I wanted to pick your brains and get some recommendations on European ski towns that may fit our interests. We will be turning 50 in a couple years and are working towards our goal of being fully retired then, or shortly after, so we've been doing a lot of research on places we'd like to own a ski home in to spend the Winter months. Due to the logistical benefits, we had been really leaning towards Canada, but with their covid restrictions likely not going away any time soon, it is now off our list. With almost all European countries now open for business without any covid restrictions (https://www.euronews.com/travel/2022/06/20/what-s-the-latest-on-european-travel-restrictions), and with the strength of the dollar, we think there could be some real bargains over the next year or two, so we want to do our research now to plan a few trips to check the areas out. Here are a few things to consider when making recommendations:
1. Ease of travel - this may be less critical once we are retired and are spending months, rather than weeks, but it's still important. We've only traveled to Europe once so I'm not up on if there are certain airports that are generally cheaper to fly in and out of (most likely out of Atlanta since we are in WNC, or Tampa if we are at out beach house). Ideally, we could fly into an airport and take a train or have some other means to get us to our home where we'd keep a SUV. Without getting too political (MODERATORS- you have to agree that it's impossible to not bring this up given what the World is going through today from the decisions made over the past 2.5 years), I have to mention that any country we'd spend hundreds of thousands on real estate, needs to be one that has hopefully learned valuable lessons from how they handled the pandemic and wouldn't be quick to close their borders again. **I realize we aren't supposed to discuss politics here so please limit comments to only how the political landscape of that country could affect one's ability to come and go freely in the future and don't turn it into a political debate.**
2. Style of resort - We don't go skiing to be pampered so quality of terrain, quality of snow and not overly crowded slopes is much more important to us than a resort's amenities. So, the further away from the "Vail" type experience, the better. We also aren't too into the après scene so lots of bars and clubs aren't appealing, though we definitely love good food (especially if it isn't a $35 "Costco" burger). Don't get me wrong, a town with character is a plus but hopefully one where the focus is on the mountains and outdoor activities, rather than a place for the "elite" to dress up and be seen.
3. The cost and variety of skiing - I understand that generally, lift tickets are quite a bit less expensive than in the US but what about season passes? It's not a requirement but it would be nice to live in a place that has a pass that allows you to ski multiple mountains. What are some of the options for multi-resort passes in Europe?
4. Cost of living - What countries/towns can you get the most home/condo for the money? Getting from the US to our home will play into this cost, especially if our kids decide to live in the US and are traveling back and forth to see us. When we aren't outside skiing, kayaking, MTBing, climbing, flying, etc, we are pretty much homebodies so other than going out to eat occasionally, we don't do a ton of activities that cost money. The cost of food at supermarkets is obviously important if certain places are substantially more expensive.
5. Language - It would be nice to live in an area where it's not too hard to get by so that we could communicate with the locals. We've lived in several countries in Central and S. America and a great part of the adventure is getting to know the local people and cultures. We are fluent in Spanish, which means we can get by in Italian and Portuguese, so that could get us a jump start on the language barrier but it's not a high enough priority to sacrifice better terrain options if Spain or Portugal don't have much skiing. This brings up France....due to some hostility towards Americans (especially those who don't speak French), it's never been a place we've given any thought to travel to as tourists but ever since watching Blizzard of Aahhs as a kid, I've known that France offers up terrain that more than makes up for some inconveniences. Not having spent much time researching skiing in Europe, France seems to offer a lot so what are some of the best "skier's towns" in France where lowkey expats can fit in?
We really don't know much about the ski scene over there so we may be way off in a lot of our preconceived ideas and realize there are probably a lot of countries that check the boxes on our list that we never thought of. Thanks for your help!
1. Ease of travel - this may be less critical once we are retired and are spending months, rather than weeks, but it's still important. We've only traveled to Europe once so I'm not up on if there are certain airports that are generally cheaper to fly in and out of (most likely out of Atlanta since we are in WNC, or Tampa if we are at out beach house). Ideally, we could fly into an airport and take a train or have some other means to get us to our home where we'd keep a SUV. Without getting too political (MODERATORS- you have to agree that it's impossible to not bring this up given what the World is going through today from the decisions made over the past 2.5 years), I have to mention that any country we'd spend hundreds of thousands on real estate, needs to be one that has hopefully learned valuable lessons from how they handled the pandemic and wouldn't be quick to close their borders again. **I realize we aren't supposed to discuss politics here so please limit comments to only how the political landscape of that country could affect one's ability to come and go freely in the future and don't turn it into a political debate.**
2. Style of resort - We don't go skiing to be pampered so quality of terrain, quality of snow and not overly crowded slopes is much more important to us than a resort's amenities. So, the further away from the "Vail" type experience, the better. We also aren't too into the après scene so lots of bars and clubs aren't appealing, though we definitely love good food (especially if it isn't a $35 "Costco" burger). Don't get me wrong, a town with character is a plus but hopefully one where the focus is on the mountains and outdoor activities, rather than a place for the "elite" to dress up and be seen.
3. The cost and variety of skiing - I understand that generally, lift tickets are quite a bit less expensive than in the US but what about season passes? It's not a requirement but it would be nice to live in a place that has a pass that allows you to ski multiple mountains. What are some of the options for multi-resort passes in Europe?
4. Cost of living - What countries/towns can you get the most home/condo for the money? Getting from the US to our home will play into this cost, especially if our kids decide to live in the US and are traveling back and forth to see us. When we aren't outside skiing, kayaking, MTBing, climbing, flying, etc, we are pretty much homebodies so other than going out to eat occasionally, we don't do a ton of activities that cost money. The cost of food at supermarkets is obviously important if certain places are substantially more expensive.
5. Language - It would be nice to live in an area where it's not too hard to get by so that we could communicate with the locals. We've lived in several countries in Central and S. America and a great part of the adventure is getting to know the local people and cultures. We are fluent in Spanish, which means we can get by in Italian and Portuguese, so that could get us a jump start on the language barrier but it's not a high enough priority to sacrifice better terrain options if Spain or Portugal don't have much skiing. This brings up France....due to some hostility towards Americans (especially those who don't speak French), it's never been a place we've given any thought to travel to as tourists but ever since watching Blizzard of Aahhs as a kid, I've known that France offers up terrain that more than makes up for some inconveniences. Not having spent much time researching skiing in Europe, France seems to offer a lot so what are some of the best "skier's towns" in France where lowkey expats can fit in?
We really don't know much about the ski scene over there so we may be way off in a lot of our preconceived ideas and realize there are probably a lot of countries that check the boxes on our list that we never thought of. Thanks for your help!
