First: It's Alsace. It's a different kind of France.
Second: If you don't intend to fight your prejudices, think about the move as such in the first place.
Third: French don't hate English, they don't care, they just want to speak French. You either can take it or you can't.

Was I too direct or do you find this post useful? I mean that you really can go and live in France near Basel without problem at all, people have done it before. Relax, but be ready for the absolutely natural multilingualism here (or is it just me living with only multilingual people around me??).

Land-wise, I prefer Germany at the border. The area around Weil am Rhein with the rolling hills and vineyards are gorgeous and homes look like they're in better condition. And if you live there, it will encourage you to get some German under your belt which is great for your job.

What I don't like about Germany, though, is the general unfriendliness of the people there compared to the French. Your experience might be different but I always find myself being barked at for one reason or another when I cross over into Germany - even though my German is pretty good!

Family-wise, both countries are family friendly but if you're into things like attachment parenting, baby carrying, etc, Germany wins hands down. Strollers and bottle-feeding are generally the norm in France.

there are absolutely amazing restaurants in every little village in France, a few minutes over the border.

OK, back to the OP.... well to be honest really not much has changed in the last 5 years.... certainly not road wise or local public transport wise anyway. There are probably more new houses, and the maternity hospital is brand new since then, other than that not so much! (Switzerland is not known for "embracing change"!)

I'm in the "prefer to drive" camp myself and if you currently commute on the M25 then frankly commuting by car into Basel will seem like a walk in the park. There is traffic at peak times but it's nearly always moving and usually pretty "polite" iykwim - people let you in, nobody gets stressed and I'm rarely queued up more than 5 minutes. I live in Aesch which is a great location transport-wise as it has a highway exit to the H18 - which is a better commute than on the main highway (A2? 3? I always forget) to Basel. Aesch also has a train and a tram so you are spoilt for choice if you prefer public transport - here the travel time always swung it for me - the train to Basel from here is only 9 minutes, but since I work on the opposite side of town to the SBB, you have to add onto that 20 mins on the tram to my office, and a 5 minute walk, plus changes and waiting for the next tram - door to door takes best part of an hour. In the end I can get in my car outside my front door and be at my desk in 20 minutes flat (that is if I didn't need to drop my kids!) even in peak traffic.

Forgetting about you for a second though and thinking of your wife - in a new country, not knowing anyone, not having the social network of a job and having a new baby to deal with - for her I personally would recommend not going too far out of Basel. There are a lot of groups and activities going on for new mums but they are nearly all based in Basel - for her I'd recommend finding somewhere on the tram line (any tram line really). Reinach / Aesch / Therwil / Oberwil / Binningen / Bottmingen / Allschwil - all these are good places for new mums because there are lots of other expat moms living in those areas - which gives an instant group of mom-friends. Even if you love living in the country in the UK, and are intending to integrate with Swiss life - coming here it can be very lonely in a small Swiss village (where it's less likely the neighbours will speak any English at all) when you have a baby and know nobody. Not to say it's impossible - just that I think she'd find it easier to make and meet friends if she were closer to town. You can always move somewhere further afield once your baby is a bit older and you've established a few connections.

One thing on the house hunting - do not expect to find a UK size garden. You will rarely find a house with more than a postage stamp size garden - mainly this is due to terrain - flat bits of land are few and far between and are therefore used for houses rather than wasted on gardens. If you find somewhere with a large sounding garden it will likely be vertical! To make up for that though there are fantastic parks all over the place. Also, houses are not easy to find - a lot of people (including families with kids) live in apartments, so houses are very desirable and with a lot of competition. Just to say don't rule out apartments - there are some very nice ones.

Oh, and the salary is absolutely fine.

And join the BCT (Basel Children's Trust) www.baselchildrenstrust.ch

This is an excellent post from Wattsli1.
We also live in a village just near to Basel and it's an ideal compromise betwwen town and country.

To be honest most people I know were earning more 5 years ago, salaries hardly change in CH, a tiny 1% rise if your lucky.

Infrastructure changes are fairly slow, finishing the south ring around Zurich took over 30 years to complete, they had to re do roads that had never been driven on.

Hello Jeepers and welcome to Basil.
My two penneth worth are.....
stay in Basel or very close.
Why trade a long commute in the UK for a long commute here?
It can take an hour by public transport (trams) from Aesch to the far side of Basel, to Novartis for example, but closer to 15/20 mins by car, not that there's any parking when you get there if this is your destination. If you live in Basel area you can cycle to work, it's stress free and cheap.
You can also meet the missus for lunch, could be a stress buster for her.
The airport is very active, especially in summer, so avoid all the fly over areas.
Your new job could be a nightmare where you are working long hours, add on a commute and a pregnant wife or newborn baby/lonely stressed wife and it doesn't make for a good start.

Ask as many questions as you like, most of us are happy to help.

For French side of the border, within 1 hours drive of Basel there are hundreds of villages to choose from.

Best search website I found for the French search is below.

http://www.leboncoin.fr/locations/of...f=c&th=1&ret=1

Good luck

Actually, as far as salary goes, there really has been almost no inflation in 5 years.

I second the recommendation for BCT. I'm also pregnant and stopped working for awhile and the other expat mothers I've met through BCT have really helped with the transition, loneliness, resources, etc. BCT members meet up every week for various activities and if you choose the French side, there's a separate BCT France expat group that meets up for playdates etc in the various villages. I'd expect Germany would have the same.

OK my two rappen worth.

Tax is a factor. Each Canton has different tax rates, Basel is expensive for tax, Basel-land is cheaper, Aargau cheaper yet.

Nightlife is also to be considered. Basel has Theater, concerts etc, as well as a plethora of bars to choose from (justrose can advise as well )

For a quieter familly life, consider the towns just outside. Lorach, Leistal, Rheinfelden and Olten are 1st stop on the main rail lines into the interior and are sub 1/2 hour from the Basel SBB. (Where in Basel are you working?)

I live in Rheinfelden and there are a few nice places to eat out at night, as well as being able to go over the border to Germany to shop and eat by foot.

Consider looking at immo.search.ch for property. It is pretty up to date as well as showing local services on the map function.

Finally welcome to Basel