Thread Starter
TS
The town outside of Milan, or is there another one?
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International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) European ski towns to consider purchasing a ski condo/home in?
- Thread starter surfandski
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https://www.alagna.it/en/
Also, yes, I would drive. I always do. It makes last-minute stuff so much easier and saves a lot of time.
Alagna Valsesia, part of Monterosa ski area.
But did all the European countries remove that requirement? Could they suddenly re-imposing them if situation changes?
Given this past 2 years of draconian border restrictions under the disguise of pandemic control, I've decided I'm not going to buy property in countries that I'm not a citizen (or PR) of. I fear there's a trend of borders closing randomly under whatever pretense.
(Yes, had previously contemplated Canada and Japan pre-pandemic)
What about visa requirements?
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As far as I know, all EU countries are free to enter at the moment, no vaccination status proof is required. In some situations (public transport, hospitals, etc.), there may be face mask requirements.
Source: https://it.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
Source: https://it.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
The first sentence would have sufficed...
french hates EVERYBODY, not just americans.
speaking french helps a LOT.
speaking french helps a LOT.
What he said.
Thread Starter
TS
You've been a wealth of knowledge. I really appreciate all your help!
Thread Starter
TS
Do you happen to know if there are certain weeks in March that are busier with families on vacation? I'm looking at flying there from March 6th-20th. Those can be busy Spring break times in the US but not sure if it is the same in Europe. Thanks!
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See this-
And he posted this insane chart too. It uses the week number, a popular usage term in Europe.
In addition to the stuff James has linked to - 5 March is the last day of high season throughout the Aosta Valley.
What these guys said. From March 5 until Easter (April 10th, 2023), you should be fine.
Well...we are the worst of two worlds in that case, as American expats who live in Paris. We bought an old farmhouse in a hamlet in the Haute-Savoie. Our 4 neighbors, all French, could not be nicer. Unless they spend their time talking about us behind our backs...having lived in France for 10 years and with dual citizenship, I think it's a little more complicated. French people are fundamentally conservative and quiet in public. They make their friends early; it's a small country where visiting with family and friends is a major activity. So they don't aggressively seek new friends in the way Americans do.Yeah - you're not going to get anywhere you can guarantee politically to not get locked out of if something like the pandemic repeats. But you can do yourselves favours by being fully vaxxed etc. Maybe somewhere like Bosnia- Herzogovina or Bulgaria might be more relaxed.
Value for money wise you can probably get most in Italy followed in order by France, Austria and Switzerland of the main alpine nations. Places like Slovenia and Southern Poland you could probably get a lot.
Pyrenees likely to be better value I suspect and quite an interesting place to be where you wouldn't be just another loudmouthed yank
Seriously though France isn't specifically anti American. They are suspicious of all outsiders but worst of all Parisians.
Seasonpass wise everywhere has a seasonpass for between Eur600- 1000ish. Some are better than others with reciprocal resorts. Austria has a Tirolcars a Salzburg Superski and a really good value seasonpass for Innsbruck residents which includes Wacker FC, ice hockey and Schwimbads. Magic pass in CH is really cheap.
That said, there's also a city vs country divide. Parisians are busy people; work days are long (9-7 is normal); city life can be exhausting (metro-boulot-dodo). Many Parisians don't have time for niceties with tourists. But in the country the pace of life is a little slower and those who can communicate in English or Franglish are happy to banter and help you out. So, bottom line: If you learn some French and have a friendly and open attitude, you will be welcomed in the country/mountains. Same as anywhere.
As to the OP's question: Airport access is key. Geneva is a good hub for northern and central French Alps and some Swiss areas. Our place is within an hour of GVA, and even though we are not in a ski station, there is a small hill in our commune, but we are within an hour of 6 major stations: Portes des Soleil, Grand Massif, the Chamonix Valley, St.Gervais/Megeve/Contamines, La Clusaz/Grand Bornand and Espace Diamant. Aosta Valley is through the MB tunnel. So we'll never lack for variety.
Terrain/crowds: Just about any French station isn't crowded when you're not in the school holiday weeks. As for terrain: You are no doubt aware of the "off piste" situation, but won't go into that. Know that higher-altitude resorts are above the treeline so the tradeoff is better snow vs the chance of flat light/whiteouts. There are lots of mega-linked resorts in France so you'll never run out of new runs to try.
