UKH

Afternoon All,

I'm planning on moving to Saint Gervais in the Alps with my partner.

If you live in or close to Saint Geravis I'd be interested in hearing your feedback about living there - both positive + negative.

For example I understand that the town suffers from the same air pollution issues that affects nearby Chamonix.

Is this a big deal or something that you get used to?

Thanks for your help.

Simon

In reply to simon manc:

Hi Simon, my wife and I bought a place in Saint Gervais earlier this year and are planning on moving out there more permanently at Christmas.

We definitely don't suffer from the same level of pollution as the Chamonix valley and I've never heard this mentioned for St G. It was one of the reasons we chose St G over Les Houches which was also an option.

So far I've only got positive things to say and I can't wait to get out there skiing and climbing! If you want any more specific info feel free to email me: steve@beaconclimbing.com

In reply to simon manc:

Pollution is nowhere near as bad as the main valley. Much improved in the town as all the hgvs go on the bridge.

It's an unpretentious place, happily lacking the clichéd bars of chamonix or the fur coats of Megeve.

Oh, and the skiing is massively underrated, especially the day tours around Les Contamines or the stuff up by the Domes de Miage

In reply to simon manc:

My recollection from staying there for skiing is that the valley falls away from it, much more so than it does at Les Houches, or anywhere along the Chamonix valley, so I might expect pollution to drop away and spread out on the lower plain.

Obviously local, longer-term residents will have a much better idea than a mere visitor.

In reply to simon manc:

Used to have a weekend place there (lived in Geneva at the time) - admittedly my place was up the hill a bit but I never had any problems with air quality! People I know who moved down to La Fayet said it was a hell of a lot worse down there.

I had friends who were permanently based there who said the local social scene was hard to break into but imagine thats the case in any mountain resort.

Jealous - I miss the place a lot!

In reply to simon manc:

I seem to remember a good bakery. If you mountinabike it's a good base - lot's to do. Closer to Annecy which is nice for summer for a swim in the lake.

I guess the downsides are being slightly further from Italy and Switzerland (strangely, one of the things my lass and I liked about living in Chamonix was the proximity to other great places!).

The Cham pollution can get bad. Others have already said St G is better and I have no reason to disagree. In Cham it could get a bit oppressive and it was a small part of the reason we left. It seems bizarre to be somewhere where you should have "clean mountain air" and be in the most polluted valley in western europe!