 Poster: A snowHead
|
Have just read a post from Samerberg Sue about the best ski pass to buy for the season
Apart from the fact that I (and I suspect many others on here)are hugely envious of all that ski time, it got me to thinking (yes I can sometimes do that) about:
how many snowheads are actually lucky enough to live in Alpine areas? and
how do they sustain their lifestyle ie by working (what type of work) / retiring etc or some other way?
how do local people react if for example you take a part time job that perhaps a local could do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
valleyboy, fcuk the locals..........fcuking foreigners...............
okbye
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
valleyboy, search function.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Yes. Bring your own. Become a local.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
not everyone are like the Brits valleyboy, have at it
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Blend in, embrace the love, and be yourself.
Everyone loves charisma.
Some snowheads blend in better than others.
Balls out, get the drinks in and some people are your friends, but real friends come only buy them back.
Ah come on, it takes a plan and maybe you'll be lucky?
That's all for the moment, maybe catch me in a more lucid and less Leffe induced state later (earlier)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
valleyboy, lucky enough to live in the alps and wise enough to appreciate how lucky we are!! Taken a long hard slog and a fair few scarifices to get here but hey, that's what you do. Now, we'll never exactly be rich but we've got a great lifestyle.
got our own company now but have worked for many a local french company in my time, so long as you work hard, learn the language and join in with the community stuff then we've never had a problem. When in Rome......
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
valleyboy, do it.. don't be too set with your plans.... don't try and play any of the ex-pat Brit games, speak french, eat french, drink french, fete french somehow it'll all work out.
As said you'll never be financially rich but what the hell clean air, relatively relaxed way of life, respectful community, some walking, some sun, some skiing!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
snowpatrol said fcuk the locals, fcuking foreigners
not exactly a helpful reply
parlor thanks for the blog link however it has been removed
Whilst I appreciate that learning the language is important, I was really interested in what way people sustain their lifestyle ie what type of jobs, have they taken retirement etc and with the recession biting in all european countries what is the attitude of local people to you working amongst them
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| valleyboy wrote: |
| Whilst I appreciate that learning the language is important, I was really interested in what way people sustain their lifestyle ie what type of jobs, have they taken retirement etc and with the recession biting in all european countries what is the attitude of local people to you working amongst them |
Well there's a mixture of private chalet/apartment owners, instructors and others who work inside the industry e.g. with the lift company, ski companies etc. Not all snowheads living up (near) hills are doing snow related jobs either.
I guess the attitude thing is that most snowheads don't have attitude and have taken the time to learn and understand (as much as possible) the local language and customs and try to consider themselves more 'locals' than foreigners. This is probably more easily achieved in say France than perhaps in Austria, about which I'm sure an Austrian snowhead said he felt like a foreigner as he lived 10 minutes down the hill.
Of course the other advantage is that the likes of Parlor, Marcellus etc are (generally speaking) marketing to English customers and therefore they are bringing business into the village for the ski-school, hire shop, lift company restaurants etc, so one would imagine the villagers are happy to see them here.
But as Lizzard has mentioned then this has been covered many times before - if you google "living in the alps site:snowheads.com" or similar you will get lots of similar threads to this one.
Plus there are number of people that are perm seasonaires or semi-perm seasonaires
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I suppose one benefit of the more artificial French "ski stations" is that they are not long established communities - because nobody would have been so daft as to establish a community high on an alp. That doesn't prevent lots of local politics though - typically there will be several "communes" with an interest in each ski area, and they are so busy fighting each other and having feuds and not speaking that they probably haven't got much time left over to fight with outsiders. There's a fair bit of bad blood between the different communes in the Espace Diamant area, and I don't suppose for one minute that they are atypical. I learnt quite a bit about this from a French (but not local.... only lived here 25 years....) teacher, with whom I had a series of conversation lessons. He was a local councillor, as well as a qualified teacher of French so it made sense.
I guess it would be vital, if you wanted to get a "foot in the door" locally, in any business sense, not only to speak good French but also to find some trustworthy and well informed local informant to help prevent your making the wrong decision. We have two restaurants very near our apartments. Until 3 years ago they were run by two very local cousins who hadn't spoken to each other for about 20 years. One was then sold to a Frenchman from Provence who (despite having owned an apartment in this complex) appeared not to have done his homework. I suspect that life was just as difficult for him, starting a business here, as it would have been for a complete foreigner.
That said, I don't think there are any Brits making their living round here - if there are I haven't come across them, though it would be interesting to do so.
Most people who succeed seem to be prepared to start at the bottom, work hard and still have a much lower "standard of living" materially than they might at home in the UK. For us it's completely different - we just have a sort of extended holiday, and very pleasant it is. We do it by being retired, living moderately frugally and taking in lodgers in our house at home. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| easiski wrote: |
| However, you never totally belong and you should expect that. I can be from LDa, but would never be considered from either Venosc or Mont de Lans because that takes 5+ generations! |
Talking of which I was having lunch in Venosc with my pa. in law and pointed out that the hotel owner's name was "Turc" and that is a Angers' name and there were a number of old guides in the valley with the name. I mentioned this because pa. in law has family links with Anger. My pa. in law was gob-smacked and didn't believe a word, he went and talked to Mr Hotel owner who confirmed that, yes indeed, 5 or 6 generations back his forefathers settled in the area from... Angers.
You see, even after 5 generations, you may be defined by your roots.
On a similar note, Tzvetan Todorov's book L'homme dépaysé talks about the place of immigrant to a country and how, no matter how French (or whatever) you become you are never fully one of them. This from a man who has been described as France's greatest living philosopher who has lived in France for over 40 years. Todorov points out that school and adolescence are extremely formative and you will never fully be a member of your adopted country if you have missed those important steps.
The other problem with France is the infernal darn language!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Surely the right thing to do is to get rich in UK and buy up the local properties and turn the place a expat kingdom, like Meribel, Chamonix....
Would this be the same view as snowpatrol's "fcuk the locals..........fcuking foreigners............... "
Who would give a toss if you only go there to spend the Euro? Now if the outsider has to be materially dependent on the local for income then it is another matter and so having 5 ot 6 generations before may get a fair treatment. In this respect could France not be the ideal place to be?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Rather than struggle to make a living in an alpine area where I have no background or experience, I take the approach of trying to make enough money at home in the UK to fund several extended ski trips over the winter. I've also got into a flexible business that can be run remotely, so it's possible to carry on working while out in resort (not that I do that yet!). I don't think I'd actually want to live in a ski resort all year long. My aim is to live in the UK, because I'm British and really enjoy living here in the summer, but spend the entire ski season out in Canada. We're finally getting there having bought our own apartment out in BC and this season hope to spend 6-8 weeks skiing there (up from 5 weeks last season), but it's taken a long time to get to that point and I'd really like to get up to 12 weeks a year skiing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
We took UKtrailmonster's POV and relocated to Calgary. Although probably don't manage as much skiing as him- around 27 days! But then we have two littleys and could never have afforded more than one week from UK. Here we get paid a great wage (earn more than in UK) , it goes further and we genuinely get more skiing in I think than some people 'living the dream' owrking their proverbials off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Praise indeed, another 10 years and you may be accepted as a local? 
