Living in France.

[Markopolo]

Any of you fine folk lived in France for an extended period ? What was your experience, positive and negative ?

[Bear]

I think you need to talk to Swede.

[Legolas]

sigh...yup, I recall Swede has history there.

[Boardingbuny]

MY brother is there in Chamonix at the moment! Looking for work, hoping to stay atleast the season...

They hated Paris, but i think that was travel dramas... LOve Cham, dont really want to move on, but no work and the conversion of the aussie dollar is kiling them very quickly...

They say Chamonix is very beautiful, peaceful, the locals are friendly... A totally different Aura to Paris..

Does anybody have any tips for job hunting in the alps?

[Swede]

Hi Markopolo I spent some years in Cham, but left there in 94. Can't say enough good things about the place or any other place in France that I’ve been to for that matter. Still know some people that ended up making Cham their home and as far as I know they all love it still. Not really in contact with them much these days but see them every now and then on the net and in mags and movies.
Not sure what the work situation is like there for a skibum these days. The people I know are lucky enough to work in the tourism/ski industry and some also have sponsors. Always found it better to work 2 or 3 jobs for a few months in summer and then enjoy the skiing, climbing and drinking the rest of the year. You work in a ski resort and you work crap hour for crap money and it’s interfering with the thing you are really there for, spending time in the mountains.
Not sure what info you’re after but if there’s anything I can help you with I’d be happy to.

[SnowSnow]

Is it hard to get work in france. in the chalets etc. A mate just came back and said there was plenty of work in those types of places. Any one to back this up.

[skimax]

speaking french is probably a large pre-requesite. If not your bro might be better orf in another country eg switzerland or austria perhaps ?
also wouldnt call chamoniz a mega resort ? maybe a larger place would be easier ?

[Markopolo]

Just started (re)learning french. I am not looking to be a ski bum....too freakin old, no, its all about buying a place in the south and living there for 5 or 6 months of the year. I was interested in any info about blending in with the locals. The wife loves Paris but we both want take a much lower paced approach, a small village within say 100 k's of Perpignan ( that way I can get my Rugby fix !! LOL ), it also means proximity to the ski resorts in that area. Any thoughts/comments/advice.

ps, thanks for the kind offer Swede !!

[Woodster]

It sounds like a great idea to me, Markopolo.
I lived for nearly 4 years in France. That was a while ago, in the 80’s. I haven’t been back for about 10 years. No doubt there have been lots of changes, but I expect the way of life and other aspects of living there are generally much the same as when I was there. Here’s my two cents’ worth:
First up, learn the language, learn it well and learn it as quickly as you can. Unless you can converse freely you will never be able to experience living there fully, and you will always feel like an outsider. I had learnt French at school to senior, but could not really say that I could converse. I could put a sentence together but would not understand the reply. I landed in France and spent about 6 months there on my first trip living with French people and not speaking any English and by the end of that time could converse pretty well, although I missed a lot of nuance and anything too complex. It took another year or so before I could say that I could handle any situation, for example reading French novels and newspapers, following more or less everything on TV or the movies, and speaking on the phone, which curiously I found about the most difficult thing to pick up. The best way to do all this is to immerse yourself in it and speak French as much as you can. I remember at one stage in one period of 9 months I spoke English only a couple of times. That’s the way to really get into the language. I also strongly suggest you get a firm grip on grammar through lessons and practice. I always found it a shame to hear foreigners who’d often been living there for many years who still dropped grammatical howlers. Make sure you pick up the slang as well – that happens quickly in any case. If you’re in the south there is quite a strong regional accent but your ear will get used to that.
I think it’s a great idea to live in the country. I loved Paris and some of the bigger cities, but the heart of France is always the rural life. I see your reasoning about locating around Perpignan. There are some very nice areas around there. It’s close to the Mediterranean of course, and it’s not far from Spain. You can also get over to the surfing beaches on the Atlantic coast (where I spent my summers) with a good few hours’ drive. I’m not sure what the ski resorts are like in that area – I assume you’re thinking of the Pyrenees. It’s a bit of a hike from Perpignan over to the French Alps. Of course you can always hop on a train and get there in a day.
If you’re not necessarily wedded to the Perpignan area, you could consider rural areas around Provence. One of the departments in Provence I really like is the Alpes de Haute Province, which is very quiet, very rural and very beautiful. It’s only a shortish drive up to the southern Alps from Provence, and less from Alpes de Haute Provence, and another couple of hours to the big resorts of the Savoie. It’s also close to the Riviera. I spent my winters at a resort called Les Orres in the southern Alps, and we used to get lots of people up from M****illes and surrounding areas for week ends. The skiing was great (compared with Oz). The southern Alps are generally less crowded and there are some excellent resorts up around Serre Chevalier and Montgenevre. It’s a bit warmer and lower altitude than the Savoie resorts so some years the snow is not as consistent as further north.
My experience would be different in many ways from yours, as I was a young backpacker at the time. I loved everything about it, the countryside, the skiing, the food and wine, the people, the cafes and restaurants, the villages, the markets, and the cinema. I could go on.
I hope it goes well for you.

[Markopolo]

Woodster, thanks so much for that. We start official french lessons next year and as our time frame is still 3 or 4 years away ( with a few reconnoitre trips beforehand), we should have a bit of a grip on the language. I have looked in Provence but the prices in Languadoc and Rousellon are significantly cheaper.