- 5 weeks ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:00For a family that lives and breathes skiing, Jeff's promotion gives him and Lauren the chance to raise their daughter Remy in the French Alps.
00:09I mean, trails at our door, skiing close by.
00:12We're very lucky.
00:13Yes, we are.
00:14We are very, very lucky.
00:15Remy said, I love Villers-de-Lens.
00:17I just don't love the French part.
00:20We need to be able to be comfortable, but we also need Remy to be comfortable.
00:24I love cozy, like a chalet type of feel.
00:27I just don't want to do that at the expense of being too far out of town.
00:30Maybe there's some compromising.
00:32Jeff can find the good in any place.
00:34Do you really want a natural colored sofa with a five-year-old?
00:39It'll be fine.
00:41Sometimes I think it drives Lauren a little crazy.
00:44Do you want to take off your shoes?
00:56Oh, yeah.
00:57Let's take off your shoes.
00:58Look, we get to measure.
00:59She'd love to measure your shoes.
01:01Being married is fun.
01:02I mean, being married really, especially to your best friend, to be able to always have a travel buddy, an adventure friend.
01:09Which is very helpful in a relationship.
01:12Really fast.
01:17Our daughter Remy is a five-year-old.
01:19One thing that's always been important for us is skiing.
01:22We are always much happier in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere.
01:26I was teaching for 20 years, but I was willing to sacrifice that to help Remy settle into a new culture and then decide what I want to do with my life.
01:36They're a little foggy.
01:39Because this job opportunity came up for Jeff to move to the mountains in France, and we thought, why not?
01:47Jeff works for a ski company in Utah and was offered a promotion to run his division at the Global Headquarters, which is only a 40-minute drive to the majestic ski slopes of Villard-de-Land.
01:58Park City was a great place. There was a lot to do there, but at the same time, we wanted something a little bit smaller, a little bit more intimate for Remy. It was a big dream of ours.
02:09I have visited Villard-de-Land a few times. We have town atmosphere, but yet we still have that more simple life in the mountains.
02:18I mean, trails at our door, skiing close by.
02:20We're very lucky.
02:21Yes, we are.
02:22We are very, very lucky.
02:24Do you think this bear has a name?
02:26Um, Barry.
02:27Barry?
02:28Barry.
02:29Living in a small town in France, it's a little bit difficult to find people who speak English, so it might be a challenge to not feel isolated.
02:38We need to be able to be comfortable, but we also need Remy to be comfortable.
02:43Since we're moving here with just one income, I think I'm worried about finding an affordable place to live where we can ski down the mountain.
02:50Did you have a look around already?
02:53Having that access to the trails and skiing and just the outdoor lifestyle is really why we are here.
03:00Villard-de-Land is a small town in the Vercors.
03:04Vercors is a mountain in the French Alps. For his family, it's a right choice because nature has a very big place here.
03:12Jeff will be working and come back at night, so Lauren could be more focused on amenities and details of the house.
03:21So for me, three bedrooms would be important. I do work from home for certain days, and so having a space for home office, maybe even some extra rooms for guests would be great.
03:32But we don't want to spend a lot of money because it's also a beautiful resort town and there are plenty of nice hotels nearby.
03:40I see what you mean.
03:41We definitely want to be close to the village and close to Remy's school because we only have one car and Jeff will need it most days to drive down to work.
03:49But even being a little on the outskirts of town might be interesting because I love how cozy like a chalet type of feel of a house would be.
03:58Yeah, I can't argue with a cozy mountain chalet feeling. I just don't want to do that at the expense of being too far out of town where I can't walk to where I need to be.
04:08That's right.
04:09We'd also like a place that has some outdoor space so that we can just open the door and let Remy go out and play.
04:15Being in the center without an outdoor space, I think I might feel a little bit claustrophobic.
04:20How much would you put on this rental?
04:23Well, right now we just have one income, so I'm hoping that we spend under $1,900.
04:29Maybe there's a window in there where there's some compromising.
04:34We'll see.
04:35I think yes. Okay.
04:36My biggest concern, they don't really agree.
04:39The market here is very tight, so we don't have that choice in presenting many houses.
04:46Chantal is starting off with something walkable for Lauren.
