So, 20yr old daughter has landed herself a job working under a Michelin star'd chef for 6 months at Davos... This will be in a privately rented (Very Big) house...

Anyone have any advice? Do's & Dont's?

Experiences to share please?

My daughter did her first season at 18 in Japan - she'd travelled a bit with sports teams, but was still a scary experience for her. We worked out flights & transfers etc

First few days were hard for my wife - daughter was lonely & we had some tears on the phone. My wife also had a bit of a hole in her life, so required a bit of extra focus from me for a while to distract her.

Make sure she has good travel insurance

Being sensible with luggage was a challenge, but we got there in the end - those are your bags, that's your weight limit - you figure it out - and by the way, there's no one at the other end to help you with them.

Apply early for whatever is happening after the end of the season. Maybe she will find something through a new contact, but also needs another plan. My daughter ended up travelling through SE Asia before working the next winter (our summer) in NZ.

She called my wife regularly, usually FaceTime - and still does - but I only ever get contacted, usually by text, when she needs something like can you figure out where I can store my snowboard stuff for 2 months in Kuala Lumpa so I don't have to lug it around Asia.....

Excellent, thank you Alistair... That sort of info is exactly what im looking for thank you

Revolut card was also handy - cheapest way for foreign exchange

It's a pre-pay debit card - then load funds from a UK account & convert to Euros - and back again if needed.

They deliver card really quickly & if you lose it, will deliver replacements worldwide in days. All app based on your phone so dead easy to use.


My daughter has the travel bug now and particularly the winters - she's just got back from a winter season in Australia - is spending this winter with us in Andorra, then straight back to Australia for another winter.


The hardest part for me was not doing everything for her - I kind of did the first set of flights & insutrance, then was clear I'd help, but making sure she sorted out her own stuff out. I also paid for quite a bit the first year, but was clear from the outset that she needed to save enough to fund year 2 (and longer) or the travels would stop.

I've almost managed it - she still stays with us for free whilst saving for the next adventure, but everything else has been down to her.

Also - if she's away too long, then you might have to travel - once she decided she was doing Asia then NZ, my wife insisted we went to see her - so we caught the tail end of her time in Japan.

Then she was in Australia for her 21st, so obviously we had to go there - non-negotiable was the phrase my wife used.......

Make use of the networking opportunities! She’ll be meeting some seriously well connected people who can be useful to know. Work hard, be polite and dilligent and decent people will notice. Be friendly and engaging and know where the boundaries are - if someone looks and sounds like a prat, they are a prat. Trust your instinct, you will rarely be wrong and most importantly, enjoy the experience.

i have deleted some inappropriate posts so
can we keep this thread clean please.... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Last edited by stan on 17th Nov 2019 6:36pm. Edited 1 time in total

OK, but he asked for advice, and what I said was good advice for a female seasonaire!

Plenty of cash, its a very expensive place to live and i know through experience.

philip1972 wrote:

OK, but he asked for advice, and what I said was good advice for a female seasonaire!

OK Stan I will re-Phrase, she is going to find herself in some potentially awkward situations and a bit of warning on how to avoid and extricate may save difficulties.
Also tell her to start the season cautiously, many seasonairs celebrate their arrival for the first few nights, brake a wrist before the end of week 1 and are home before Christmas. letters not necessarily in the right order

Thank you all for your inputs...

She is young, and yes can be daft as they all can! BUT! Lots of friends have said to me from a young age “wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when she gets to teenage years etc etc” and All I’ve ever said in return is “she’s been bought up morally and ethically correct (imho) and we as parents can only trust that when the time comes for those BIG life choices! She has all those morals to fall back on”
She has been away on holiday previously for several weeks without us!
Don’t get me wrong, we all understand the homesick cliff she may or may not fall off! And the employers have spoken to her and assured her they have measures in place for support, which I think is good.
And at the end of the day I could drive there in a day (ish) if need be...

Thank you Alistair, your daughter sounds a lot like mine... and she confides in her mother too! We all have a fab relationship...

Craig it is not your Daughters morals that I was thinking about.
When I was a young man a wise uncle said to me if someone is nice to you but not nice to the waitress then they are not a nice person.
Davos is populated by immensely powerful and wealthy people who think they have a right, the Me Too movement is helping to redress this but being able to realise a situation is developing and having some carefully chosen lines may save things escalating.
I will shut up now Stan. letters not necessarily in the right order

Thank you Dixy, this is kind of what I was meaning sir... She has worked in the industry for 4 yrs now and had to put up with/deal with in a tactful way some pretty arrogant (borderline sexually aggressive) chef’s & clients!
I do however thank you for pointing out just how prevalent it may be! We will be sure to discuss this in great depth with her...👍

Cam-Tech-Craig wrote:

Thank you all for your inputs...

And at the end of the day I could drive there in a day (ish) if need be...