 Poster: A snowHead
|
I have 2 options for my season
1. I have a job with a tour operator already, deposit paid. Take that. 60quid a week, season pass, accom, food etc included.
or
2. Work for my current employer remotely in the alps for a couple of days a week(16hrs @ £8-14/hr = £128-224). No accomodation etc. organised as yet.
Has anyone worked remotely before, any advice, does it work?
Whats the chance of getting shared accomodation in resort at this stage? Specifically Val d'isere or Tignes as i know people there.
What would you do?
Any advice appreciated?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
scottishskier, just what I was thinking. If you leave your job and work for the TO will you still have a job to go back to in the Spring?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
scottishskier, You would need to rent a place with the possibility of a phone line. France Telecom are quite helpful and quite quick, and most apartments are built with the phone lines in but are not usually activated for rental apartments for obvious reasons. Alterntively you'd have to do a deal with one of the local cafes to get a long time online for a reasonable price. Our tourist office do free wifi, but it's not an ideal working environment. Would you have to set up a vpn connection, or can you do some of your work offline and then just upload? You'll need to get your skates on if looking for an apartment though 'cos it's quite late. AFAIK Val D is incredibly expensive to rent in the village for the winter. Tignes would probably be a better bet - one of the lower villages - you'll have time to move around and I presume a car.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| easiski wrote: |
| scottishskier, You would need to rent a place with the possibility of a phone line. France Telecom are quite helpful and quite quick, and most apartments are built with the phone lines in but are not usually activated for rental apartments for obvious reasons. Alterntively you'd have to do a deal with one of the local cafes to get a long time online for a reasonable price. Our tourist office do free wifi, but it's not an ideal working environment. Would you have to set up a vpn connection, or can you do some of your work offline and then just upload? You'll need to get your skates on if looking for an apartment though 'cos it's quite late. AFAIK Val D is incredibly expensive to rent in the village for the winter. Tignes would probably be a better bet - one of the lower villages - you'll have time to move around and I presume a car. |
I've got one word for you Charlotte "3G"
You'd have to be mad to take the TO job Scottishskier. Get a studio in Fornet for the winter and work remotedly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| scottishskier, just what I was thinking. If you leave your job and work for the TO will you still have a job to go back to in the Spring? |
Yes but working for them over winter would keep them happier.
| easski wrote: |
| Would you have to set up a vpn connection, or can you do some of your work offline and then just upload? |
Just uploading once a week maybe but internet would be needed for reference regularily.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
davidof is right.
Work remotely.
More ridetime.
Use a 3G dongle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
I suppose it depends what you do - I'm a paper/PC based consultant - although I do a day a week in my office I can easily manage without. I work the rest of my hours from home and I run off the firms VPN and its like being at the office with the server in the next room. I can't see that it would make any difference whether I sat here or in France doing so. It wouldn't work for everyone though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I don't understand dongles, but I do know that when a group of owners in our apartment complex looked into sharing a wifi broadband connection the very slow speeds achievable meant it was not worthwhile - the line just isn't good enough. something to bear in mind, though no doubt it's better in bigger places. My son paid 5000 euro for a tiny apartment in Tignes for a season - he shared it with a ski instructor, and they also took in lodgers, but if you were working from home you'd need more peace and quiet than generally reigned in that place..... it had a tiny sitting room, and a tiny bedroom. But it was very well located. He got that in December, having gone out to work with a TO and falling out with them big time in the first couple of weeks. So he lost his "free" (sic) accommodation. Your economics would probably work out better if you did 3 or even 4 days a week, which would still leave you heaps of ski time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| davidof wrote: |
I've got one word for you Charlotte "3G"
|
And does the in-building coverage work well then for a 3g dongle please Mr. nice landlord with a flat to rent?
And if you use a UK one, are you ready to pay another 5K for a season to use one for work on data roaming rates. ?
Nah - the only way to make that work would be to get a froggy one on a network that has good 3g coverage in your resort / building.
If I was SS then I'd deffo ditch the TO and do the 'remote office thing' when abroad. People do make it work - I think JimW has posted previously on nipping back to the chalet for a few hours work, but as it's his place then I think they've got there own phone line / adsl sorted out. By working for the 'home office' then you'll (a) keep your skills current and (b) have a job (hopefully) when you come back. I would think you would need to go for a regular phone line with dedicated ADSL and get it from a sensible company (like FT) - as I've found that some of the cheaper ISP's (in the UK) actively disconnect VPN sessions shorlty after they've been established. (not quite sure how but seen it happen 2x for a couple of our remote workers, till we got them on a decent ISP)
FT has just run fibre-optics upto Val D'izzy to improve the bandwidth for the 2009 world champs, but I doubt they've lit it all yet nor will neccessarily let 'punter's' near it til the champs ends. Logically then they should 'wimax' the whole resort (not that hard/expensive) and do a deal with the lift co for it to be included on the season's pass..
