I'd be living on a beach in Italy right now were it not for the visa situation. Anybody know a way around the 90-day rule for Americans?
On the other hand wages in Switzerland are also among the highest in the world - it balances out. So if you want to work here just start applying. Google has its largest development office outside of the US here and a lot of companies have their European headquarters here and a lot of (former) startups are moving here too (e.g. Evernote [2] or Kayak [3]).
I am not saying Switzerland is the easiest country to get into to work but it is definitely possible and a lot of people do. Over 20% of residents are foreigners and I am very proud of that fact. So: If you have unique skills, knowledge and creativity you are definitely very welcome here and I guess in most parts of the world.
[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-mon... [2] http://www.moneyhouse.ch/en/u/evernote_gmbh_CH-020.4.046.397... [3] http://www.kayak.de/contact
bad translation, but after entering Italy you can stay longer by proving you have the resources to stay there (like a longer tourism visa) (that's on that site somewhere, not on this page, but that's a starting point)
The easiest thing to do is get married, or find a company here willing to hire you.
BTW, not sure you'd enjoy the beaches in Italy much at this time of year - it might be getting up to 20C in Sicily soon, they say, but here in the north it's about 6C and foggy.
BTW, I see you are a 'designer/developer': the company I'm contracting for right now might actually be interested in someone like that. If you're interested, or if you just want to chat about Italy, you're welcome to drop me an email.