 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All,
I'm doing my BASI 2 in the summer with a view to selling up everything and myself and Mrs DangerDave moving out to mountains to escape an increasingly crappy GB.
We've got sort of a plan that involves me working as an instructor during the winter and with any luck, she'll be able to carry on her existing job remotely.
I suppose what I after is tapping the collective wealth of experiences on here of people that have made the jump and followed their dream. It's quite a big step and I want to be reassured that there is a way of doing this and making the dream of living in the mountains work (especially the usual question of what to do in the summer).
Anyway, I would appreciate anyone who wants to post their experiences and tell me to just man up get on with it!
Thanks in advance all.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Going to watch this thread with interest. Although I'm a good ten years away from being financially able to up sticks and leave good old Blighty, and I won't be pursuing a career as a ski instructor, I do want a life with a mountain view before I'm too old to enjoy it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Regarding the summer, maybe look to raft guiding work. Fairly easy to get into, and similar wages to ski instructing. Maybe going somewhere like Innsbruck (a proper city with lifts straight to the hills) would be a good idea, as you could look for a 'proper' job - don't expect instructing to pay many bills!
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Thu 6-05-10 10:56; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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well we're off to switzerland on the 1st of June..but it is the flattest part of the country and neither will be owrking in the ski business..but we will have ski and biking on tap being the main reasons for going..
Mountain biking guide in the summer...or get a properish job and put in the hours to have some money to pay for things that the winter job won't.
Any country you thinking about moving to?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I speak reasoable French and I love the lifestyle there so ideally it would be there but I will only be able to teach in swtizerland initially, so I guess somewhere on the french swiss border (Savoie etc) would be ideal but in the first instance, i think we will go where the work is for me.
Keep the good news stories coming please!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thinking about booking the hubby on a mountain bike guiding course.
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| DangerDave wrote: |
| so I guess somewhere on the french swiss border (Savoie etc) would be ideal but in the first instance! |
eek, hope you win the lottery before you come... although somewhere in the PdS is maybe not too bad.
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DangerDave, if you have your Basi l2 and then pass the test technique you can work for 4 seasons in france as an apprentice teacher within a larger ski school, if your french is okay may be an option for you.. get training slalom now though
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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In terms of mountain lifestyle, I suppose ise takes some beating. Lives in Switzerland, I think - certainly he has a mountain chalet there. Used to be a regular poster on snowheads - sadly no more. His site is well worth a regular look.
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DangerDave, If you speak french, then clearly either France or the french speaking part of Switzerland are really the only options for you. I agree with the previous posters that you should think about the summer though as much as the winter. The winter season is only 5 months max, and as a L2 you won't be brilliantly well paid, and remember you might not work at all in the low season weeks.
You really need to pin down where you want to live and then talk to people inthe area to see what the possibilities are. You do need to really sort out the logistics first, and then you can make a plan. Living in the mountains is great, but remember it's not at all like being on holiday - it's real life, every day.
OTOH, if you really want to do it, it will be well worth-while.  (I've been in LDA for 18 years now)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We moved to Calgary two and a half years ago after going on our annual ski trip to France and realising we wanted to ski more often but couldn't afford it from UK. We also realised we were getting older, my knees were getting progressively worse and we anted to get more sking in before it got too late.
OH is a civil engineer and they are badly paid and over worked and over strssed in UK. Here , we see him (a big incentive for the move, he spend half his life in a car on the M62 and was progressing to an early death), he gets paid way more and we ski around 30 days per year rather than the 6 we used to. If anyone is a civil engineer I can recommend the move, to say working conditions ar hugely better is not an exagerration.
Not quite idyllic European mountain living (Calgary is quite surbarban) but nonethless we have a good lifestyle, the kids are in a state school with no more than 20 in any class, the sports for kids etc are great here and we are more involved with their life (eg coaching soccer etc). They do sport in schoool, proper sport which is a plus. Summers are great here too. We got relocated to Calgary so it didn't cost much really at all. Probably won't stay here for ever, but fab for now......
