' Why live in France if you still yearn for a British way of life? ' Excellent question. I don't know any other British people where I live in Reims. It's the best way of integrating, as learning the language is a must, and doing so opens many doors.
http://www.hotelrestaurant-barsurseine.fr/
Just one example: 13.50€
entrée : salade campagnarde aux lardons et aux croutons
plat principal : faux-filet sauce poivrée avec des frites
dessert : panna cotta with real blackcurrants, blackcurrant coulis and half-strawberries
coffee : 2€ extra
Bar-sur-Seine is very practical for anyone going to or returning from skiing-resorts.
wtf
France is a wonderful place to go on vacation. The topic is interesting as it stirs up emotion and defies logic.
wait till Friday?
Sad to read of life projects turning into living hell, i do hope all the contributers who are suffering get some joy and a better Life after their experiences in the emmigration world. To compare pub meals is , in my opinion, a crazy way to justify moving to another country , but each to his own . You only pass though life once , sorry if it isn't what you wanted .
Oh yes, I would still have come..still remember the sheer joy of sitting out my last night in UK, in McDonalds..waiting for the next early ferry..and thinking I need never go back again. 1996...I have been back a few times, but my heart is here now. I got a stray dog from the kennels, 15 yrs ago, whenever we come home from anywhere, she jumps around like a maniac and throws herself at the gate, so happy to be home again..that's how I feel too. The people, the countryside, the not-far-away-towns and villages, all seem to have been arranged as I like them..long before we ..the dog and I...were here. I think that seems very odd too...to think about living anywhere measured by plates of food value. And even stranger to spend so many years, feeling trapped, or pouring years of effort into a crumbling house. I'm so sorry you feel you must live like that, and wish contentment and at least basic comfort, for everyone. There's nothing wonderful about my ancient riverside house, except for its location. It's tiny and needs repairs I will never be able to do.But if it ever falls down completely, I'll move into the shed and spruce that up a bit, instead. I plant fruit trees in every space that is big enough, and I'm enchanted when they deliver ..can't remember how many kinds of fruit.. ..People relocating? Take time to decide..live in a van, or camp all over France in municipal sites, very cheap ...with all you need...and discover the region you love best. Then find a home.
It is very sad when things don't work out and I do sympathise with people whose dreams are shattered. But you can make a mistake in moving almost anywhere: I come from the very rural west of England (well, it was where I spent most of my youth) and I can assure you that 'offcomers' were not welcomed nor treated with any kindness there either.
For us, moving to France has been largely successful. Our children are bilingual and received a fantastic education for free and the healthcare has been exceptional. In deference to my OH's city-boy upbringing we moved somewhere where we had quick access to a great city (Aix en Provence) but was still rural and within walking distance of a village that did not shut up shop for winter.
We knew we would never get proper jobs so we made sure we had multiple, if small, income streams. We both retrained at EFL teachers and I put the spare rooms in our house to work. Speaking decent French was a must.
There have been times when it has been very hard, both financially and emotionally. But we met so many kindnesses along the way. We do not take part in expat life at all.
My OH still gets frustrated by some aspects of life here but on the whole it has been an enriching experience. It is wildly more expensive that it was 15 years ago and it is fun to visit the UK on holiday.
But daily life is so wonderful here: I let my chickens out and tend my horses (mostly rescues, not posh at all) in the morning against the most majestic background of a perched village picked out in the sunshine against the mountains, I chat to neighbours in the market, I phone the builder - yet again - to see if he has a date for our work ... And I smile.
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For us the benefits outweigh the very few negatives. Been here 16 years and much as we love Scotland we have no desire to go back. We are in the north of France so the weather is pretty much like the south of England but Scotland is just too cold! We have found the people friendly, not as friendly as the Scots but very nice all the same. They do say that the northern French are much warmer than the southerners but I have no personal experience of living in the south. Bon courage à tous!
