Hi everyone! My family and I are currently in Basel and will be leaving by the end of February 2011. Sad to say, my husband's assignment has come to an end. We ARE actually heading home! In the last four years,we have thorughly enjoyed the beauty of Switzerland and are really quite sad to leave.

We come from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Basel has a strong appeal to me because of its size. I can get to any point easily within 20 minutes. I love the efficient transportation system. Grocery shopping can never get any easier for me. With Migros, Coop and Denner just about in every nook and corner. I also love Switzerland for all the carnivals and celebrations. To name a few... the dance of the Vogel Gryff, Fasnacht, herbst Messe, the Weihnacht markt. It changes with the season. Sometimes, it can get somewhat noisy especially during Fasnacht but hey everyone is having fun. The food also changes with the season (which doesn't happen in Malaysia, because we don't have the four seasons!) and in these four years I have had the pleassure of experimenting with recipes on the net/magazines simply because I could read German! Thank God, I took some lessons but of course online translators are excellent help too.

We are lucky to have made some local friends who have been so warm to invite us to their homes for fondue and summer BBQs. The Swiss are said to be very private but not in our experience. They are hospitable.

There are things I still wish I could do here: a swim in the Rhine in summer, go on a hiking trail for a full 8 hours, stay in a farm and experience the life of a farmer, pluck strawberries....just one more year...but then it will not stop will it?

aarrgghh mabel, I am so happy to read you felt welcome here, and that you enjoyed your stay and made friends. As you say, with the right attitude and a bit of effort - most find the Swiss very welcoming and surprisingly friendly. Enjoy your return home - it will take some adjustment, but it will feel good too, in a different way. Hopefully you will come again, even just for a holiday, and continue your list of dreams. Au revoir et à bientot.

You have captured the essence of what Switzerland offers, good luck with your return and do not feel too sad

thanks for being so encouraging and positive, yes, i would love to return for a holiday...not in winter though!

I will also leave Switzerland very soon and Basel is a really great place to live,
it's difficult to leave a place when I just started to settle down but life is life and i hope you'll have a fab time in Malaysia

Thanks so much for the positive post! As a new Expat about to arrive in Switzerland I found your post very uplifting! Have a safe trip home!

And visit the other part of Switzerland...

because...

you've seen nothing if you haven't seen Geneva


Thanks for this nice thread