What We Are

Basel Life is a free English-language resource for Basel’s large English-speaking community. It is not just an events calendar but also offers practical and interesting information about life in Basel and Switzerland. It is written by expats for expats to help foreigners adjust to life here and enjoy it to the fullest.

From 2012 to 2021, this information was published in the form of a printed monthly magazine, Basel Life Magazine. At least in part due to the coronavirus pandemic and its effects especially on the cultural sector, the magazine was discontinued and this new platform launched in 2022 to enable us to provide up-to-date information and a resource with useful information about life in Basel.

Susanne (l) and Christine (r)

Who We Are

Basel Life, and Basel Life Magazine before it, is the brainchild of Christine Pesold and Susanne Hiller. They have been working together on Basel Life and its predecessors for more than 14 years.

Christine is responsible for selecting, researching, and writing most of the content of Basel Life. Originally from Montreal, Canada, she moved to Basel with her family in 2002 and has been an active volunteer in the expat community since her arrival in Switzerland. Having struggled with not knowing the language when she first arrived and often missing important or interesting events because of that, she initially began to compile a multitude of resource documents and to write about Basel, its events, and its culture in the form of a newsletter for her children’s school, the Swiss International School Basel. This newsletter section, which she compiled together with Susanne, eventually evolved into Basel Life Magazine and, ultimately, Basel Life. Christine holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and has published close to 50 articles and book chapters in her field. She enjoys writing, sharing information, and exploring all of what this wonderful region has to offer with her family. She recently also became a Swiss citizen.

Susanne also contributes some of the content of Basel Life and is responsible for quality control as well as serves as advertising manager. She grew up in Germany but hasn’t lived there for more than 30 years and therefore considers herself an expat. She spent 12 years in the United States before coming to Basel with her family in 2003. Although she doesn’t have to deal with a language barrier, she has many contacts with the expat community and understands their needs since her children also went to the Swiss International School. There, she met Christine and began their long-standing partnership in the publication of the school newsletter, Basel Life Magazine, and now Basel Life. Susanne is a biologist by training and holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology. She also still works as a science writer and editor in addition to publishing Basel Life.

Although we are responsible for the bulk of the information on the Basel Life platform, we couldn’t do it without the generous support of fellow expats who on occasion provide us with articles and photos—we are incredibly grateful for their contributions!