Hi Stuart,

I'm not Swiss myself and I don't live in Basel, so I might not be able to answer all your questions, but you can find more info at http://www.baselexpats.com/.

My (Swiss) husband works in Basel, we have been living here for almost 4 years, and here's the info I can give you:

- Basel is German speaking, though you'll also find a lot of French speaking people because France is so close.
- English is pretty wisespread, Basel is a really "industrial" and "work" type of city, so tere are quite some business people and most of them speak English.
- I don't think there is an expat football team, but I think you could probably start one. Nigel, the webmaster of the BaselExpat.com site, has quite some contacts in the area.
- Students come to Switzerland all the time, usually to study in the Zurich university, which is one of the best in the world; so I don't think that it would be a problem for your girlfriend to get a student permit
- it is very realistic to live in France and commute to Basel, in fact I know several people who do and like it better as France is not nearly as expensive as Switzerland per what I have heard. Basel is right at the corner, really close to the border with both Germany and France, and apparently there are special rules valid only for Basel that allow people to come into Switzerland from both countries to work on a daily basis.
- I would say all of Switzerand is pretty safe, the rate of criminality is amongst the lowest on the planet, and Swiss are really conservative, picky ehm.. precise and efficient, so it's definitely one of the safest countries to live in.
- Some of the best skiing resorts are quite close, like Fribourg, on the French part of Switzerland, the Bern mountains and Neuchatel, also in the French part of Switzerland.
- the weather: it gets pretty warm in summer, but with a rainy day every few sunny days. The rain doesn't usually last long in summer though. Spring and autumn are more rainy and umid but you'll still enjoy nice weather and can take forest walks and so on. Winter is cold, but not excessively (we just got the first snow 3 days ago and today it's a few degrees under 0 Celsius), but it's the dry kind of cold.

I hope this helps!

Elisa

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-There really is no dominant language in Basel. You should be able to speak English, French or German.
-Basel is one of the most international cities in Switzerland. There is a large expat scene.
-FCB Basel is the local football team, and everyone in the city supports them.
For yourself, depending on the company you are going to work for, you may have a team at work. If not, you can find out where you can join a team through other expats.
-Apartments are easy to find in Basel, and the prices are decent in comparison to the rest of Switzerland. I rented a 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, balcony, in a good area of Basel for 1100CHF/month. Try Wincasa in Basel. There's a girl named Severine Huerliman, who is an excellent agent and she speaks English very well.
-I'm not sure about the permit for your girlfriend, but normally, since you are Europeans, you shouldn't have a problem. Money goes a long way here, so if there's enough money in the bank, that will count for something. Normally to take a course, you need to prove you have enough money to live and support yourself while going to school. About 1500CHF/month of study should be good enough.
-You can live in France and commute to Basel. Many people do this. Again, it depends on which employer you are working for. I would suggest you start by living in Basel for a short time and then talk to some expats who live in France and work in Basel. Taxes are much lower in Switzerland than France, but if you are working for a tax-free company, you may want to consider living in France. It will also depend on the type of permit you have. To live in France and work in Switzerland, you have a different permit, than if you lived and worked in Basel.
-Switzerland is one of the safest places in the world - other than Singapore. In Basel, there are a couple of areas you may want to stay clear of, but you will learn that from people immediately once you get there.
-I believe the nearest skiing would be about a 1 hour train ride away. Skiing is never far from any location in Switzerland.
-Weather is good. Basel is one of the sunniest places in Switzerland. Winter is a little chilly - around (-10), and can get snow. It's cool sometimes because there is wind. Summers are typically warm and sunny.
-There are places to play pool, but again, you may have to ask around to find them.
-Bars and nightlife in Basel is whatever you want it to be. You can do as little as going to a quiet piano bar, or tear up the town dancing in the various discos. There are jazz bars, and just about anything else you can imagine.
-You can get started with www.basel.ch

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