If you have moved to Switzerland to start a new job, you may find that it takes a while to settle in. You've met your new colleagues at work, you've settled into your new flat, but still you find yourself spend your evenings skyping to your friends back home instead of meeting the locals. Does that sound familiar? Then why don't you join a local sports club, take a cooking class or learn the local language? These are great ways of meeting new people and interacting with the locals!
Sports Clubs
In Basel alone there are many different kinds of sports to choose from. On the website of the city's educational department you can find a whole list of sports clubs. If you select “Tennis” for example and your postcode you will find all the tennis clubs near you. Take a look, there are all kinds of sports to choose from, it's not only tennis and badminton, if you're interested in aikido or fencing that's on offer too!
Learning a Language
Many expats regret the fact that they can't speak much German. It is understandable that if you only plan to be in Basel for a couple of years, you may not think it's worth learning the local language. However, so many expats stay much longer than they expected at first, so start learning straight away, as soon as you arrive! Extra language skills won't look bad on your CV either, right?
Here are a couple of language schools we recommend:
• Inlingua – offers courses in Basel, Bern, Zurich and many more places all over Switzerland
• Migros Club School – has wide number of language courses and the courses are usually good value for money too
Cooking Classes
If you don't feel like joining a course that goes on for a few months, you could join a cooking class that only lasts an evening! Maybe after the course you can try out your new cooking skills and invite the other participants to dinner?
Here are a few cooking classes we recommend:
• Migros Club School – A great selection of different cooking classes whether it’s Asian specialities or making 3D cakes, you’ll find it here!
• Berufsfachschule – This school at the top of the Kohlenberg in Basel teaches you how to cook a fantastic Italian Cuisine meal or even make chocolates yourself!
The cooking classes are of course held in German, however cooking is based on watching and copying, so your German does not have to be perfect.
We hope that you’ve been inspired by our tips and we wish you lots of fun meeting new people and integrating in our beautiful country!
