Hi Frannikin, that's a lovely offer, thank you. Our problem at the moment is what to do with DD and baby from next March to August as creche places are really only available from September each year. The other issue we have is that I work from home in a reasonably small 2 bed appt, so space/noise is difficult too, still I have decided not to worry about it now until at least December!!

I hope everyone else is enjoying the long weekend. We took DD to a farm on Friday where I renewed my bad-mummy-hat application - DD was patting a kid (in goat field) but I wasn't standing close enough to catch her when she stumbled.... so she grabbed at the kid to steady herself, which promptly headbutted her, oops . No injuries or tears (small kid=no horns yet, phew) just a bit of shock on all sides, and DD was up chasing kids again quickly.

Steaknife, I'm an hour down the motorway from you. Maybe moving a wee bit closer in the future (Manosque).
DS1 is 4, DS2 is 4 wks (hence brief one-handed typing).
What's Gap like? Have only ever driven through en route to ski places.

pebblebeach I have a childcare solution for you - hire me as your nanny!

Hi Steaknife, I hope you are settling into the new appartment, it must be lovely after living with the ILs for so many months! I am not sure I could cope with that, I think you might deserve a medal .

How funny your DS likes picking daisies Briochedoree, my DD has just "discovered" them... walking through the garden to get to our appt block door takes a lot long now, alhough less time when they have just cut the grass .

You know the birds are so noisy here that I have to the shut the windows when on conference calls because colleagues always ask who's in a field.... not everyone realises I work from home in France and I feel bad making them jealous when they are calling from their industrial estate offices in N.England, Germany and Houston!

The driving around after school hours for SN appt sounds like a bit of a bore, not to mention tiring - I hope they are going well. I was moaning the other day about how "difficult" everything seemed to be here (I was trying to sort out childcare for next school year... during and after mat leave) but I think I am being overly hormonal and negative - I am sure it's not "easy" in UK either.

Gordon Brown's the prime minister, no? really . Right it's well past my bed time now....

Hi Steaknife.
How are you settling in? France can be a bit daunting right at the beginning, I found. Hope that you like it so far. Do you get nice scenery where you are?
Pebblebeach, it is indeed a small virtual world. Also, it is another beautiful day here. The sun is shining through all the new growth in the forest. DS and I went out picking daisies this morning. He is now asleep in his brand new "big boy" bed he got at the weekend, and I'm having a cup of tea and listening to the birds sing. Aah. Sometimes this life of leisure ain't so bad. Shame I have to drive DD into Paris tonight for yet another therapy session! The only downside to the French Special Needs system - you can't get ANY of it done in school and end up constantly driving your kids to appointments. Ah well, still beats living in the UK at the moment. I still do a double take every time I realise that Gordon Brown is currently Prime Minister.
Hope you're all enjoying the run of short weeks / long weekends!

Afternoon all - just found this thread.

I am in Gap in the Hautes Alpes, with DH (French) and DD of 8 months. We moved here 5 months ago from Gran Canaria (long story) and have just been in our own apartment for a month after staying with the French-in-laws.

I'm not sure anyone else is in my neck of the woods but it is nice to hear about others over here.

Hi brioche... it's a small "virtual" world then
Would be lovely to catch up, hopefully in autumn if not before... I so cannot wait for mat leave to kick in.
Right I really should be working and not surfing mn..... I am so pleased we finally have the beautiful weather back again.

Yes, Pebblebeach, we have met. (Did wonder, I must admit...thought there couldn't be that many mums in Le V. I didn't know, but then I have been a bit "off the radar" since then as I mainly hang out with other mums from my residence and haven't really bothered with all the baby groups and stuff). Congratulations on the pregnancy!
Look forward to meeting up some time soon and seeing your little girl who was just a baby when I last saw her!
Teafortwo, look forward to receiving your CAT.

Evening all,
Hi briochedoree you know, I think we've met already at baby group last year.... you gave me some very lovely (and some noisy) toys ?!? Is my guess right? Hope all is good with you... I'm v. well - working full time, but not for too much longer as my mat leave starts in August, yeah! Baby due in mid-Sept.
We'll all have to met in the autumn, I can't wait to be able to do fun stuff during the week again and I am sure DD will need plenty to entertain her once she isn't go to creche full-time.
Catch you later, byeee

BriocheDoree - I will CAT you!

Sorry, I don't have CAT. (Do you have to pay for it?). I can receive CATs but I've never worked out how to send them. (Former analyst programmer/web programmer hangs head in shame emoticon).
OTOH I can be emailed at brioche90 at gmail dot com.

BriocheDoree - It would be great to meet up with you too. I took dhs neice to La Defense just to mend her glasses before going out for the day. We ended up staying at La Defense all day. Children love that place!

I was thinking - Jardin d'acclimatation could be fun on day too!

CAT me and pebblebeach and maybe between us we can organise something!

Hello all .
Not been posting for a while (it was the Easter hols, and I was away, then busy with both kids running round the house).

Pebblebeach you and I are very close, and Dilbertina you will soon be near me as I am in fact in BOUGIVAL, although near the forest, not near the British school (we're not expats so DD is at local school). Pebblebeach, I have a nearly 5 year old DD and a nearly 2 year old DS, and I don't work so if you ever want to meet up with the toddlers, let me know. DS and I are always happy to come and feed the ducks in Le Vésinet.
Or, if Teafortwo fancies meeting us all in La Défense, that could be fun, too. Both my kids love the shopping centre, and running round the Esplanade .
I'm so enjoying my first day of peace since DD went back to school...it's so easy with just my little one at home (esp. as he's currently napping). She enjoyed the hols but was so happy going off to see her friends this morning!

Been living in France for three years now and DH is on a French contract so we've decided to stay here for the foreseeable future. Bought our appartment last year. I don't work currently as DD has special needs (speech/language problems) and it's difficult to fit work round her various appointments, and right at the moment I'm enjoying being at home, to be honest...

dilbertina - we will all have to meet for coffee - it will be fun!

teafortwo I don't have CAT enabled (I tried, it never seems to want to let me, maybe it knows I'm an imposter) but feel free to e-mail

englishgoverness at gmail dot com

I don't have work for next year, I need to start looking so if you have something then I'm definitely interested! Likewise anyone else who wants a British nanny (with a music degree), nearly 5 years exp, CACHE, MNT and TEFL quals.....

Hi all, what a lovely Friday .
pillowcase I detest Auchen! (well the one near us in Quatre Temps anyway) it's dark, huge, I can never find anything and the queues are always enormous (plus I always pick the slowest moving one...)

teafortwo I am a technophobe too but I managed to unblock the CAT!!... so I'll try and CAT after this.

Hi weta and dibertina!

This is my 2nd pg, have DD1 who is 14m, born here! It was certainly interesting navigating the "way things are done" here comparing notes with friends in UK, certainly a crash course in a rather special set of french vocab . It doesn't feel anywhere near as daunting this time which is a such a relief.

Good luck with the moving plans Weta, Luxembourg.... and I thought I had language issues here, that's a whole different ballpark me-thinks! btw I love NZ... we had 3 weeks there after Christmas this year to visit a good friend in Christchurch... Wetas are those odd insect/spidery things that live in caves, right?

Dilbertina you arrive just in time for the start of my mat leave, so we'll definitely have to meet up! And I'm all good for nappy changing but thanks for the offer the prospect of 2 in nappies is possibility the thing I am least looking fwd too, and I had forgotten how much a newborn needs changing, although I have a feeling DC2 might not be changed quite as obsesively as DD1 was . I hope all is going well with DD2 anyway!

We have visitors this weekend, so better go an make beds, tidy, etc. Might not catch up again until next week - so have a good weekend all, byeee

We're due to move to Paris Western suburbs in early August. Not sure exactly where yet but dd1 (5) is registered for British School of Paris in Bougival so I guess not too far from Teafortwo, Pebblebeach and Brioche.

