British expat but newbie to France. Lived an worked all over Africa, Middle East and Europe over the years and now its time for a slower pace of life. Just bought a small cottage in Mayenne as a starter whilst we look for a bigger place for long term. I'm in construction and have a strong background in restoring different things including boats, motorbikes, Land Rovers, etc. French is pretty rudimentary but practising hard. If you see a big hairy fellow on a green Harley say hello it might be me ;)
Hi everyone, I am a recently retired guy who had plans to spend quality time in France. Many trips to France over the years looking at property I could not find my retreat. This fortunately as time passed has seen the overheated property market return to itās true value with my decision to remain in the U K. My future plans are now to house sit/pet sit/water plants/walk dogs/cut lawns on a mutually rewarding basis in the U K/France/Spain on a short or long period assignment. Tony.
Hello all,
I don't normally get involved with internet forums but following a search on Google for technical advice on water supply service pipes in France I came across this site and although it didn't answer my question, I liked it...so here I am.
I retired from the Fire Service in 2014 and am now running a small Fencing business in East Sussex, and when time allows, renovating a small house in department 18, Cher, with my wife and two teenage daughters.
A fair amount of my contributions to this site will probably consist of questioning the experience of others on French building Regs and practices, so I will apologise in advance. I will of course be happy to pass on our own experiences if it is of any worth to anyone.
SantƩ.
Years ago I wanted to move to France looking at what you could get for your money compared to the UK. Armed with very rusty old English/French dictionary from my poor results A level days, it seemed like a great idea - land, animals, fine wine, cognac and great food and some land, plus a lovely old building and barns and log fires. Fast forward to 2nd divorce, just me and one teenage daughter and a menagerie of animals and daughter decides to drop out of school prior to GCSEs. So I reluctantly decide to put my house on the market so I can be mortgage free and spend more time with her rather than all my time online working for other people to make ends meet! Having said "non"! to France all those years ago, it wasn't on my list and I was very nobly looking at small 2 up/2 down terraces that "had potential". Add in my 99 year old mother who is still living independently and you've got quite a motley crew to bring together! My daughter says "how about France?" You could have knocked me down with the proverbial feather! So looking online and have decided on Poitou Charente/Charente/Dorgogne/Limousin/Correze but where exactly? This is the question? Mother has arthritis and we need some access to doctors/hospitals and my daughter needs a scooter, access to a train station and some semblance of civilisation. Me? Well I am 58 this year and quite like some renovating and would like to run a B&B or have some gites and some land - but budget is not huge. I guess weather is the most important thing as can't put mother through a long cold bitter winter and can't be too remote as will isolate daughter even more. So have just received this week my two maps of the Limousin and Poitou Charentes and am now marking off properties on the map with yellow post-it notes and trying to glean what I can from estate agents about the reality of living in each area. When my property is sold (currently painting and decorating every day from top to bottom and constantly cleaning up dog hair, meantime, daughter has buggered off to her dad's/my ex's - I guess so she doesnt' have to get involved in the process of decluttering, humping boxes, taking windows out, wood filling old windows and walking the dogs etc!) So, any advice or tips on what you think would suit us would be gratefully received. This will be my forever home, I am not coming back and not moving again (I still retain a cottage in UK which is let out all the time) but I'm staying in France! Thank you and I look forward to the chats here!
Hello everyone,
I'm not crazy about telling my life story online, so I'll keep this short.I live in the Landes near Dax and have been living in France since 2000. I'm American (born in Connecticut, grew up in Florida), but have dual citizenship. Occupation: French>English translator-interpreter sworn with the Pau Cour d'Appel. My husband is French. We have 2 cats, no kids.
That pretty much sums it up!
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Bonjour! We are total Francophiles, having been to most regions of France 45+ times, lately it has been mainly Paris and Cassis (but not during season, tout le monde!) Our Parisian friends say we know Paris better than they do! We were just in Aix-en-Provence in April-house-sitting and will be doing a home exchange in Bordeaux in August - staying for a month in France....we love animals, have had 5 rescue cats -the last one just died two months ago at 19 years old. We are heartbroken and so sad...the last of our babies is gone! The only good thing is that we now can travel for longer periods of time! Lovelovelove dogs as well!
