How do young Londoners blast off to the Alps?

A snowHead

1) Get a well paid job.

2) Find a boyfriend (comes naturale)

3) Find a deal something like this https://www.crystalski.co.uk/ski-deals/january-2020-ski-deals/ or last minutes.

4) Next winter she can find out herself.

5) She might not return to US Shocked

Have tried something alike as a father.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Hyst, why is 2) important? Single people ski too... Toofy Grin

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I think we've found the 1% of people who take 20% of all flights... Mad

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@Ugo, think you'll find it is the regular business travellers that are that 1%

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After all it is free

@Scooter in Seattle,

Might not be of use this year but Adults under 26 yr old can get a discounted Full Area, season pass for the Portes du Soleil for as little as €380.

PdS very easy to get to with loads of shared shuttle buses from Geneva airport and cheap self catered accommodation outside of the popular holiday and school holiday periods.

http://en.portesdusoleil.com/prices/liftpass-deals/all-offers.html

PdS have done that special young persons deal the last couple of years.

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@Scooter in Seattle, I lived in London for around four-and-a-half years and in general the city is so hectic there isn't much scope to get time off. I worked shifts so it was different for me but everyone I knew in office jobs worked past 1700hrs and if they didn't it took an hour or so to get home via public transport. Very few could afford to live closer to work. If she's there just for the fun of being in a foreign country etc then fine but if you want to get ahead in London then you'll have to work long hours. London is toppers with Brit and Euro migrants so competition is strong. I left because it was too crowded and expensive amongst other reasons: it was just too much.

Anyway, the ski train is a good shout but for a weekend is far too expensive. Going to BSM and Moutiers allows access to plenty of resorts. An alternative would be the train to Geneva and onwards from there as well. Austria and Italy are best accessed by flying.

Scotland: wouldn't bother. The Alps are as close and the sleeper to Scotland not much cheaper than to the Alps. Mountaineering there is probably not a bad idea for beginners but it's a nause when access to the Alps from London is so easy.

Sorry to be so pessimistic but London is a funny place and is a statelet all of its own. I've left and live by the sea as well as working on a zero-hours contract so can shove off for the whole winter.

snow reports

@Scooter in Seattle, this is the best website by far I've ever found for super-cheap ski holidays. On many of them, flights, transfers, accommodation, ski rental and lift passes are all included — often at really daft cheap prices:

www.sunweb.co.uk

If she is prepared to share a tiny, studio flat in Val Thorens with 4 people (2 on sofa-bed, and two on the bunk-beds in the hallway), and she can pick a cheap week, then she will get a super-bargain for sure. But some of the accommodation is very poor to say the least — always check it on Trip Advisor. But you pays your money and you takes yer choice.

It really depends what job she's got. If she's earning more than minimum wage, then yes she can afford to blast off to the alps. I work as a teaching assistant (minimum wage) through an agency (so I don't get paid school holidays) and I save up all year for one weeks skiing which I can only do if I'm sensible with my spending.

London is not a cheap place to live at all and although it's nice for a year or two it soon becomes really depressing if you're constantly worried about money. If she wants to be skiing a lot then why is she not getting a job somewhere closer, like Geneva or Salzburg?

You know it makes sense.

That post from @The Lady Vanishes underlines the point I made earlier. Only a minority of privileged young Londoners do much blasting off to the Alps.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@pam w, I understand your point, but the question was not how many such people get to ski or how fortunate they are, but more about how resourceful they are. I acknowledged in the OP it is challenging for people in that phase of life. Given that, its even more important to get some intel from people who have found a way to get it done in spite of the longer odds. Thus my question, which has resulted in numerous helpful, high-quality (and greatly appreciated) suggestions that she would not have gotten as quickly on her own, not being a member of this forum.

@The Lady Vanishes (and others): London is the target as it is the site of a possible job transfer.

Thanks again all.

A snowHead

@Scooter in Seattle, +1,
good points, well made.

Glad you’ve found opinions and advice about skiing and travel options helpful.

I expect your daughter could visit life-coach blogs, websites etc for broader advice if she wished.
snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

At 24, train travel could be quite a bargain, esp outside of main demand weeks. Have a look at https://www.snowcarbon.co.uk as that will help with timings and the like.

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Some rambling thoughts about London: It's a big city (I know, but worth stating the obvious). Few people who work there can afford to live centrally. So unless you're very lucky, you'll have a commute, which costs money and time. My daughter went to university in central London and loved it, living in college student accommodation, but when she started working in the City, she could only afford a small place in Brentford. Which is still London, really. But it took her longer to get the 10 miles from there to her office than it did from our house on the south coast 60 miles away. If you can find accommodation anywhere on the Circle Line then your commute is going to be fairly straightforward, but as you might expect, access to the Tube inflates prices. I grew up in a rented council flat in West Kensington, 200yds from the Tube station - now that same flat is on the market for £1.25 million. My point is that your daughter might find herself in the position where she actually isn't living in London at all, but a dormitory commuter location. At an extreme, for example, the £4500 train+tube season ticket from Brighton to London (70mins), say, is still worth the cost for many people, because accommodation is so much cheaper in Brighton (and it's a great seaside location for younger people).

So to be constructive, if she is arriving in London during the summer, one option to hit the ground running is to stay in central student accommodation, just to get established. The various colleges of London University and other education institutions will have student residences empty in the summer and these are competitively-priced. If her office is in central London, then she'll be arriving after a leisurely tube ride or even just a short walk, compared to her colleagues who have got up at 5.30am and slogged their way in on the train from some remote suburb. And she can stay late without it being a problem - both things she'll want/need to do as a new employee. SHe can then get her mental map of the city established and look for accomodation at leisure over the summer. Come September, 'though, she'll have to move out. This option is best if she can arrive in London after the college exams in May-June, allowing her the maximum time before they need their student residences back in September.

There is some merit in considering reversing the Alps/London geography i.e. working in, say Lausanne and then going over to London, Paris, Barcelona etc for short breaks. I only mention Lausanne as an example of a pretty multi-national, multi-cultural city that's well-located for easy skiing in the winter, hiking and MTB in the summer, and cheap flights via Geneva to all over Europe.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

If she has a chance of a good job in London she should definitely take it, regardless of skiing! But there are risks, a major one possibly being falling in love with someone who is never likely to live in Seattle. wink

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@pam w, thanks, I agree. I tried to teach her a go-for-it-attitude and it looks like some of it got through and it makes me happy to see it unfolding before my eyes. And yes you are right, there is a risk of her pushing out roots across the pond. I can't wait to meet the guy who cracks the code, wherever that happens. But of course I have no control over that, and anyway London beats Atlanta or Dallas or...nearly everywhere! Just means we'll have to visit more often, provided we like the spot!

@LaForet, interesting idea on the student housing beachhead. It sounds like we can add a challenging commute to the weather as things London and Seattle have in common!

We are getting our first teases of snow in the Cascades this weekend. In the old days, we'd be skiing in two months.

Thanks all.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

From my understanding, having not lived in London, but having had close friends that did/do, plus my works HQ being in London, if she's under the age of 30, then she won't find anyone her age unless she looks in Clapham.

Now obviously i'm exaggerating here, but it seems to be the place to be for the younger generation.

After all it is free

Help!!

How do young Londoners blast off to the Alps?

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