 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi there. I'm about to move to Nendaz for a year. Has anyone got any advice on getting accommodation? I'd ideally share with others, so if there is anyone moving there soon that would like to find an appartment then please let me know! What are general opinions of Nendaz? How accessible is Verbier from there?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi, I lived there last season with gorilla he's probably better placed to answer this as he sorted accommodation for us but I'll try and help as best I can. There are loads of flats available, however, the majority are advertised locally and in French. We got ours through http://www.inter-agence.ch/ who were fairly easy to deal with but other agencies were available. Compared to the French Alps the place we got was both cheaper and significantly bigger then the appartment we took in les deux alpes the season before.
Nendaz is a good base for the 4 vallees providing you don't care about any apres ski: there are some bars but they are in general shite and expensive. When I say that the company with the biggest British presence there is Ted Bentley you get the idea that it's a bit off the beaten track for Brits. That said we managed to entertain ourselves pretty well. The main advantage is in the access to the skiing, although to ski from Nendaz to Verbier takes a while by using the shuttle bus to Siviez you can get to the top of Mt Fort before people from Verbier (mainly Scandie powderpoachers on skis wider than a pair of canoes (& BobinCH))can get there.
If you are there for the whole year I don't know how quiet it gets in summer but I was there for a few days after the Verbier lifts shut and it went from being very quiet (the local lifts had shut a week earlier) to being completely dead. I guess there's a bit of a cycling (road and MTB) scene in summer as there are trails and a bike shop but like winter I imagine Verbier is busier. Thinking about it Nendaz has more year round residents so there will be people about out of season but you're going to have to be able to speak French, I found the majority of people were perfectly happy to put up with my long winded and poorly pronounced attempts at conversation 
Last seasons trip report is at http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=59808&highlight= if there's anything else then don't be afraid to ask.
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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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Cool, thanks for all the details. I can speak French so that won't be a problem. Are there a lot of nice locals? I have been offered a job there that lasts for a year. At the moment I am thinking about taking it because it will give me a lot of good experience but I am trying to figure out if Nendaz will be a nice place to live or not! Do you think it will be easy to make friends, cos obviously I don't wanna end up being a loner! Do lots of people come and do a season here? I suppose the apres ski being pish is a bit of a shame, but if I'm working loads then maybe it won't matter. I'm guessing you guys are Scottish, given the name scottishskier. I am too, are you in Glasgow by any chance? I'd be keen to find out more information in general about the village and the surrounding area. The sites about it paint it in a good light but it's so much better hearing it from someone who has really been there. Is Gorilla going back this year? Do you reckon I could live in Verbier and work in Nendaz or is it just too far? Cheers for all your info like!
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skates, what's the job? It's the best part of an hour from Nendaz to Verbier, more in winter if there's snow. Also Verbier accommodation is very expensive so many seasonal workers live down in Le Chable. If I were you I'd stay in Nendaz. It's a nice enogh place if pretty quiet and family friendly. Loads of outdoor activities in the Summer. And at least during the ski season you should be able to hook up with TO staff from Verbier who'll let you sleep on a couch if you want to go out there at the weekends. I'd also recommend you take/buy a car which will mean you can go straight to Siviez, as Swirly mentions above, and give you the freedom to check out the many other interesting places in the Valais.
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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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| skates wrote: |
| Do you think it will be easy to make friends, cos obviously I don't wanna end up being a loner! |
Fairly easy, especially as you speak French, I thought everyone was fairly friendly and chatty. I met a lot of people on the lifts but also in the supermarket etc.
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| Do lots of people come and do a season here? I suppose the apres ski being pish is a bit of a shame, but if I'm working loads then maybe it won't matter. |
Not that many, there were a fair few British ski instructors there although quite a few only worked the peak weeks. My guess would be you could count the number of ski bums on one hand of which gorilla and I were the only Brits, as far as the Brit season workers go there were probably about 10 none of who could ski very well and they were more interested in the drinking.
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| I'm guessing you guys are Scottish, given the name scottishskier. I am too, are you in Glasgow by any chance? |
No only the one of the group of us is and he was only out for a month.
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| I'd be keen to find out more information in general about the village and the surrounding area. The sites about it paint it in a good light but it's so much better hearing it from someone who has really been there. Is Gorilla going back this year? Do you reckon I could live in Verbier and work in Nendaz or is it just too far? Cheers for all your info like! |
Don't know if gorilla is going back. Verbier would be too far if working in Nendaz, you'd need a car (I'd recommend one anyway so you can get to Chamonix etc.) and if it had snowed I could imagine it taking a few hours to drive, even with clear roads you'll probably be looking at 90 minutes minimum.
I really liked Nendaz and unlike many ski resorts I could definitely happily live there year round, it has all the facilities you need including supermarkets (limited opening hours but still open out of season) and a definite permanent population. Also there were a lot of activities organised year round through the tourist office including badminton, squash etc. admittedly these also included the mystery of the alpenhorn and a visit to a cheese factory...
As BobinCH says you'll meet people from Verbier during the season so will no doubt get a chance to get over there for a couple of nights out.
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Not much to add. Flat-wise try and get somewhere as close to Tracouet as possible. I ended up googling various apartment blocks for the street address and then found them on google maps. This is quite important as Nendaz sprawls quite a bit and Tracouet is where the buses go from. Interagence are the pick of the estate agents.
I'm not going back. I cannot justify another season right now. Were I to do another season, I would pick Nendaz without even really thinking about it. Better lift access than Verbier and much, much cheaper.
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I'm not going back. I cannot justify another season right now.
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I remember saying that this time last year
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