The Good Life France Magazine




The Good Life France Magazine brings you the best of France - inspirational and exclusive features, fabulous photos, mouth-watering recipes, tips, guides, ideas and much more...


Published by the award winning team at The Good Life France

Views
2 years ago

Issue No. 12

Sensational cities to tiny villages, food and wine, culture and heritage. Champagne, an aristocratic saffron grower, Anger, Montparnasse, Morzeine, Carol Drinkwater shares her passion for France. Gorgeous photos and fabulous features will transport you to the heart of France in this brilliant, free magazine...

The Good Life in.... The

The Good Life in.... The French Alps You might say, that having lived in the French Alps for the last 15 years that Helen Watts, director and teacher at the Alpine French School in Morzine is living the dream, but has it all been plain sailing and what’s expat life really like when you’re tucked away in the mountains? What inspired you to move to this little alpine town? I moved to Morzine in 2000 after studying French in Grenoble and falling in love with the Alps. I liked Morzine because of its year-round activity and the fact that it's a working town as well as a ski resort so unlike many resorts, it is as busy in the summer as it is in the winter. It is a very beautiful town with chalet-style architecture and none of the high rise buildings that have spoilt so many resorts. And there’s so much to do. Was it easy to find the home of your dreams? We wanted to build our own house so that we could design it exactly how we wanted. My husband loves property development so it was his project really and it is a lovely house. We built a traditional wooden chalet while I was pregnant with our son, Xavier and moved in soon after he was born.

Credit Morzine Tourist Office JB Bieuville Is there a big expat community where you are? Yes there are lots of expats here, I think this is the case in most Alpine areas of France. We both have French colleagues, French friends, locals and ones who have moved to the area like ourselves. Our children are also at school in France so we feel like we are part of the French community as well as the expat one. What’s been your biggest challenge when it comes to living in France? I'd say the biggest challenge to living here is getting to know the French administration system and understanding it. Although France is a neighbouring country to the UK, the taxation system is very different and culturally there are big differences too. But once you understand how the country works and accept the little particularities, it’s a great place to live. Also, of course there are things that you miss: friends, family, favourite British foods but luckily being only an hour from Geneva airport, we fly back regularly and friends and family come out to visit and make the most of the mountains at the same time. When I moved here, Morzine was a lot smaller than it is now so I found it very easy to make friends. I think if you have children in the schools and work with other people rather than from home then these two things make a big difference. Have you had any challenges in running your business in France? There are a lot of hoops to jump through when it comes to running a business. It’s complicated and the cost of employing staff is extremely high. But again once you understand this, you can concentrate on making your business work. I started teaching English and French and created a language school. It has grown steadily over the years and now we offer a wide range of courses for adults and juniors and it is lovely to have a growing business that helps people to learn languages and achieve their personal and professional goals. I am now in partnership with two French colleagues and we are always striving to grow the business and offer more variety and great courses. Have you found it easy to make friends here?