Just had dd2 2weeks ago and ds is 2.5yo so will have hands full....would love to meet up with people though! Might just be over in time for you to practise nappy changing with my dd2 pebblebeach?! Am sure you'll want to perfect this before your own bundle of joy arrives! (yes, am already cheesed off with number of nappy changes a newborn needs!)

I'm nowhere near the rest of you but just thought I'd say hello!

We've been in Montpellier for 4 years, but
are moving to Luxembourg in a couple of months... winter here is obviously not too bad (though people complained about the rain!), but I won't be sorry to escape the too-hot summers. We spent the first 6 months rural, in a small hamlet next door to ILs, and I absolutely hated it

Congratulations on your pregnancy, Pebblebeach. I had my second baby here (had the first in NZ), bit of a shock to the system as it's all so different and there are so many more rules, but some things were great. How are you finding it all?

Don't feel exactly settled as we never knew whether we'd be staying, but we are well integrated - DH is French, so that definitely helps, and I already spoke good French before I came.

pooka, I think we're about an hour from st clar but have never been there. the gers is very beautiful but sometimes I yearn for an auchan or a busy shopping centre...

pebblebeach - I just tried to CAT you but your settings are blocking my message.

Perhaps you could change your settings or if you prefer CAT me...?

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

- great stuff pebblebeach!!!

I have never been the first person to CAT someone - but I will see if I can work out how and will CAT you in the next few days....

[technophobic emotion]

So is this your first baby and are you planning on giving birth in France?

Wow I didn't think I'd find anyone that close! Teafortwo I am in Le Vesinet, so only 15mins on the RER. Meeting would be great .
Must plan at least a weekend in the countryside soon, am jealous of all this talk of cherry trees and fields of sunflowers.

Pillowcase, I think where we've stayed on holiday the last few years is in Gers - place called Gaudonville, near St Clar, with Fleurance being the next largish town.

Is gorgeous there in the summer (only time we've been). Fields and fields of garlic (one year) and sunflowers (the next).

Hi Pillowcase - I am about the cherries!!!!!!

Frannikin - don't say you don't belong here!!! You are so so MN - in a good way!!!! I am sure if I saw you in Paris I would instantly 'know'.

By the way - Are you set up for work next year? If not CAT me - I am looking for English teachers could be interesting work for you...?

I live in Puteaux (right next to La Defense). Which town are you in? Is it near me?

If yes - We should meet for a drink - could be fun!

There is another mner in the West too. Her pen name is Briochedoree... I think she is in or very close to Versailles.

and btw teafortwo on your whole automated check out issue.... you know they are popping up round here now too - Auchan and Champion have them, cue gormless me trying to use them and being shouted at for not putting the shopping in the bag on the scales things , you live and learn... I'll be all set for my next visit to M&S now!

Hi teafortwo, thanks for the congrats! I'm out in the western suburbs, where are you?
And I agree with you pillowcase long may this weather stay, the winter was by far the wettest we've had here. I remember the first year it was all snow on the ground or frost with clear blue skys..... what I always imagined winter in Paris to be like, but it has never been quite like that since, hey ho.
Glad you are loving it over here, one day we'll move to somewhere v rural, but we are tied to where the jobs are for now. I sometimes think life would be easier if one of us was French .

Hi all,
Just found this thread. We're in Gers department, very rural, for 5 years now, dh is french and kids are in MS, CP and CE2. Loving it here. Especially now that that horrible winter is finished.

Saw lots of tiny little green cherries on our tree today and am looking forward to the summer.

Think GGG in Bordeaux is our nearest neighbour?

Hi Pebblebeach - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

Where nr Paris are you????

[simle] nevermind! Have you been over here very long, plan to stay for long, feel settled? We've been here over 4 years now. I think life would improve if my French were better, no....?!

I'm in Paris. But I'm a governess so I don't have my own child and therefore don't really belong here....

Morning all,
Anyone want to join me in resurrecting this thread.....? Who else is over here in France (am nr Paris), anyone else pregnant (am 20 wks tomorrow)......?

SoniaT .... we all want you life!!!! Pour a nice glass of wine to toast anyone still in the rat race tonight!!!!

I recently returned from the UK feeling a bit dizzy about the self service counters they have there now. Do you have any stories about visiting the UK and feeling like a bit 'out of it' now you are living in France???

I live in the Dordogne in a small hamlet. Our Daughter was living here and we visited her and fell in love with the area, we came on holiday and went back having bought a house in France!!. There were only 5 houses here in 2000 when we first bought the house purely as a holiday home. We moved here permanently in 2003. There have been 5 more houses built since, but it is still very tranquil. Our younger daughter and her 4 children followed us here and of course now the grandkids are all fluent in French, which is more than can be said for my husband and I, although we manage reasonably well. It took us a while to get used to the shops closing for 2 hours at lunchtime amd no late night openings, no take-aways and no ready made foods. But I am a much better cook now. Can't imagine being back in the UK rat race now, the laid back slow pace of life has us hooked.

They have them in my beloved m and s too???

What is the world coming too???!!!???

Teafortwo, I got surprised by one of those machines at M and S food shop last weekend. Fortunately I only had one item to buy and no queue so I had plenty of time to work it out.

And no one takes cheques any where any more!

I am just back from a week in the UK!

While in Londres I was very surprised to discover a Tescos store with absolutely no check out ladies just machines you had to work yourself!!!!! I resisted temptation to start crying for Monoprix and joined the queue...

It came to my turn - I knew this because one of the members of staff patrolling the area pointed at me and then a machine and shouted something like "You, here..." Of course I had no idea how to work the thing and ended up setting the alarm off twice and then took ages to re-pack as in my panic I had packed the bags all wrong. This is amid the tut tut tutting of the next customers and the now very bored member of staff who given my looks and accent had no idea I had never seen one of these out of space machines before!!!

WOW - what an experience!

Does anyone else have any scary, funny or weird stories from visits back to Blighty???

Levallois apparently has the best children's extra-curricular provision in France (sports etc). This is obviously important in a country where most schools offer only the relatively restricted French NC.

Personally, however, I find Levallois absolutely dire - vile architecture, narrow streets, few green spaces. But of course close to ever-so-affluent Neuilly with its Catholic schools and leafy suburban streets, so you can escape quickly.

Meanwhile, it seems Angelina Jolie has followed my advice to give birth in Lenval Hospital in Nice rather than Centre Hopitalier Princesse Grace in Monaco.

You are welcome, Angie!

And thanks for helping me out with my questions earlier - and esp for the school information, Anna. I've heard from a few people that Levallois is a good place to bring up a family, so I'm going to look into education options there as well as the bilingual schools you suggested. Can anyone advise?

Thank you

I'd put:

DH: Diplome de 2eme cycle, master 1 (i.e. 3-4 yrs' study)
You: - Diplome de 3eme cycle, master 2 et ingenieur (i.e. 5 yrs' study: even if you've not done 5 yrs, you'd be devaluing your MBA if you put on a par with a master 1, IMO)

Could someone help with a couple of translation questions?

I need to fill out census documents for DH & myself but can't figure out the terms for diplomas.

We are asked to tick the box next to diplome obtenu le plus eleve, which would be university (bachelor) degree for DH and MBA (master) degree for me. Which one of these correspond to our degrees?

- Baccalaureat
- Diplome de 1er cycle, BTS, DEST, DUT sante
- Diplome de 2eme cycle, master 1
- Diplome de 3eme cycle, master 2 et ingenieur
- Diplome d'une grande ecole, agregation

Thanks for the help!

I agree with Anna that many of the logistics of life in France are anything but simple. I frequently rant wildly about small things that seem utterly ridiculous, in fact.

But living in a small town just outside the city means that our children have freedom to roam as well as easy access to the city's facilities and opportunities, which I like. The "rural idyll" definitely isn't for me - families I know that moved to very rural France have found that with young children it was lovely (all that freedom as Jenpet describes) but once children become teenagers they spend much longer driving them about because they are bored in the sticks.