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Or maybe check Lizzard's new blog for tips on year round work in the Alps 
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As a Savoie resident here are my thoughts.
If you're looking at France you need to be very aware, or make yourself aware, of all the regulations that govern not just skiing but other activities (when you are being paid). For the vast majority you are legally required to either have the "equivalence" (an adminstrative exercise) or to pass the relevant French diploma.
With your BASI 2 you will at some stage need to pass the "Eurotest" - there are instructors on the forum who can explain more. It's the BIG hurdle.
Mountain bike guiding - in France you need your "International Mountain Leader" plus the VTT add on for this or you may manage to do it with the IML and the Scottish Mountain Bike leader.
The site to look at for all the outdoor activities is the DDJS (Department de Jeunesse et des Sports) - it contains all the regulations. A good test for your French!
I don't want to "rain on your parade" but go in with your eyes wide open.
Good luck
Mark
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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We are retired, which makes spending chunks of time in the mountains hugely easier, obviously. From local observation (Savoie) life in smaller places is very, very, parochial and unless you are local (which means not coming from some other part of France, let alone some other country) it can be quite hard to break in. One of our local restaurants was bought by someone from Marseille, who already had an apartment in the complex, and he's not found life easy. We were in the mairie office a month ago, trying to get more details of a building plan he had (in case it spoilt our view ) and the responsable actually said, IIRC "C'est quelqu'un pas fiable; il n'est pas du coin". I think she's right about the pas fiable bit, but it was said almost as though the fact that he was not local made him pas fiable by definition! It was said with one of those very eloquent French non-verbal sort of sniffs and slightly raised eyebrows too. I thought it was hilarious, as she was speaking to someone from England with pretty dodgy French. She no doubt wouldn't trust me either, but then I'm not trying to run a business.
The fact that we are "outsiders" doesn't bother us, because living in a holiday apartment complex beside the piste means we are all "outsiders" and we have Belgian, Dutch, Canadian and French friends within the complex, with whom to share an apéro or a supper. and we're only there for 4 months during the year. But I think it could be a bit lonely living permanently amongst proper locals, even if you were French (a chap who runs a language school, with whom I've had some French lessons, told me that although he'd lived there for 20 years and had served on the local council he was still regarded as a complete outsider, not only because he's from the north of France but because he doesn't vote for Le Pen and has an ethnic Chinese wife and an adopted lad from New Caledonia. A big town would probably be an easier prospect for a permanent home.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My personal experience with the Savoyard's is very positive. I live (all year round) in a small hamlet of about 30 houses about 40 mins from the 3 Valleys.
They took time to get to know me and I took a very "softly, softly" approach and now I couldn't wish for better neighbours. One of my neighbours, a retired farmer, looks after his almost 100 year old mother and usually talks in Savoyard patois. He's generously let me cut wood in bits of forest that he owns but also come to collect it with his tractor. If I go away he looks after my dog and takes her out for walks.
May be it helps having a Savoyarde partner now, albeit from the Maurienne (they practically need a visa to enter the Tarentaise). It goes without saying that speaking French is very important.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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We moved to Geneva 4 years ago (crikey) - we love it, the OH got a job here and I moved mine over with me.
Many things are great - but beware that no-one seems to volunteer information.
Specifically, persons (accountants, lawyers) you'd expect to give advice often don't give or give bad advice. We have a couple of great advisers now but have suffered a few conversations like, "what? no one told you you needed to...? <gallic>, that's going to be expensive" or, "oh it's a terrible pity you didn't do that, you'd have saved yourselves hundreds of shekels"
The argument that you'd specifically paid them to advise you on these subjects goes nowhere.
It's not as easy as it looks but it's definitely as good as it looks.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
May be it helps having a Savoyarde partner now, albeit from the Maurienne (they practically need a visa to enter the Tarentaise).
