My husband and I and our 2 children (age 4 and 1) are moving to Basel this summer. I have NO IDEA where to begin our housing search as I've never been to the city. I would love to live in a house (though I am increasingly worried that our 2000 CHF budget will be no where near enough) so an apartment will have to do but preferable with a garden or something nearby. We are actually flexible on the specifics (apart from the money) but just need a general idea of the best places to live with a young family. we want to be near parks and green spaces but also have easy public transportation access in and around Basel to take advantage of zoos, parks, museums, etc. I really do not want to live in a high-rise complex so am looking for a quieter more quaint/interesting area to live in. I hear South and East of the city are more residential but I need some specific names of areas/neighborhoods to begin our search. ANY advice/help would be terrific!

Gundeldingen is a very nice part of the city. green, quiet, central and lovely apmt.houses. a friend of mine lives there, most of the flats have front- or backyard garden. id say go n check things out by yourself?!

Houses in Basel are expensive and apartments with private gardens not easy to find. www.homegate.ch is a good website to browse to get an idea of availability prices etc.

We choose to move out to Rheinfelden which was cheaper for houses taxes and health insurance and still has a good train connection to the city.

When my son reached 4 we decided to move across the border to France as housing here was much cheaper and he could start school.

ash

You might want to consider Baselland. It's not that far out of the city, in some instances only 10 minutes, they are on Basel tram lines etc.

Taxes in Basel city are high.

Our health insurance for a family of 3 was much cheaper in rheinfelden than in Basel Stadt it dropped from 650 per month to 400 or so with the same company and identical cover.

My taxes went down by 8800 per annum in Aargau

NB the above figures are approximate

My wife shopping bill dropped by a lot more as she had to take the rain to the city approx 15 mins 2 x in one hour

ash

For families, if parks and gardens are a priority, Baselland (esp Oberwil or Reinach) or perhaps Bruderholz or Riehen (which are my personal preferences) are good places to look. Gundeli (just south of the SBB) is also nice with great proximity and diversity, but slightly less suburban. If youre kids will be going to ISB, Reinach or Aesch are good bets.

there are lots of English speaking people in Oberwil. Also alot of people live in Riehen as the international schools are there. Hope you will find your place here in Basel. We have 30,000 English speaking expats and also most people speak some English. Check out www.centerpoint.ch as they have lots of links to all you will need here in Basel. Best of luck with your move here.

Thank you for your advice...it's been very helpful. I realize that I didn;t mention that we will be working in the Reinach/Aesch areas so that may help clarify distances in relation to work. We are hoping for a relatively short commute (by public transport in the beginning) and have managed to narrow down to the following areas:
Reinach, Aesch, Pfeffingen, Dornach, Arlesheim, Munchenstein, Duggingen, possibly Biel-Benken (but I heard public transport from there was not great) or Ettingen. I have heard of Bruderholz which sounds lovely but someone told me it was quite expensive.

We are still hoping for a 4.5 room (or bigger) apartment in the 'area' of 2000 CHF (give or take a couple hundred). So any more advice about any of these specific areas would be great! Thanks again for the help so far...

> [we will be] working in the Reinach/Aesch areas

(prefix: we've only been living around here for 3 months)

The #11 tram-line goes from Aesch (via Reinach), then on to Basel, stopping roughly every 800-1200 metres. From Aesch to Basel it takes 30 minutes by tram, or 15 minutes by train (probably the same by car). The tram makes so many stops!
Aesch to Reinach is about a 5 minute ride, Aesch to Reinachdorf (tram stop outside the ISB) is (guess) 10 minutes.

It's much easier to get about by tram than driving, and to be honest I would only live in towns serviced by the tram. Pfeffingen is a bit greener than Aesch (more upmarket too), but it's up a hill (do you bicycle?!) and only has a bus service.

If you're thinking "I'll drive everywhere anyway" - obviously it's up to you, but for us the tram (or train) is quicker and easier. For taking the kids to school it's perfect (so is bicycle riding). Your kids are too young to need a ticket, but you can get an adult 2-zone monthly ticket (takes you just about anywhere around Basel) for CHF 67. This covers train && tram (others too?). Once your kids need a ticket, you can buy a yearly pass for them (~CHF 22) and they can ride on your ticket.

http://comparis.ch links up a few of the housing-search websites, so it's not a bad place to search for a flat. There's lots of open space, forest walking trails, and what-not. We moved from a large house (with front && back yards) to an apartment. But out the back is a (public) playground, so the kids go out there to play. Maybe not as much as I'd like, but it's getting warmer every day.

