Hi there,

We are looking around at buying and have noticed the obvious decrease in price the further you get away from Lake Leman. You also get better views!

Does anyone have any experience of living in areas such as Arzier, Bière, Le Vaud or Apples? They look lovely but it is really difficult to gauge an area without talking to people with direct experience. I work in geneva - although just on the outskirts near the botanical gardens, so hopefully the commute would not be too much of an issue.

Thanks very much,
GVA

I haven't lived in Arzier, but I had a friend who lived there for years. Yes, the view is brilliant, the commute to GVA is good when the weather is good. The downside is that you are always going to have to come down the hill to Gland for any real shopping and in winter you don't want to be first out or last home until the roads have been cleared of snow. If you like cheese and meat, it's just a quick hop over the border to Morez in France.

Your profile gives us nothing to go on so we've very little idea what your interests are and what way of life you lead.
This probably isn't very helpful and you've perhaps done all these things anyway but I'll tell you what I'd do.

I'd 'case the joint' to give myself a feeling for the places under consideration. I'd look at the homepages as this gives one quite a fair idea of what goes on (or doesn't go on - as the case may be). Look at the information on various clubs and organisations. Check the date on the various pages!

I'd snoop round the places (on foot), go into the shops, ask for things there and see how folk react.

What is public transport like? Even if you normally travel by car, someone, sometime, who doesn't have a car might want to visit you!

I loved living in a (very) small village for a limited time but 'lights out' at six in the evening is not everyone's cup of tea.

Hi,

Know these places well. Arzier is a bit isolated on the hill, so it is a bit depending on what you like. The good thing about Arzier is there is the train, assuming not too far from the station. On the downside, a friend always has to leave work early in winter when snow is predicted, as there is a big chance that they won't make it back up the mountain; on at least one occasion had to abadon the car and walk/take train in snow storm. Also, you are likely to live on very sloped surface, if your cup of tea ok, otherwise it may not be. Keep in mind you also have to shovel snow most of the winter.

Seriously looked at a house in Le Vaud as well. It is similar to Arzier, but less cliffy in my opinion. But no train, so totally dependent on car. There is a bus, but does not run very frequently. But there is a new bus service to Bassin, its neighbor, so this may be better transport wise. Again, in good weather it is nice, but in winter you will have the same issues as Arzier I'm afraid. Also, the road down though Begnins can get backed up a lot esp. with some recent construction. We decided the transport issues were too much to offset its good points.

Biere and Apples are really lovely in my opinon, but in a whole different commuting range from the other two places. You have the BAM train, but the connections to Geneva are not too ideal. If driving, you also have to deal with all the Morge traffic and then the autoroute. You still have significant snow up there in winter, but in my opinion the roads are a bit less treacherous in winter compared to the other two.

Thanks so much to both of you for your suggestions - we have had a drive around, but I think you have hit the nail on the head regarding checking out the attitude in the shops!!

The commute vs countryside and being able to afford a nicer place is definitely the equation to work out - we both ski, so it might not be that bad having a little ski resort not too far away!!

Ideally, we would like to get somewhere to do up, but the only adverts I have seen for renovations are still for properties going for la-la-land money!!!!

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to look for places to renovate??

Thanks loads,
GVA