Do you fancy the idea of living in a ski resort for a few months? Then why not combine business with pleasure by getting a job for the winter season! You can enjoy lunch breaks and days off on the slopes, festive après-ski sessions, great workmates and happy customers. If you are not sure whether the seasonal life is for you, here are 10 good reasons to spend the winter in La Plagne. The only risk is that you may never want to leave…
1. The comfort of a long season contract, from December to April
It can take time to find work, so it’s great if you can avoid having to look for a new job every 3 months! In La Plagne, the season contracts are long, just like the opening period of the ski area (December to April). It’s the perfect way to pay for a spring holiday without stressing over your budget, then following up with a summer season on the coast (or at Le Puy du Fou, our partner in the Vendée).
Or if you want a change of lifestyle, La Plagne also recruits year-round talent! That’s a pretty exciting prospect, don’t you think?
2. A vast ski area for your lunch break
You may never have set foot (or skis) in La Plagne, but you have probably at least heard of the resort! On TV, in the magazines, on the social networks: the red hat, the resort’s logo, is everywhere when the conversation turns to good skiing.
Here are a few figures to whet your appetite: 225 km of ski runs (including 81 green and blue runs, so no problem if you are a beginner), 70% of the ski area more than 2000 m above sea level (guaranteed snow) and a cable car link to Les Arcs and Peisey-Vallandry for fans of XXL ski areas (425 km of runs in total for the linked Paradiski area!).
No more eating a sad sandwich looking out over equally sad buildings. From now on, you can enjoy your lunch break in surroundings that are straight out of a movie set, in the heart of snow-covered mountains. That’s food for thought, don’t you think?
3. Great places to party
Of course, you could rely on Google and Trip Advisor to help you decide where to have a drink after a long day on the slopes (or to help you advise other holidaymakers). But the best addresses are passed down from one season worker to another, like a well-kept secret...
So we are taking the risk of incurring the wrath of locals ‘in the know’ by revealing some of our favourite ‘secret spots’ for an after-ski or after-work drink!
- Mama’s Kitchen (Plagne Centre): to satisfy a ravenous appetite, with excellent kebabs to take away after skiing, or to dance the night away to the sound of a DJ set
- La Mine (Plagne 1800): for its excellent selection of beers and draught ciders served in a British pub-style atmosphere with a mountain twist and for its weekly programme of concerts, screening of sports events and DJ sets…
- Le Brix (Plagne Centre): for its vast selection of beers (8 on tap and 100 or so bottled beers!) to enjoy as you watch the colourful spectacle of people walking by at the bottom of the ski slopes
- La Bodega (Belle Plagne): for its tapas and its festive atmosphere (concerts, DJ sets). Open until 4am for the most energetic (and those who have not planned a day of skiing the next day…)
- Le White Bear (Montalbert): where you can put the world to rights until 3.30am while playing darts, pool or table football (or watching the football on TV if you prefer watching other people play…).
Just a few ideas… But shhhhh, let’s keep it to ourselves…
4. It’s easy to settle in, even with a family
If you feel like packing it all in for a season in a ski resort, but the sweet sound of your kids squabbling in the background is reminding you of your parental responsibility, don’t worry! In La Plagne, your little ones will find plenty to fill their little heads at the local nursery and primary school, even if it’s just for a few months.
The only difference with their urban school is that they can play in the snow at break time. And that’s pretty cool, don’t you think?
5. Easy access by train (so you won’t need a car!)
Cars can quickly become a worry when you are a season worker. How much does parking cost? Will the battery hold out at -10°C? What about winter tyres? Does anyone know how to fit chains?
In La Plagne, you can forget the car and the problems that go with it! Take the train to Aime-la-Plagne station, then a bus up to the high-altitude villages. Once you are there, everything is easy to do on foot, using the free shuttle bus service, or even on skis if you want to meet up with friends for lunch, for example (in La Plagne... or Les Arcs!). Doesn’t that sound practical?
6. Five months to tick everything off on your (new) bucket list
Have you always dreamed of spending at least one winter season in a ski resort? Now that it is (almost) a done deal, here are a few more ideas to add to your bucket list !
How about a ride down the bobsleigh track, for example? Easier to ask Santa for when you live just a few minutes by shuttle bus from France's one and only bobsleigh run... Unless you would rather treat yourself to a tandem paragliding flight in breathtaking scenery? Or enjoy an evening snowshoe walk to a cosy tepee where a fondue and mulled wine await you?
In La Plagne, you will enjoy much more than just a season in a ski resort. You will have the opportunity to live out the dreams that you have not even dreamt yet. What could be more magical?
7. A life that is out of the ordinary
At La Plagne, there is no such thing as a humdrum everyday life because every day is full of magic and surprises. One morning, you will open the shutters to discover the breathtaking spectacle of mountains turned pink by the rays of the rising sun. The next day, the mood changes: 30 centimetres of fresh snow have fallen while you were sleeping and everyone is busy shovelling snow outside.
One day follows another but no two are alike (apart from the fact that they are all exciting) – how could you not be tempted?
✨ Dream on while you watch La Plagne’s webcams
8. A fun place to work among happy holidaymakers
The daily grind is something we don’t do here. In La Plagne, you will be surrounded by hundreds of relaxed, smiling holidaymakers who are happy to be there. They might be a tad forgetful sometimes, but hey, that’s also what holidays are about: disconnecting!
And knowing that you are helping to make people happy is quite satisfying, don’t you think?
9. A friendly, cosmopolitan village atmosphere
There are some true locals in La Plagne, of course,. But there are also people from Brittany, Normandy, the Basque country, Lyon, Béarn, Alsace, Nantes and Toulouse… in short, La Plagne is a joyful melting pot of people from France and abroad who love the life of a season worker!
In the office (which can take many forms, but is rarely an actual office), the first thing you will notice are the jackets with logos on them (‘Oh, you work for the ski lifts / the tourist office / this or that ski school’). In the evening, the jackets come off and groups form to talk about where they are from (‘You're from Douarnenez?? That's amazing, I'm from Crozon!’). A resort that reminds you of home - how comforting is that?
10. The kind of place that you will want to come back to!
For now, you are just dreaming of doing just one winter season in a ski resort, but watch out…you might come to La Plagne for one winter and never leave again! Because it is not easy to find this quality of life elsewhere and it is very easy to get used to the advantages of this unique lifestyle.
A job you love, no time lost travelling to work, a vast garden to explore on skis in winter and with hiking boots on in summer, sports infrastructures that are at least as good as you would find in a city (like the Espace Paradisio, for example), bars and restaurants for a rich and festive social life… That is something to dream about!
If you want to take the next step?
Here are a few useful links:
- To find your dream job (in reception, sales, hospitality, ski lifts, ski school, events and entertainment, administration, technical, logistics…)
- To help you out in resort: La Maison des Saisonniers in Plagne Centre saisonniers@sigplaplagne.com
- For a pre-taste of the winter activities you can try:
- For information about the school and the daycare in Plagne Centre and Mairie de La Plagne Tarentaise for the school
- To choose the village you want to live in for the winter (or longer…): click here
