I'm new, Q about Lyon, France

[Lyon 08]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this expatforum. Me and my family are planning to move to Lyon, France in September. I have some questions and I hope some of you can help me out? Can we watch american channels and rent a DVR player there? Any particular brand to recommend? I also have a 3 year old son. Where is the best place to put him in (child care)? He is bilingual, speaks Swedish and English fluently, no French though...but hopefully it will come with time. I have seen 2 online, Greenfield and Ombrosa School. Any thoughts or experience about these?

Appreciate all info I can get! :-)

Thanks,

[Bevdeforges]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Basically you can't watch US tv channels over here - not directly, anyhow. What you can do is to sign up for satellite television (or possibly cable if it's available where you will be living) - there are a number of satellite/cable channels here that broadcast in what is called "VM" - version multilangue - where you can select to have the audio track in either French or the original language (known here as "VO" - version originale).

There are some US series that are broadcast here - not always in VM, but enough to keep you entertained a couple nights a week. With satellite or cable you can also get CNN (International), BBC World (news in English) and France 24 in English, as well as Al Jazeera in English (which is actually very good and presents documentaries and information from places you never hear about in the US - it also isn't particularly anti-American no matter what they try to tell you over there).

There is also Internet tv from many of the providers, and I think (but am not sure) that VM may be available if you get your television feed from the Internet. It's possible to rent the satellite decoder with a DVR - or you can just buy one in any of the big electronic shops like FNAC or Darty. Not sure what the arrangements are for cable or Internet tv.

For child care, you may just want to see what's available for a "halte garderie" in your area. This is the town-sponsored child care that most young parents here in France swear by. "Regular" school (i.e. the maternelle) often starts at age 4 anyhow. The French take their education seriously, and school isn't just playgroups and kindergarden - by age 4 they are doing real "lessons" and attending all day (with a two hour lunch, of course). There is no reason to pay through the nose for private nursery school or child care.

When you get to Lyon in September, contact a group called AVF (Accueil des Villes Françaises). It's a welcome group for newcomers and in Lyon, they have a special "international" group where you can meet people and find out all you need to know about the city and the general area. Lyon also has an "evening and weekends" group to catch the working folk.
Cheers,
Bev

[Mathieu]

might be too late, but you have another option which is th Ecole Montessori : look for montessori-lyon ... however they were already full in September.

Hope you enjoy Lyon,

Mathieu