When my family first arrived in Basel in 2002, with no German to speak of, I would spend my days exploring the streets of our beautiful new city, living in Basel with my toddler in hand and my baby in a stroller. I consistently would come across workers, busily taking down what looked like the infrastructure to a fun family event, a fair, circus, or market — and perpetually felt frustrated that I was only learning about happenings as they were being dismantled.
Resources for the English-speaking community of Basel
At the time, there was no resource that helped connect the English-speaking community of Basel with the generous offerings of our city. So, driven by a desire to fill this void, I teamed up with a German-speaking expat and fellow parent at the Swiss International School (SIS), Susanne Hiller, and created a bilingual parent newsletter to help inform other school families about all of the wonderful things available to them in the region.
Basel Family Magazine
Five years later, in 2012, we decided to make the information accessible to the greater English-speaking community of Basel. We paired up with a graphic designer and created the Basel-wide free English-language magazine called, at the time, Basel Family Magazine. Very quickly, however, the magazine’s popularity grew such that we could no longer meet the print demands based on advertising income alone.
In its second year, readers could subscribe to Basel Family Magazine or purchase individual issues. As its content was by no means relevant only to families but just as much to singles and couples, including events and information for every age and interest, the name was eventually changed to Basel Life Magazine.
The magazine enjoyed an amazing 9-year run, publishing 90 issues with a passion for Basel and a mission to help other expats make the most of their time in this beautiful city. And then COVID-19 hit. The pandemic heavily impacted the cultural sector, and Basel Life Magazine, a publication that covers everything there is to do and see, faced significant challenges in its struggle to survive. Eventually, it became clear that continuing the print format was no longer feasible.
However, thanks to popular demand and a successful crowdfunding campaign, we received the financial backing to create the new digital platform, simply called Basel Life.
Basel Life – an online English-language guide to living in Basel
Like the magazine, Basel Life is an English-language guide to living in Basel. This online resource, which has been up and running since January 2022, brings you up-to-date information about events, museum exhibits, fairs, markets, sports, and excursion ideas. An easy-to-use calendar lists events for all age groups and interests that you can share or download to your electronic calendar with a simple click. But the platform is so much more than just an events calendar!
On Basel Life, you can also find lots of information on culture and history, as well as practical tips for living in Basel and Switzerland.
On the homepage, you can remain up to date on the latest information about Basel, like new bicycle or driving rules, tram re-routing, results of the latest votes, cool offers, and other tidbits of general interest.
The Basel Life website is available free for everyone to use
“In remaining true to our mission to help other expats find everything they need to make the most of their stay in Basel, the Basel Life website is available free for everyone to use.”
There is no subscription, registration, or fee, so why not check it out at www.basellife.com.
Christine Pesold
