Hello from the French Alps (via UK and New Zealand)

12POSTS

8 years ago

Hi, I'm Naomi,

I am currently living in Tignes, high in the French Alps. It's a seasonal town, busiest in ski season but also a fantastic place to be for summer holidays. Between those seasons it's beautifully quiet :-) . I moved here with my husband and two children back in March last year.

I'm originally from the UK but lived in New Zealand 2002 to 2012. I am now a citizen of NZ as well as still having my UK citizenship. My husband and children are also Swiss (a nationality I hope to be granted too).

We moved here because the UK is too busy, too sad and too grey! We were renting there, which is awful when you have children and pets. When we were asked to move out of our second rental as the landlords wanted to sell, I thought it was a better idea to come and live in our small studio apartment in the mountains - no one can throw us out! So here we are... My husband and I are business consultants and were fortunate to be able to retain our clients and work remotely. I love the life of a digital nomad.

I'd love to connect with anyone in my area.

See also

Working Holiday Visa in France for New Zealanders - Guide
Winter driving in the French Alps - what surprised me the most - 6 Replies
New French Property Declaration Form - 3 Replies
new book written in french - 5 Replies
New member , basic question about French healthcare - 6 Replies
Learn me french, I'll learn you English / NEW IN PARIS - 16 Replies
Hello from Brazil! - 4 Replies

julmac New member

5POSTS

8 years ago

Hi Naomi,
it was nice to read your intro. Sounds like you made a good choice for your family. I'm Australian, my husband was born in Switzerland and he grew up in Australia and both our boys were born there. We have done 2 x year long stays in the Swiss alps with our boys, although this trip may extend out to 2 years! I'm not close enough to you (I'm near the Jungfrau in Switzerland) but we are thinking about going to Hossegor for the Summer season (still a long way from you the other way!). What ages are your children? Mine boys are 10 and nearly 7. I would love to hear if you have any information to share about the school system if your children are around the same ages as mine? It was about 9-10 months before my 10 year old was really able to have a conversation in German, a lot longer for me! I think my 6 year old knows quite a bit but a lot of the other children speak English so he doesn't get a lot of practice! I know more French than German which is a drawcard for going to Hossegor. The other is our love of the beach

Thanks
Julie

nimnom Member

12POSTS

7 years ago

Oh dear - so sorry Julie, somehow I didn't get a note about your post. I'm nearly a year late replying! How are you? We now live just north of Annecy and my 9-year-old goes to the local primaire. It's quite good. I have no complaints. I know of people whose children have had an awful time at school. Before we moved I asked around about the reputation of the various primary schools, which is really the only way to find out for primaire. For collège and lycée (when you get there, if you are in France) there is a site where you can find out more about school performance and even see some reviews if you're lucky and people have posted:
https://www.france-examen.com/brevet/palmares-colleges/

I chose the area we live based on a collège for my eldest - not the most highly ranked in the area but one that had good results and which I likes best when we visited the town it's in. It's a fabulous collège with a great directeur and I'm very happy with our choice.

I am interested that you're married to a Swiss national too. Do your children have their Swiss passports? I'm working on applying for citizenship - have found all sorts of resources to learn and revise about Switzerland... it's very confusing - the politics! I've just found a test site to help but I can barely understand the questions - so many double negatives.

We love the beach too. We were planning to move to a beach town in Spain just south of Barcelona, but schools didn't work out, plus work opportunities are better here to be honest.

It would be lovely to hear from you!

Wishing you all the best for 2019

Naomi