutes.
To illustrate this, we now assume that you have moved into an apartment on Albisriederstrasse. So, you would take the tram at the Letzigrund stop and drive towards Stadelhofen station. Then take the tram number 2 and can reach your destination without changing trains. The journey takes 23 minutes (!). Living in the city does not mean that you need more time from the agglomeration to get to work.
Summary of the rental prices
In order to stay fair, we now assume that you have to accept about 30 minutes from Winterthur in order to get to the Stadelhofen at the workplace. In addition, you should consider that trams run more regularly than the S11. The S11 runs every half hour. At the end of the day, you would still need a little more time to get from Winterthur to the workplace. But does this difference justify a rent difference of CHF 1,000 per month? The GA travelcard costs CHF 3,860 by comparison. For an annual pass in zone 10 of the city of Zurich, you still have to pay 782 CHF.
