 Poster: A snowHead
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pam w, was a slightly off topic remark, but I do think the UK does the outdoor concerts particularly well, with the added touch of madness with the full DJ and dinner tables. Not so sure the French would play Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory either!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| pam w wrote: |
| I may be wrong, but I get the impression that there is something of an over-supply of catered chalets at the moment; there seem to be any number of special deals available for all but the few peak weeks of the season. Even small, family run, restaurants in our neck of the French alps seem often to have one member of the family doing a job for wages elsewhere - mostly down in the big factory in Ugine. |
This can also be seen in Austria. Even where a local Austrian family has inherited a building / business some still need to work elsewhere to make ends meet. In general, people in ski resorts (rural areas) tend to be less motivated by money and it's normal to pass on things to the children. Even a family with children who have moved away and who are not interested in the ski business tend to sell the business/building onto local relatives/friends children. It's the the bad business that is sold outside the group to the highest buyer, be that Russian, German, English etc. The people who have made it work like to talk about it not so with the people who have lost big money. I imagine it's a bit like running a pub and the view from one side of the bar is clearly better. Skiing every day sounds great but maybe not if you are cleaning toilets earlier in the day. Yes it can be done but I'd imagine you'd need to be very careful especially if you have very little previous experience. Why do you think the banks want so much upfront - so that if it goes tips up they can still recover their "investment". It's probably not a bad idea to run someone else's chalet before putting big money into your own.
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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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Well I don't plan to start a business but plan to become a ski instructor. I figure be a ski instructor in winter and use my yet to be attained history & politics degree for rest of the year. Prob a tad bit unrealistic... I'll just work as a giggolo in the summer I guess 
Plan to go to Canada despite being able to work in Austria, Germany or Switzerland as I'm fluent in German.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Myself and MrRibena have this dream too but it's still very much in the pipe-dream stage. I'm nearly afraid to look into it too seriously in case I have to rule it out
We are looking into building/buying a chalet/pension in one of the Romanian resorts (possibly Sinaia). The logic behind our project is:
a) he's Romanian which should be a help with language/connections/family if we go to Romania
b) Romania is not as expensive as other countries (yet), although its ski area is WAY underdeveloped
c) I have itchy feet and would like to do something mad (having heretofore always been sensible)
d) We were looking into buying a property in Romania anyway
e) We don't have any kids so now seemed like a good time
f) Good jobs in the big cities near ski areas does not appeal even if it would be more realistic.
The mortgage on our Irish house is fairly small and if we pushed ourselves and we could probably get rid of it in a year (of no ski hols!). We had hoped to hold onto this house and rent it out. And we're not expecting to make enough in the winter to cover the year - but haven't figured out what to do in the summer yet.
I'd love to hear more from people who have managed to pull it off too.
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kewhoward, don't give up just because there hasn't been much positive input here. Not quite as dramatic as moving to the alps but over 5 years ago now we moved from the South East to Cornwall - everyone said we were crazy and that it was a one way ticket. I think most people thought we'd fail and come back quickly and have to start again getting jobs etc in London. So far this hasn't happened!
My advice is to plan carefully. Think about all the options and be very pessimistic about all the outcomes. Listen to what others say, but stay focused on what you want and why you want it. Work out a few ways to earn a living (freelance, income from property, run a business, find employment, etc) I had a number of "possible" thoughts about how I'd make money - many of which I have not needed to take up. Think about training, in your case learn the language (I didn't bother learning Cornish!), do you have any skills you could use to work either in the mountains or remotely.
We began from the premise that even if one of us got a regular job here in the SW, our best hope would be a pretty low salary (£15K or less) Therefore we based as much as we could around this worst case. We kept borrowing to a minumum (we did stretch on the mortgage - but that was to get the dream house). My business is physically based here, but to be honest I could be anywhere as much of my work is done via the internet.
One thing that bothers me about chasing the dream though, is if the dream becomes a nightmare then where do you go? I wanted to live here in Cornwall, but it wasn't what I would call a dream, more a lifestyle choice. The mountains would be a dream, but I would be worried that reality would creep in and the mountains would change from being a place of great joy/fun to one of struggling to survive there. Nevertheless, if you can do it you should. You only get one life!
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| johnnyh wrote: |
| ... what I would call a dream, more a lifestyle choice. The mountains would be a dream...! |
I have been thinking of just such a lifestyle change for a few years now. I don't really need to or wish to live in a city. Have even thought of selling my flat in London and buying a flat in a village (with which I am familiar) in the Alps-- and as I am a qualified teacher of EFL, I could give English lessons for extra income.
But I'd be really interested to hear from anyone here who has done such a relocation--on their own--as I would be doing... (it is just a bit scary to take that first step!)
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