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Same here. I'm in Reims, and just can't see myself living in Glasgow again, though I love Scotland and visit twice a year.
D for se débrouiller (or se démerder!)
Goodness me Ted, the people you seem to talk about exist in the UK too :-) everywhere, in the world in fact. i tend to stay away from them and negative people/events wherever i am in the world. But in all fairness, if it is what you feel, then maybe your move is totally the right choice. I wish you happiness in the UK.
Thanks very much all those who've posted here with your very honest personal views and experiences, most interesting and informative indeed. beats those silly magazine articles hands down all day long.!!
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I think it depends who you come with. If you come with a crumbled relationship then the experience in france will be bad but if you come with the right person then then life will be wonderful wherever you are
I agree, Amanda. I recall when my elder son threw us all into a panic by becoming Type 1 Diabetes one weekend without warning, his lovely wife just said "Well, if Diabetes is our future, we'd better get on with it. I want to spend my life with him, and if that includes Diabetes, so be it." I admired her courage, and their obvious love for one another. Phil and I had a similar attitude when we moved to France. If the foundations of the relationship are not solid, it is less likely to last during the upheaval and cultural challenges.
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There are way too many expats in France with the wrong attitude, poor language skills, inappropriate expectations, no plan, no understanding of what they are getting into, yadda yadda. As regards Mr Coltrane, well anyone reading his post can see immediately what a popular chap he must be. He'd be a PITA wherever he lived.
I think if you remember that the French are generally racist, anti-semitic and xenophobic and will crap on you in an instant, you being a foreigner, but remain courteous, integrate (but no too much) and keep your head down, you'll be fine.
We all have our war stories; it's how you deal with the traumas and move on that counts - and if you don't then you're doomed to fail.
integrate (but no too much)
curious as to why, especially as my OH and kids are French as are 99,9% of all my interactions, business, friends, family here etc. Am I doing something wrong...?!
Well i don't know, i integrate 100%, ie don't compare my country to the new one, just understand, learn, speak and especially am aware that if some French people do appear as being " generally racist, anti-semitic and xenophobic and will crap on you in an instant.." and that therefore what you should do.. "you being a foreigner, ...(is to) remain courteous, integrate (but no too much) and keep your head down, (&) you'll be fine."... it just cannot justify such generalisation to a whole country and its people.
Interesting to also read the many comments of French people in London, thank heavens they dont "generally" all say crappy things about the British, the racist remarks, hypocrisy, not to mention the appalling state of the house rental market, etc -- i find that the behaviours you talk about do depend for the most part on how one behaves in the foreign country, i don't know, but just to say i very very rarely experienced what you say as above-quoted and I tell you i immersed myself 100%, just as i am, without having to keep my head down.
Good grief - at least the other bloke had gone back and was explaining why he wasn't happy in France. Paul - yours is the first post, of many negative posts I've seen over the years on various forums, which has made me feel like asking that oft repeated response 'What on earth are you doing here if that's what you think of the French?'
Even though I've met some French pillocks just as I've met pillocks of other nationalities, I've never perceived anyone I've met here to answer the description 'generally racist, anti-semitic and xenophobic and will crap on you in an instant, you being a foreigner, but remain courteous', never mind been tempted to label the whole nationality in such a way. I was actually quite shocked when I read your post.
Fair point there Corinne about maybe some people experience such behaviours and think they're 'normal' because they've somehow attracted that sort of attention by their own behaviour or attitude.
There again, Ted Coltrane's post was pretty shocking too and I didn't recognise any of it as relating to France in my experience but when he detailed some of the things that have happened to him it's not surprising he's had enough and got a bad impression. I wondered if it was city life he'd experienced, which obviously will be different to small town or rural village experiences. It's difficult to reason that the sort of criminal behaviour he was on the receiving end of may have been caused by his own attitude.
Reading these negative thoughts I've been thinking it's just as well I didn't read them before I came or I might never have come - and the next thought was that I must have been lucky.