As for commercial pressure, yes up to a certain age it seems less prevalent, but again once the teenage years hit there is plenty - they all want the same brands of shoes, jeans etc, as is the case with teenagers everywhere.

yes, I agree with Anna that life in a big city is probably as stressful/complicated as anywhere in the UK. However day to day life in the small town in the mountains where I live is certainly simpler than I imagine my life would be in the UK. I do mean simpler in the sense of easier, not quiet and boring btw.

I actually work pretty hard at trying to keep life as simple as possible - it's so easy to let life's logistics completely overwhem you here. But yes, I'm sure that life in big cities is generally more stressful than life in towns.

the stressful life of city slickers I think Anna! Maybe Paris is the big exception?

It's interesting what you say jenpet, so you feel where you live, dc can be left to their own devices a lot of the time and their lifestyle is less commercialised?

I don't think life is particularly simple here in Paris . In fact, the basic logistics of life (getting children to school and back and to activities, doing the shopping, going to the doctor etc) are ridiculously burdensome and/or bureaucratic.

A small example ; my sil in Essex has 2 DD'S, 12 and 8, every single night of the week, and most of Saturday is a complex balance of running them around to various activities, sometimes 2 each on certain days - Brownies, dancing, swimming, extra maths tuition etc etc. It has to be planned with absolute precision, and if traffic is bad the whole thing falls apart. Here, my DS will have a friend around after school and maybe go out on their bikes for a bit, Wed we have a swimming lesson and the afternoon is at the pony club (5 min away) I imagine most of the summer will be on the beach....we seem to do things, but it just seems sort of easier! I think there is less pressure to have the latest trainers/Nintendo game/whatever too (maybe that will change though...)

'ello, 'ello

Can I just sneak in on you ladies and ask something? I keep reading in threads about France that people find life simpler there and I'm a bit curious, in what way is life simpler?

Moving is really hard and expensive, that's why.

The school my daughter is at, EaB, has a good website and I have written about it on this thread so you can check that out.

Do you know what kind of school you want - French, English, bilingual, IB curriculum?

Thanks, this is really helpful. Schools, eek. Upheaval aside, is there any reason why I couldn't move to Paris now, then move again in a year to be close to a school of my choosing? For instance, am I likely to encounter horrible waiting lists for popular schools, or tight catchment areas? Or, if I really do need to think about schools straight away, how do I do that from the UK, in the next 3-4 weeks?

The Hôpital Franco-Britannique in Levallois-Perret and the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine (both 5 minutes from Paris and 3 minutes from one another) are the traditional expat Anglophone maternity hospitals.

yellowmama - please try not to move to the 16th (it's so dull...).

17th, 8th, 7th, 6th much much much better.

I don't know how long you are planning to stay, but if your daughter is 9 months now she will be starting école maternelle in September 2010 ie two years time. So you really need to think about living near a school. Some Paris state schools are OK and some are definitely not OK and you may in any case want to put your daughter in an international school, in which case you really need to think about it now before renting.

You will not get a place in a state crèche or halte garderie. There are however private garderies in all the decent residential areas.

yellowmama, do not worry bout the language barrier, honestly, it will not be an issue with Drs here. Although I speak a little French IME they were all more than happy to talk English.

I don't know about Paris sorry, I'm in rural France. I have had one dc in the UK and 2 here, if I had to choose where to have my pgcy care France would win hands down. That doesn't mean I had any probs in the UK, I just liked the commitment and eye to detail of the medical staff here.

OSOTC - AFAIK they don't test for GD routinely in the UK, only if suspected or a history of it.

Thanks ladies. I asked for a blood test because of a family history of diabetes, and when it came back high I took a blood glucose test in hospital. You are right, it is disgusting, the room started spinning and I felt like I was fainting. Once diagnosed I was on a strict diet and four insulin injections a day. I am almost certain to develop it if I get pregnant again, which is why I ask about it since I do not know how my French will cope with quite technical medical conversations like the ones I had while pg in the UK. The care I had here was brilliant, led by specialist midwives who only dealt with mothers with chronic illness, whom I met with every week before the birth. Will it be comparable in Paris?

How do they test for GD in the UK.

I had to have a blood test 'à jeun' every month and I am a big breakfast eater. It was particularly difficult during my second pregnancy because I had to give DS his breakfast before heading to the lab with him.

We were both rewarded with 'pain au chocolat' at 10am once a month.

That test they do for GD is horrible too. I thought I was going to faint there and then. No breakfast, big drink of foul sugar solution, then wait an hour. (seemed like 2) Not nice!! After having DS1 in the UK, and 32 weeks preg with DS2 I've found it very different....

yellowmamma

GD question....

IME (2 children born here) they test everyone at 22-24 weeks for GD with the standard gloucose/blood test. If you are suspected to have it then further tests will be carried out for a day in hospital and then if diagnosed you will be placed on a STRICT regime to control it throughout the rest of your pregnancy.
I got as far as the dietician explaining the regime after a day of eating syrup (yuk) for the consultant to then realise that my midwife to begin, and all of the hospital staff that day had miss read my results and infact my gloucose levels were reading low not high.

Pregnant, that is. And immediately. Perhaps I should have reviewed that message before I sent it...

Ladies,

I am also late to this thread, and apologise for coming in with lots of questions. I am about to move to Paris because of DH's work - not exactly sure where, but most likely 16eme if we can afford it. We have a 9mo daughter, who'll be almost a year by the time we move, and I will stop working for a while (and most likely try to get pregant again). I speak good but rusty French, my DH none to speak of, so we will speak English at home with French media in the background.

If you wouldn't mind answering these questions, I'd be really grateful!

- How can I expect the move to affect DD, esp her lingustic development?
- Do I need to do anything immediate we arrive about her education? I was reading about HG and wondered whether I'd find it difficult to get her into one?
- Has anyone had experience of gestational diabetes in France? What kind of care did you receive?
- What do you wish you'd known about moving to France / Paris, or leaving the UK? All advice welcome!

Sorry to be so long about this, thanks for reading and for any help or advice you can give.

at 460k euros for 80sqm. That's worse than Milan and I thought it was bad here.

I'd originally wandered over because I'd been having vague musings about accepting a job offer in Paris but now I've seen how much housing is I can see what they're paying me isn't going to go very far. Also, we'd be single income for a while as DP doesn't speak French. As I said, twas only a vague musing. I shall scuttle back to the little Italy thread now I think.

Hi - I'm very late joining in and I have skimmed through the other comments so I hope I'm not too off subject!
I'm in Vincennes just outside Paris but moving to Rouen in August. I work in Paris and will carry on in same job distance working in Rouen. Moving because we're fed up of house prices in Ile de France and travelling to work. I don’t think that whatever happens in the rest of the country prices will drop much here (our landlord is selling now that we’re moving and is asking 460,000 Euros for a two bedroom 80m² in a pretty grotty state). We’re hoping to buy once we’ve decided which area we want to be in – for the moment we’ve found a flat to rent in the middle – hedging our bets!

DP is French and DD (6) is more French than English although she says she's English when she wants to go out without a coat. She's just finished at the maternelle and two out of three years were fantastic. This year particularly she's had a really inspiring teacher and classroom assistant. I haven't found the grande section too academic - if anything compared to her cousin in the UK (who's three months older than her) the French programme’s much slower - like someone said for reading and writing there is lots of preparation in GS.

Someone mentioned the Hôpital Franco-Britannique in Levallois-Perret – dd was born there. I chose it because I wanted an English speaking doctor (even though I do speak French) and my English doctor in Paris recommended Dr Julia Bache (who was lovely) so I ended up travelling half way across Paris for consultations which wasn’t very convenient. In fact when it came to the crunch, dd was breach and I had a caesarean on a Friday afternoon. Everybody who spoke English (consultant, sage femme, etc.) went off for the weekend leaving me in the tender care of the nursing staff who all spoke French. On the Saturday after forcing me to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom everybody left me alone. dp was away at a wedding so my mum was there my drip ran out and she ended up having seek out an aide-soignante to explain in broken French that “elle a très mal” and it might be a good idea to give me some pain killers. I also had to fight to have dd brought to me in the night so that I could breastfeed … because of the caesarean I was in for 6 days by which time I was climbing the walls (I think you have to be dead to stay in a UK hospital for 6 days) but then when you leave you have no back up at all.