04:49As you've seen, it's just across the street is the school for Remy.
04:54Yeah.
04:55The center is a few meters from here, so you are close to every amenities of the town.
05:01And you know that's what I'm looking for.
05:03That's right.
05:04That's right.
05:06This house has been built in the 30s, vintage house.
05:09Vintage.
05:10Yeah, but there are five bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and very large rooms there.
05:18And the garden is quite large too.
05:20And what is the cost of this house?
05:22$1,700.
05:24Seems low.
05:25The heating cost can be higher because it's a large house.
05:29Ah.
05:30So it's adjusted price.
05:31That's really hard to budget for, especially if I'm not working.
05:35I don't know. I've never lived here for a winter.
05:38Just come in.
05:39Oh, thanks.
05:40Oh, wow.
05:41A nice little bedroom.
05:42Yeah.
05:43And this is a really big open space.
05:47It's very grand, I would say.
05:49Very grand.
05:50Yeah.
05:51Follow me to the kitchen if you want.
05:52Okay.
05:53A big kitchen.
05:54Big and open.
05:56Wait.
05:57Tell me about this.
05:59Is it a wood-fired oven?
06:00It was.
06:01It was, yes.
06:02But it's not anymore.
06:03There's a real oven as well.
06:05There's a bunch of new and old everywhere.
06:08Into another big space.
06:10Another big space.
06:12But, you know, it looks like there's a great door that heads out to the patio.
06:15During summer, you can walk into the terrace here.
06:19Yeah, we love to be able to eat outside.
06:21We do?
06:22Yeah.
06:23Okay.
06:24I'm sensing a theme.
06:25Another big room.
06:26Of course, yes.
06:27Remy could be playing in the corner, you could be doing yoga, or she could do yoga with you.
06:30Or Remy can be at school and I can do yoga by myself.
06:34Sounds better.
06:35A little peace and quiet.
06:36Yes.
06:37Perfect.
06:38And it looks like there's an attached bathroom as well?
06:40Yes, that's right.
06:41And tell me about this in the bathroom?
06:44Oh, this is the freezer.
06:46But you have to walk to the bathroom to get your additional food.
06:50To get it.
06:51That's a little awkward.
06:52But nothing's perfect.
06:53I've always tried to look on the bright side of things.
06:58Sometimes I think it drives Lauren a little crazy.
07:01So let's go upstairs now.
07:04Some bedrooms, it looks like.
07:06That's right.
07:07You have three bedrooms here.
07:08Yeah.
07:09Okay.
07:10That's colorful.
07:11It could be a great little room for Remy.
07:12A small space would be great for her.
07:14Yeah, for sure.
07:15There's not much of a mountain chalet feel.
07:17It feels more like just an old French house.
07:20Yes.
07:21The mountain feel in a house.
07:24It feels welcoming.
07:25It feels really warm and cozy.
07:28And so for me, that would be ideal.
07:30And another big bedroom.
07:32Yeah.
07:33I'm not sure about the color.
07:35But...
07:37Well, I think it's a lot more space than we need.
07:40We could easily have one of the bedrooms be an office, which would be great.
07:44We clearly have room for guests.
07:46Having a big garden is great.
07:48And being across the street from her school, we can't beat that.
07:51It's very nice too.
07:52That's really nice.
07:53Even though it feels like a grandparents' French home.
07:56Yes.
07:57You said it's probably expensive to heat as well?
07:59It's about $1,500 three times a year.
08:03Oh, wow.
08:04Okay.
08:05I'm not sure that we need to spend that much money to have this much space,
08:08because honestly, we just don't need it.
08:11It's becoming clearer to Chantal that Jeff's digging in for a spacious home by the slopes.
08:16But Lauren is laser-focusing on daily life at home with Remy.
08:20It would be a great guest room for a lot of people at once.
08:23Are there hotels nearby this house?
08:26They are.
08:27Don't worry.
08:31Okay, which way do we need to go?
08:33Le Clarion, this way.
08:34My job offers us this opportunity to be able to come over here and experience new language, new culture.
08:41What a great opportunity for Remy to grow up in the mountains as a little bit of a wild child.
08:47She was always an early doer of anything involving movement.
08:51So by 14 months, she was ready to be on skis.
