Accomodation Away from Resort: Help

A snowHead

The daughter (in Val d'Isere as I type) has announced that she and the BF plan to go to France with the 2 Basset hounds for 4 months*, Nov to end Feb. She will be remote working. She hopes to save accom money by happily living well away from resort, but within 45 mins to an hour. I've suggested being within2 hours of GVA too, for work needs if she has to return for meetings. She/they like the PdS and GM areas,s o I suggested Taninges as a possibility, but accom on airbnb is eye watering for a decent place.

So, any ideas for a) suitable towns; b) accom sources other than 'tourist' ones?

Thanks.

* seems to need visas? Maybe 3 months?

A snowHead

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

If you get a long stay tourist visa for France you swear not to work. You would need a visa for more than 90 days in 180. If you are on a laptop I don't know how they would tell though.
Dogs will be a palava - not my area of expertise - but @tigski is.
Sorry, can't help with resorts close to GVA, I'm a bit far away.

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Would Sallanches be too close to ski areas for comfort / cost?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Cluses, just a short distance down the hill.

Look along D907 Road from Taninges to Bonne as many villages along there and pretty convenient without being so associated with skiing.

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I think Sallanches has a bit more to it than Taninges. Great variety of skiing available from there.

Hells Bells and Weathercam are experts on taking dogs to and from France.

Many resorts will have little skiing before mid December, some not till Christmas week. From point of view of economical accommodation two separate stints, one from mid-December till first week of February, another from second week of March till the end of the season, might work well, leaving owners with the lucrative 4 French school holiday weeks. For best logistics of skiing and working, I'd prefer to be really near to the skiing, facilitating a quick half day out when conditions are perfect. Presumably the hounds will be left at home when skiing - not the ideal dogs for deep snow?

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

Italy have the concept of a "digital nomad" visa allowing you to work remotely. France doesn't. Hurrah for Brexit

After all it is free

@Charliegolf,
Do they have resort(s) in mind?
Albertville?

I'll throw in the hat for St Jean de Maurienne and Modane. Both valley towns with some (heavy) industry and TGV stations but very close to the Maurienne resorts.

The local immobiliers would seem the best bet for a long term rent.

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Italy is the right answer, not least as the visa regime makes more sense. Plenty of options near dolomites or in Aosta valley. Might be they speak more French is the reason to lean that way, an important piece of information missing.

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Italy a good idea. Aosta would work. Not too far from Turin airport. Lots of options. Read the fantastic report by ElzP about their season remote working, based in Aosta and visiting resorts in the valley. They do indeed speak a lot of French there, as @zikomo says, though the garage to which my car was towed, years ago, with a bust clutch, insisted they spoke none at all. Perhaps to duck out of responsibility for having failed to fill the gearbox with oil......

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Innsbruck

France would be a PITA if ski days are only non working days.

I believe that although digital nomad visas have been agreed in principle by the Italian parliament, they have not yet been activated. I couldn't find any way to apply for one.

You know it makes sense.

I don't think Digital Nomad visas are relevant here - AFAIK the minimum stay for any is 6 months, and most are a year. Also I don't think any alpine countries have a Digital Nomad visa system in place yet - I'm not counting Croatia as an alpine country.

Regarding duration of stay and working, my understanding is that if you keep with 90 days out of 180 days in the Schengen area, then you shouldn't be working, but there's a continuum from answering one urgent work call, through daily email checks, then occasional planned work calls, then a few days planned remote work, then scaling up to working remotely full time when away. AFAIK no EU country has clearly defined the line on that continuum for UK citizens, so there's not necessarily an explicit rule to break. However, if you apply for a longer term tourist visa, then that requires that you explicitly state that you're not going to be working

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

A snowHead

There seem to be two questions here: where to be, and how to manage 4 months.

The advice above sounds like a visa could create problems with the remote working, probably better to fit within the 90 days in 180 standard allowance and remain under the radar. However that means planning to keep out of anywhere in Europe for several months in advance.

Where is very personal. Given she is currently in Val d'Isere perhaps she should look at Bourg as an option, Moutiers might be more economical but while it has access to many more places the travel times increase.

For the more Northern French resorts, Taninges sounds to me a bit niche. In the Arve valley - where I would guess rentals will relate more the the business market - Cluses is closest for access to PdS and GM but I would guess Sallanches is a more congenial town with somewhat easier access to Chamonix and Evasion Mont Blanc (and Espace Diamant). There are other towns along there too, I doubt Bonneville or Magland are especially expensive, and Passy certainly won't be. It depends on the expected lifestyle, those won't offer the lifestyle of a holiday-oriented resort.

Aosta and Innsbruck are certainly good suggestions elsewhere, though in the latter case I fear rents might not be in range.

A snowHead

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

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- no knowledge on the visa side.

