The general consensus is that 2016 has been a bit of a kicker and in many ways it totally has! On the flip side, a lot of great things have happened in the world this year and for us personally, it has been flippin’ awesome!
We arrived in Les Gets at the end of January with nowhere to live, having sold our house in the UK and with our life contained in the back of the van. We went about settling in and making this place our home. We needed to come here and do this. We needed to come and live in the mountains, in the snow, enjoying the outdoors, sharing a new adventure with the kids and giving them a glimpse that the world is a far friendlier place than many would have us believe. This had been an itch that had needed scratching for far too long.
We moved from place to place for the first few weeks but quickly fell in love with Les Gets, knowing that it was the perfect choice for us and the kids. Soon after we arrived, the snow returned and we wasted no time getting in among it and slipped comfortably into our new mountain lifestyle. Locals and expats alike were super-welcoming and invited us into their lives, offering warmth, help and friendship.
11 months in and we are over the moon that we made the leap of faith. The experience has totally lived up to our expectations. We have boarded, skied, hiked, biked, swum, learned, laughed and played our way through the seasons and experienced the extreme peaks and troughs in activity between each one, as well as truly stunning changes in the environment. Our blue-hue British bodies have enjoyed a magnificent amount of bright sunshine and blue skies, providing the perfect backdrop for the amazing life-affirming mountain views in every direction.
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The kids have settled in brilliantly and now prattle away in French even to themselves! We really felt for them after dropping them in at the deep end with the French school and a whole new language but it’s been a real joy to watch them learn and overcome the challenge and to grow in confidence as they’ve done so. They now realise what they’ve actually achieved.
We’ve not done toooo bad ourselves, and have made great new friends of different nationalities. It’s such a great experience to live in a place where the people who gravitate here all share the same love of the outdoors, the mountains and the sports that are on offer. We’ve started exploring the peaks, valleys, nooks and crannies nearby and further afield. It’s even been the perfect jumping off point to explore further afield to the South of France, Switzerland and Italy.
On top of all that, we’ve had the opportunity to experience globally renowned sporting events, quite literally on our doorstep, with Crankworx in June and the Tour de France in July.
It’s not all been plain sailing though and as with everything there’ve been a few challenges. Missing family and friends has been the hardest part, particularly not being able to be on hand to help when things have been difficult for them. Having said that, we’re not that far away.
We’ve done so many of the things we wanted to do on this adventure but we’ve only just scratched the surface and the list just keeps getting longer. We’re so pleased that we took the plunge and followed our dreams. It’s done now and we’ve all already gained so much.
We’re super-excited for more of the same and plenty of new experiences in 2017.
Thanks to everyone who’s supported us along the way. It means so much to us and has helped make this year such a terrific one. All the best to everybody in 2017, may it be filled with happiness, health, prosperity and new adventures for you too!
Onwards and upwards 2017 and roll on the snow!!
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