Hi Shiba,
Thank you for the kind words. Yes it can be a bit of a juggle managing 2 young children and a business. We are very much enjoying the challenge though.
I know of many of those “faux” hand holders. In Chamonix there were a few that charged ungodly rates and regularly messed up. It worked out for us as in clearing up their messes we now have an excellent reputation in the Alps. But they do give hand holders in general a bad name which is frustrating.
Thank you Rob. I look forward to hearing from you. We have dealt with tons of those finickity situations that flummox people. A very common issue!
Welcome. I do hope that your health troubles are behind you. My husband and I have just arrived in France. My French is non existent for all practical purposes!
We have to return to the USA for visas soon. We are debating about the best way to transfer cash and open a bank account. It all seems so complicated. I will be interested in what your thoughts are.
Philippa
Hi Philippa,
Just to clarify a few things. Do you mean you would like to set up a french bank account and then transfer money from a US account over to the French one?
If you would prefer to discuss this in a more private setting, feel free to drop us an email at corby.thomas@frenchadminassistance.com We can arrange a free phone consultation.
If not we can chat on here, I’m sure it will be helpful to others 
Have a great day!
Welcome to SF!
Have a search around the forum - there are lots of discussions on both topics.
Quick précis - for larger sums many people use dedicated currency transfer services like TorFX or Lumon (there is a link in the site header for them) - for smaller sums a multi-currency account from the likes of Wise (who I use) or Revolut is convenient.
For an actual French bank account some banks will want you to have an address in France, but I believe you can open an account with CA Britline (a subsidiary of Credit Agricole), which is an online banking service with English-speaking advisers, while still a non-resident.