08:55Villard de Lens is close enough to my office, but yet it still gets us living in kind of the idyllic little mountain town that we've been looking for.
09:05When there's this little comma, then that separates the numbers.
09:09I think the adventure is trying to include a five-year-old in a way that we all have a good time with it.
09:18Hello?
09:19I would be a little scared if somebody answered.
09:22Exploring is fun, but for us knowing that there are some limits in how far you can push a five-year-old.
09:29And that's what it is to be parents, I think.
09:31Here it goes!
09:35They have a little daughter, so it's a real concern for them to understand how it works in daily life.
09:42Look around. I mean, this place looks like a movie set.
09:45I would rather have to drive to work and come home to this because big cities aren't the best for us.
09:51Yes, okay.
09:52We much prefer to be in nature and be close to the mountains.
09:54I think it's the most important thing for them, in fact, that Remy will be comfortable and fine in this town and a house for her.
10:04With the ski slopes a pivotal part of everyone's happiness, Chantal's zeroing in on Jeff's Mountain Chalet Home Vibe request.
10:11We are in a hamlet called Les Guilliers. There is a farm not far from here.
10:16Sometimes cows are coming just right in front of the house.
10:19Remy would love a Cal Parade, but I just can't picture us being able to get into town easily or to school without having a car.
10:27There is a bus line and a school bus line, too, so it's very easy.
10:31Okay.
10:32We're very close to the ski area.
10:34Yes, the ski area is five minutes.
10:36Okay.
10:37This house is an old farm which has been renovated.
10:41It's a great old building. It's really, really beautiful.
10:43Yes, it's nice. It's got some charm, yes.
10:46With three bedrooms, two bathrooms, you'll see.
10:49Okay, great.
10:50Yeah. It has its own garden.
10:52Ah, nice.
10:53The price for the house is $2,200 per month.
10:57Oh, that's a lot. I just don't want to like it and not be able to afford it.
11:01But it's worth a look.
11:05It's much bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside.
11:08That's right.
11:09Yes.
11:10It's quite unexpecting.
11:11Okay, please follow me in the living room.
11:13Okay.
11:14Oh, wow.
11:15Oh, I really like the fireplace.
11:18Yes, that looks very cozy.
11:19Oh, that is amazing.
11:20That looks very cozy.
11:21Yeah.
11:22But do you really want to have a natural colored sofa with a five-year-old?
11:26It'll be fine.
11:28And here is the kitchen.
11:31It's cute.
11:32But there's not a lot of space.
11:35I don't think Remy and I could bake here.
11:38You know how she loves to help me in the kitchen.
11:40True.
11:41It's really a one-person kitchen.
11:43Let's go and see upstairs.
11:45Okay.
11:46The bedrooms.
11:47Here is the biggest bedroom.
11:49Okay.
11:50Okay.
11:51As it was for holiday rentals, you can understand the beddings.
11:54Yes.
11:55Absolutely.
11:56That's right.
11:57Would they remove these extra beds if we moved in?
11:59Yes.
12:00We can make a deal.
12:01We can even have a home office in the bedroom.
12:03Or it would be a great guest room for a lot of people at once.
12:07Are there hotels nearby this house?
12:09They are.
12:10They are.
12:11Don't worry.
12:12So, here is the second bedroom.
12:15For Remy, this would easily fit all of her things.
12:19Mm-hmm.
12:20And she would still have lots of room as a play area.
12:22Mm-hmm.
12:23I was okay with maybe living a little bit farther outside of town.
12:26Especially if it had the right mountain cozy feel that we've been looking for.
12:30And this really fits the bill.
12:32I mean, that's perfect size for Remy.
12:34Yeah.
12:35Yes.
12:36For children, it's okay.
12:37Yes.
12:38For adults, I can't quite relax with a glass of wine in that.
12:41No.
12:42No.
12:43It's cute.
12:44Good.
12:45It is.
12:46I think the house is lovely.
12:47Yeah.
12:48It's a really great place.
12:49I can almost walk to the ski area, which would be a really cool experience for Remy.
12:55But I also think it would be very difficult to live this far away from town.
13:00And the price is really high.
13:02But I love the mountain feel of the home as a whole, really.
13:05That's right.