I'm a farmer's market addict - love going to the marchƩ and finding the seasonal local produce, bring it home to my husband, Sam and he's the cook. He's a fantastic home cook. We hold a yearly Cassoulet party for 30 people (with a waiting list) in Philadelphia, and once did a research trip to the Southwest just to find out that his is better than any we had (and no one argues over the correct ingredients in Philly!) We love wine and food and bicycling...I spin at the gym.
Kindness to everyone...enJOY every moment!
Merci, Susan & Sam
Thanks for sharing your story MIchelle, if you have a moment I encourage you to copy and paste it in to a brand new blog post, I can share it with a much wider audience that way and I'm sure it would be of great interest to many of our readers!
Thanks
James
(Community Manager)
Hello everyone ! :]
My name is Michelle I am American I live near Saint Emillion.
I moved to France almost four years ago completely not planned.
We arrived on our honeymoon to visit my Husbands family so I could meet them. And of course enjoy France..
Well his Grand Mother died whilst we were here, and his family needed his help. He had not lived here for over 25 years, coming only to visit the summer and then returning back to the United States. I seriously mean this was a new country for him, he had lived here before the euro existed in the country or the E.U. had happened.
Coming on vacation is completely different then actually living somewhere.
Are first two years here were absolutely tragic. I realize looking back now how ignorant we were.
My husband was born in France and received American nationality a few years after.
What a mess it was for me. First we thought I could easily get a Visa to stay. Well we never registered our marriage whilst in the Unites States with the French Embassy. I had gotten pregnant by surprise and I do mean surprise as I was told in the United States I could bare no more children. I swear something is in the water here in France..LOL
So my Husband was an accredited pastry chef so he found employment very quickly. What an eye opener for him!
He received a CDI immediately at the time it meant nothing to us. CDI, CDD, meant absolutely nothing.
And for both of us the horror began for my side of things. First off since we did not properly register our marriage France did not recognize it and would not recognize it until I returned back to the United States.
At the time financially that was impossible also I was a high risk pregnancy.
So here is where things get very bizarre from my point of view.
We went through every channel possible until finally hiring a immigration attorney.
The attorney literally says to us .. That because I am American and pregnant just wait it until I reach my second trimester then France will recognize my pregnancy and I will have permission to stay.
AND HE WAS RIGHT !! As soon as I was in my second trimester my hell with the Prefecture began. LOL
Now please keep in mind once again we had no plans initially to stay. The only French I took was in my senior year in high school. My Husbands family lives in the country and we decided to stay close to them because they needed his help and he was offered a stable employment.
And so my co dependence began. No one in our area spoke English or wanted to try. I started taking French lessons and also bought a program online. My Husband was working hours from one am to begin and coming home sometimes as late as three in the afternoon.
I spent many hours online or on the phone connected to America still connected to family and friends there and because of the time difference I was able to keep schedule with my Husband.
Due to the language barrier I became completely co dependent on my Husband from such tedious things as making doctors appointments You would think that the immigration offices.. O.F.I.I. or the prefecture would speak both French and English. Yes good luck on that. I spent many mornings every three months beginning at 6 am waiting in line at the prefecture to renew my recipe Titre Se Jour.
On top of that I was quite lonely I spent time on web sites looking for English speaking friends.
I adopted a dog. LOL
I wished so much to speak to my new French family and for my Husband it was also quite frustrating working and living here. It is nothing like the United States. Many days he would come home so tired and over worked wishing we could afford to go home. Plus the language barrier for me put him in a position where he became my care giver and literal translator for life events and even social events.
By the time my son arrived I could read and write basic French and would try to speak French but I moved here from the high mountains of Colorado and my accent was very thick.
When I made my first friend here I was basically as we say in slang in America about foreigners right off the boat.
Thank God for her she enlightened me to many things in France and made my life easier.
I began to work which was quite humbling because I have a Bachelors Degree and formations in massage which is an industry I spent half my life working.
