Also, does anyone know how long the train takes from Zurich to Basel and the yearly cost?
Any idea what the average cost of a 2 or 3 bedroom costs with plenty of closet space in a fun neighborhood close to the train? Which neighborhoods should we look at in Zurich?
Is it easy to meet people in Zurich?
Thanks!
However, as you mentioned your sexuality I wonder if this means where will you be accepted (anywhere) or where has the better gay scene (Zurich - Basel's is totally shit).
Basel is better for culture, Zurich is better for nightlife.
Although I should prefer Zurich (usually loving living in very big cities) I actually prefer Basel mainly due to the fact it's on the borders of both France and Germany. I like the easy escape. Plus it's a very easy city to get around.
There have been some gay-related threads with regards to the scene, I don't know much about it in either city beyond those threads. But the Swiss are very gay-friendly which given other intolerances they have could be considered remarkable!!
If you did choose to commute, your annual rail pass (GA) would cost just over CHF 3.500. In other words, a lot.
Basel's a very enjoyable city, but probably better suited to the more mature (I don't mean old); it's culturally rich and well-located for access to all of Europe.
If you have a partner, hopefully you won't need to find one here, so you can focus on being a person rather than a gay man. Basel is great for people.
What's that ?????
Keep in mind that you will have to pay your taxes 'in the city you live'.
There is a good chance Basel will be cheaper than Zurich...... as, everywhere is cheaper than Zurich.
adrianlondon is correct, Basel has a lot of great places to keep you entertained. I'd keep Zurich as somewhere fun to go on occasional weekends if I was you.
It's always easier to live where you work in the long run so I wouldn't make things harder on yourself by living in Zurich (time, expenses, taxes, etc.)
Sounds like a winner all round.
I'm actually moving to Basel this year... (traveling from London on a bi-monthly basis is exhausting).
Good luck!
I haven't been to Basel as much as I have been to Zurich. But, there does seem to be a lot of charm in the slowness of the town. You will never see that many people on vintage bikes in Zurich as you do in Basel. And it does seem like they take more advantage of the open river fronts, then the evening beer can by the lake tradition, Miller time, on Zurisee.
I prefer Zurich to Basel, but I don't dislike Basel. Like Adrian said, it is on the doorstep of France and Germany, and very close to a very cheap low budget airport that can have you in 45 minutes in Cannes, for less then 100CHF, booked in advance. The French are a bit of a homophobe culture. Although I do believe it is great deal the kind of homophobia that the biggest sounding bigots are the mostly likely gay themselves.
But if you work in Basel, trains are direct into HB, and the GA is wonderful. You can go anywhere, anytime in CH with it. And also allows you to have discounts on the trains in Germany and Austria as well. I mean to insure an old car will cost about 7 o 800 CHF a year, parking from 50 to 150 per month, strassenverkrersampt 350 or so, impossible to not get a speeding ticket or two here so 300, parking fees daily 5(atleast), and not including gas, winter tyres, accidents, or other maintenance to your car(oil changes, windshield wipers etc), 3500 for a year in transport, it's not a bad deal at all. And if you decide to stop using it mid way, they refund you the difference.
I knew of a girl that worked in San Gottardo, and did a daily commute from Zurich to there and back. She was single, and from another country, and said she wouldn't have it any other way. If you choose Zurich, introduce yourself when you get here. There are plenty of friendly folks willing to have a beer...or whatever is your beverage of choice.
I do agree with your post, and think that Zurich offers more, but the ultimate choice for the OP is 'which city to live in'.
With your previous advice (which is good), would you choose to live in Zurich and commute to Basel?
Even if my future move to CH didn't depend on the uni i'll get into, i would without thinking choose Basel. Zurich is greet for nurturing lifestyles, but in a long-run i personally feel like BS has so much more to offer.
And people are just amazing.
In the end I decided not to take it. The thoughts of what could be about 3 hours per day communiting just seems like a nightmare.
I already work nearly 50 hours per week. . . even just doing the minimum of 42.5 hours per week... all means... too many hours in work
I have had days where I was in the snow(at higher altitudes), and then on Lake Zurich the same day in shorts having a beer burning my nose.
But the point is, if the time he can enjoy either the two cities, normally after work and on the weekends, Zurich is easier to do this. From my perspective.
I wonder if you might be thinking that Zurich, being the bigger city, would be more edgy and more open to diversity? This is not necessarily so. Zurich is a very wealthy city with a more stable, traditional atmosphere (in my opinion). There is a healthy gay scene in both places but Basel has a scruffy side that some complain has been priced out of Zurich, other than maybe in the district Kreis 4. Being a same-sex couple is no big deal in Switzerland and you would probably have the same reception in either place.
So maybe the question is more: what is your lifestyle? Are you an established couple past the age of wild partying who like to go to the theater, museums, restaurants and want to build a circle of friends? Go for Basel and have a life other than hours of daily commuting. Or are you still at that stage where you stay out most nights and party and need as much variety as possible? Then maybe you'll think the commuting would be worth it - you'll need to be pretty fit to survive that choice.
There is no "closet" space as such. Rooms are not usually fitted out with built in closets in Europe. People buy wardrobes or have floor-to-ceiling storage built in (a pretty expensive option but much more efficient and worth it if you are planning to stay for a number of years in that apartment.)
As far as what neighborhood to choose for looking for apartments, if you can get an apartment in Zurich that you like and can afford, you grab it! Think of the entire city of Zurich (I'm not referring to outlying towns which I'm pretty sure you'd regard as dead zones) as being one neighborhood in Manhattan - and tons of people are trying to smash into that one neighborhood. Apartments seem to be either reasonably priced but very, very hard to land or just plain expensive. Public transportation is superb - even getting to the other side of the city on holidays or late at night is a doddle. I'm assuming that this is also the case for Basel but I've never lived there so don't really know.
Meeting people here is pretty easy, I think. I will help if you put the effort in to learn some German - not easy but essential if you want to live here and not just "visit" for a year or two.
Good luck!
If you prefer Basel, then Zürich is only 1 hour away by train for shopping, strolling along the lake... Switzerland is so small in comparison to the US or Australia ecc. one can get there in no time. There is a big British Circle in Basel www.centrepoint.ch
My parents were members for years.
Vanessa