 Poster: A snowHead
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Well due to the abundance of sad posts this morning thought I would try somthing diffrent if could and had the choice to move and live in a ski resort which one would it be and why?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Probably Les Deux Alpes - which may seem perverse, since it is not the most glamarous - and it does have its downsides. But ...
1. When you are about the town it does have a French feel to it.
2. Vanosc is charming - and just a bubble ride away.
3. Costs seem reasonable.
4. I like the local people - both French and ex-pat.
5. Some pretty challenging pistes, some of which (like the Grand Couloir) would never bore me.
6. Fantastic Off-piste.
7. Alternative resorts (ADH, La Grave, and even Serre Chevalier) within easy driving distance.
8. Good snow record.
I must admit I thought for more than a few seconds when easiski's appartment came up for sale.
Oh that reminds me -
9. One of the best instructors I have had resident in resort - could be handy for technique - even if it is only for being shouted at when I am bimbling around the slopes minding my own business. 
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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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I probably wouldn't live in a resort but maybe somewhere like Lyon which is a nice city and you can be riding the lift up to ADH/LDA/La Grave (which is my favourite corner of the Alps) or any number of other places in not too long
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Tue 4-03-08 12:04; edited 1 time in total
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I'm happy living where I do; I've no desire to live a ski resort - I think I'd tire of it.
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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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achilles, a bit too "Blackpool" for me. I would choose somewhere quieter with a good summer atmosphere. Somewhere bonny in Austria.
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agree with laundryman, to be honest.. ski resorts are places to go on holiday if your not working in the industry... if i had to chose though it woudl be somewhere in Austria for me as well
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Frosty the Snowman, you may have a point. Dropped by the chalet our son had rented in Altenmarkt for a holiday last summer. Really charming place - and good skiing, I remember.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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achilles, Many of the Austrian ski towns are proper towns with very good ski bus systems. Learning German would be my only problem with Austria 
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I wouldn't want to up sticks permanently but would love a place that I could go to as and when. Probably choose Switzerland somewhere near but not in Verbier/Zermatt.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If I wanted to live in a ski resort, I'd live in a ski resort, but if I had to choose one, it'd probably be Banff (which is pretty difficult to get to live in, I believe).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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richmond, how about Canmore instead? Lots of new building going on there.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| achilles, Many of the Austrian ski towns are proper towns with very good ski bus systems. Learning German would be my only problem with Austria |
Learning German hasn't been easy for me but don't forget that wearing Lederhosen shorts in the high winds we had at the weekend is murder on the knees. Chapsticks aren't cheap either.
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You know it makes sense.
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| jmdohanlon wrote: |
| richmond, how about Canmore instead? Lots of new building going on there. |
Yes, but it lacks the charm (if that's the right word) and fantastic location of Banff. Not bad, though.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Seriously for a moment ....
When I first came to Austria my longer term plans were to move to a ski resort. As time goes by I appreciate having the benefits of
- living near to (but not in) a major European capital city
- being able to draw a 'resonable' income (linked to above)
- being able to ski small local uncrowded hills on day trips (esp one day ski tours).
- being able to pick ski days rather than just book in advance and hope.
- not having to fly when I visit the major (Austrian) resorts (no extra baggage hassle or problems flying with my airbag rucksack etc)
- living somewhere with hundreds of miles of mountainbike routes and the dryer than English summer weather ro enjoy it.
Downsides are
- it generally costs more to ski when a flight is required compared to a UK resident. (e.g. American, Canada etc as no cheap ski airlines)
- Learning German is always a 'work in progress'
- I could probably earn more living elsewhere
...... it's a good balance and I'm not sure moving to a resort would improve things overall.
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Tue 4-03-08 13:15; edited 5 times in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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As I'm nearly well over the hill, somewhere with free lift passes for over 50's and a good hospital for treating my .......... forgetfulness or what ever you call it.
But Austria definitely, probably Zell am See or the Pinzgau valley, great in the winter and good in the summer too.
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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 like the idea of somewhere like Briancon. it seems like a real town, very close to lots of skiing and mountain biking, perfect.
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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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Bourg d'Oisans. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Switzerland...but not so sure where.
From a residency POV, somewhere near Grenoble
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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boredsurfin, actually I think 'smug' is the word you're looking for.
