Hello,

I am planning to move my family to the area just around Ferney (or within 15m driving time of the frontier at Ferney) and am looking for advise on:

1. Good areas to live (bearing in mind I am on a budget) and

2.Good bilingual schools for my daughter who is three years old, we would like to find a school to start in September this year.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

GT

We looked at Ferney but disgarded the idea of living there because of aircraft noise [arrivals and departures to Geneva Airport in close proximity].
Just so that you know in case no-one else tells you!

Try www.decouverte.ch . It's in Geneva, but might be close to your work which might be easier for you to pick up and drop off. Chances of you getting a place next month are slim though.
They also do Wednesday classes for children not at their school which is extremely useful, see http://www.decouverte.ch/fr/extras_mercredi.html

Hi,

we lived in Geneva for 7 years but have recently moved to a gorgeous village called Sauverny. It's about 5km from Divonne-les-Bains and 8km from Ferney. We are only 300m from the border and the benefit of living here is no aircraft noise! Also, because we are just that bit further away from the Jura, we still get the sun in the evening until 9pm in summer (watch out because some of the houses closer to the Jura lose the sun very early even in summer). France is way cheaper than Switzerland so in all the villages along the border towards Divonne you get great value for money. However, St Julien and Annemasse and around there are normally cheaper still.

We are therefore gutted that we need to move! Just after buying our house our company decided to move us to Asia for a few years so we are now looking to rent our house. It's 4 bedrooms (3 upstairs and 1 downstairs which can also be for guests or an office), with a pool and large, fully enclosed garden so ideal for kids. If you'd be interested, just reply and I'd be happy to share more details.

We don't have children so I can't offer the best advice on bi-lingual schools, but I think you would have to go private. Only 5km from our house is College du Leman (www.cdl.ch) and the school bus wil come over the border to pick the children up. A few of my friends also have children at Institut International de Lancy (www.iil.ch) - this school has both a French side and an English side although I have heard mixed things about the French side, even from French colleagues. It's in Petit-Lancy which is where I work so is 30mins drive in the morning rush hour. There are also local French primary schools near our house which I guess is also a great way to learn French and make local friends.

Good luck with the move :-) This region is really an amazing place to live and we're going to miss it so much,

Edwina

Hi, if you are on a limited budget, the area near Sauverny is indeed a good place.

Cheers.

Thank you to everyone who replied.

We moved to Thoiry in the end and so far so good.

I would be interested to know about any after school and weekend danse/gym classes/clubs for my 3 year old daughter. Thoiry is only a small village and most of the classes etc are all ready over subscribed.

Many thanks in advance.

GT

Hi

You might like to join a group on Facebook, for parents in the Geneva and surrounding France area - there are lots of expats and offer help and advice in the area

http://www.facebook.com/groups/parentsingeneva/

Clare