Good luck, it's fairly daunting renting a flat and moving over, but once you get here it's fun. You can meet lots of other english-speaking mums & dads on the tram to school (the ISB) every morning.


cheers,
Wibble

Should you need any assistance on your relocation to Basel please check the Swiss site expatservice. I am Swiss living in Reinach and familiar with international moves and the Swiss quirks...

I guess by now you have found something suitable?
If not, we (me, my husband and 2 year-old boy) want to sublet our beautiful apartment for 1-1,5 years from mid-August 2008 as we will relocate ourselves to London. Pictures and further information you fill find on the following website (if you refer directly to me you will save the commission....)

http://www.ums.ch/product_info.php?c...68&language=en

Kind regards,
Mirjam

Hi Mrs Dalais,

We've just done a very similar thing, as we've also moved to the Basel area with 2 kids of 4 and 1. Unfortunately, that does mean that I can't help out too much with the whole housing thing - but we did look at a terraced house in Aesch with a small garden for just over 2000, so you should be able to find something nice if you don't mind not being in the centre of town - and as the others say, the public transport system is great!

good luck!
kate

my own advice, as a father of two small boys, is to get whatever you can find as close to Rhine as possible. No need for a private garden, you can just sit on the river bank and watch the boats go buy, not to mention the bike paths, parks, and the fascinating Tinguely museum, etc. Really the best option, if you are only here for a few years.

My guess is that you may be about to start work at the ISB (there are very few places in both Reinach and Aesch where you could be working!). If that is the case then anywhere along the tram 11 would be suitable for you. If you are intending to drive then there are many options, but the Reinach side of Basel would be easiest. It rather depends how much time you want to spend in the car each day. There are many school families in Reinach, particularly around the Reinacherhof tram stop. You may want to live amongst the school community, or a little apart from it, depending on how much privacy you are hoping for. Your budget of 2,000 is optimistic for a house - nearer to 3,000 is more likely and it will still be quite small, but the further you are away from public transport the more you get for your money (generally). If you would like to e-mail me privately for more information I might be able to help. Or you may already be here and organised, in which case, welcome to Basel!

Hello
wich is a good place to live for a couple?
i will work in EuroAirport and my girl in Novartis?
we are looking for a nice place to rent an aparment?nice zone, and near public transports...
thank you

Hi there

As mentioned by others before you might want to think about the tax situation first. BS is much more expensive thean BL. Should you be willing to pay the "BS-premium" the area around Schützenmatt would be convenient (Novartis and Airport). It is a nice area with good connections to the city...

Hello mrs Dalais it is the lady you contacted some time ago regarding childcare for your daughter. I mentioned that we were having a dog .This has changed now so , no dog.I am still free if you are looking for this still or if your origional plans fall through. We live in grellingen so not far from reinach. I also have transport .My telephone number is 0617412369 at home. I agree with the advice you have been given re your housing options.

I have an apartment in Basel 7 minutes from the airport. It is near a park and the swimming pools and just minutes from the city. It is a 3 room, attic apartment with a washer and dryer. The main bedroom is down stairs along with the living room and bathroom with a window.

Upstairs there is a loft and a bedroom. There is a large terrace with a lift that is secure (key access only).

The area is safe, a grocery is nearby and bus and tram stops are just a minute walk from the door. The neighbors are friendly and we have lived there 6 years. We just moved to Berneroberland and that is the only reason we are letting the apartment go.

The landlord is very nice and offers a parking garage behind the apartment.

I can stay until my 3 month period is over but would prefer to move earlier.

If you are interested, call me at 078 737 9582.

Wendypunkt

hi wendy do you still have the attic apartment? i am desperately intersted and how much is it PCM?

Hello tanno01,

Yes, I still have the apartment until November 30th. I think it will be about 1800 CHF per month. It is exceptional because of the washer and dryer in the apartment and the big bathroom with a window and I guess the large terrace is also hard to find.

Are you in Basel now? We have 90% of our things moved out but you are welcomed to come by and take a look.

Wendy