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LEGGETT IMMOBILIER - LOCAL KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN TRUST
Rod and
partner
Clemence.
I
T WAS ALWAYS ROD HULME'S
plan to live in France at some
point. With a French mother,
he had spent many happy
summers in Cannes, with
her family, and had been skiing
in the southern alps since he
around five years old.
He was also a keen hiker
and it was this that led him to
work for the sports equipment
brand, Decathlon, when he was
living in Dalston, east London. "I
really wanted to work for their
internal hiking brand, Quechua,
which I loved, so to do this I
moved to their HQ in Lille three
years ago," he says. It was there
he met his French partner, Clemence
Cornu.
Apart from a natural affinity
for France, the ability to speak
the language was also able to
help him make the permanent
move there. He adjusted to life
in France during that time. "I
think it takes six months to a
year to really integrate, but it
was easier with a very active
sports and social life with my
colleagues," he says. "Speaking
the language definitely gives
you an advantage."
However he really yearned
to live in the mountains, and
was even able to achieve it via
career progression and a transfer
to Decathlon in the Haute
Savoie town of Passy six months
ago. He purchased a two-bedroom
apartment in the former
Grand Hotel of St. Gervais-Les-
Bains, a popular town with
views of Mont Blanc just 3km
from Passy (through Leggett).
Picturesque St. Gervais boasts
Baroque architecture, a legacy
of being a tourism resort since
the early 1900s due to the
popularity of its thermal baths,
which sit in the lower village, Le
Fayet. It's also a starting point
for climbers of Mont Blanc. The
Tour de France passed through
it in 2016.
"I really liked St. Gervais as
it's a vibrant year-round small
town, with elegant architecture
and it's well located close to
both Chamonix and Mégève.
It's an hour from Geneva, which
is very handy as I travel with
work and back to see friends in
the UK," he says. "It also gives
quick access to the ski slopes -
St. Gervais has over 60km of ski
runs, and it's part of the Evasion
Mont-Blanc domain, the third
largest in France."
There are a few British expats in the town
and Rod loves
the village atmosphere of the
restaurants and bars - that are a
bit busier in the summer - and
the 15-minute commute to
work. "I love the outdoors so it's
the ideal place for me to live,"
he adds. "It's working in my perfect
playground - I love hiking,
biking and also have taken up
trail running."
He is looking forward to
his first winter season, and the
chance to ski nearly every weekend. "I even
hope that I might be
able to hop out at lunchtime for
a couple of hours if the snow
is good, and then work later
to compensate. This is why it's
great to live here, it's about the
quality of life, people work hard
but they also get to enjoy life.
Weekends are not about work!"
he says. That's something many
of us aspire to, but how many of
us truly achieve that?
LEGGETT MAGAZINE LIVING THE DREAM