Moving to Morzine 74

[Angela]

Hi All

We are planning to move out to the Morzine area in June/July of next year with our 10 year old son . We plan to have our son redouble his last year of primary education in a local school for all the usual reasons and I was wondering if there is anyone already living in this area with children, who could give me some advice on schools or who has a child the same age who might like an e-mail pal either in french or english . Really enjoy this forum

Regards

Angela

[Emma]

Hi Angela,

We moved to the Alps ( 3 Valleys)  just over 3 years ago with our daughter who was then 10. She re-doubled her last year of primary school and picked up the language pretty quickly.

The move to College was a little harder for Rosie and the first 2 terms of her first year weren't that good in terms of results.With hindsight we now realise that the primary school who had no experience of foreign students focused completely on her French language skills and all her general education fell by the way side - I don't think this is typical at all - but something to watch out for.

We have now opted for a local private school (French speaking) as the class sizes are much smaller  than the local state run college and their published results are brilliant. Overall the move has been excellent for us and the girls and we love life in the Alps. The sporting opportunities are great for children and as Rosie is a great skier she gets lots of subsidised training and the cost to us is minimal.

 

Best of luck to you all and if you have any questions you think I can help with you can always get in touch.

 

Emma

[Tanner]

Hi Angela,

just reading your message and was wondering if you did actually move to morzine with your family ?? we are thinking of moving to the Alps next year with our children who are 9 and 6 at the moment we are looking for properties now, I was just wondering if it lived up to your expectations and if you had all settled well. Any advice would be greatly recieved especially as to where is best to buy a property to live in as a family home.

Regards

Linda x

[Tanner]

Hi Emma,

               Lovely to see someone else who has made the move to the Alps with young children, we are hoping to do the same next year with our two children who are 9 and 6 at the moment, any advice would be great. We would like to live in or near a ski resort prefably in a village that would be friendly rather than a massive high rise ski resort that only caters for tourists. I have been searching hard on the net and also when we visit the alps not sure where to start if you know of any nice villages that would be good to look at plaese let me know. Many thanks and well done you!!

regards Linda x

[bekah]

Hi we moved to the Chamonix valley a year ago and have 2 small kids, 3 and a half and 18 months. My 3 year old is at school, as they start really young here. She is now I think understanding the French but not speaking yet, but I have been told it takes at least a year. I have a friend who moved here 6 months before me with an 8 year old, who now is pretty much fluent in French. I have found in this valley the schools don't offer any extra help for non french speakers, they just let the them get on with it which as a parent is hard, especially if you don't speak french yourself. But the lifestyle for children is amazing here. Very outdoor and healthy, as a family there is so much to do, we absolutly love it and am sure our kids will too, my 3 year old is already skiing amazingly and doing ski de fond with the school. It is really set up for after school sports and it is really cheap to do, so won't break the bank. The only thing that is not good is the language especially if moving to the Alps, where it is very easy to speak english and not be fully emersed in the french life. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask

[Angela]

Hi Everyone

Its nice to know there are a few of us heading for the Alps. Our update is that we are moving out on the 28th of July we have sold our ski lodge in Morzine , which was a great holiday home but not really big enough to live in and we have bought a family home 15 mins outside Morzine in a village called La Baume on the road to Thonon Les Bains, going a little bit out of Morzine means its quieter and you get a bit more for your money.

Our son has been enroled at St Francois Ecole Primaire in Thonon its a 15 min drive away, a small catholic school which is private ( we are not catholic) , the school has an English teacher who is herself English and lives in La Baume she works at school every afternoon. Our son Chris went to school there for a day last week (he was a bit peeved he had to go to school during his Easter holidays but a bribe soon sorted that out) , he was nervous going in and did not want us to go with him so he walked in with another little girl from the village the boys from his class had been told he was coming and he was swamped very quickly, he came out smiling saying it was fun and with a few e-mail addresses and very impressed at the amount of sport on offer . I think my husband and I had the worst day wondering and worrying about him, so we went and bought a new and very big sofa (as you do) for our new house . There are 4 other english speaking families in school Chris is the eldest as he is redoubling. I know this is only the start and I am sure we will have a few bumps along the way but the school, pupils and the Headteacher could not have been more welcoming and it certainly took away some of the fear we had.

We have got the pet passport , hubby has driven back and forth a few times with what seems like a drop in the ocean of our possessions I really must start thinning them out now. We are looking forward to the move more than ever.

Will keep you posted

Angela

[Tanner]

Hi Angela and family,

 I am just wondering how you have settled in the Alps ! I was really interested in your last post (your little boy's school etc !!) I hope he settles well, its sounds good with an English teacher being there. Keep us posted as to how you are settling as it great hearing how other kids are getting on as we will be coming to live in the Alps next year too. We are considering a house in Bernex at the moment do you know anything about Bernex ??

regards Linda x

[Emma and Bruce]

Hi Angela

I just came across your message. We bought a house in Les Esserts, right next to La Baume in November last year. We were living in Brittany and this December, having spent lots of holidays in the house and fallen in love with the area, we decided to move here permanantly. We have 3 boys, age 9, 8 and 3. The little one started at the school in La Baume in January and the older two go to St Jean D'Aulps. So far they've settled really well, but of course for them, it's much less of a transition as they'd already been at French schools in Brittany for 4 years.

How have you settled in? Is your son still happy at the school in Thonon and managing with the language yet? You must only be down the road, so if you fancy meeting up for a coffee, that'd be great.

Emma and Bruce

[Sarah CW]

Hi Emma,

We are looking to move out Morzine way - hopefully over the summer (still lots to plan of course) and any advice you could offer on schools would be fantastic. My daughter will be 4 in a couple of weeks. You mentioned that your 3 year old is already at school. Is that a nursery school? Do there terms run similarly to ours and do you know how easy/difficult it is to get a place? Also (last question I promise) do you know the general ratio of English to French children in the schools?

Thanks in advance, Sarah

[Jason45]

Hi Angela,

My family is considering a move to Morzine or surrounding area. We have two Children currently 9 and 12. It would be fantastic if you couls offer some advice on schooling options and how easy or not it may be to fit in, particulalrly for the older one.

Thanks in advance!

Jason

[Sprogster]

Jason, Angela might not have moved, as she has not responded to a request for an update as to her progress nearly three years ago.

General consensus is that 12 years old is getting a bit too late to move a child into a different education system and language, without risking damaging her education prospects. Especially, if you take into account there is a risk of you having to return to the UK, if you find you cannot make an adequate living in France, a fate that befalls many Brit expats resident in France. Although, most Brits in France tend to be retirees or second home owners.