Living in a ski town in Europe (Alps)

A snowHead

Has anyone in here ever lived in a ski town? My wife and I are thinking to relocate to a ski town in the Alps. We live in Prague (Czech) at the moment and are sick of city life, plus I simply wanna live in or near the mountains. Ski towns in Europe seem much more affordable than in the US. I just imagine all the activities one can do living in one when not working. Ski, snowboard, cross country skiing, hiking, cycling, etc.. We recently were in Livigno, Italy which was absolutely amazing and we've been to Iscghl, Austria many times. Living in or near Innsbruck, Austria could be a sweet option but we'd really live anywhere in the Alps.

A snowHead

I presume no kids?

How will you make a living?

Do you speak any languages?

Why not rent somewhere for a few months with little commitment and see how you take to it?

Anything can be done if you really want to do it. Note: in this case, I haven't.

The one flaw I see (depending on the above) is you assume you will have lots of free time to all these activities.

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

Experimenting with this at the moment myself - though only for two months because, well, British. Not been long here in Aosta, Italy but in terms of lifestyle in winter it seems pretty good so far, and if you work flexibly then you may be able to get a couple of hours skiing in a day (we do the morning as the time difference to the UK makes it work perfectly for UK business hours), as well as however you choose to spend weekends.

The town is busy with locals, lots of things to do aside from snow sports, and from what we can see on the hills there are loads of mountain biking and hiking routes. It's not cheap - though because its an actually working town (steel and quarrying) there are restaurants, shops and no doubt accommodation of varying prices. I'd go for a town rather than a resort, though I guess that's personal preference - more going on, better transport links etc. There are a few folk on here who stay in Innsbruck I think, again good for the mix of town life and sports and plenty of exploring to do by car or public transport.

So why not give it a try for a while, if you can work elsewhere? My attitude to moving to new places is that if you don't have kids in school and an office job (we don't) you can leave if it doesn't suit and go home/elsewhere.

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We live in Wengen, Switzerland. It's a very small village, population about 1,000. It’s easy enough to do; you need a job (or a good pension) and somewhere to live. Jobs are easy to find in winter and summer. You also need to deal with the paperwork which will be necessary for whatever country you choose. In Switzerland this is; residence permit, national insurance (for your Swiss pension etc), health insurance (compulsory here), and all the small stuff like TV licence and internet.

It’s not difficult, but choose carefully - pick somewhere you know well.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@primoz

yah, that sounds awesome. yah, i'm considering living outside of Innsbruck, one of those small towns just outside. Then have access to plenty of outdoor stuff from there. sounds like you live in an awesome environment, jealous!

After all it is free

@Layne

we have a 6mo old boy.. I work remotely.. I only speak English buy my wife speaks many languages.. yah, will probably just rent some place for 2 months down in the Alps and feel it all out.. i dont need tons of free time, just maybe be able to snowboard 2 or 3 times a week for a few hours each time. I simply just want to live in and around it all, have that access...

Depends whether you want to live in a classic (small) ski town or live in a middle sized city with close access to the mountain. If the latter is the case, you might have several options.

1: Innsbrück: As mentioned above, perfect place for an active lifestyle. The city is marvellous and a dream for an active lifestyle both in the winter and in the summer. Also close to the Dolomites, which is the topping of the cake.

2: Sion: The Rhone valley is a great base for an active lifestyle and maybe the best city in the canton. Close proximity to some of the best skiing mountains in the world. Smaller than Innsbrück.

3: Bolzano: Even if it is in South Tirol and the main language is German, you still would be in Italy. Close to Val Gardena and a perfect base for cycling in the summer time. Nice city. In my opinion, some of the best white wine is grown in this area.

4: Sondrio: In the middle between Lake Como and St Moritz/Bormio, surrounded by huge mountains. Beautiful area both in the winter, as well as the summer.

5: Aosta: Great base for Courmayeur and Monte Rosa ski area.

6: Evian: Lovely location on the Lac Leman. Also close to the Portes Du Soleil.

7: Annecy: Lake location. Close to La Clusaz. Great for an all-round active lifestyle.

8: Briancon: Highest city in the European Union. Close to Milky way, skiing on the doorstep in Serre Chevalier and close to La Grave.

Just some suggestions. If I was to move to any of those I would have gone for Innsbrück or Sion.

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@Woosh

We were just in Livigno, Italy and that place was amazing. Smaller town (like 7000) but tons in town as far as restaurants, shops, cafes, hotels, etc. so it feels like a small city. Plus the snowboarding was very solid. Doesnt seem as expensive as those outer towns of Innsbruck since Austria is certainly a higher cost of living than a mountain town in Italy. Thx for the feedback! I'll check out this list you've made..thx again

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@ElzP

Wow, looked up Aosta, Italy..looks amazing. Thx for the feedback! It looks like rents are lower in Aosta than here in Prague where we live. If I can just get a decent accommodation and live down in the Alps for 1 or 2 months in the beginning and see how it goes, this would be ideal. I assume you just buy a seasons ski pass? What does that cost?

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1180 Euros for the valley season pass - includes Pila, Cervinia, Monterosa, Courmayeur, La Thuile/lLa Ros and lots of smaller areas. We didn't get the Zermatt added pass as didn't seem cost effective for us. Think we worked out that 27 days of using the pass just for Pila, out of our 2 months, would make the pass break even, might be even less.

