[Closed] Moving to the alps.

Bourg St Maurice/Les Arcs would probably be my aim, mainly due to the variety of riding available. Remember that there'll be snow for approx 6 months of the year though!

Main priorities being location to airports for work and quality of riding

Chamonix?

Remember that there'll be snow for approx 6 months of the year though!

This.

And some shocking traffic jams

Does it snow in the Alps? I wasn't aware of this.

And some shocking traffic jams

10hrs to do 180km was my personal best this year.

Now I think about it, for year-round riding, I'd be heading somewhere like Finale Ligure or Sospel. Not the alps, but if you're moving solely for somewhere to ride, then it doesn't have to be the Alps.

chamonix would be ideal in the winter, but its mainly DH trails and bike park stuff for riding.

Molini.... You can also come and help build trails..

molini?

I would seriously consider Samoens.

Lake Annecy? Lausanne?

Have you considered the Pyrenees? Tends to be a bit less busy (although the alps are huge and there are quiet bits). Still stunning and loads of possible off-the-beaten-track paths. Might be an option for some tax savings in Andorra too. For the alps samoens (or that valley) is a good option. Close to Geneva and striking distance of loads of good riding spots. Not too high either for winter.

Molini?

Molini di Triora in the maritime alps and italian riviera, read the current issue of the mag..

I'd love to live in Bourg Saint Maurice but it's a bloody long way from Geneva if you need to gets there regularly.

Morzine is very close... but very English. The suggestion of Samoëns is a good one - even closer than Morzine, a bit more French and still with access to MTB and skiing.

What sort of riding do you enjoy?

Where do you need to commute to?

I live in Austria just 40 minutes from Ljubljana airport, which has cheap flights to Luton and Stansted all year round. Plenty of natural alpine biking and snowboarding to be had in Austria, Slovenia and Italy in this region. The snowboarding resorts are not the biggest but the season ticket is less than 500 euro for the whole of Carinthia and East Tirol.

I'd go to Annecy if I could. Good mountain biking, good skiing nearby and close to GVA for the commute. Plus it's an actual city with stuff going on.
Pricey mind.

get this... http://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property/property-32042019.html

gfrew88, please tell me what your job is so I can do it too!

Are you going to do a bit of zoltaneering, too?

Bourg St Maurice or Sospel for me.

Bourg you could get the train in the winter (no idea how long it takes, but there's none of the faff of airports & transfers)

Sospel is about an hour's drive from Nice airport, brilliant all year doorstep riding and you don't have to go too far to find wintersports stuff if you want to do that too.

i like the look of Samoens and bourg St Maurice. As long as I can get to London easily enough. The Eurostar runs directly to bourg also. I had considered sospel but I've never been so I'm planning a trip on the motorbike next month to visit some different towns. Hopefully it might help me decide.

Eurostar only runs directly to Bourg in the winter. You can still train it all year round, but not direct.

There is an STWer who is a BA pilot and lives just outside Annecy (town called Alice - no Jam pun intended)
Samoens might be good shout too. Chamonix is busy (good thing) Summer and Winter.
I know a few pople whomlive in Verbier/Le Chable and love it (expensive vs France of course) but you have to adapt to some very quiet peiords of the year

You might want to think about living in an actual resort as that can be really dead out of season and you might go bonkers 😉

Plenty of places to live along the French side of Lake Genva with easy access to PdS

Get some advice on tax, much higher in France than you may expect

Good luck and keep us posted, it was always one of my dreams to do the same. Not given up entitely yet !!

Currently part of Stoner family plan is to move out to France in the next two years for a year or so.

We own a small flat near Morzine but probably wouldn't live here full time. I'd prefer to rent a house in a large town /small city and our research will probably centre on an area between annecy and the rhone Valley. We would still be able to drive to Morzine in a few hours, but also I could grab a flight to London from gva or lyon a couple of times per month as necessary.

Going to do some slow drive bys next week on the way back towards blighty from here in Morzine.

i will definitely need to do more research and visit some more places. hopefully be out there after xmas if all goes well.

[i]Considering moving to the alps as i only have to commute once a month for work. Can anyone reccomend some good locations? Main priorities being location to airports for work and quality of riding. les arcs has most of my attention at the moment, but I'm staying open minded. [/i]

If you only have to commute once a month, location of an airport would be well down my priorities.

What about Southern Spain, then you could ride all year?