If you're interested in finding you're own place in Valdispair then http://www.natives.co.uk/travel/lets/private.htm has a couple of shoeboxes to rent, the cheaper ones being in Tignes. But you're still looking at around 6K plus then thick end of another 1K for lift pass and insurance. So do a budget (how dull) and conside the tax/ni benefits. Depending on your TO role then you might be scamming free food (evenings) as well, so there's some cost there if you diy..
Good luck SS - feel free to PM if I can provide any more help, I've done a bit of this IT stuff (and remote working/supporting remote workers in my time). I binned the job for my season in Les Arcs and will be lucky enough not to be working for a TO either..
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
bertie bassett, trhose 3G thingies don't have to be that expensive - one of my staff had one last season and was paying about £20 a month for unlimited download. He used to cover the fee by lending it to all and sundry in return for beers or cash.
TO vs couple of days a week for more money: why are you asking this question?
Accommodation: you have chosen the most expensive possible resorts. Cheapest options are outlying villages rather than main resort, and get a biggish place and sublet - usually plenty of people still looking for somewhere, even in mid-December.
Phone/net: not impossible either to get an apartment with these or have them installed yourself.
I recommend:
- Get out to resort soonest and start tracking down an apartment.
- Try a pm to Spikyhedgehog - he and his mates rented a place last season, could possibly give you a few leads.
- Post the question on Natives.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
pam w, our whole apartment complex shares a wifi connection, very good speeds too, but it needs a professional installation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Another vote for the dongle things - my colleagues used them working in the Alps last winter and will be again this winter. They could be used either at the base office or when travelling around resorts. Very few niggles - theirs were Orange I think  (the network not the colour...)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Helen Beaumont, we're hoping that the phone lines will be upgraded before long, to make it worth while. Even if we can't persuade all the co-pros to go for it, there are three of us sufficiently close together for an amateur installation - especially as one of the guys is an IT pro.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| Lizzard wrote: |
bertie bassett, trhose 3G thingies don't have to be that expensive - one of my staff had one last season and was paying about £20 a month for unlimited download. He used to cover the fee by lending it to all and sundry in return for beers or cash.
|
Yes about 50 euros a month for an "unlimited" connection. You can't watch ski pron on it but it is fine for remote working.
I would phone the agencies - that's who T.Os get a lot of their staff apartments from. TO accomodation for a winter though? I can't even bare to think of it.
LP should be about 600 euros, there are early bird deals but you need to look before the end of October really.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| pam w wrote: |
| Helen Beaumont, we're hoping that the phone lines will be upgraded before long, to make it worth while. Even if we can't persuade all the co-pros to go for it, there are three of us sufficiently close together for an amateur installation - especially as one of the guys is an IT pro. |
What download speed to you get on your main router? It is not rocket salad though, you just need to stick in repeaters if the signal is weak and/or better antenna. If you can get 1-MPS that should be good enough unless you are pirating films and stuff. In most places you can get 8 MBPS, even in the mountains.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| Quote: |
I would phone the agencies
|
I wouldn't - have you seen how much the agency fees are? 
Although it might be cheaper than going and looking for yourself I suppose.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| Megamum wrote: |
| I suppose it depends what you do - I'm a paper/PC based consultant - although I do a day a week in my office I can easily manage without. I work the rest of my hours from home and I run off the firms VPN and its like being at the office with the server in the next room. I can't see that it would make any difference whether I sat here or in France doing so. It wouldn't work for everyone though. |
Interesting. I use a VPN from time to time. It's certainly useful - but contact with the company server is very definitely not like being next door to it. It may be that our present server is slow - in which case it is something to bear in mind when we replace it soon, but I think it is mostly because I use ADSL. Are you using SDSL?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Systems like www.logmein.com are useful, depending on your companies IT policy's. Like VPN but a good deal easier to set-up.