Nice thing about Aosta is the immediate access to skiing if time is tight, along with access to some top areas when time isn't an issue! snowHead

What about somewhere in Eastern Europe? Skiing in Czechia, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Serbia, etc.

You know it makes sense.

@Mr.Egg, he's from Czech - he wants to relocate to the Alps.

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

A snowHead

@Mr.Egg

I'm an American with long term EU residency and my wife is from Slovakia, so we can live anywhere in the EU freely. And true, I only speak English, typical American Smile

A snowHead

There are tax implications to working remotely in a different country. This is something which you need to check with your employer(s). Certainly if you are resident in Austria you would need to pay tax and social insurance in Austria.

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

Glad to see a topic like that here.. I've been seriously considering the same thing myself.

Any price indications from members who have experience with this would be great - I've seen studios in the Innsbruck area for around 800EU a month but have no idea if its an accurate estimate.
Does anyone know what the market is like for rentals just for the winter season for studios or apartments? I'd assume its not very big, and like @eaglesandsnowboarding I'm an American with long term residency where I am so I will need to keep my residency here as such. It seems like another alternative is also doing it for a month or two at a go in hostels or short-stays but that would be more pricey than a studio or apartment per month in most places...

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If you need to work, then 1st off I would find a job and rent there initially.
From there you can explore other opportunities.
If you have the right to work and you speak English (after a fashion), then there's heaps of seasonal opportunities in and around Morzine, very few of which require you to speak French.
Too late for this Winter, but there's Summer jobs available from June.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I think you've basically got three alternatives to consider: 1. Valley town 2. Mountain Resort 3. In-between mountain village/resort.

For [1] I'd echo @Whoosh in their mention of the not-that-obvious Sion in Switzerland. It's a medium-sized valley town with a historical centre but modern suburbs and good transport links (Geneva 1h34m to 2h), but not anything like as expensive as better-known Montreux or Lausanne re accommodation. Key thing is that it combines being usefully urban with close proximity to some great skiing - the 4 Vallées (Verbier, Nendaz, La Tzoumaz); Crans-Montana; the Val d'Annivers; and slightly further away Zermatt, and the gateways of Leysin and Champéry (Portes du Soleil) etc. Regard it as the reference for the option of staying in the valley and doing excursions summer and winter.

For [2] the obvious opposite to Sion is Verbier, which is certainly a full-on mountain resort but which is big enough to have a reasonable low-season population. Even so, the low seasons of spring and autumn are pretty quiet in comparison to summer and winter. Cost-wise, it's actually more equivalent to Lausanne than Sion. The French equivalent would be somewhere like Chamonix. SnowHeads feedback on this seems to imply that Chamonix has a slightly better low-season vibe than Verbier. But the downside of being anywhere in a resort is likely to be that the spring and autumn will seem comparatively dead. The upside of Verbier over Chamonix is that the former has very good public transport links to the rest of CH (Martigny 39m, Montreux 1h11m, Lausanne 1h33m, Geneva 2h25m), whereas Chamonix is that much further from transport hubs and city amenities (Geneva 3h22m).

As for [3] this is perhaps where you'll get a lot of suggestions for places that are in-between. So I'll leave that to other Snowheads to discuss. All I'd say is that the risk may be that it's the worst of both worlds i.e. you'd still miss the urban facilities of a town and miss the scale of a large resort.

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Living in the mountains is amazing all year round if you can. The biggest decision I can see for you is whether to be in a place with a direct uplift where you can ski for a couple of hours every day, or in a town where you can get to the slopes in about 30 minutes and ski a couple of times a week. There are pros and cons of each but if not by the slopes, you can sit in traffic on weekends for sun, powder or changeover. If you need to prioritise work this can be ok - a vast improvement on city life but if you prioritise skiing, you will want a direct uplift.

Resorts can be really expensive to live in if you want a reasonable sized place, but some big areas have smaller villages providing direct uplift that are more reasonable. Le Chable has direct uplift to Verbier for example. There are many villages around the Isere resorts that do also where rents could be reasonable.

If looking for a town with great options and good value for money add in the Arve valley towns like Passy near Sallanches. Within 30-40 minutes you have Geneva Airport, Flaine, Portes du Soleil. La Clusaz, Espace Diamant, Megeve/St Gervais and Chamonix. Briancon is more beautiful but not so good for the airport. If you want a curve ball Cuneo south of Turin is near three small resorts, 45 minutes from the coast and is a gastrominc and architectural jewel.

In terms of large places with direct access I only know of Innsbruck and Aosta. Both have great resorts nearby and both are vibrant. innsbruck is closer to the airport but the skiing at Pila (Aosta) is probably more interesting. Innsbruck is nearer your wife's home.

Sion is also interesting but i am pretty sure it does not have a direct uplift - excellent wine and the Val d'Anniviers on your doorstep. Nendaz (Verbier), Anzerre (a little jewel) and Crans Montana (fiendishly difficult to find parking) all nearby.

English language will be better in Austria, Switzerland and the French Alps.

i would suggest a road trip. My other suggestion is not to worry about trying to make a perfect decision as each place can offer the lifestyle you are looking for and something unique.

Help!!

Living in a ski town in Europe (Alps)

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