13:06There's positives and there's negatives, for sure.
13:08Mm-hmm.
13:09Jeff can find the good in any place.
13:11But really, we need to be realistic about what we need and what we want to spend our money on.
13:18So now we are in the very heart of the village.
13:21And that's really nice to see.
13:23Chantal can deliver the location Lauren wants.
13:26But the house might be a better fit for Jeff.
13:29Talk about cozy mountain feel.
13:31This is perfect.
13:32But after a long day of skiing, having to walk up three floors of stairs to be able to relax,
13:37that might get a little bit old.
13:42So there's no snow for the moment.
13:44But you can imagine how it looks in full winter.
13:48A great place to live, for sure.
13:50But it doesn't seem to be a place where a lot of Americans at least come.
13:55Sometimes we have English tourists or Italian or Spanish.
13:58Yeah, yeah.
13:59American people is very rare.
14:01With my job, Park City was really going to be the perfect stepping stone to be able to move to Europe.
14:08So how do you like being here?
14:10We asked Remy.
14:12And she said, oh, I love it.
14:14I just don't love the French part.
14:17She's at the perfect age to learn the language and adapt into the culture quickly.
14:22But we have to learn how to speak French.
14:24And we're working on it.
14:25We are.
14:38To experience not only the language but the culture, we're really, really excited to have the opportunity to be able to do this.
14:44It's just a little bit difficult for us and for Remy, too.
14:48These sounds do not come easily.
14:50No.
14:51No.
14:52Not at all.
14:53I think it will be easier for Jeff to improve his French because he's working in a French company.
15:00But for Lauren, I think when she will meet other parents at school or when she will go shopping anywhere, she will make improvements.
15:10So now we are in the very heart of the village.
15:14And that's really nice to see.
15:16You've got all the amenities around you.
15:18The school is not so far, too.
15:20Okay.
15:21It's maximum five minutes.
15:22Oh, wow.
15:23So it's very close, too.
15:24Yeah, very close.
15:25Okay.
15:26That's not far at all.
15:27It definitely has village, town, feel.
15:28Yeah, because people are living here all year long.
15:31Right.
15:32There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
15:35Okay.
15:36And we have three floors.
15:37It doesn't look that big from the outside, but that's surprising.
15:39That's great.
15:40But there is no outdoor space in this house.
15:43I'm more concerned that we have a nice outside space than having a huge indoor space.
15:50And what is the cost of this house?
15:52It's $1,900 a month.
15:54Okay.
15:55Yeah.
15:56Here's the entrance.
15:58Oh, wow.
15:59It's a really great space, but it's a long way up.
16:03It is a long way up.
16:04After a long day of skiing, having to walk up three floors of stairs to be able to relax,
16:09that might get a little bit old.
16:11On this second floor, you will have four bedrooms, as well as the two bathrooms.
16:17Okay.
16:18That's a really nice bathtub.
16:20Yeah.
16:21You'll be able to relax a little bit in there.
16:25This might be a nice space for Remy.
16:27And they still have a play area too, which would be great.
16:29Absolutely.
16:30This is a great space.
16:32I mean, it could be a really nice main bedroom.
16:34Yeah, I think so.
16:35One of the two smaller bedrooms could be a really good home office as well.
16:39I know one thing for Lauren that's really important is outdoor space, especially when Remy's involved, where we can just send her outside.
16:47It's a concern with this house for sure.
16:50Here we are in the living room.
16:53Wow.
16:54Look at the space up here.
16:56It is big and open.
16:59There's a fireplace, which is great.
17:02I mean, talk about cozy mountain feel.
17:04This is perfect.
17:06Wow.
17:07And the kitchen is amazing.
17:08Modern kitchen with a lot of storage.
17:10It seems like a space that's great for adults.
17:13I'm not so sure having Remy in here, the fireplace here, all of the stairs here.
17:19She could learn.
17:20Yeah.
17:21The proximity to town obviously is great, but there's no outdoor space at all.
17:28Not at all.
17:29I don't want to be inside all the time.
17:30I'd like to have some space to be able to enjoy outside.
17:34Lauren will be the one that will be home most of the time.
17:37But I won't necessarily defer completely to her.
17:41The money and the cost, that's pretty serious.
