 Poster: A snowHead
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Where to live in Europe for a Ski Season.
This is a rather generic question but greatly appreciate any advice or ideas.
We are a family of five looking to do a season somewhere this winter. We are pretty focused on Austria as we spent Jan to March with a Ski Amade pass last winter, staying in St Johann im Pongau. We liked it there and it's definitely on the list of options but we would love to hear ideas and experiences from others. For example we would consider France if we thought it would work, on the other hand I've heard Jasna in Slovakia is pretty cool (we did some Slovakian skiing seven years ago, it was a bit average then), recently we were in Sarajevo and met a great local guide and photographer who was keen on their skiing, so if you've got or tried a hair brained scheme please don't hold back!
Biggest things for us are:
1. Community - preferably somewhere with others / enthusiasts around, not just a resort with the one week in/out industry pumping them through. We would love a chance to learn with or ski with others, so any thoughts about this appreciated. There was a bit of a mix where we were last time, I assume this is the case in most places and in the end it's what you make of it.
2. Affordable accommodation - we managed to get a reasonably good deal on a long term rental last time, expect it's just hunting that will get us something, but it's always good to get other starting points. This is probably why we're not really looking at Zermatt for example!
3. A centre where we can do other things when we want to. Walking, touring, snow shoeing, non snow stuff if it's available.
4. Access to a wider area - we mostly skied St Johann/Wagrain and Flachauwinlk but really enjoyed getting into some of the smaller fields and heading over to Zauchansee. Austria seems just fantastic for the scope of the season passes and the deals they do, especially if you have a few younger kids like we do
5. Access to some ski touring and offpiste terrain
We don't need apres ski - except for emergencies.
We have the car we had last season there so are covered for transport around.
We've all had a good chunk of a season, my eldest is now very very comfortable on just about anything on-piste. At the other end we have two younger ones and they're still exploring and deciding what they think of it (they spent a lot of time playing in the family room at Flachauwinkl last season or having days off mountain with one of us, just to not overdo it)
I do realise I probably just described almost anywhere in Austria but love to hear from others.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I realise we conversed online but didn't meet last season. But I can't remember if you and your family are British? If so, Brexit is likely to have an effect on the length of time you can stay.
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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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yes, being actually allowed to stay an entire season might be hard. I have a UK passport but we're on NZ & Australian passports. We are restricted to 90 days although there is an option to apply for a specific visa available to NZ/Australians to visit Austria post Shengen. If we don't do that then we have to probably try for a Visa D or whatever it is, but that is probably not easy for us to do. If we do get back to St Johann would definitely find a way to come say hi, we were a bit full on last time
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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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@jonathanco, I hope it works out for you. Ski Amadé certainly ticks all your boxes, but I can understand you wanting to try somewhere new also. You could of course buy the big pass (Salzburg Super Pass) and go a bit further afield.
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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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Chamonix / St Gervais Probably ticks all your boxes
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@jonathanco, St Johann was the first place I skied many years ago. We stayed at the Brückenwirt near the train station, it is rather a different place now though still owned by the same family.
Do you want a small town or village? If not Innsbruck or nearby might suit, there is local skiing and it is easy to get around. A very wide range of skiing and other mountain activities are nearby. It should also be easier to find longer term appartment rental.
If you want a slight change from the Salzburgerland maybe consider the Zillertal area. If you were to stay in the Inntal, say in Jenbach or nearby, it should be easier to find accommodation and easier to access other places such as around Achensee and Alpbachtal.
As mentioned above there are various area cards available which make moving around simple.
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