Cluses is a bit bleugh. Sallanches a much nicer spot. 10 mins extra on motorway. If not nec France, Aosta might work but I suspect more frequent uk flights from GVA.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

As no one has answered the dog questions, I'll jump in here.

They will both need rabies vaccinations at least 21 days before travel which is easy enough to arrange with your vet. ***

Prior to travel, you will then require an animal health certificate (AHC) which your vet should also be able to complete. Depending on your vet, this will cost anything over £100, probably nearer £150-200 for 2 dogs. Travel needs to be within 10 days of the AHC being issued. The AHC is for a single trip and would be valid to use for return within 4 months.*** Personally, I would look to try and get an EU pet passport whilst in the EU as that can make things easier for future travel but that is a whole different subject.

We use Eurotunnel for travel with the dog, as the journey is easier and quicker for us and you stay in the car with the dog for the journey.

The other thing you need to consider is other dog logistics including any medication and vet visits. It would certainly be worth checking out local vets. Technically in France, if the dog is staying more than 3 months it should be registered in the French iCAD system. Not sure about other countries.

Also, consider dog food as it may not be possible to get their regular food where you are going. Pre-Brexit we used to take her regular food out with us (don't underestimate how much food this is) and then order top-ups online. This is now not possible as you can no longer take meat products into the EU.

Depending where you end up staying, a look at other dog accessories might be worthwhile. For example, a decent paw-wax, goggles, jackets etc

Hope that helps answer a few things, I'm sure others will jump in with anything I've missed.

*** Disclaimer. You will need to double check timeframes (as we have a EU PP and so not used an AHC for a while) but your vet should be up to speed and be able to advise on the latest.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Wow, loads to read! I will get on it, thanks everyone so far.

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

After all it is free

@under a new name, agree with this completely, much prefer Sallanches. There are a number of small villages around Taninges and might be better than being down in the Arve valley as it can get the rotten end of the inversions in winter and you are in pollution.

Any advice on where to look for 'normal' renting; as distinct from a skiing rabbit hutch costing a kidney a month?

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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

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Where do they live in the UK? Can they offset the cost of accommodation in France against not having to pay here?

@andmelffion, Cheers. Will do.

You know it makes sense.

@pam w, Swansea, and no. They are soon to buy a place (renting at the mo), but seem to think it clever to have the 'abroad fling' first and buy on return. (Neither side's parents are offering to re-home them till they buy!)

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

A snowHead

A snowHead

@Gored, They a both in IT, she with a global company; and is sure it'll be no problem. You raise other salient points.

She dropped this idea whilst abroad this week, so plenty of down-to-earth moments ahead! I happen to think the animal issues are much bigger than they anticipate, for example.

Still exciting though.

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

@Charliegolf, me and my husband did similar for two months in Italy (Aosta) last year, and a month each in Sweden and Austria this year. There's a bit of a gray area as mentioned above with working, and to be honest no one asked and we didn't volunteer the information.

I would say that we enjoyed being close to a lift to get out most days, as we were in Italy and Sweden, and found only skiing weekends i n Austria (we stayed in Salzburg) a bit irritating - cos that's when everyone else is skiing! Laughing

In Italy and Sweden, it was actually nice to be able to have a proper day off from everything once in a while.

We used airbnb for all accommodation, and booked quite far in advance to get a decent place. We've looked at France but struggled to find places to suit (you absolutely need good wifi, a washing machine, and a reasonably sized dining table to work at - surprisingly hard combination to nail), though Briancon comes closest in our searches normally.

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Re what the employer thinks, the main issue is whether working from France (or whichever country) is treated as the employer having activity in France. If so, the employer will be obliged to register for all manner of tax and employment legislation in France, which will be costly. Any HR department is not going to be gung-ho about this.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@viv, Will press her on this. @ElzP, Yep, closer than her original idea might be better.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Re accommodation, it's definitely worth trying local estate agents. One thing to consider is services, especially Internet. I did a seasonal rental via an estate agent back in the days of dial-up, and had to arrange this myself. It wasn't too tricky, but took a few days. If they'd have to do similar for an Internet connection, this would be an issue if they rely on it for work.

Re washing clothes, some towns still have launderettes, which would save the need for a washing machine.

And re a working place, a folding table works well if one person is Ok working just on a laptop, but is a bit more dubious if they need a second screen

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

Re the dogs. It’s definitely a good move to get a pet passport once in France. Bear in mind that the rabies vaccination needs to be current on leaving the U.K. for the AHC, but you will also need one done in France to add it to the EU passport. We got away with it/it was missed at Calais for half a dozen visits (ignorance on the part of everyone I think) but then it was spotted on a return trip last year. Thankfully a quick late afternoon “cash only” visit to a vet in Calais sorted the problem.

Help!!

Accomodation Away from Resort: Help

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