I still want to know what you do for a living so I can copy you 8)

Mr Transprovence, Ash Smith lives in Menton, you can see why when you look at his Instagram account... https://instagram.com/transprovence

i follow his instagram, I've had a look at sospel but its rather expensive for the kind of property i would want.

out of interest what is the riding like in samoens? I'm more into technical natural singletrack and big days out.

Again [url= http://www.rivierabike.co.uk ]Molini[/url]. I know of a house going for €180 a month, an apartment 30mins down the road on the beach from €350 a month. Just 30 mins from monaco, but the coffe is awrsone and just €1 for un cafe al banco... And the riding is awesome... All year...

Girona would be my choice, less busy, great tralls/roads beach and regular flights to the UK.

nasher i would be looking to buy not rent. it also needs to have a garage for obvious reasons and somewhere for my motorbike. I might have to pay the area a visit.

[quote=bigjim ]gfrew88, please tell me what your job is so I can do it too!

This^

Why buy particularly?

I say that having recently bought in morzine mind you.

For a small holiday bolt hole to call your own for 15 yrs, yes.

But for the flexibility to move and change location around the country I'd surely rent.

OP with such a big lifestyle change I would suggest renting first particularly as you don't have a specific favourite area you know well. Property prices in France are pretty static (even falling esp in Alps) so no rush. Year round rentals can be quite attractively priced

bigjim » gfrew88, please tell me what your job is so I can do it too!
This^

Me too please. I'd like to have a crack at a job that only needs me in once a month and affords me a life in the Alps.

Please tell us what it is..?

Me too please. I'd like to have a crack at a job that only needs me in once a month and affords me a life in the Alps.

Please tell us what it is..?

Drugs mule?

James Bond?

Drugs mule?

I have a capacious colon, where do I sign up?

My theory is if i buy a place and later on i find that i want to move then it will still end up being a sound investment if i rent it out.

I don't think you can always make that assumption with property unless its in a real hot spot / major world city.

My guess is hit man. Goes in does a few jobs gets out.

Certainly doesn't want to elaborate... 😯

A couple of comments on French Alps south of Geneva - if you are going to buy, you need to do your homework as its not as easy / quick to sell if you have to get your money back, there are FX risks to think about, and if you want to rent out there are hot spots were there is short supply (but prices are high) and plenty of other places were rental is pretty slow.. so do your homework on that. Tax and fees also an issue on rentals and buying / selling.

Riding in Samoens is nice, plenty of big days out type riding around there and some great lift assisted downhill singletrack in summer. PDS a short drive away or ride up the Col du Joux Plan if you are feeling fit, gets you straight over to Les Gets. A quiet place though. Annecy also a nice place and busy.

Traffic can be bad at peak times but nowhere near as bad as S.E. UK on a day to day basis I find.

I made the move 5 years ago. No regrets.

cheers ddmonkey. I'm aware of the tax and fees involved in buying property i think the process seems pretty easy as all taxes and fees are paid as a % of the property. Is there anywhere you would recommend? Ive recently been over to les arcs area and was impressed with the riding and the surrounding area.

Sorry to hijack - what are the major alpine resorts like betwix seasons?

I was chatting to the guy who owned the chalet we were staying in Morzine a couple of years ago, he painted a pretty grim picture of a ghost town covered in slush in spring and cold drizzle in autumn, most of the shops and all of the bars and restaurants closed for weeks or months.

He was a miserable bugger though, skiers were overly demanding spoiled brats, snowboarders were 'frat boys' who threw up in his garden, mountain bikers couldn't read signs asking to strip before entering the building and got the place muddy. I think he just wanted to live, ride and Ski on his own and his guests were an unfortunate byproduct ha ha.

Morzine can be a bit quiet inter season. Many take their hols in October. May can be odd depending on the late snow but the walking can be great and the lifts open the last two weekends of the month at Les gets for a laugh.

But compared to primarily ski resorts morzine us alive for much more of the year. That's certainly one of the main reasons we bought a little place out here. Even in the interseason I'm happy to come out for a few days walking, xc riding and chilling.

People live here, it never grinds to a complete standstill.

@gfrew property our has costs inc taxes will be about 10% in France, an incentive to be sure you're buying the right place. Alps property prices are quite soft at the moment, which you might see as a buying opportunity, some premium properties in Chamonix are supposedly down 50% from the peak.

bigjim » gfrew88, please tell me what your job is so I can do it too!