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I'm sure that must make a huge difference!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I'm presuming you don't hail from Paris originally DangerDave, from what I've heard that would make it hard to be accepted 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Lou, Much worse than being English!
pam w, marksavoie, Barratschamonix, I thnk the problem with acceptance is that in these small mountain villages, not only have your own generation grown up together, but their parents and their grandparents and on back etc. that much closeness cannot be overturned, regardless of how much goodwill you engender. You can belong to a point, but only up to a point. It seems to me that britain has forgotten all about how people are in small village communities, since most of these villages have been destroyed in one way or another. Same think in the Highlands though.
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easiski, indeed. One of my Welsh aunts, told that a local girl was getting married asked "Local boy?" The answer was "No, Pontardulais". Which was maybe 6 miles away. I think the other important thing in some small Alpine villages (albeit not in Pontardulais) is that they are hugely outnumbered every season, not just by tourists, but by the seasonal workers, many of whom are not local, though in our neck of the woods they're invariably French. I suppose the only way to defend themselves against this invasion, and keep their own soul, is to just huddle together, metaphorically speaking, till we all disappear. They absolutely couldn't be bothered to "make friends" with people who are just going to disappear though they are invariably pleasant and superficially friendly. We had that experience as expats in Barbados. We made very good friends with a family who, though not Bajans, had been there for yonks (their son was at one point the only "whiteman" playing basketball for Barbados). We did a lot together including two boating holidays in Europe. When we were leaving they were saying they were not going to make strong friendships with expats again - knowing they'd be moving on within a few years.
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| Quote: |
| OTOH, if you really want to do it, it will be well worth-while. Very Happy (I've been in LDA for 18 years now) |
The number of Brits who can do what you do, or would be prepared to do so, are few and far between I think.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The number of Brits who can do what you do, or would be prepared to do so, are few and far between I think.
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I'm sure that's right. Few people would be willing to work so hard (and not always at skiing) for so little dosh, and with no security. easiskis are rare birds.
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Thank you all for your varied replies.
The Savoie is not the only region but is is somewhere that I think we would both like to be. The other option is to go whereever the instructing work is initially, which is likely to be Switzerland (equally weird culturally I know I know) but I can totally understand why locas would be standoffish and this is to be expected. After all it is the same in some uk areas.
I think once the locals realisedthat we've bought a house there, schooling kids etc then perhaps they'll realise we are serious and not just seasonaiires. I know this will take time.
Anyway. Thanks for the positive tales, be grateful for futher tales of those who followedtheir dream.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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DangerDave,
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which is likely to be Switzerland
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Before you go too much further into the prospect of Switzerland, do a little research on Permits to work, Permits to reside and which Permits you'll need to purchase property. Cantons vary in their requirements which foreigners must meet. It's a highly regulated country. If you plan to live in France and work in Switzerland, you'll need a different Permit altogether.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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DangerDave,
Hi DangerDave,
I just wondered how everything is going and whether you are out living in the alps now? My Fiancee and I are now in the same position you were in when you started this thread with him finishing his BASI 2 in the summer, Basi 3 next season working in Verbier and then eventually moving to somewhere in France (ideally Val d'isere where we have both worked previously)
Have you decided on a resort to settle in permanently now? How did you get on with BASI 3 and the dreaded Eurotest?
Really appreciate any advice. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Dani
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Hi Dani
Sorry I only just looked back a this thread. Yes, it all went fine but was difficult at first. I'm sure you've found this out already in verbier.
Coming up to season number 4 next year. Found work in the summer too and loving life out here. Looking back on these replies about, a lot of them seem very negative when I've found the experience anything but.
Good luck with it all.
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You know it makes sense.
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DangerDave, So good to hear a success story....well done to you both. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| DangerDave wrote: |
Hi Dani
Sorry I only just looked back a this thread. Yes, it all went fine but was difficult at first. I'm sure you've found this out already in verbier.
Coming up to season number 4 next year. Found work in the summer too and loving life out here. Looking back on these replies about, a lot of them seem very negative when I've found the experience anything but.
Good luck with it all. |
\
You are still rubbish at football.....
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Poster: A snowHead
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Or maybe check Lizzard's new blog for tips on year round work in the Alps wink
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Just checked that out - really like the writing style, quite ammusing. Photos and captions good too.
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