Basel Expats

Once upon a time in Basel there was a group of people who met regularly once a month over a curry and some beer – and they always had fun! Well, the Basel Curry Club is back!

With markets in turmoil, finance in crisis, and banks in breakdown mode, just how safe is your money when you leave it in your Swiss bank?

Adopting a pet (writes Shelley) is a time which should be happy and fun, a new furry life to share. But it isn’t always, particularly if you adopt from a shelter. In September, my husband and I picked out two adorable 3 month old kittens from a local shelter…..

I didn’t feel accepted in Switzerland until I mastered my first Swiss German phrase – then suddenly, doors opened…

You know the feeling – the border is approaching – will they think you have done something wrong? Will they stop you? What will you say? It was 11 o’clock and I was driving back with my two older daughters after a very successful day out at the very impressive Rheinfalle in Schaffhausen, the largest […]

It was about a year ago, I started having trouble with my neck and shoulder. A bit of stiffness, tingling in my fingers and troublesome aches and pains in my left arm. I thought it was quite painful until a Sunday morning I woke up, and I realised what pain really meant…

When we meet another expat in or around Basel, it’s probably natural to assume they work for one of the big pharmaceutical companies, as so many of course do. But some expats have their own businesses here. Two such people are Karim Schlegel and Martha Gaio who together run Polish Pottery in Maisprach, Baselland near […]

We all know what it feels like, struggling in a foreign language to make yourself understood when you don’t know quite enough words to explain further… here’s a typical example written by Shelley some time ago but as relevant today as it was back then. If you struggle with German, you aren’t alone…