Sorry to go on a bit – but it’s nice to compare French experiences.

thank-you, that's what I wanted to hear! We viewed a great place this morning, for once, and I'm really hoping we can get the finance sorted to make an offer. Given the size and location of the place, I can't see its price dropping further, so I hope we can go for it. Where we are there"s not a great deal of supply in the housing market, with it being a valley, so prices are maintained slightly higher than they would be in a more spacious location. I suppose you have to pay for the moutain scenery.

We work in estate agency, Belgianchox. The market is very flat at the moment, and in Burgundy vendors are beginning to drop their prices (or accept quite low offers).

I think the market has been artificially inflated for some time, and prices are beginning to get back to reflecting the REAL value of the houses, not what the vendors think their properties are worth. It's definitely a buyer's market at the moment - and I don't think that will change any time soon.

My colleague's wife is an estate agent. She says vendors are still a bit reluctant to lower their prices but that she feels it is inevitable. I think it's a good time to be looking too.

Prices have started falling where we are, although interest rates are higher than they were. Friends selling houses say no one is visiting, as everyone is scared about the financial situation, and banks are not giving credit as easily as they were before.
Don't know much about where you are, but the random experts I've heard on the radio are all in agreement that the property market is starting to hit troubled waters (Kaufmann Broad have lost a fortune in the last six months and their share price is plummeting), so maybe now is starting to be a better time to buy.

Off on a bit of a tangent now, but would those of you living in France say now is a good time to be buying a house or appartment, or better to hold off for a while? We're currently renting, (not particularly cheaply), and are kind of lookinng to buy but i can't decide if now is as good a time as any, or whether to wait.The area we live in (Savoie) is fairly pricey in relation to housing size, and I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to whether things are likely to come down a bit, or continue on an upward trend. Any thoughts?

ha ha ha CoteDAzur - your post made me laugh!!!

If anyone is interested, it turns out that Angelina Jolie will be giving birth to her twins in Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace in Monaco.

You would think someone would have advised her that (1) there are much better maternity units around here, like 'Lenval' in Nice (2) if babies are born in Monaco, that means they are not born in France (she meant to 'honor' her French mother who passed away recently by giving birth in France).

Wow I haven't been here for a few days and this thread has really progressed.

Just had a lovely weekend and am thoroughly loved up living in rural Brittany. We had music by the canal in the local town on Friday night and it was lovely to sit outside a bar chatting with friends listening to the music, Breton music this week but Jazz I think next week (personally I'm looking forward to salsa night). Then last night our own village had it's Fete de Canal which was just lovely, again on the banks of the canal and with music and wine, the children running around and playing topped off with fireworks at midnight, just really perfect, and nice for us to spend time as a family without being covered in plaster dust.

You'll have to remind me of all this in January when it's pouring down with rain, for the third week running and I haven't seen a soul for months, I'm not so loved up with Brittany then, but for the time being I'm enjoying the sunshine and chat.

Hi, Tea42, With regards to the French, I work with French people everyday, and I think that has helped. I have recently (4 years in!) started having lessons, and I go on aboutfrench.com or whatever it's called when I can find the time, to do the quizzes and assess my progress. Still intermediate, sadly ...

What doesn't help is having a husband who is regularly mistaken for a Frenchman, and 3 bi-lingual children!

I love the challenge of the language,and my own perfectionist desire to do it better, just wish it would all come a bit quicker.

Thanks for you comments, Anna. you sound fab. Still though.

Oh I had a total back-to-nature moment when I was pregnant and a new mother . Just wanted family and nature and good food - society/the world could wait...

In 'The other Boleyn girl' I mean.

Anna8888, having seen some of your threads I am very surprised to learn you spent your pregnancy in old, baggy clothes. The bit in your post contrasting deepest Kent with chic Paris makes me think about Mary Boleyn sent away from court to her family's Kent castle where she was relieved to get away from all the frivolity and obsession with appearance.

I'm not the person to ask about maternity wear - I survived my pregnancy with one pair of H&M maternity trousers and shirt, one other shirt donated by my sister (bought in Spain) and the rest was old clothes from fatter days or old stuff of my mother's. Nothing remotely chic (but I was ensconced in deepest Kent far from Parisian standards of dress ).

IIRC Natalys is all made in France, if you are concerned about avoiding child labour.
Speaking of C and A, they have a maternity section too which is very cheap.

Bonsoir Doozie et othersideofthechannel- It depends on your style, how much you want to spend and what you want to buy...

I love the Natalys style for future Mummies. Simple and stylish! Last time I was in my local one I said "I have a complaint... you have beautiful clothes for babies, toddlers and lovely maternity wear but nothing for just Mums, like me!!!"

In La Defense there is a quite big and fun Vertbaudet and around it a few other places that sell maternity wear. It is nr were Gap is. Turn left at C and A! And p.s the newsagent a little further up sells English newspapers - his funny little shop is very very special to me - you might like it too!

Doozie, I am sure Anna8888 will be along with some chic Parisian addresses for maternity wear.

I borrowed most of my maternity clothes from similar sized friends but what I couldn't borrow I ordered from Vertbaudet which is a catalogue that does clothes for babies and children, pregnant women, and also things for decorating children's rooms. I was happy with the quality, the clothes have survived 4 pregnancies.

I think I will join Message, it sounds like it will be perfect for someone like me. My husband isn't French, I don't know anyone who is pregas or has a baby in Paris, my French is 'developmental' as they say, and I'm relatively new in town so everyday is still a discovery. I think it will be especially handy when the bub is born, as I would like to join a mothers groups . We can be baby bores together!

BTW, any ideas where to buy maternity clothes in Paris other than in the grand magasins? I must admit I haven't been inside one baby shop yet (I've got months to go), but now the time has come as I'm struggling to do up skirts and trous. Thanks.

oooh how nice!!! Happy wkd Anna!!!!

tmd - I am like you. The more I learn about French the more aware I am about how completely rubbish I am at it!!! But I keep plodding on and tryng not to get vous and tu confused and remembering if something is feminine or masculine and remembering to try not to constantly speak in the present tense. My dd was watching tellytubbies in French and I was so proud because I understood it. Tellytubbies today Proust tomorrow! Onwards and upwards!!! We can do it I am sure! Keep working at it and I will too! What books and methods are you using? Do you have a teacher? I am interested in how you are learning and how you are finding it because I often feel like I am taking the least easiest path!

trulymadlydeeply - it will come in time - practice makes perfect

Yes, have a lovely weekend everyone - we're going on a picnic tomorrow with my sister and children (who usually live in Amsterdam but have a holiday house 60km from Paris and are here for the summer) and my partner (who has a private pilot's licence) is going to take my nephews up for a little flight over their house. So we are hoping for great weather

So , Anna, that you speak French fluently.

I want to too and hate that I can't. Yet!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend in this gorgeous weather.

Bliss to be in Burgundy again ...

I mean post of course

Was just catching up with this thread and saw judeat40's thread....looks like we are next door neighbours! Which village are you in?

I think if you already have the knowledge and support like Anna then message is really just an extra way to meet friends.

But if you wanted info on the HG in your area TFT then Message would have been able to tell you how it worked and how to go about it. You did this alone but some women here are not here for the long term, are more trailing spouses, and need a bit more help. They also provide help post birth with a new mother contact who rings and pops over after birth to check all is going well etc (perhaps Doozie interested). I do not do alot with message but when I arrived it provided me with lots of friends (some of whom I am still in touch with despite them having moved onto other countries) and gave me a lot of info (ie schools and HG) I didn't know about not being french or having french DH.

