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Amelia you seem like you have lived in france for awhile we are looking to move with work for a period of 3 to 5 years and have a twelve year old who currently doesnt speak french fluent yet. Do you know what the rules are for school for an ex pat?Amelia Davies said:Hello Martin
I live here in the South of France in the heart of Provence, I understand where you are coming from when you say that you want to move for a better life for you and your family. You have to look at this on the positive side. You could sell your house and put the money from the sale in a high interest account in the UK, use the interest to help you rent a property until you decide if France is the place for you, and which area is going to be your new home. The £ is too low to change into Euros at the moment you would lose quite a lot of money if you transfered your equity.
Once you are here you will have to apply for a social security number so that you can work, you could look at doing some property management for people who let their homes to tourists, most of them are English speaking owners and tourist. There are classes run by the employment services, to help you to speak French, and they are free for people seeking work.
Here in Provence you could also work as a mobile hairdresser, there are a lot of English and Americans living in this area. You could advertise your services in quite a few ways, Toni & Guy have Salons here in Provence and people would be interested in your connection with this name. Free news papers, local notice boards in supermarkets and public places etc are a good place to advertise. Once you are here you could learn the language quickly by getting to know your neighbours and by joining in with local activities, and by doing some voluntary work. You could also make a start by accessing French word a day, you subscribe free of charge and you will receive an e mail daily with a new word which is put into a sentence, you can listen to it spoken for a good accent, this service is run by an American writer Kristin.Espinasse.
We had a dream, and we are now living that dream, we have been here for 5 years and would not return to the UK for anything. If you are prepared to work hard and to take on anything until you improve your language skills, you will succeed in your venture. Good luck, if you have any more questions I will do my best to answer them for you. Regards Amelia.
Darren