Well now we get into the bureaucracy of France of where I fit in with my degrees.
First and foremost I needed to speak and read better French and I also found out I needed two more years of school because for France I am either a kini or osteopath.
So I went back to school for awhile and put myself in the job market. How humbling. I felt like I was 16 again looking for my first job.
Since I paid for my university myself I had around 10 years of experience in the restaurant industry.
So I worked as a barmaid and server and many times in the vines since they surround where I live and are always looking for help.
A few positive notes.. I speak french fluently now and I quite enjoy the peace I have here in France. I appreciate the socialized medicine as I have recently come down with a major medical problem and insurance is a huge issue in the United States.
I love the fact that the children start school here at 3 years old, my son has progressed quite quickly and speaks French, English and Spanish.
I am currently awaiting my double citizenship and yes I am still living on my Carte Se Jour. I finished all of my formations finally dealing with that situation so I can breathe a bit.
After moving a few times I have found a little village close enough to the city where I can still enjoy the benefits of living in the country but I can also hop to the city within a few minutes.
I have made some very interesting friends over the last few years and I have slowed down quite a bit. I actually feel I was quite censored living only in the United States and quite blinded by many things.
I love the summers in France with the ocean so close the culture once you come to understand it is quite wonderful.
I am always looking to meet new friends. And I have found myself working as a teacher in an area I never had interest in.
So that is my story so far. I suggest for persons new to France to check such things as there is an application for your phone called Meetup you can download it chose your interests and your location. It will show you what is available in your area or close to your area. Since I am in the country I tend to spend time in Bordeaux where there are more events.
There are many new groups on Facebook which did not exist when I first arrived and the groups interest are very large from gardening to social groups for Mothers to have play dates for kids, buying and selling items in your city, region etc.
Feel free to contact me if anyone needs any ideas or help.
I remember what it like when I first arrived here and surprise it was to me to the culture shock, becoming a new Mom dealing with the Prefecture, CAF or MSA, job searching, finding housing etc.
It is funny to me now how people think because I am American it should be easy for me here. Not at all.
Thank you for letting me share I hope possibly my story has alleviated some stress for one person.
Sincerely,
Michelle
Thank you for letting me share !
Michelle
Hi I've just joined the group and really enjoying the community spirit.
My name is Gary and I'm hoping to move to Narbonne with my partner and our dog at the end of the year. It's a massive leap of faith as I don't have any family or friends in the area. My French language skills are getting there, thanks to Rosetta Stone and came in really useful during a recent visit to Nice. I've worked in television and radio for over 27 years and enjoy a bit of renovation and tiling. So thinking of renting for a few months while we look for a 'do-er-up-er' to purchase. If I can be of help to anyone when it comes to tiling, decorating or even social media - just yell.
Same here. Looks like it has been hijacked.
Hi all - donāt think I should be on this discussion really, but - bienvenue āa vie en Franceā no Iām not clever just learnt thatās a good thing to say to newcomers! Welcome to life in France. Think I have some things in common with some of you -what goes around, comes around - just like some of the discussions as youāll find out! But itās a great reminder when they do, to meet and greet again!
Been here since 2008ā arrived retired and married, now separated! What I do miss most, heās not here to wash up or cook occasionally, nor get up the stepladder to change the light bulbs!
Been there done that, still am with the crappy rentals EMMAā¦But when in Rome et etcā¦take them on in the right circumstances, with help and advice as Iāve often sought from SFNā¦ if you have to! It can be a minefield, but occasionally we hold the grenade and get to pull the pin! They donāt expect it of lāetranger, especially if single, it might take time but it works for me! my rent went up from 1st April, so I send a cheque each month for ā¬1.67 increase pm. Sheās Not happy - I am, - and when one day she decides she will do the things she said she would, then Iāll put the increase on the DD! Previous computer or iPad problems real reason not done so yet!
Catherine hope dog still alive! Can relate to fungi on wall also!
Kirsten howās life in USA going, see you still contribute to discussions, that good! Variety is the spice of life! ANGELA , ITS 2015 now!