Also have to admire the women who run this organisation, all volunteers and give so much time to give support others.

Why??? - Because lots of message mummies are plumbers and electricians too!!! Ha ha ha!!! I am pulling your leg - of course!

Well I have gradually worked up a collection of people I can lean on for things like that and have even started to make my own French friends now so I think I will keep on going as I am... this seems to be my mantra in this thread... what is your opinion, Doozie, are you going to message or not message?

Message wasn't terribly useful to me because I had been here for years before I became a parent here, spoke completely fluent French, knew my way around and had a 100% French partner who already had two children and so could give me info and support - and I found that at Message M&T groups I was usually the person who had been here longest and knew most .

I do know a lot of expat mothers who are in Message (lots at EaB) though who are very nice and friendly and I think it's a good organisation. And if you are looking for an electrician or a plumber it's a very good way of finding one

Hi S.Suki, I bought a quite cheap mobile from Darty. If this is any help. I wanted to have a pay as you go for when I am in the uk but O2 were real pains about it so I gave up stopped all business with them and wrote a huffy letter to them too!!!

So, so, so... Thanks for the info on the Neuilly baby gym Anna8888! I will look it up.

Interesting you mentioning Message to Doozie, Anna, People keep telling me I should join message but I am in two hearts. I am in France - I don't want to live in a British/American bubble but then again it looks like they do a lot of fun stuff and I could make some good friends.

Any comments on this will be interesting for me - Is anyone in message or has been and can give an insiders view or decided not to join and has found this the better option???

E'Leclerc is I believe the ONLY (newish) non restricted pay as you go deal atm in France. It is normal to loose your credit and sometimes your "air time" if you do not top up or use monthly.

With the Leclerc one you pay, 1.50 euros per month to secure your air time (this can be done by DD) and you do not loose the credit at any time. This is a sim card deal though, so you would need a phone to use, but I also think they do other similar deals inc phones.

I have one with SFR and only paid around 40 euros for the phone. Only thing I do not like is the time restriction on how long you have to use your money. Top up with coupon or carte bancaire.

slalomsuki - hi - I am afraid I have no idea about this

Hi there, sorry to but in to your thread but I am a part time liver in France, in the vendee during school holidays since there is more to do and its cheaper.

my question is can I pick up a pay as you go french phone from a super market and where do I find the best provider. My one from the UK costs a fortune when I am out there and there should be a cheaper way

My stepsons were born at the Hôpital de Neuilly and, according to my partner, it was all fine and lovely, if pretty medicalised.

teafortwo - the Bébé Gym classes at the Gymnase de Reims (Porte de Champerret) and also at a location in Neuilly are very popular with mothers I know - lots of foreign mothers, so you get to make friends

Thanks for your support. I might just take you up on your offers Anna and T-4-2 if I’m ever in need. Thank you.

Farfaraway – I met Dr McGinnis in the wee hours of the night one time in the AHP emergency as she was on call – she was very good. Did your friends have their babies at the AHP since they opened the new maternity unit? The only other hospital experience I’ve had is St Antoine’s which is very grim, so in comparison – the AHP is worth it! I think that was an especially bad example of how awful public hospitals can be – but it also helps justify going to such an expensive non-secu hospital and I don’t think the mutuelle will be much assistance either (yet to work that one out). But we are happy at the AHP, feel relaxed and confident about giving birth there and my ob has been the best I’ve ever had – and I’ve seen a few.

I’ve had some tests at the AHP echography dept and they weren’t overwhelming me with their charm. So far I’ve avoided going to them during my pregnancy, instead seeing an independent specialist echographer ob/gyn recommended by my doctor. He has been terrific and I’ve been seeing him since five minutes after I found out I was pregas at every two weeks (because of my history). However if I have my baby at AHP – as I probably will as I want my doctor there to deliver – they’d now prefer me to have the scans at the AHP.

I keep meaning to look up Message – I’ll do that now – thanks!

On a different topic… first day of the sales today!! I came back empty handed looking for bed linen and le creuset, however my friend got herself a beautiful D&G coat for 148euros at Galeries! Impressive sale shopping!

Well - I also popped to a private hg last week to get a feel too and I just had this not nice feeling about it. Unlike the halte guarderies you country folks describe I really felt that at this place there was a lack of love and care.

In contrast the state one looked just lovely. The town I live in is, I suppose, a bit 'up and coming' and a good place for families. When my dd was born Naive me went to the pmi thinking there would be mums and tots groups, a drop in centre, toy library etc. When I arrived the ladies said "This isn't a place for you". I think I get it now - our PMI and halte guarderies really are only for families in need.

Anyway - I have decided I will keep dd with me next academic yr. Continuing to do what we do! At the moment she has a babysitter Wednesdays when I am at work so she is getting to be a little Anglo-Saxon member of a French family once a week for her culutral balance. I also take her to a class in French at Gymboree once a week. This is a special little learning club for babies where Mums stay too. it is good fun and has a school like feel about it. She has a teacher, there are learning objectives and set tasks to do but there is also the freedom for creativity that little ones need. I would recommend it to anyone with babies or toddlers! We might join a music class I have heard of to ring the changes a bit - but I have decided to be zen about it! Why fix what isn't broken?

Thanks for all your advice and actually most of all for being on my side! It felt very reassuring.

And back to the HG thing - am really surprised that you were not offered to go on a waiting list at least. I know that i have never got a place immediately, especially for babies, but I would have thought they would put you on a list. I probably have a very suburban outlook though as sure things different in Paris.

Doozie - I was with Dr Mcginis but I have heard good good things about Dr Sedon too. Think they may share offices so we have probably laid in the same chair! I am sorry to hear you have had so many miscarriages and fingers crossed for a happy birth.

If you are going to the AHP for english reasons then don't bother. Barely any staff speak english. I only went there because I was seeing Dr Mcg for fertility issues and when I did become pregnant it seemed natural to stay with her. And she is an absolutely fanastic gyno/obs. I know lots of friends who have used AHP and although they do not rave about the hospital itself they do not complain either. I think it is rather expensive for the service you get to be honest. The staff in the echography dept are really rude as well. Had dd3 at necker, and although I had her there because she needed an op at birth there were lots of women who gave birth there without an child medical reason. And to be honest the rooms were just as nice, the nurses and midwives were fantastic. In fact considering Necker was free and AHP a fortune I couldn't tell the difference. Anyway so the whole point of this is do not expect great things and luxury at AHP because it will not be alot different elsewhere.

Giving birth in france is very medicalised and the only person I know who has managed a natural birth with her own trained midwife/doula gave birth at a hosptial in Nanterre. I can give you details if you need them. Also have you heard of Message? They are an english speaking organisation in and around Paris and they have lots of supports systems and advice for troubled pregnancies.

God that was a bit of a marathon write up for me!

Yes, it is different in Paris - a lot of people here are excluded from public services (garderie, crèche, PMI etc) because priority goes to the most needy.

Another thing that is happening right now in Paris is huge pressure on schools in up-and-coming areas like the 9th arrondissement, where a lot of young families have moved, and schools closing in the centre of Paris where residential property prices have gone beyond the reach of Parisian families due to investment by foreigners.

It is so different in the cities isn't it? We actually don't live in the 'communauté de communes' of the HG we used but it wasn't a problem because not enough people were using the service.

That little boy really needed to get out.

teafortwo - to tell the truth, the only person I know who got a place for her child in the state garderie was our gardienne. All the other mothers I know around here had to use a private garderie (most AmStramGram on rue de Tocqueville) as they didn't meet any criteria for the state garderie.

Fair enough - our gardienne lives with her husband and son in 1.5 dingy rooms, and she works all day. That little boy ^really

There is an open air garderie in the Jardin du Luxembourg that is open in the summer months only and is very good if you want to shop etc in the 6th arrondissement. It is open to anyone, first come first served, and if you want to use it ever you need to go over to the Jardin du Luxembourg and fill out a form.

