For all those coming to France

[frogblogger]

Just one thing - the rain and damp in the SE at the moment are unusual - we usually get a lot more sunshine...

This is a rare year with much snow on the Mont Ventoux - usually it is cold enough, but the lack of precipitation means the ski season is very short. This year the skiing is exceptionally good.

[grimlog]

Hello, all, I am new here. My family and I are currently living in Phoenix, Az and we wish to move Paris. I have spent time there throughout my life (36 yrs old) and my French is decent. I have friends that live outside Paris. Bev, I noticed that you mentioned "must do's" where may I find that? Also I am finishing my IT degree in Java programming development, is that considered a "wanted" necessity? My wife is Russian citizen (w/ masters--red diploma Russia--in child pyschology) with a green card here in US, she is almost citizen here. I am stating all this just en case it may spark some ideas that you may have for us. We have 2 kids, 4 & 6 yrs old. With all things being perfect, we will arrive in France with 300-500k US dollars as a base. Any suggestions?

Merci! Bon nui!

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

Hi Dvora, and welcome to the forum.

OK, the French don't have a big reputation for being warm and open with newcomers. France is very family oriented and it can be hard to get to know folks if you don't have family in the area. However, depending on where you wind up, there are ways of integrating yourself into the local community. (See especially #4 in my list of "must dos.")

Associations are a big deal in France and if you can find a local group that strikes your fancy, it can be a great way to get to know folks. There are a number of expat groups in the south of France, both American and British, which is a good start while you start to learn the language.

I'm not sure what your visa status is as the wife of an EU national. Some folks on the forum here have said that you should be accorded the same rights as your husband, but in practice I have not found that to be the case. (I had considerable difficulty getting legal even as the spouse of a French national in France.) But at least ask at the French Consulate about getting a visa. If you wind up needing one, you'll have to get a carte du séjour, and if you get one of those you'll be eligible for those 400 hours of French lessons your first year in France. Another way to get to know some people in the area!

The French also have a tendency to surpass their reputation when it comes to one on one experience. In some ways, they are a very reserved and almost shy people (gross generalization, but if it fits...) and if you remember that and don't overwhelm people when you first meet them, you could find yourself plenty of French friends.
Cheers,
Bev

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by grimlog

Hello, all, I am new here. My family and I are currently living in Phoenix, Az and we wish to move Paris. I have spent time there throughout my life (36 yrs old) and my French is decent. I have friends that live outside Paris. Bev, I noticed that you mentioned "must do's" where may I find that? Also I am finishing my IT degree in Java programming development, is that considered a "wanted" necessity? My wife is Russian citizen (w/ masters--red diploma Russia--in child pyschology) with a green card here in US, she is almost citizen here. I am stating all this just en case it may spark some ideas that you may have for us. We have 2 kids, 4 & 6 yrs old. With all things being perfect, we will arrive in France with 300-500k US dollars as a base. Any suggestions?

Merci! Bon nui!

Well, for the "must dos" - just check the first post of this thread. (I think that's where I put them - and why this thread is a "sticky" one.)

First of all, I'd recommend putting things off until your wife gets her citizenship. A green card is too hard to get these days to just give it up, and citizenship gives you the option to go back to the US if and when you want to.

You're going to have to look into the French Consulate's latest terms for getting a visa. (The conditions are changing pretty quickly lately.) Normally, you need to find a job first, then your employer works with you to get the visa and work permission. Problem is that, normally, if you get a working visa, your spouse is not permitted to work.

There are lots of folks with IT degrees here who have real difficulty finding a permanent job. Now, part of that is that I've heard the French universities don't do a very good job teaching computer-related subjects, but that's only a rumor.

It is, however, very difficult to find a job as a foreigner in just about any line of work. Your native English will help, but only if your French is more or less fluent for day to day use. US experience will also help. France is full of unemployed fresh-out-of-school people. You need to have something "a little different" to offer to convince an employer to go through the necessary paperwork to get you a visa and wait the 3 or 4 months it takes.

The French attitude toward money could fill a book. Having a healthy nest egg can help in getting a non-working visa/carte de séjour, but you're in an age group where they probably won't believe that you're not going to try and work. (To my knowledge they don't have an "investor's visa" like the US - but check with the Consulate to make sure if you want to go that route.)
Cheers,
Bev

[Rickj64]

Hi Bev

You seem to know what is going on on France, and how things work, i have a post on the site but as yet not to much in th eway of advice, maybe you would take a look and give me one or two pointers, it has been a dream of mine to move to framce for years, so any help would be great, maybe you could put me in touch with like minded people, who would flat share or help me with my French online,

so any help would be graetly appreciated

yours

Rickj64

[dcat]

Originally Posted by mamageffriaud

Bonjour Bev! What brought you to France in the first place? My husband is French and misses his country and family and he is currently looking for a job so we can move there. I am excited and nervous about the idea. I have a one year old and we are expecting our 2nd in August, so I worry about being a new mom in a new country... My French is good, not great, but if people speak slowly I understand almost everything and I can get my point across easily, although not always very pretty. My experiences traveling around France with my husband and studying there before we met have been wonderful. I've always felt, since I was little, that I was born in the wrong country.

I also have felt that I was born in the wrong country. When I came to Spain, I thought I had corrected the error, but I am not really happy with the culture here either. Maybe if and when I actually move to France, instead of just visiting, I will feel the same there, but that's OK. I am bored enough where I live to make a change, and somewhere in southern France would be wonderful to try.

My husband was enthusiastic for about a week, and then that wore off, and now we live separately. So I keep thinking of how I could move, how I could make that work. But I must sell my villa here on the Costa Daurada first. So I think the economic crisis is an impediment.

[Rickj64]

Hi Dcat,

Thank you for your reply, maybe we could chat about our predicament, I, like you, want to make a new and fresh start in France, maybe we could chat, two heads are better than one as they say, and if we can help each other then that would be good, and was sorry to hear your husband didnt support you or your dreams,

take care

Rick

[jamilian]

I couldn't agree more, learnign the language is key to settling in and building up a community around yourself.....and that's speaking from experience

[Neustria]

I am an American and I lived for many years in the Deux Sevres. The southern part has quite a large British expatriate community. Prices are lower for many things than in many parts of France. The climate is quite warm in the summer, temperate in the winter (little or no snow as a rule) The people are generally friendly (more so than in the south of France and Paris, where I also lived) Making friends should NEVER be a worry. In your day to day activities of getting established you will be meeting people and some will become friends. Like minded people get together in whatever country you are. Learning the language is indeed important but if you already know a latin language it should go faster for you. This said French is a hard language and I struggled with it for several years before I felt comfortable with it. Regular language classes are an absolute must.
Good luck on your project.

[dcat]

Thanks for your post, I have looked up your area on a map. I think probably all of France is beautiful, but I am not, at this point, up to exploring it all. (I would love to after I move there.)It would be enough for me to move to the area I have visited already and feel comfortable with. I know I can make friends anywhere. I have never looked for expat communities all the time I have lived in Spain. But after some years and having moved to a relatively uninhabited area, I have ended up with expat friends, this in spite of the fact that I speak the local language reasonably well. I had Catalan friends in Barcelona, but big cities are more open than small villages.

Maybe I can look into teaching English, since I have a Cambridge certificate and am a legal EU resident. The problem remains the selling of my villa, without which I have no funds for rent or moving. Humpf....

[blundell]

cheers for the info!