Moving to Basel Switzerland

[AlphonsoTheGreat]

I have been offered a senior role in Basel - does anyone have experience of living in Basel?

I have been living in the Middle East for the last 5 years which has been a fantastic experience but I have reached a limit of what I can do career wise here as I am not a fluent Arabic speaker so moving to Switzerland would enable me to progress to a more senior role and a chance for my children to experience European culture.

My two children are now in Years 5 and 6 of a British Curriculum school. They are intermediate at French and Arabic but don't know any German but I think they are still young enough to learn a new language if they do immersion. I don't speak German either. The relocation package includes international schools for 3 years. They really like their current school so it would be a big wrench to move them but I am thinking it is better to do it now before the move to secondary school and it will be a good move for us longer term.

I am a bit anxious about Switzerland as I read that it is very expensive and not a very easy environment for working mothers (I am a lone parent) and it will be a big contrast to the Middle East where there is very little crime, everything is open late in the evening and I had a live-in housekeeper who managed the cooking and driving the kids to school which enabled me to work longer hours to progress my career (BTW, she will be fine as I have paid her very well and she has been able to buy a house and land outright for cash in her home country and send all 5 of her grandchildren to private schools so she is very happy to be going home and retiring at 48 years old).

I have been to Zurich once for work but don't know much about Basel so interested to hear from anyone who has lived there and particularly interested in any views on the school systems.

I'm sure you will cope with the high prices in Switzerland if you are in a senior role!

I worked in Lucerne for a while. Yes Switzerland is expensive but the salaries are good.

You and your children will be fine.

I would look at living over the border in France or Germany if you can. It would be cheaper. Just need to sort it tax wise but plenty of people do it.

I lived in Swiss Romande for a decade.

It’s really expensive but salaries are good and you’re right not good for working mothers. You’ll need wrap around care and be prepared to be judged for not being a stay at home Mum to your kids. It’s massively misogynistic.

However, it’s a fab place to live for the lifestyle. Very outdoorsy and absolutely beautiful. My daughter did her IB in English and French in an international school and she loved it.

That was my first thought also. I have no idea about living in Basel, or whether the work visa (if required), would allow residence other than in Switzerland itself, but it's something I would explore.

It is a lovely part of the world, both the Swiss side and the route North through Mulhouse, Frieburg, Colmar, Strasbourg and so on.

Check your health insurance cover - I knew professional people through work in Switzerland who complained about the cost of health insurance for a family. This was years ago and it was 15 percent of their gross salary.

One of my old colleagues was recently also complaining about the cost of eating out - he quoted 70 CHF for two pizzas and two Cokes. He is French and said they only ever eat out in France now!

It sounds like a brilliant opportunity - certainly when you go out of the airport there is a French exit so presumably some French speakers?

Living centrally in Europe is wonderful - so many places to visit and so much history. Also skiing in winter (Austria is cheaper than Switzerland though.) I would really love to have had the opportunity to do this with my children.

My friend lives in Basel and finds it expensive even though he earns very well (he's pretty high up at Roche). He doesn't tend to eat in restaurants there for example but goes on a lot of international holidays and enjoys dining out while he's away. He also finds it rather dull apart from the access to skiing. He can't afford to buy a property there but owns two homes in other countries. That's all I know I'm afraid. He does find it safe but would prefer to live elsewhere if he could get as good a job and salary.

@Whowhatwerewolf , that's interesting on the costs of eating out etc. Researching the costs they do seem really high despite the higher salaries but I'm hoping we will have more access to nature than we do now in the Middle East so more hiking, biking and access to parks so we can do picnics and things like that in the Summer.

@Minasama that's helpful on the health insurance - I will try to negotiate a bit on the package then as I'm trying to be a better off net overall than I am in the Middle East which is also really expensive now due to inflation because of the conflict with Iran. I will also research on options to visit the dentist in France or Germany over the border as this is probably cheaper than Switzerland.

Also, the skiing is a good point - my kids have skied in Lebanon and Georgia but skiing in Switzerland or Austria will be amazing.

@TheoreticallyAdult - the judgement on being a lone parent/working mother seems surprising for such a modern country like Switzerland especially as I haven't experienced any of this in the Middle East. I have worked with a lot of single mothers in the Middle East and it's very common for women to be in this position due to divorce and bereavement so not judged particularly harshly.

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm going to run some more numbers on the cost of living and look into the type of visa in the package to see if I can live over the border in France or Germany but suspect I will need to live in Switzerland to make the tax and logistics easier as the kids will likely be taking the tram or cycling to school.

It's clear from the research that the geo-arbitrage options of generous packages enabling people to save a lot of money or move up in lifestyle is no longer an option post-pandemic/Ukraine/Iran as the cost of energy, goods and housing has gone up so much in nearly all locations whether it's Singapore/Australia/Boston/Abu Dhabi/Riyadh/Dublin/Switzerland.