OK went to town hall today and told hg is not for me. Not quite sure why - think in my town there is a problem with places and I am not a priority case! Told a friend who lives in my town and she said I should have forced myself to start crying or start making friends in the right places!!! What is it here about friends in the right places??? I have friends because I like people - isn't that the normal thing to base a friendship on???!!!???

Anyway I am completely zen tonight about the whole thing - No probs - this academic year dd and I have had a blast. Next yr we will continue to have a great time together too - and why not! I have decided to be cool!

Doozie like Anna - I am close to you too. So I second her if you need anything just say!

Btw Doozie, I had quite a medical French style birth - for me it was just perfect. I felt very safe and cared for. I hate this whole guilt culture thing that happens in the UK about that. If, like me you feel more comfortable like that, again I second Anna (hey that woman knows stuff)- go for it!!!

DCs didn't seem to get any more bugs by going to HG after 18 months but then we used to see friends with school age children once a week so were probably getting a fair amount of exposure from early on.

Down here the only halte garderie we have accepts a child for six hours a week maximum.

DD has started going to the halte garderie when she was 2, and it has significantly boosted her confidence & motor development. Yes, she gets more bugs than she would have if I kept her home, but that is a small price to pay for the social, psychological, and even physical benefits we have seen in her.

AHP is the most medicalised maternity unit in France.

However, if you are having your first baby after six pregnancies, you might rather like that, and be rather less anxious than other mothers about the sort of delivery you have.

IMO, France is pretty safe place to give birth. The medical staff will place a much higher priority on your and your baby's safety than on your modesty, and there might be rather a lot of people hanging around - but I expect you won't care too much.

Do you need anything? I am only a few minutes from Neuilly.

Thanks Anna, the ob I'm seeing only delivers at AHP or Clinque St Isabelle and I definitely want him to deliver my baby so it a choice of those two for me. Both seem fine, quite small though, each only has 15 maternity beds. I can safely say I would never be described as glamorous so I might stuggle to fit in with their bon chic clientele.

If you'd ask me what sort of delivery I wanted for my first baby, I'd say a water birth at home. Now I'm up to my 6th pregnacy with no children, I just want a healthy, alive baby - how they arrive isn't so important anymore.

I had heard French hospitals generally are keen to medicalise(?) the process. I have a friend who will give birth at the AHP in a few months and she has booked in her induction as it helps her organise her diary and so her parents can book their plane tickets to be here for the birth. I'm not keen on planned induction (my diary's not that hectic) and I'd prefer not to have a ceasar if it's not medically needed (these hips have to be good for something!). I'll see how I get on. I'm only half way so I have yet to have these discussion with my doctor. AHP encourage breast feeding which is what I want to try to do - so that's a positive.

I never sent my daughter to the halte-garderie, but the mothers who I know who do complain that the children pick up a lot of bugs there

Lots of English women go to Hôpital Franco-Britannique in Levallois-Perret - I go there for my daughter's pédiatre and it's good, not glamorous though

I think it is from 4 months provided they have had the necessary vaccinations.
I'm sure you won't want to palm off your first born so early.
I started putting DD early because DS who had loved going for nearly a year suddenly got upset at the idea of going and the directrice thought it would help him if baby DD stayed for a bit, which it did. I didn't feel too bad about it because she used to sleep through most of it and it was great getting things like smear tests done without 2 under 3 in tow.

Sainte Isabelle not popular among my acquaintances in Neuilly - either AHP (foreigners) or the hospital, but both are really interventionist.

What kind of birth are you after?

What age can you take your LO to the HG? Mine isn't even born yet, I'm not trying to palm it off already, just wanted to know!

FarFarAway - I'm seeing Dr Sedbon at the AHP. Have you had a baby there or having one? Who have you/are you seeing?

Has anyone had a baby at Clinque Sainte Isabelle in Neuilly? I read it is where all the bon chic bon genre have their bebes!!

My doctor delivers at both places so if anyone has a thought on either place, please share! Ta.

I am going to brave the town hall sometime in the next week. I hope, when/if I eventually sort it out, that our hg is as great as the one near you othersideofthechannel and as flexible as yours scouserabroad!!! You have all been fab and reassuring!!!! Thanks.

OK about the x-posts

Teafortwo that lady at the HG was mean! I think there are a few ways in which HG can work, so I hope someone does explain things to you properly. FWIW at ours, you had to register and then agree on set days / half days that your dc would attend. Or you could just call them early in the morning, and if there was a free place that day the dc could attend.

Liverpool is great, I do miss it. Although I'm not actually from Liverpool, but from another nearby, smaller, less glamorous town. I just call myself scouserabroad cos every British person I've ever met in France has said "Oh, you must be from Liverpool!" the minute I start talking

LOL - actually - I didn't know when I wrote that, that you - my trusty othersideofthechannel had read and responded too because we sent at about the same time! I take ages to type, read, re-read and send with all the errors carefully left in because, like you and all the other mners I am often doing aprox. three to forty-three things at once.

Othersideofthechannel - you once dedicated a thread to me and now you read my boring hg novel and responded to it - how can I ever repay you??? ( taps rather shyly on slammed door - Am I forgiven yet???)

So knowing I read your message didn't cheer you up?

<storms off in a huff>

Thanks so much! I was feeling a bit lost. Actually just knowing you read my message aa and ffa has cheered me up. I will go to the town hall and have a chat with someone there. Re-reading my novel I am laughing at myself for saying I will translate into 'good English' then immidiately put a full stop instead of a question mark!!! Ha ha ha - you have to laugh hey?

My experience of HG is of a rural one. It was a lovely place with fab staff. The directrice was so welcoming the first time I went with DS (18mo). We had a 'temps d'adaptation' where I stayed with him for an hour, then next time left him an hour, and then left him for a three hour session. There was a place for children to nap and they did two short activities in every session and finished with stories or songs in a group. They also organised a Christmas show, egg hunt, carnival, summer picnic so I got to meet other parents that way. I had complete faith in the staff and DD starting going there from age 6 months with a bottle of EBM.

The idea is to provide childcare for SAHM so they can have a little break rather than for working parents. You pay for the sessions you use and it is a first come first serve basis with a max number of hours you can leave the child per week so I don't think there is any harm in signing up and then not using your place if you don't like way things are run.

I think HG is a great idea, especially if your family is too far to call on for a hour or two of childcare.

Might be different out here in suburbs but when DD1 was at the HG I had to register first at the centre administrative to get a card with a banding on how much I had to pay. (means tested as had to take three months worth of DH's pay slips) and then they gave me list of HG I could contact. I then just dropped in one morning and asked if they had a place and we worked out the adaption period. (be prepared to go and stay for 20 mins and then leave for 10 mins etc and build up over a week or two).
Must admit I changed HG as wasn't happy with the first (staff just stood around gossiping and children largely ignored) and there was no problem.
Think it may depend on different areas as to how things work so best to ask someone who as a child there as AA said.

In the one here, kids do activities in small groups, music/painting/pasta necklaces etc. They have a snack, I think, though not sure who provides it.
It is a drop-in centre for occasional, short periods of childcare, though can be used regularly. Maximum here is a half-day (except Weds), I think.
Probably very variable from one place to the next.
You need to find parents whose kids go to the Halte Garderie and ask for feedback. Easier said than done, I know...

Sorry AuldAlliance I don't know the answer to your question - I hope someone can help out!

I also have a couple of questions, maybe you know the answer to mine...

Question 1 - What happens inside an Halte Guardarie?

I was considering after September, a couple of mornings a week, going to the adult learning centre for French lessons and my dd going to the halte guardarie attached to her intake maternalle school. I thought it would prepare both of us for her starting school. We would be spending a bit of time apart, I would be able to converse with the teacher successfully, set a good example to dd by working more when she is at school and dd will have experience of socialising with French children and a school like environment.

