We are getting ready to come for our tour of Switzerland soon and hope to look at some apartments when we come. My husband is working in Therwil and we have read here that two good places to look are Oberwil and Reinach. Can anyone give me any feedback if those are good choices? I have two children and I do not speak German other than what I have picked up from being married to a German. I do good toddler commands but that is it (I will obviously be learning). My daughter will start kindergarten but the move is not as expat so she will be in public school. My son is 2.

We are also thinking that we may not need 2 cars as we do here in the states so what is the difference for transport?

Anywhere from Binningen through to Ettingen (and a little beyond) is a good place to live. It's called Leimenthal. Just check out the tram and bus network. You definitely don't need two cars, and you probably can get away with no cars. Public transport is regular, frequent and reliable. And good value for money as well!

Your kids should be fine in local school.

All three places are great for public transport, supermarkets near by and choices in terms of multi-lingual kindergartens and playgroups (just in case you want to ease her into the system).

As far as Oberwil goes, you have the biggest Coop around Basel there that has everything that you may need. And it will take you, depending on where in those places you've mentioned you find a place, it will take you about 15-20 minutes to get inside the middle of the city of Basel. Good Luck again!

P.s. two cars are definitely NOT needed in my opinion, especially if you are looking in those areas to live. Most people take public transport regularly because trying to get your car into the city is a hectic event.

Hi Tammy,

I agree with NotAllThere in that anywhere between Binningen and Ettingen would be fine. The number 10 tram runs every 10 mins during the day from Basel town centre out to Ettingen (and slightly further on a slightly less regular service) so just try and find somewhere relatively near a tram stop.

You certainly won't need two cars. We sold both of ours before we moved here last summer and coped perfectly well without them. We did buy one a couple of months ago (well my husband did as I still wasn't convinced we needed one!) but only because it can be a bit of a hassle getting 3 kids and all their luggage on public transport for a weekend away. Most of the time we go places on the trams (or buses) cos it's just easier and good value for money (we bought annual passes)

Don't forget to consider living in Therwil if that's where your husband's working! We've lived in Therwil for a year now and are very happy here. It doesn't seem to have as big an expat scene as some villages but there are enough english-speaking things in the neighbouring villages to make that okay. Therwil does have the playgroup/school Ahead With English if you'd want your children to go there to maintain their English alongside the German/Swiss they'd learn at the local schools. There are also a couple of Swiss playgroups (Spielgruppe) that take children from 2 to give your child a bit of a head start in the local language before starting at Kindergarten in 2-3 years.

I have 3 children (all boys). The oldest attends one of the 3 primary schools, the middle one attends one of the 8 Kindergartens , and my youngest (who will be 2 tomorrow) starts at one of the Spielgruppe after the summer holidays. The older two are very happy at school here and are both doing really well considering they couldn't speak a word of German this time last year!!

If you have any more questions about Therwil or what's available nearby for little ones then feel free to PM me.

Good luck with your search!!

Melanie

Hi Tammy

I moved to Oberwil with my 3 girls (13, 10 and 6) in January this year to join my husband who has been here for 18 months - we have no car and have no problems getting out and about with ease on the inexpensive and reliable public transport system.

My 10 year old is at Primarschule and the 6 year old is at Kindergarten locally in Oberwil and my 13 year old is in the Intergration programme just down the road in Binningen. All of us came here with no knowledge of German but the youngest two are definitely coming along in leaps and bounds - so much so that both of them have quite sub-consciously asked me questions in German in the last couple of days! Doesn't half make you feel stupid when you can't understand what your children are saying though

Am happy to provide you with any more information or answer any questions you may have - just drop me a PM.

Claire