BAK

Any ideas on furnished, mid-range, long term studio apartments in Basel?

I might be there for a few weeks at a time, away for perhaps a week every three, for three months.

It would probably be best to not have to pack up for the individual weeks I'd be away.

And any ideas about general cost of living i.e. groceries for cooking in the apartment, taxis to get around the city, mobile telephone charges, etc., especially as compared to Canada?

Thanks everyone.

BAK

kleeblatt

Lucky you! Basel is wonderful and so cultural. The grocery prices are comparable to Canada. Our fruit is sometimes even cheaper! As for telephones, you can get monthly subscriptions and a free cellphone together. We call the phones "handy" or "Natel". We do lots of text messaging here to save on money. There's a good public transportation system in Basel so hopefully you won't need the taxi which is very expensive. If you like to cook, you won't find the following things here: liquid vanilla flavoring in a bottle, corn syrup or cream of tartar. You won't find cream of wheat but you will find maple syrup, peanut butter and even pancake mix. But who needs this when we have the best breads in the world? Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm an Olympian (Washington State) who's been living in Switzerland for the last 20 years.

BTilke

The number one choice for short-term furnished lets is the Apartmenthaus zum Trillen. The web site is www.apartmenthaus.com Book quickly, as it is very popular, esp. with the pharma companies.
I stayed there for a month and enjoyed it. The decor will never be featured in an interior design magazine (most of it is very 1980s, my studio was 1970s), but it's comfortable, very clean and functional. The location is unbeatable...one block from the Marktplatz (which is a major tram stop), which means it's centrally located but quiet. A pretty fountain on the square in front; an inexpensive and decent Italian restaurant next door (I ate there a couple of times a week). The rates are fair and there is no markup on phone bills--you pay essentially what the owner is charged.
Basel is one of my favorite places in Switzerland. Excellent museums, really good shopping, and surprisingly lively nightlife. A little short on internet cafes, however. There is dialup access at zum Trillen, but not high speed access (at least, there wasn't when I stayed there).
The Globus department store on the Marktplatz has an outstanding food hall on its ground floor and basement. There are also several grocery stores in town (a few of them have their own buffet restaurants and are excellent value for money). There is also a regular outdoor food market on the Marktplatz. Basel has at least two Starbucks, but the most popular cafe is Fumare/Non Fumare.
Re mobile phone charges, I found that using my apartment phone at zum Trillen was a LOT less expensive than using my mobile. I thought the opposite would be true and found out the hard way when I compared phone bills.

BAK

Thank you both very much! The info is very useful and appreciated.

chtiet

You can also easily live in bordering France or Germany for much lower cost of living (don't know if your visa/work status would allow this). There is a large grocery store in Weil am Rhein/Friedlingen, for example, literally on the border with Klein-Basel, that caters to people living in Switzerland who take advantage of Germany's lower (in some cases MUCH lower) prices. Plus, if you live in Switzerland, you can easily get a German VAT (16%) refund, and pay only the Swiss VAT (not sure, but I believe around 8%).

Also, Basel's public transit extends into Germany/France, so that you don't even need a separate pass or anything.