Where to buy property?

We are seriously thinking about going for it and buying a house in France in the mountains. The big question is where? We would want to be quite near a large ski area, but not in the middle of a huge ski resort. A small town would be good, where house prices are not too exuberant.

Any good investment opportunities out there to be had? :shock:

The valley towns will be cheaper to live and give you more options. The downside is traffic and smog :( Cluses, Sallanches, maybe Servoz (small) St Gervais possibly?

It's a huge large area from Annecy in the North to Gap in the south. That's not counting the Jura or the Pyrenees.

Would it be a holiday home or a permanent place to live? It probably affects the location more than anything else. Rental investment, summer activities? work opportunities?

You can go a long way south, Nice is only 2 hours drive from Isola 2000.

Annecy, Grenoble, Briançon, Embrun, Gap and all the villages in-between.

Or as Bandit mentions, between lake Leman and the mountains, although you probably won't find a bargain there.

I think we need to know more of your plans on this one Snow4ndit.
Is the idea to run a skiing/holiday business?
Or somewhere great to live where you can ski a bit of a drive away?

Combloux near Sallanches, or St gervais not far off. Nicw ski area and not huge ski resorts either swarming with noisy Brits all clambering for the lifts. . . . lol !

I always quite liked the idea of Bourg St Maurice.

Easy to get to from the UK by train for friends to visit, has the funicular up to Les Arcs and is a short drive to many other excellent ski areas.

I guess it may be quite expensive though :(

It wouldn't be a holiday home, and we wouldn't be running a business from it.

I plan to start a business which would involve being able to access/commute to a popular ski resort on a daily basis. A half hour drive would be about right. We are also planning on skiing for the rest of our lives so would like reasonable access to a large ski area. (One example being Taninges, which would give us reasonable access to the Porte du Soleil and Le Grand Massif...I think. :?: )

We are obviously in the very early stages of deciding where. So your comments are very helpful.

Maybe "investment opportunities" was the wrong term to use. What I mean is somewhere that will hold it's value 'just' in case we ever want to sell up and come back to the UK.

How about Orelle, it's got a lift straight up into Val Thorens area. So your commute would be via a lift and a couple of runs.
http://www.orelle.net/index.php?page=slopes_map_orelle_val_thorens
It's 1hr15 from Grenoble and going the other way 1hr20 away from Val D'Isere.
No idea what property prices are like but I suspect they will be low compared to some other parts of 3 valleys.