Hi,
My husband, one year old son and I are Americans currently living in Singapore for the past five years. My husband might be put a project that would bring us to Basel for 8-10 months. We will be visiting Basel next month to check out the place. My questions are:

1. We would like to see the city as if we were going to live there (not as tourists), shopping centres, children's parks, children's play area, residential areas. Can anyone give me any ideas on what to see while we are in town? Where do you recommend to live with a small child? Where can you find an indoor/outdoor swimming pool?

2. We have the choice of staying in the Radisson SAS or Mercure hotel. Which one is better for seeing the residential areas or does it not make a difference?

I appreciate any information you can give me!
Cheers!

Hi trisanna;

I live in Allschwil (with a 1yo and an 8yo), which is about 12-14 minutes by tram to the city centre. We have an indoor swimming pool 10 minutes walk away (some claim it is one of the better around) and outdoors pools 15 minutes walk away. It is quite green, the main downside being plane noise as it is close to the airport. Rarely bothers me anymore, we are quite happy about the location.

There is a (not humongous) shopping centre a couple of km away, but if you have a car you often go to Germany of France for serious shopping anyway. We don't, so we do most of our shopping locally.

An alternative area to look at could be Riehen, north of the Rhine poking into Germany. Don't know it well, but it looks quite pleasant.

Both are on the number 6 tram line, which passes just in front of Radisson SAS (be warned, there are some clubs and shops opposite that you do not find in Singapore). Don't know where Mercure is. You could start your sightseeing by going on the No 6 from end to end, I think you get a travel pass from the hotel you stay in.

There may be other areas to check - I don't know them all.

I generally find that there are play areas well spread out over much of Switzerland - if you like the area, that is unlikely to be a showstopper.

Hope this helps

Martin

__________________
- Clarity of writing is usually preceded by clarity of thought.

Thanks for your post. The Mercure is on Clarastrasse. Is the Radisson SAS in a noisy part of town, since you mentioned there are bars/clubs around in the area.

In Singapore, we have lots of children's activities (like music classes and gymboree, which i know they have in Zurich). Looking for something like that in Basel.

Some of my husband's coworkers have moved to Basel and told us about shopping in Germany, since Switzerland is very expensive.

Is it expensive to buy/lease a car in Switzerland?

Hi there

having stayed in the Radisson on a similar 'look-see' visit, I thought it was pretty OK. It has a pool and is walking distance from shops etc - if however you may be offended by Europeans' more 'open' attitude toward sexuality, please note comments from another poster above (NB I don't know the Mercure either, though it is on the more 'vibrant' side of town...)

Basel has loads to offer young families with kids- whilst you are over try to buy the book 'Family Fun in Basel' - ask for it at Bider and Tanner.

A major hub of the expat community is the ISB (international school of Basel) in Reinach/Aesch - you should make an appointment to view this, assuming your children are of school age.

Another hub is Paddy's - the Irish pub. This is more or less next door to the Radisson!

Good luck!

No, I don't think it is particularly noisy, it is just a couple of bars with "adult" entertainement.

There are lots of childrens activities. Our 8yo is doing football (soccer), judo and music lessons, and there was more offers from the local school - we think he has enough. And that is all in Allschwil, within walking/cycling distance.

Cars: Prices are AFAIK in the low end of Europe, partly due to the lov taxation (appr. 12% altogether). Insurance, road tax and parking is a different story, have a look in the transportation part of the forum. Compared to Singapore it is cheap If you buy newish 2nd hand you often get a very good deal, as the Swiss seems to consider a 3yo car _old_.

In any case, chances are that you don't want any more than one car, as in particular parking can be such a pain.

__________________
- Clarity of writing is usually preceded by clarity of thought.

Don't be put off by reports of "adult entertainment" in the area. The bars there are quite bland by more cosmopoitan standards and the area is quite safe and clean.

I totally agree, there is nothing iffy about the area. It was more meant as preparing potentially sensitive souls, in particular if they had adapted the standards of Singapore

Hi,

I'll recommend you stay at the Radisson, it is very central and within a walking distance to the Zoo.

There is some information about Basel (including a virtual city tour) in this page from the local newspaper

Good luck with your visit.

Basel is excellent for children. I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old, we've lived here 2.5 years.

Two parks to check out, which are our favourite outings

Lange erlin no. 2 tram to badischer bahnhoff then no 36 to lang erlin (5 mins) it's a lovely animal park (free entry) with a good restaurant and a play area.

grün 80 no 11 tram, has it's own stop, big park with lake, model dinosaur, restaurant and excellent play area.

Basel zoo is also excellent, we get a family pass each year and probably visit at least once a month.

Oberwil has a big expat community both Americans and British, is on the edge of beautiful countryside with farms, stables, forests.

Highly recommend it!!!

I would also recommend radisson hotel, it's not noisy but is in the middle of town so easy to navigate and better walking to options for eating out etc.

Actually is tram no. 10

Thanks for all your information. My husband's company picked the Mercure, since it's close to their office. The adult entertainment in the vicinity of the Radisson didn't put me off. Even though Singapore seems to have a squeaky clean image, we have red light districts, adult entertainment and other such places here.

When i am in town next month, i will check out the parks and some shopping areas. If we have time i will check out the zoo.Thanks draculin for the website. Lots of info! Thanks ddejay for the recommendation on the "Family Fun in Basel" book. You mentioned that i can get it at Bider and Tanner bookstore. I went on their website to get there address. Is the main store's address Aeschenvorstadt 2? Is that in the centre?

Thanks again for all your help!

Thanks for all your information. My husband's company picked the Mercure, since it's close to their office. The adult entertainment in the vicinity of the Radisson didn't put me off. Even though Singapore seems to have a squeaky clean image, we have red light districts, adult entertainment and other such places here.

When i am in town next month, i will check out the parks and some shopping areas. If we have time i will check out the zoo.Thanks draculin for the website. Lots of info! Thanks ddejay for the recommendation on the "Family Fun in Basel" book. You mentioned that i can get it at Bider and Tanner bookstore. I went on their website to get there address. Is the main store's address Aeschenvorstadt 2? Is that in the centre?

Thanks again for all your help!

Sorry, my post above posted twice.

Hi there

Yes, Aeschenvorstadt is very central - the nearest tram stop is Bankverein.

The details of the book (ISBN etc) can be found here:

http://www.amazon.de/Ausflugsf%C3%BC...9368204&sr=1-1

Best of luck!

Hi Trisanna.

You've probably had your look-see visit by now, hope you liked Basel as much as I do. I don't live there but hoping to do so in a couple of years, but I have visited often with friends there. They live in Riehen and it really is a nice area, close enough to the city to be convenient, tram goes right through.

Other friends live in Oberwil, another nice area. I don't have kids so can't suggest anything along that line, but I think anywhere you choose to live in Basel should be great. Transport is excellent, shops are good, and you can always have a weekend away to some fantastic places in Switzerland or further afield in France or Germany.

Good luck with the move!

Pam
(pamela16 from Australia)

Dear members:

I am a medical scientist from Canada and have a job interview in Basel on July 11 at pharma company. I would highly appreciate if any of the expats, living in Basel, is able or willing to briefly meet and chat with me over a cup of coffee about life and experience in Switzerland.

Thanks and best regards,

Alex

Not meaning to hi-jack this post but wondered if Sorensen could tell me where the swimming pool is that you are referring to. I live in Hegenheim and am looking for a pool to take my children to. Many thanks.