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Assuming I would stil need to work (likely) then somewhere around lake Geneva for me either Swiss or French side I don't mind and then commute to ski - the choices are (almost) endless that way. Annecy is also nice, particularly in the summer. Anyone got any immediate plans to move out to the mountains permanently ??
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Lizzard, Yep 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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If I had to go for a resort then probably Zell am See. Otherwise I think that Salzburg would be a good base.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We are rather settled near Zurich now but something that would appeal to me would be to live somewhere like Sargans, Bad Ragaz or Chur, in a town with good old fashioned Swiss values, excellent train links to Zurich but surrounded by mountains. The cost of renting or buying a place is pretty low because no Swiss person will commute for an hour to get to work. You could have a Zurich salary and pretty low living costs using a GA season ticket for all your travel.
Of course, provincial Switzerland is not everyones cup of tea.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
somewhere with free lift passes for over 50's
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Is there anywhere with free lift passes for over 50s these days????????????
Ordhan, some interesting posts above. "Living" is so different from "spending a season in". I think FtS has a good point; need to go where you think you have the best chance of being able to learn enough of the local language. If you don't speak one already, that is. I don't think I'll ever speak fluent French, but I am improving, slowly.
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a huge life changing jump
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Exciting. Go on, tell us a bit more about why you want to jump, and what you're looking for (especially what you would want to do when you were not skiing) and we can come up with some more suggestions to chew on.
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You know it makes sense.
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Ordhan, living in Zurich is very accessible to foreigners. Many survive here for years without ever leaving the expat sphere or learning the language.
Check out the commute times on www.rail.ch
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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nessy, but what would be the point in doing that? 
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Poster: A snowHead
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God the traffic here sucks
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It's just getting unbearable. Hideous way to spend a life, sitting in traffic jams. Yet yer average punter is still up in arms at any policy which tries to cut congestion. An hour on a Swiss train beats an hour in a British traffic jam!
The same expat argument applies to Geneva, too, by the way.
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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: |
| Yet yer average punter is still up in arms at any policy which tries to cut congestion. |
That's because they don't generally offer a better way of getting from A to B - just extra cost.
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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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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| Learning German would be my only problem with Austria |
It would be OK if they actually spoke German! My mother is Austrian, but I wasn't brought up bilingual, and started learning German as an adult. The German taught on courses is High German i.e. the purest form (though that is open to debate too). My German's not great, but what my family out there speaks is very different from the High German I learnt - partly because they use a lot of dialect, and partly because sometimes even basic vocab is quite different. My aunt was in a museum in Berlin and asked where the staircase was - and no-one understood what she wanted without further explanation! You also get Austrian movies with German subtitles...
In France I'd live in Briancon (though I have a pad nr Megeve, but I didn't know how much I'd love La Grave till this year)
In Italy I'd live in Verona
In Austria I'd live in my uncle's house about 50k s. of Vienna
In Switz, maybe Montreux.
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Lizzard, to have an easy life and go skiing. My point is that it make settling in a lot easier if you don't already speak the lingo compared to other European cities.
I'm not particularly advocating it as a way to live but if someone wants to stay in the expat sphere I won't judge them.
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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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vetski, Montreux is really nice. The main plus point for Zurich is the number of English speaking jobs.
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In general small villages don't pay big wages.
For people who still need to work drawing a 'reasonable' income and are only fluent in the English language I'd imagine the top contenders would be .....
1) Geneva
2) Zurich
3) Vienna
..... not sure where Munich would fit in (probably just above or below Vienna) there must be others to add to the list but can't think of them at the moment. The cities above also have the advantage of international schools.
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I really do think that if you wanted a meaningful life in a country you move to you would have to be prepared to learn fluency in the local language.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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nessy, I've passed through it and thought it was lovely. Mind you, if I ever got to live in one of those places it would be after winning the EuroMillions rollover in its last possible week - so wouldn't need to worry about a job! 
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| achilles wrote: |
| I really do think that if you wanted a meaningful life in a country you move to you would have to be prepared to learn fluency in the local language. |
The quickest way to learn a language is to live in a foreign country but some people have familes etc to support so need to draw an income before they are fluent.
The other option is to become fluent and then move but how long is that going to take? - this might be better for people who are looking to retire abroad later in life.
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FAQ
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God the traffic here sucks 
. But would love to integrate as much as possible with home life and lifestyle.