In terms of connection there are always Library's as a back-up plan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyone know when Broadband will get cheaper in France, whilst Broadband is steadily getting cheaper in the UK it remains stubbornly high in France?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Boredsurfing wrote: |
| Anyone know when Broadband will get cheaper in France, whilst Broadband is steadily getting cheaper in the UK it remains stubbornly high in France? |
The govt plans to tax broadband to pay for 3 extre state tv channels no-one watches and to reduce tv advertising. So prices will go up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
david@mediacopy, what I mainly interested in is transferring large 3D CAD files. I don't think Logmein would meet my full needs - but it looks like it may answer some, and I shall check it out further, thanks for the link.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
davidof, oh 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
I've always used X tunnelled over ssh. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
davidof, Geek! I like it. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
brian
brian
Guest
|
|
I use vnc over a vpn, tightvnc on low bandwidth is pretty usable even over a wet string. Our remote connections are all terminated in Amsterdam anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
I would imagine that string is very wet at high tide then.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
scottishskier, As I work for myself and rely heavilly on emails/internet access I have taken my laptop on holiday for last 12 months and it has worked absolutely fine - even managed to get wifi in caravan in France during summer. I work in financial services and I'm lucky enough that I do not need to meet clients as around 70% of my business is done without client meetings and purely online and over the phone. I've recenty purchased an iPhone which will hopefully reduce my relaiance on lap top. Wifi in my experience is widely available in Alps, admitttedly I ski Austria most of the time, but I'm sure France would be just as good. I would definitely keep your current employers happy, especially in this uncertain climate, and work remotely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| Quote: |
TO accomodation for a winter though? I can't even bare to think of it.
|
No, indeed you'd be well advised to stay well clothed even at night if you didn't want to catch something nasty.
As for getting 8mb in the mountains, not a chance round here. Orange just say "Votre ligne n'est pas éligible au haut débit.
Nous vous proposons donc nos offres bas débit". I have that already, at the blistering speed of 31.2 kbs at the moment, better than the usual 28. I can't remember the actual speed I got quoted on other test lines but the outcome was always the same and speed around 3 - 4 mb. This is the real mountains, not one of yer tourist meccas....
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
pam w, I was about to boast until I read your last comment, I'll be quiet now 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
scottishskier, Why not look for something like bar work to accompany your remote working. Chances are you would find something with accommodation and you would probably have all your days free for getting on the hill and also fitting in a bit of work. Would be a lot more sociable too as you would be more involved with day to day resort life. If it is only 16 hours a week you need to do then you will easily fit that in between shifts and lets face it - if the weather is bad you could probably get ahead on some weeks allowing yourself more snowtime for when the sun is shining! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
achilles,One option maybe www.mailbigfile.com which is a pseudo FTP service using emailed links. The free version allows for transfers upto 100Mb.
The cheat would be to use logmein to draft and send a mailbigfile from your host machine to grab from your 'local' laptop. I guess it depends on upload speeds, but that will be the same for all solutions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| david@mediacopy wrote: |
| ......... I guess it depends on upload speeds, but that will be the same for all solutions. |
Which brings us back to Megamum and her high-speed VPN. DDSL at a guess - but I'd be interested to see if she could confirm that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
The neat thing about the logmein type services is that they are working in the same way as the MS remote desktop connection - the processing takes place on the remote machine and only the screen output is transmitted, so the amount of bandwidth required is quite low for it to function reasonably well.
When I've played with VPN, running apps on a local machine connecting to remote data, the amount of data the apps transfer is surprisingly large, even for everyday stuff like Sage.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| scottishskier wrote: |
I have 2 options for my season
1. I have a job with a tour operator already, deposit paid. Take that. 60quid a week, season pass, accom, food etc included.
or
2. Work for my current employer remotely in the alps for a couple of days a week(16hrs @ £8-14/hr = £128-224). No accomodation etc. organised as yet.
Has anyone worked remotely before, any advice, does it work?
Whats the chance of getting shared accomodation in resort at this stage? Specifically Val d'isere or Tignes as i know people there.
What would you do?
Any advice appreciated? |
If doing the latter option in Tignes, keep in with the staff at the Lav Lounge. Plenty of people have used their free wifi & electicity to remote work in past seasons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
Which brings us back to Megamum and her high-speed VPN. DDSL at a guess - but I'd be interested to see if she could confirm that.
|
Could just be that the response from the server even when sat in the office next to it is lousy, so it appears just the same over VPN
I VPN onto multiple customer servers using a mixture of ssh and Citrix, and whilst it's perfectly usable, it's nothing like as responsive as when you're on site and LAN-connected - the latency alone will see to that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
logmein works great when i am in france and my broadband connection is faster than at home. cant see connectivity being a big problem and there is always 3G
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cheapest way to stay in Val d'Isere is to buy a cheap camper van, just needs to be a runner basically but you will need petrol or gas heating (professional installation or you can kill yourself). You can then park at la Daille for the winter with the other season workers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
. However even tour operators use agencies to source accommodation for their staff, maybe not yours 