I went to my local halte guardarie today to ask to book a meeting with the directrice so she could explain to me how an halte guardarie is organised. Did the (in French but I can't spell in French so I will translate my rough French into good English) "Hello Madame, excuse me could I ask a question. I am English but live very close to here. I don't understand the French system. Is it possible to have a meeting one day so you can explain to me how the Halte Guardarie works."

She found this quite offensive and got really huffy. She said it was not part of her job to do that and I must stay away until I have a place by applying to the town hall.

Mmmm... I obviously shouldn't have asked that... so...

Question 2 - How do I find out if I want dd to go to that Halte Guardarie or not without knowing how the place is run by the lady who runs it? (I am not ruling it out because of today instead taking her huffiness as being a misunderstanding between us because of culture. My experience said it was ok to ask that. Her experience said it was completely unreasonable - I believe in humanity.) There must be an established way of knowing as the other Mothers can't just drop their dc off without knowing what is happening in there and approving!

Any advice, opinions or comments are welcome on this as I am feeling confused and a little frustrated!

Btw - If you have got this far in reading my very very long message. Thanks a bunch for reading! It really means a lot.

Ah OK, perhaps we'll have a look then

Now we just need to ask the inlaws very nicely if they will look after the children... they've never looked after DS (23m) for more than a few hours so they might run a mile.

Psst: anyone who knows a bit about freelance translating in France, can you please check out my other thread?
TIA

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that Le Bon Marché is more expensive than other department stores (Printemps or Galeries Lafayette), because it isn't - the selection and service is a lot better at Bon Marché, the prices are the same as elsewhere (for the same goods)

When I was a student I worked over the holidays at a camp for children all over the World but basically lots of French, Germans and Italians. I became good friends with a French woman who was also working there... and we spent holidays we didn't work together at each others places... on one visit she introduced me to an ex-boyfriend a Brit who lives in France... she thought we would get on... she was right... now I am living with him and we have a 2yr old dd!!!! He he he!!!

I'm married to a student I taught in my first and only year of teaching at uni in France.

Good tips, TFT, thanks, it's all gone on my list. The mosque sounds lovely.

Sounds like we'd better avoid Bon Marche then, or the weekend might bankrupt us!

GGG - food and music is a good basis for a life, very bohemian!

farfaraway - yes, married to the student I met on my university year abroad. We tried living back in the UK for a bit but he was not happy professionally (though I was)so we came back in the end and I'm stuck here too

farfaraway - I came here because I wanted to - in fact, I left a boyfriend in the UK to come here to work.

But, almost inevitably, I ended up falling madly in love with a Frenchman - so am stuck here now

There are loads of us! Been in UK for past week and just catching up. Doozie, who are you seeing the AHP? Now... are most of us here because married to frenchman? Because I am trying to work out why we have arrived.

impressed!!! whoops - typo!!!

What a lovely evening ggg and lovely day tmd!

We spent today at the market, then made Greek Salad and then late afternoon headed down to our town's big outdoor swimming pool - so we had a good one too!

and P.S... I am ipressed that this thread is on p8!!!!

Bliss to be back in Burgundy. Left London yesterday in a steady, penetrating drizzle and arrived home at 22.00 to temperature still at 23 degrees - God I love living here!

We took the children into town for the fete de la musique last night and for dinner. Ds2 slept through a huge marching Basque brass band! We got home at half midnight and it was still 28° outside.

Went to the puce marché this morning with just the baby and dh and listened to jazz and ate oysters and drunk white wine.

My life currently seems to revolve around food and music - with a baby and assorted offspring in tow.

Anna, Bon Marche is gorgeous but is anything but Bon marché! at you shopping to your heart's content there.

Oh - I just had another thought Castille - whenever I need a holiday but am too poor or busy to go I find the Mosque near Jardin de Plante just perfect. They serve cous-sous or simply cakes and tea and the atmosphere is very nice. Quite a special place! A few of my friends have been to the baths too - they say it is very good if you are into that kinda thing! Happy holidays bfn.

Hello Scoucerabroard - thanks for joining us!!!

I am near Paris but my sister lives in your hometown. I love living in France but I also love visiting my sister in Liverpool. How could you stay away so long? A tear drops in your honour. Liverpool is such a very cool and human place. Fun and the capital of culture too!!!! However, Brittany isn't bad either - my MIL lives on the coast - it is a wild heaven and the people are so lovely! Does your little one speak English with a scoucer accent? I hope so!!!

Castille, when you are in Paris I recommend, if the weather lets you, just wonder through Paris on foot. We have so many brilliant weekends just walking around, stopping to eat and walking again, stopping for a drink and walking again. And just breathing Paris and living!!! Enjoy!

Oh I just had a quick thought though... For a sexy sophisticated evening out Procope is a not too dear but a nice treat yourself kinda restaurant. www.procope.com/page.php?id=photos

We bought practically all our household stuff in Bon Marché - it's great (but expensive ). But not as horribly overpriced as Conran Shop next door.

Sun here too - boiling now and we have just had dinner in the garden

Anna I don't think I'll be allowed much actual clothes shopping, the H has a very low tolerance threshold but a bit of browsing around interesting objets should be ok. Bon Marché has nice household type things doesn't it? We need loads of bits for the house.

As for visits, the Jardin du Luxembourg was already on my list, and the Musée Rodin is not too far from where we're staying The Panthéon is on our list too.

I think museums are all open in August - there are tourists around, after all.

What do you like? Musée Rodin is lovely on a hot sunny day. I love walking around the Jardin du Luxembourg almost anytime, and the Jardins du Palais Royal - and there is a fantastic restaurant (restaurant du Palais Royal) there, but at the moment the terrasse is closed due to restoration works

Sun out here - we had lunch on a terrasse followed by a long shop in the pre-sales (three lovely summer day dresses for my daughter in Bonpoint ) followed by an apéritif on another terrasse.

Gosh Castille, Paris in August is a bit of an unknown quantity. Just go to Bon Marché - they'll have all the winter stuff in and you'll be able to try it on in their very efficient air conditioning. What are you after - clothes or other things?

Well I take back what I said this morning - the sun has come out in Brittany. Woo hoo. Beach tomorrow!!!

Boiling hot here, have just come back from a swim in this lake, DS is napping with the fan on, and I'm 'working' hard.
ggg if you want anything specific from Gap, give me a shout, I'm always happy for an excuse to go shopping in the swanky streets of Aix.
Have a good weekend, everyone.

No Gap here either, but our very own Ikea opens in the Autumn, hooray!

My H and I are planning a child-free weekend to Paris in August (he has an ulterior motive) but we have only vague ideas of what we want to do - any suggestions? What is open and worth visiting? Museums, parks, historic things...? And maybe the odd shop

ggg, you may have no gap. but you do have Ikea <<sob>>

What a beautiful day, I feel the pool being of use later..; yay!!

Good

Yes, lets. August/paris combination is vile - have to come back from holiday for appt and then dash off again.

But Sept/Oct has been artfully arranged to combine baby's needs with maternal consumerism.

Good.

The weather here is truly glorious and I have a weekend full of chauffeuring children from one social event to another.

Although I am still too fat for the beach, so is probably just as well cannot go.

Well, let's try to meet at some point . Not sure about August - will be on holiday and in any case not a good shopping time - but Sept/Oct will def be around and is shopping heaven

Have new and very good baby/toddler pyjama shop address - Petit Bateau prices but much more exciting models.

No, it's just a routine test for something for which he has a genetic predisposition (both his father and his father's identical twin brother have it) but probably won't manifest itself for another 15-20 years.

Yes, will do. Flying visit to Necker first week of August, then back again September/October overnight - and can shop!

I hope your dp has nothing serious. Is he going to be in hospital long?

You must come up for a shopping trip, ggg

No BonTon here. No Gap either. Sob.

It's lovely and sunny in Paris this morning.

My partner is in hospital today, though, so we won't be having an exciting weekend.