ANNIE JONES, did she make it to Portugal, I havenāt seen her on any discusssions since 5th May 2014!
Me Iāve been NEW TWICE, well I said I do things my way, computers notwithstanding!
To those I didnāt mention, sorry, but hope everyone still around and enjoying life!
just realised Emma you and I got a lot in common, love talking about myself also. Youāll see my name a lot cos Iāve also got an opinion on everything !
Bizarrely, Sandra, when I click on your link Charlan B& B, ..I get just the japanese/chinese/korean ? version...
Hello my name is Mark and I'm a communications director (the day job) who's in the process of winding out of work and spending more time in France with a view to full time in a year or so. I'm also a writer on nature, the outdoors and the joy of parenthood - I have a blog (neglected at present), had my first book published in 2103 to critical if not financial acclaim, and my next book comes out this autumn. Last October I bought a house on the edge of the Alps.
Oh, and I play the saxophone too!
Welcome Jean-Paul.
This family is of bilingual, tri- and quad-lingual. My wife is Swiss from the Italian speaking part, who studied in Francophone Switzerland, worked in Latin America so has Spanish, then in the UK so English. She has some Portuguese and German for comprehension. Our daughters are English-French speaking, one has reasonable Italian and progressively useful German, the other understand Italian. I am bilingual in English and German, my family there with the military for many years, I too worked in Latin America so Spanish, French clearly, a bit of a large basket of other languages having lived and worked in various places. We are respectively, her a sociologist-anthropologist and I an anthropologist. I am not English or French but the next best thing to French, Scots! We live in the PĆ©rigord.
Isn't the world wonderful with languages and our mixes of nationalities and culture.
Enjoy SFN, we are a mixed and various lot but always welcoming.
Hello everyone,
I am French and live in the South of France near Marseille. I have also the Italian citizenship because of my Italian father and am fluent in Italian. I have always loved the English language since I have studied it at school in France. I am a translator and translate from Italian into French and from English into French. I have two children a boy and a girl "le choix du roi". I like watching the English TV, the programme of the BBC "Click" and watch movies in English.
Hi everyone. We came to live in 16700 TaizƩ Aizie in November 2002 full time. Previously I was in the Army, settled in Dorset and lived there for 31 years, including my Army service. I started a gardening business when we arrived as well as renovating a small gite. 5 years ago I decided to branch out and and began a stump grinding service and added after a year a ground clearance side as well, I was advised to call it "Jungle busting" not "ground clearance" as it caught the eye!
I cover all the Poitou Charentes, up north to the Vendee , east to the Limousin and south to La Correge, quite an area to cover!
I meet some very interesting people in my travels and some very pleasant ones. I have done work for Dutch customers who I find speak excellent English, the odd French person although it is always from the professional classes, quite a few Americans and the odd Irish family. All in all a good mixture of cultures which makes life interesting.
Hi
I live in Pyrenees Atlantiques (64). Iām a Geordie!
Where are you living?
Hello everyone...
My husband Paul and I are moving to the Tarn et Garonne dept this summer to run our own chambres d'hotes...
After living and working in London for 20+ years, we felt it time to pursue our long held desire for life in France....we are looking forward to many new experiences and meeting new people...
Please feel free to get in touch and say hello......
Mark
Hello, thank you for accepting me in your group. I arrived in France in November 2013, so just starting to get used to the French way of life, slowly but surely. Just myself and hubby and not forgetting my black lab, Poppy. We are from the North east of England. I will change my photo from my favourite football club to a photo of myself once I get the hang of this computer! My husband and I took early retirement having worked in the insurance industry for many years. Love France, but, like most ex pats, do miss a few of the old home comforts except the elections!
Hi to everyone....Im a newbie, new to France, well there next month on a one way ticket, and new to this group, I'll be in North Dordogne and trying to settle in with a cat and my alpacas a slimy green frog infested pool and a french dictionary - oh and hopefully the husband will be travelling back and forth and it isnt his cunning plan to leave me in France so he can have the remote control.