Professional Day-Dreamer is my guess.

Rough night @mooman ?

For example friend of a friend who moved to Le Chable below Verbier does most of his work remotely, he spent many years getting his career organised so he could do that. He's been living there for 15 years now. I have another friend who runs an import/distribution business who needs to be in Paris less than 6 months a year and spends the other 6 months as a "guest coach" for Club Med, so he teaches water skiing and snow boarding in return for free board and lodging. Most of the people I know in Verbier are "early retired", made enough money to have a place to live and work part time for "pocket money". Many different ways to run your life.

He's definitely ignoring the questions about his job 😉

mooman - Member
bigjim » gfrew88, please tell me what your job is so I can do it too!
Professional Day-Dreamer is my guess.

Nope, i have an inkling we are in the same game 🙂

Renting out can be complicated. The last time anyone was up to date with the rent on our flat was 2000. The law is stacked heavily in favour of the tenant.

The northern Alps are dismal most of the year. If you are only going to ski that's great but... . Briançon - Gap area is a better bet year round.

IMO the best bits of France are close to the Alps or Pyrenees without being in them, and having a second home up the hill for skiing and escaping the Summer heat.

I suggest renting and living for periods in a variety of places and only buying when you have a better feel for the country, its people and the property market. Regional differences are just as marked as in the UK.

Places I like:
St Jean de Luz (if you don't need a car in Summer)
Gap
Nancy
Pau
La Rochelle
Dijon

Places I'm not keen on:
Anywhere in PACA for more than a week
The north
The Alps except for holidays

its classified

Sorry to hijack - what are the major alpine resorts like betwix seasons?

Your chalet owner wasn't too far off the mark. Even the big resorts are very, very dead between seasons and can be pretty grim. Very small permanent populations, everything [everything!] shut between seasons. The "real towns" with lifts are a bit better, the valley towns (Bourg Saint Maurice, Saint Gervais, etc.) are MUCH better.

These can actually be really nice times to chill and ride your bike (weather is often great) but forget a social life or facilities.

Interesting (and VERY tempting) thread.

I'm in a similar situation, commute to work once every 4 weeks, 2wks at work then back.

I'd be looking for excellent skiing/boarding in winter and biking in summer. It's a shame Canada is so far as Whistler ticks the boxes for me but is too far/expensive to fly to every month.

Chamonix looks good, amazing skiing and lots of nice touring but not sold on the biking aspect, I want epic singletrack but also uplifted DH jump trails and tech... Not asking too much!!!!! Also Cham is super expensive 🙁

gfrew88 - Member
its classified

You sell yourself... Man whore?

the Austria/Ljubljana suggestion above looked tempting

I think some of you might be assuming that commuting once a month means 29 days at home, then one day at work...instead of 30 days at home, 30 days at work...

I'm very tempted by Samoens,Saint Gervais or Bourg. I'm travelling over next month on the motorbike for a nosey at some property

I used to live in Bourg (well technically Seez) it's a great place and Gva is only a bastard to get to if you have to travel on a Saturday or Sunday in the winter season. Apart from that it's actually quite an easy drive and handy for some better supermarkets and real shops on your way back up. I moved back a few years ago now but still have a lot of friends in that valley so if you have any specific questions drop me a line.

As with Konabunny - Austria is a good shout.

Many Austrian town councils have very strict rules for property. Lots of property must be lived in as a first residence, the reason for this is that they want towns to be 12 months a year towns and not just for the holiday seasons. Therefore many towns are generally working towns. It also helps to stabilise property prices as they're not bought as holiday homes.

You can get some really good riding and skiing about an hours drive of Salzburg airport (2 hours from Innsbruck/Ljubjana airport). You also generally don't have to drive over mountain passes/switchbacks to get to some uplift.

cheers luffy, i might take you up on that offer. how did you find living in Bourg during the off seasons? I've visited before and it seems a nice town but i visited in the summer when it was busy.

No one suggested Swindon yet?.

Molini.... You can also come and help build trails..

liking the look of this place......

Sorry, missed this. Like most of the area the interseason is a lot quieter but at least it still functions and everything is still open. Go any higher and it's a much different story where the place effectively shuts down for 6 weeks. Bourg still operates because all the resort inhabitants come down to shop etc...

Personally I loved interseasons as it was time to catch up with your mates and have fun before we all went back to crazy hours and hard work. The weather can be a bit of a bummer though.