17:44Not in my mind.
17:45Yes, of course.
17:46Yeah.
17:49How fast can you go?
17:50Let's see it.
17:51How fast.
17:52Let's see it.
17:53Whoa.
17:54I think at Remy's age, it's kind of hard to wrap your brain around what it means to move to another country.
18:00Until she gets here and does it, then it won't really make a lot of sense.
18:05Getting in is a priority for everyone in the family.
18:08However, finding ski chalet vibes without breaking the bank or severing Lauren's connection to civilization is proving more uphill than downhill for these ski bums.
18:19The vintage house.
18:20It is close to school.
18:21It is close to school.
18:22And close to downtown.
18:24And that huge yard.
18:26But that feels like you're in grandma's house.
18:29There's not much of a mountain chalet feel.
18:31It feels more like just an old French house.
18:34Yes.
18:35What about the house close to the ski resort?
18:37The renovated farmhouse.
18:39Super cozy.
18:40I could be in front of that fireplace all day, every day.
18:43But that kitchen would be really hard to cook in, and it was so far away.
18:47I just can't picture us being able to get into town easily or to school without having a car.
18:53The house in the center of the village.
18:55All the space we need.
18:57Plenty of bedrooms.
18:58But it doesn't feel like a kid-friendly house.
19:02I'm not so sure having the fireplace here, all of the stairs here.
19:06She could learn.
19:07Yeah.
19:10It's pretty clear which one I want to get rid of.
19:21The one that's on the outskirts of town?
19:23It's just too far away.
19:24For you, mostly being stuck to the shuttle schedule, that is an easy one to kind of eliminate.
19:31The price was also a lot higher than the others, too.
19:34It was.
19:35The vintage house.
19:36It had that huge outdoor space.
19:39It was really nice.
19:40There was a lot of space inside.
19:42Interesting style.
19:43In the house, with the added expense of being able to keep such a huge house, that's something to consider as well.
19:49And then the one in the center of the village.
19:51Yes.
19:52Super convenient for you, being able to get around and walk places.
19:55It's tons of space.
19:56A lot of stairs.
19:57A lot of stairs.
19:58I think that I would feel pretty claustrophobic if I was there for a long time and I couldn't just go outside onto a deck or onto some area.
20:06Absolutely.
20:07I really like being able to walk into town maybe more than I like living in town.
20:14The vintage house.
20:16Chantal did say it's expensive to heat.
20:18A couple extra sweaters and blankets on the bed might be cozy.
20:21We have lots of blankets.
20:22Remy is going to love an outdoor space.
20:25And if she's happy, I'm happy.
20:27I agree.
20:28Grandma's house.
20:29We're moving in.
20:30I can't wait.
20:31How was your day at school?
20:33Good.
20:34Yeah?
20:35I think we're adapting pretty well.
20:37Remy's happy.
20:38We're happy.
20:39Here comes another one.
20:40Ready?
20:41Hop, hop.
20:42I have not skied in this town, so I'm excited to explore the mountain.
20:46Just hoping for a good winter.
20:47A lot of snow.
20:48We are hoping for snow.
20:49Oh my gosh.
20:51Oh, that's going to be a big, big mess.
20:53I think we need a little more flour.
20:55The house has worked out amazingly well.
20:58Ooh, look at that.
21:02It's probably more house than we might need, but having visitors come, a lot of room for
21:07Remy to be able to play is really, really great.
21:10There you go.
21:12Good job.
21:13Now that we're here, we can relax a little bit.
21:17And really enjoy where we are, which is the whole reason why we're here.
21:21Look at that.
21:22It was so fun.
21:24And so what you saw is running an amount of space.
21:26We're all going to dive deep.
21:27How about 2 years ago?
21:28Come here.
21:29Let's head down.
21:30To be back now.
21:31Fill the floor and mate.
21:33Start a little bit.
21:34Father's looking over.
21:35Today, Simon could check you out for some lofty myself.
21:37Mother says She can feel busted.
21:38You're right.
21:39Mother created.
21:40That was a perfect crane, who's our main project.
21:42So you should pull away.
21:43There's a beautiful moon and woman is getting back to
21:45Liebe.
21:48So as you're able to think about the 1930s.
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