Costs: Window prices are way cheaper here; that said, I think the future is going to be multi-resort passes like Icon. Cost of living: France is cheaper than the US overall, with the exception of energy prices (we would be over the moon to pay $6 gallon for gas!). That said, I just paid a tax bill as a small business (i.e., myself) owner and it was like a dp on a house...and for expats much depends on forex rates.
I think it depends on what you want out of it. For us, our place is an escape from Paris in the short term and in the long-term, hopefully, we'll move there full time once our kids are out of the house in 4 years or so, and orient ourselves toward Geneva. It's big enough that we can host family and friends. It's in a really quiet, beautiful, peaceful area that is attractive in both summer and winter. in fact I think I like summer in the Alps even more than winter. Sounds like you're like us: we hike, cycle, climb so having those activities literally outside our front door (we live atop a col used often in the Tour de France) is an amazing privilige. But our commune has only one restaurant...
Much depends on your budget but you can get showplace properties in the French Alps for under $1 million if you don't need to be right on a ski lift.
As entertaining as it would be to have a house over there to fly back and forth to, I think you've got far higher quality skiing from a snow point of view in the US. Yes, it costs more for a lift ticket, but you don't have the border and visa issues and, let's face it, the huge crowds they have. A BIGGER PERCENTAGE OF EUROPEANS SKI. When you see the massive investments made in lifts you realize they are ready for volume. And yes, there are quaint restaurants spread around the mountains with far better food than we get, because all the hordes are actually there to party. They start late, they stop for a long lunch, ski a little more, then hit the bars.
Frankly, I like my ski area quiet and not packed with Hermann Maier wannabes. You'll find more of the quiet, serious skiing, with lower prices, in the NW corner of this country. None of them have glitz and glamor, but the winters start early and the snow quality holds up.
You go to Europe for ambiance and history and eating. You go to the Rockies if you want to ski.
Frankly, I like my ski area quiet and not packed with Hermann Maier wannabes. You'll find more of the quiet, serious skiing, with lower prices, in the NW corner of this country. None of them have glitz and glamor, but the winters start early and the snow quality holds up.
You go to Europe for ambiance and history and eating. You go to the Rockies if you want to ski.
I think I might agree with this re the skiing, and definitely snow quallity -- but I don't think border/visa issues should be a concern. After all, there are literally hundreds of thousands of non-Europeans who own property in the EU/UK/EMEA, and they come and go largely as they please. It's all doable.
Europe is a different place culturally than the US, so there's also the experience of being in a foreign country, which can be liberating in many ways (or isolating, depends how you play it...)
Crowds are really a non-issue, too. We've skiied almost exclusively during school breaks in France and Italy and with a little planning you can avoid pinch points etc. almost anywhere, even in the biggest resorts. A place like Dolomiti Superski is so vast that there will always be quiet areas where you can ski right onto the lift at any time.
I have never had a real fear of crowds skiing in the Alps. And then I saw some pictures of US resorts last season - those put it all in perspective for me. In comparison, most European resorts - especially in Italy, Switzerland, and France - are not very crowded. Or at least, pile-ups at certain lifts can easily be avoided.
Just to whet the OP's appetite: This is a huge farmhouse within an hour of GVA, very close to Grand Massif ski area, in the beautiful Giffre river valley, but also to Les Gets/Morzine/Avoriaz, 1.5 million eurodollars but given current economy, probably would take less. https://alpine-property.fr/samoens/ferme-jutteninges/4891# (click on more photos)
This is in Les Houches, in the Cham valley: (pricey area, but just to show what you can get for a relatively low price)
here's the fancy stuff: https://www.barnes-montblanc.com
Ferme Jutteninges - Samoëns & Vallée
Une ferme de 7 chambres et 6 salles de bain, datant du 12ème siècle. A 10 minutes de Samoëns
alpine-property.fr
This is in Les Houches, in the Cham valley: (pricey area, but just to show what you can get for a relatively low price)
Chalets et appartements à vendre à Les Houches - Alpine Property, Agence Immobiliere
Chalets et appartements à vendre à Les Houches
alpine-property.fr
here's the fancy stuff: https://www.barnes-montblanc.com
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Yeah but it's all context dependent. I remember skiing L2A one New Year week when weather closed out the upper mountains - it literally was not worth skiing given the crowds competing for the remaining lifts and I took a long walk home through town as a result. Not that different from say Palisades when only KT22 and Red Dog are spinning. In Europe modern lift capacity can get people up the mountains but poor natural snowfall can concentrate them dangerously on the smae few runs
Move the crowd from the liftline to the terrasse? Not a bad idea 
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