Any South Africans in the Lyon region - I'm feeling really homesick ..

[lyon23girl]

Hi,

I was wondering if there were any South Africans living in the region ?

I'm married to a french guy and we have 2 kids : a girl of 9.5 and a boy of 7.5 who attend french school and who have basically forgotten all their English much to my dismay (although I can't blame them as I've been speaking to them in French... ). We live about 15 km to the South east of Lyon in a small town of about 10 000 people. I'm feeling really homesick at the moment and have days when I regret coming to France. We left SA for safety reasons and I don't regret that aspect of our decision as I wasn't willing to put my children's lives at risk.

I still struggle here though and really miss my SA friends and family. Sadly many of them are also emigrating now, but to Australia, the US or UK which is culturally more similar to SA than France and seem to be much happier than me in their emigration choices. I speak french fluently so have no difficulties communicating, but perhaps I'm too direct and down to earth ... I also miss the SA weather, outdoor lifestyle and relaxed attitude.

So if any there are any South Africans out there who are enjoying their French experience, I would love to hear from you guys and if you're living in the region why not eventually meet up ?

[carms202]

I am in Charente Maritime, happy to chat if you like.

[lyon23girl]

Hi,

Thanks for answering. I'm not sure how to chat on this forum though?

[A_from_SA]

Hi lyon23girl,

I only recently joined this forum and am looking through the posts when I have time.

We've been living close to Salon-de-Provence, about 240 k's south of Lyon, since July 2006. Like you, it also took me quite some time to adapt to the French lifestyle and attitude. I sometimes wonder if I have adapted to it completely yet. I often miss SA for the same reasons you miss SA. I've also asked the question numerous times if we had made the right decision to move to France and felt like returning 'home' for about the whole first 2 years after our arrival.

My wife is French and our kids also go to French schools. They speak perfect French, good English and relatively good Afrikaans. They're also learning German at school. Every time I really miss SA I remind myself that we moved here mostly for safety and the kids' future.

If you're ever in this area you're more than welcome to come and say hello.

Enjoy your day,
A_from_SA

[lyon23girl]

Hi,

Thanks for responding! I posted this a while ago, but a lot of this still applies. I'm impressed that your kids are trilingual, that it brilliant. I was stupid enough to NOT speak English to my kids, so they basically only speak french . I guess I wonder if I made a wise decision coming to France as opposed to going to Australia or the USA, which have a lot more in common with SA and where most of my friends have ended up. They seem to be happier than me and I think it's because the cultural differences are much less than in France. It's also a weather thing, in Lyon the winters are horribly cold and so LONG and summers are too hot. The work place is also so different and if you're not french or haven't studied locally (with a local degree), it's a nightmare to find a job.

If you're ever in the Lyon region, don't hesitate to come and say hello too .

By the way, how did you find the job market in France ? My husband is french and works as a systems engineer, but he struggled to adapt to the french job market even if he only spend 5 years in SA. He much preferred the way of working in SA and would love to leave the computer industry, but in France, it just doesn't seems possible. once you're an engineer don't bother trying to work as anything else, they're just not interested...


Best regards,
L