Montpellier is a wonderful place, though getting more expensive and hectic by the day (especially in summer), I am not sure it suits the comfy ex-pat lifestyle but I am very happy here and will gladly show you and anyone else from the forum around.
Respect and admiration for you Rosie- you sound like a brave person.
Thanks Jeanette !
My son had difficulties with French at first when we moved to France. I was his "English side" his mother French. Now he is totally bilingual in all ways. Although my wife and I divorced many years ago I am very glad we kept up his English language. I fear your ex-husband is denying your son the chance to speak both languages which would be a great help in his future. Because like it or not English is used just about everywhere.
Here alone since 96. No big probs I couldnt handle, there has usually been help available, when I needed it. Many different sources - but a vast amount of information - about almost everything - now online. Thats my first resource now. Just Google it, whatever it is. That didnt exist when I first came. with everything in a micro-mini Bedford pickup-truck, inc 2 ducks 2 dogs & a parrot. A useful gadget was its orange, cab roof-flasher light - when driving the wrong way around roundabouts etc. - Whatever your biggest interests are - it might be useful to find a group to join, of people who share them.
Hi Chris, we moved to France from New Zealand (me, husband, and our labrador). Even though we had thoroughly talked and thought things through, we still found it hard. But never one to be phased by a challenge, we stuck our heads down and got stuck in. The best 'help' we found was to become part of our village - go to all the events, talk with people, even if you don't know them. I challenge myself to speak to at least one person each time who I don't already know. AVF has been helpful in speaking with other foreigners in finding what to do in certain cases. Online help - groups, forums (such as this one) also are useful. We think we are in one of the most beautiful places in the world and just hope to be able to support ourselves in later years as we get (zero, zilch, nothing) no pension to look forward to from NZ.
Thats what I used to do when I lived in France. But I had to give some people a translation of my birth certificate which was a bit of a pain. Other than that it was fairly straight forward. I am planning to return to France the only thing giving me a nightmare is the French tax forms.
I don't think I have ever had to translate a document into french in terms of things like birth certificate, marriage certificate etc they have all been quite easily accepted. The majority of documents that i need are in French anyway, such as insurance documents, proof of address (electricity bill or water bill), medical certificates etc. My bank account is French, my employer is French, so all my tax info and pay slips are in French already. My driving license is French, and I was divorced in France, so all those legal documents are in French. I bought my house here, so all those documents are in French.
The French have a folder with all the relevant documentation in, and you soon learn what sort of documents to include. I got myself a floppy folder with plenty plastic pockets in it and have all the documents in there. I keep photocopies in the folder and the originals safe in the house.
you were lucky, Anna, having the ideal anglophone home and French out of the home - Mine have had a 100% French home and outside environment apart from me talking to them in English. It's very slow but is working!
My kids both went to 100% French primary schools, because i want them to have an excellent "native" level of french. My daughter started 6eme in the anglophone section of an international option run by the local French International College/Lycee network (College and Lycee International de Valbonne in Sophia Antipolis). This way my daughter gets an extra 8 hours of English/English Literature and 2 hours of History/Geography in English on top of the normal french 6eme program. My son is going into CM1 at the local village primary and i hope he will get into the Anglophone section in two years time when he moves up to college. Their father and i are divorced, he is remarried to a french woman, so i think they speak a lot of french at his house, and mostly English at my house (they live with me pretty much full time). My daughter is now pretty much fully bilingual (oral and written english) and my son is bilingual orally but can also read in english. They are very comfy moving between the two languages and cultures.
My daughter started speaking french when we moved to switzerland (she was aged 18 months when she started two days a week at a day nursery to start her learning french), my son was born in switzerland. We moved to france six weeks after he was born. They have both been brought up with an anglophone home, but both went to french speaking day nurseries/child minders so they had a basic level of french before starting maternelle. They are now (aged 8 and 12) pretty much bilingual. We have many conversations which switch from English to French and back.
Thanks, Angela, I keep trying! Now, I must get round to installing English TV...! :-O
Andrew,
Mine too have always been faced with a 99% French environment.We speak French at home although I mostly speak to the kids in English. They have always resisted speaking English until we go back to Aussie for holidays and see how fun it is to communicate.
I've been pretty strict on TV being in English only too. They got really grumpy for a long time, now they are used to it. Perservere on that front even if you don't like the conflict. They eventually give in - telly has a strong pull ;-)
Well done you !
I arrived to Montpellier 4 years ago, I could speak only very basic French- I didn't know anyone here and the part-time teaching job (just a few hours per week for 3 months) fell through the day I arrived!
My savings got quickly gobbled up in the first few months on a (then) expensive flat and living expenses to such a point I ended up (for the first time in my life- in freezing winter) sleeping rough, then staying in a squat to save money while I scratched around looking for work.
I was so short of funds that my one daily meal was thanks to the Red Cross. This was a big shock for me but I decided to hack it out as I knew that things would eventually pick up as they indeed did. I then had an amazing stroke of luck meeting my present landlady, a very sweet lady of 77 years who let an inexpensive room to me while I managed to find work. I now live in a large beautiful apartment in the center of Montpellier and things could not be better. Despite the setbacks, hardships, and 'occasional' hostility/racism/snobbery/sneering etc. towards anything resembling 'AngloSaxon' coming to live here is one of the best decisions I've ever made.
thanks for the encouragement, Louise, I've just collected them from Mamie et Papi ad spent the 45min drive talking in English. Everything came back in French but at least they understand what i say. I know it'll come in time...!
'everything done in English until the kids went to school" - not quite, my eldest went to a French child minder before he went to school as I was working and the other two went to the garderie before they went to school. They also had father, aunties and grandfather talking French plus most of the children they met. Don't give up!
Hi John,have just looked up one of the authors you mentioned,Barry Groves,very interesting.I've ordered a couple of his books.Good luck with telling your french neighbours.
"after they went to school they started answering me in French" Hi Louise, I know of another English woman who had exactly the same experience and I'm jealouse of you both - as mothers, your children had you talking to them in English all the time whilst mine had their mother talking to them in French (mother tongue thing again). Her children were the same, every thing was done in English until the kids went to school then changed to French, the father's language. Mine have had nothing but French exept for a bit of English from me once home from work which doesn't quite have the same effect...! If I analyse the time spent between the two languages I'd say they hear me speaking English to them for less than 5% of the time rather than their mother and everyone else talking French for more than 95% of the time and very often 100% of the time (aaarrgghh!!!) I'd term it as a losing battle and being a qualified languages teacher just makes it worse as I simply don't have enough contact time with them. BUT I'm battling on ;-)