Sorry ;-)
Look at The Guardian online, there is an article about the French being grumpy by a French academic. My comment there attributes said quality to (many of) the English as we sometimes see here.
Oi Jane and Brian, this is the happiness thread, not the grumpy one :-) Start your own if you want to change the subject!
Hi Marshall,
I'm American and my husband has Irish and British citizenship. I now have Irish citizenship as well, however I only obtained this right around the time of our move to France. Because I did not already have my Irish citizenship at that time, I had to obtain a long stay visa (carte de séjour) through the French Consulate in Ireland. I phoned the consulate and they told me what I needed to do. When I arrived in France I had to let the local immigration office know I was hear, I had a brief medical exam, and paid a sum of money. My visa was valid for one year. In the meantime my Irish citizenship was validated. So yes, your wife can come here and live and work here with you but she will have to approach some things differently because she is not an EU citizen. If she doesn't already have one, she might want to obtain an Apostille copy of her birth certificate.
Hope this helps.
Robin
some good questions which many others should have asked before coming to France. I'm self employed, a buraliste now but have worked in teaching and translation, mostly as an indépendant but also on short term contracts. You need to speak French fluently to have any chance of getting a job outside teaching English and there it helps a lot too. I live in rural france but have always worked in towns/small towns teaching in industry, uni, cci and schools. My shop is in a small town. You can work no problem but not sure about your wife - have to ask the americans here. You will have great difficulty buying that wonderful rural retreat then finding work - property is cheap in Frnace where there's no work, it's expensive where there's work! I think those who have retired here and don't have to work manage to avoid sooo much hassle, can't write any more - I need to get back to work :-O
Bonne chance et bon courage !
We moved here in January last year, having bought our little maison 6 years before. It was always our plan to move out permanently, but unfortunate circumstances in the UK meant the only decision was sell here - or sell there - no brainer really. We love to cycle and riding around the Herault is fabulous, every sunny, bright day when we are out riding, fresh air, sunshine, blue sky, great views, good friends..... need we go on? All free. Waking up in the morning to the sound of the church bells, sitting at the port in warm evening sunshine, sipping good wine, meeting up with friends. Great seafood...... we love to cook - where better to indulge in that pastime. We love living here, we love our friendships and we would not change it for the world. There - that is all I have to say!
I can only 1000% agree.
The labour laws take things just that bit too far in France. They stifle competition and lead to the young people leaving the country, fed up waiting for dead mens’ shoes.
I could make a very long list about the positives of being in France - and there is no way I would go back to the UK. Here are a few: lack of traffic, politeness of people and especially the young, short winters, the prettiest of villages (yes I know nearly all claim to be'the prettiest village in France', but that is fine!), the diversity of the landscape, the huge amount of space, new friends, the richness of the language,first-class health service, the excellent labour laws that protect employees(just found out more about those!), the coffee, the cakes and pastries, the fresh air......... Of course in any country there are negatives - there are in most countries, but if you emigrate you HAVE to look for the positives otherwise you will spend your life looking backwards, not forwards. Embrace the differences, rather than criticise them all.
I think that the secret to a happy life anywhere is to be positive about yourself, have realistic expectations and enjoy what is on offer, Living away from "home" is not for everyone and there comes a time when it is better to leave than to stay, still, a difficult decision. Proper preparation helps as well ( didn't take my own advice there!!) . France offers a great deal to many, it is good to be with the Glass half fullers as opposed to the Glass half emptiers but I do have every sympathy with those whose dream has turned sour, as for me and my better half, still smiling and loving it after close to 4 years
Really like this. And thank you for starting this thread. I'm glad to see that there are so many more positive comments on this thread than some of the more negative ones!
I love the tranquility that our life here in France has. No more hustle and bustle, up at the crack of dawn and travelling at least one hour to get to the office.
I love that our French neighbours in our village have been so welcoming and freindly. They are glad to have someone move in and start a business.
I love our petite maison that requires minimal upkeep.
I love that we are no longer a slave to technology and money, that we can live a simple but wonderfully complete life here, that by coming here we have finally found what we have spent years trying to find.
In short...I love it!
Love it!! In the US you'd be considered and alcoholic if you asked for it!
"I try to worry and deal problems when they happen, not when they might happen"
I agree Steve, I like to say "I'll burn that bridge when I come to it" :-)
:-D
Remember, mine are Swiss... cheesie eh!
ah, strength in numbers eh... I'm the odd one out as the other three are French :-O
Us too, well four actually ;-)
Immigrant or ex-pat... I'm an immigrant not an ex-pat but go on, go for it, start a discussion and I'll tell you why I say that ;-)
Well put!
I’ve been in Brittany for nearly seven years and my only regret is that I didn’t come here many years ago. I’ve always loved France. The only two years since I was sixteen that I didn’t come were the years my second and third child were born – I was a single Mum always and it was difficult with all the stuff you for need to cart about for a new baby, one or two toddlers and only one pair of hands. I travelled all over France for business years ago, did ten days hot air ballooning for an London Evening Standard serial story, stayed with old and new friends, holidayed, did short shopping trips and just knew that I could have always lived here but never thought I’d be lucky enough to actually do that.
I love the sound of the language, the pace of non-city life, the huge country spaces with so few people, the lovely old stone buildings, the food, the wine, the weather. The streams and lakes around every corner, the granite, the gorse – a bit like French Cornwall. Just being alive here is wonderful. Although I am here alone, I have more contact with people here than I ever had in England and am not lonely. The health care I have received has been superb both in terms of efficiency and respect for individual patients.
I have no wish to challenge any of the French ways of living, it is their country, and I think the lack experience of any sort of confrontation here is wonderful. I love their way of life – taking time over meals and enjoying conversation for hours at a table, not trying to keep up with the neighbours – the year or make of your car isn’t important etc. etc. I feel that there is a true appreciation of what life has to offer here and that material things are really not seen as important at all.
I like the sense of community here. Last year, for the very first time, I was invited by neighbours to a Fez Noz. I just loved the atmosphere, with eighty year olds dancing with teenagers, something that I’ve never seen before. Community is so important here.
I’m sure that there are other reasons I love it here. Perhaps not having the immediate problems of my children helps too – I get to hear when things have calmed down a bit. I love them visiting and, of course I do visit them, just twice a year – quality time not quantity nowadays. I just know I would never willingly live back in England again and hope to pop my clogs here peacefully in my sleep!
My wife and I love it here, it reminds me in particular of the happy times in the Cumberland of my youth (pre-cumbria in those days) where everyone seemed to know everyone else in the village, the old people were respected and ,in a way, looked after. The lack of traffic volume and the overall peace of the place suits us. We like the slower pace of life, access to first class medical treatment. We have involved ourselves in village activities and despite having poor french have made friends with our french neighbours.
Life is pretty good, we are learning to work with the system and accepting that this is France and not a suburb of England has made the process of adapting more pleasant and easier.
There is a wealth of good advice out there for all of us expats, lots on here and a great many helpful people willing to make the adjustment go more smoothly. Even with the difficulties of "culture change" in coming here we have every intention of staying and enjoying the good life we have.