I think I will try to make it a good thing though - enjoy a simpler life of more nature and less consumerism and hopefully the kids will still enjoy the move.

I have friends who work in Basel and live in a town just outside.

it’s really German speaking. Like, really. And nit hochdeutsch (the German you learn in school) but Sweischerdeutsch which is significantly different.

swiss schools split into grammar technical school and vocational school at secondary with the equivalent of the 11+ and teacher recommendation. The local state schools mostly do not do wrap around care nor do they have a full school day. Women are expected to be at home.

it’s a very traditional country.

house prices are genuinely insane. Rentals at least in small towns want character references.

international school is expensive but unless your kids get fully fluent in Swiss German they have no chance in the state system - my friend volunteers working for the local school and helping people not Swiss who have kids in Swiss school. They need it.

nothing is open late. No 24 hour society. Everything is hideously expensive.

I’ve been out to visit a few times and I like it but don’t get me wrong the Swiss like non Swiss to learn the Swiss way and stick to it.

Health insurance in Switzerland is easily 1000 CHF a month for a parent and children depending on what deductible you choose (and other variations in the plan). It's not quite as bad as the US and the protections ar better as it's not tied to employer, but it is very expensive.

Re. Cost of living. Basel is well positioned for border hopping to do bigger shops which are often cheaper.

From Switzerland, having lived in the ME - yes, completely different, but we love it.
Expense - not too bad. Quite often cheaper than central London re restaurants etc
Misogynistic - depends where. In the cities, not particularly. Older generation in mountain villages, potentially.
International school - they will do a lot of the childcare aspect you need. Local Swiss schools won’t provide that and would be a lot harder for a single parent.
Housing - you could live across the border, but the travel can be a pain. My preference would be to stay in Switzerland. Makes the admin easier too.
Health insurance - yes, it’s a chunk, but health care is brilliant here.

For all of the above, suggest you have a look at comparis.ch and homegate.ch both of which come in English.

If you live in Basel Stadt then language will not be a problem at all.

Good luck!

We’ve been living in Basel for nearly 10 years so very settled here and have no plans to return to the UK.

Are you British or do you hold any EU passports? If you’re EU then you could consider living across the border in France or Germany but if you’re just British then it’s a no go. Whilst your employer can apply for a cross border permit for you to work in Switzerland, I think you’d struggle to be allowed to live in either country.

We live in the city and pay CHF 3,000 for a 2 bed apartment but there are cheaper areas and in Basel Land you could get a house for that. Health insurance is CHF 1,200 for us as a family of 4. Our eldest DC is in local school and pay CHF 600 per month for his afternoon care (Tagesstrucktur) as school is only mornings and one afternoon (yours would do 2/3 afternoons though). Those are our biggest expenses.

Local schools are very geared up for non German speaking children if you do go that route. The have separate language classes to get them up to speed asap. If you go down the private route then there are bilingual schools too.

Switzerland does assume there is a parent at home (hence the school hours!) but in the city it’s not so much of an issue. All schools have Tagesstrucktur until 18:00. There are a lot of holiday day camps dotted around the city and many are subsidised by the canton. Children are also much more independent. Yours would definitely do the journey to and from school alone and make their own way to any after school clubs and hobbies which alleviates the pressure.

Let me know if have any other questions. I’m happy to answer!

Switzerland is extremely safe and will be amazing for your children.

I'm working in Basel (living across the border) and my sister lives in Middle East, so can compare. For sure, lifestyle is different, but personally I much prefer Switzerland, for the nature and generally more down to earth and less glittery lifestyle. And it really is in the middle of Europe, you can travel all over so easily. It is still very safe, you really don't need to worry about that. And while nannies are expensive, year 5-6 kids would normally be expected to be independent, make their own way to school, home and hobbies. There is also less judging of working mothers of kids that age.

While your children would indeed learn the language quite quickly, it's true that it is actually a challenging age to change to a swiss school due to the exams mentioned above. However, it won't get any easier and not sure about the salary, but paying for 2 kids in international school from your own pocket is expensive, so you definitely want to consider what happens in 3 years.
As your children already speak French, living in France and putting them to French schools may be easier, but I do not think it's possible after brexit if you don't have an EU passport.

One good thing about Basel - it is very international, tons of expats, so very easy to make friends.

@Octavia64 , @ApricotExpat , @swissrollisntswiss and @KatharinaRosalie thanks for all the detailed information on your experiences, particularly the different routes at secondary level in the Swiss school system and child care and activities - it really helps allay my concerns.

I think the logistics are doable and will be a great experience for the kids overall. I'm going to research the international school options in detail and negotiate hard on the package.