Must pop out to the Bonpoint and BonTon pre-sales though to stock up on little outfits for my daughter

Hi Scouserabroad - how are you? I'm near Vannes too, Malestroit. Where are you?

Where is all this sunshine everyone is having? Really could do with some, looking out the window it's overcast again today.

32/35 forecast here for the weekend

ooh a France thread & I didn't notice (as usual lol!)

I'm in Brittany too, near Vannes, that's three mumsnetters around here, isn't it?

I moved here in 2006 due to Dh only speaking french, and not wanting to live in the UK. I don't work, but I'm trying to find work as a freelance translator which may well turn out to be a Bad Idea, but I shall give it a go.

I never thought I'd actually settle in France for good, I remember walking out of "my" pub back home and saying "see you all again soon" or something. It's been more than two years and I haven't been back

I'm reading posts about école maternelle with interest, as DD1 is due to start in Jan. My baby in school OMG!

hello

I'm in the Charente, SW France but not as South as ggg. Next department to Joedar!

Love it, wouldn't go back unless forced. I have fallen in love with farmers, tractors, ladys in slippers in the supermarket and NO cars on the roads, strict discipline in school (sorry, I'm in the for it camp), and I love the way where ever you go everyone says good day. <<wonders if this is just rural France though>>

Joedar - you made it, been meaning to e-mail you. How was the move? Have you still got the same e-mail? send me one sometime. C xx

dd1 is in TPS, Ds is in GS, and I have a one yr old too. The children love school inc the discipline , they are doing so well, I am really pleased with our little school and the system in general. Kermesse tomorow, they are very excited!

Not hot at all here in Paris today - I'm wearing tights

Summer has arrived here with a vengeance and it's a bit of a shock to the system. But we'll adjust...
<<AA goes off to put a batch of kulfi in the freezer>>

You know you fancy a weekend in Brittany really, Anna... See you later then?

I don't think heat is going to be a problem this year. In fact given the amount of rain we've had lately, papier mâché might get a bit sticky

Bliss ... the summer has arrived then?

If the weather's anything like it is here today, brown tights and a polo-neck will be a no-no.
27°, and that's at 5pm.
Am off to slide a melting DS into the car and bring him home for cool drinks and shady play...

I was going to say papier maché over half an enormous balloon or a space hopper but Anna's idea sounds a lot quicker and less messy.

I'd pop round and help...

Better get some elastic too then

With elastic in an X-shape across body, I'd have thought...

Sounds good, thanks Anna, I'm not known for my creative skills I'd better get some paint. How could I attach finished shell to to child?

Brown tights and brown polo neck jumper underneath shell, I suppose.

With firmish card cut into shapes similar to the relief on the tortoiseshell, and stapled together.

We have the fête de l'école next Saturday and DD1's class are performing a play based on La Fontaine's fables... so heaven help us we have to produce a tortoise costume! Any ideas?! How on earth can we make a tortoise shell?!

DD2 is mainly singing thank goodness

No I didn't cry - it was all very cheerful.

EaB is a school on the up. The location has always been fantastic (parc Monceau is a better playground than any other school in central Paris has), and since the new headmistress (at Monceau) took up her job two years ago a lot of changes have been made. The parents' association, which was run by a truly ghastly woman for years and years and totally sidelined by the school proper, has changed and seems to be doing a really good job, with lots of new blood (and much more anglo influence).

Last September the headmistress appointed a directrice adjointe who is Anglophone, which sent a very clear signal to the parent body about how much emphasis the school was putting on English.

Anna8888 - did you cry? Our town puts on a massive beautiful carnival once a year - my dd is too young to be in it yet but I still whell up a bit watching our neighbours. I know as soon as she is in plays like you have mentioned and carnivals I am going to be wet-faced and embarrasing her!!!! Honestly I nearly started crying yesterday when she went down a slide - it wasn't even a massive one!

On the side - It is v interesting all the things you have been saying about EAB - I had got bad reports of it from friends of mine who insist it is a poor mans billingual school and tell me I should be jumping hoops and making friends in the right places to get dd into schools that scare me --a bit-- a lot!

But things you have been saying make me very interested in EAB... actually very very interested!!! Thanks!!! When the time comes we will have a nosy!

We have the kermesse this afternoon. DS1 is a prehistoric man (complete with plastic phallic looking club) and dd3 is manning a stall and had to have the makeup removed as she was rushing past me this morning

Just got back from my daughter's Fête de l'école - the petite section put on a very impressive show. Nearly 90 children aged 3 and 4 on stage, in circus costumes they had made themselves, singing nursery rhymes with movements in English and French and absolutely no mishaps.

Am very pleasantly surprised with what the school has achieved with them

No problem, glad to be of help. If you are doing the work to tide you over/top you up then it does make it less stressful. Saying that, I worked pretty much full time for nearly 5 years and although things are lean in the summer and around Xmas, over the whole year the work does mount up. My DH has a stable income so we were able to manage when I didn't have so much work.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have after your meeting with them. Good luck, hope it goes well .

Lordy, have just read over my earlier post and am at the lack of commas. Am quite good English teacher really who knows how to punctuate!

ggg, have got yr e-mail. Bit manic this end, will try and scout and then reply...

Beachcomber, that's really helpful. It would be a secondary income and I think the going rate here is around 20 euros an hour, so not brilliant, but still at the moment, it all helps. There are a couple of people I know who work for 3 diferent local C de Cs and although they seem to juggle endlessly, it's still work.

My main priority is that we don't have to go back to the UK, so we need a stopgap and backup until the economy improves.

I'll go and see them next week, and then I might have more questions. I hope that will be OK ...

Many thanks indeed.

Hi trulymadlydeeply. I found working for the CCI alright but with some disadvantages. I was working in the CEL (Centre d'Etudes des Langues) and most of my teaching was in local companies, we also taught jobseekers and some foreign students. On the whole I found the work interesting.

Disadvantages were that as a vacataire hours and therefore money depended on work availability. Also our directrice would put pressure on us to take work at awkward times (very early in the morning or in the evening for example). If you didn't accept the inconveniant time then she would give the contract to someone else. All this meant that she liked to have a lot of teachers on her books so that she could always work things to suit the customers. A lot of the time there were too many teachers for the actual hours of work available. I felt like we got virtually no support (from management) and that the materials and equipment available to us were poor/not enough to go round.

All this, however, varies from one centre to the next, it depends a lot on who's in charge. I got on well with most of my collegues and despite the bad management I think we had a good team going.

Don't want to put you off! If you are wanting to do the work to top up you income or as part time work then it is fine. I think it is a little precarious as a main household income though. I found it stressful to be constantly counting my hours and losing money through cancellations, public holidays and so on. When I only had to pay childcare for one child it was ok but now that I have two the sums don't work so well. The work isn't terribly well paid, IIRC we got about 18 Euros per teacing hour net (after security sociale but before income tax).

HTH, don't hesitate if there is anything else you would like to ask.

Oh I wouldn't be too concerned by your level of French, we had quite a few teachers who were new to the country and who hadn't got to grips with French yet. All the teaching is supposed to be done in the target language so our boss almost saw not speaking fluent French as an advantage.

good lord, when did she write all those others?!

Might have been!

this expat by any chance?

C - of whom do I hear the bell ringing?

T
is not me but I am intrigued. Is it that 'Bananas in Bordeaux' book?

I know who you're thinking of hullygully... and it's not ggg (unless she is a master of disguise)

Beachcomber, can I ask: how was it working for the Ch de Commerce? I'm going to see them to get on their books when I get back to France because I hate doing supply teaching, but I'm a bit nervous because of my French - which is good and I get by fine, but I'm going through a consciously incompetent phase where I know I'm making mistakes and keep correcting myself mid sentence so it all feels a bit slow.

Know I need to earn a secondary income in France, though, because as ggg or Anna said on another thread, it's very difficult to survive if you have your ownbusiness in France - especially when it's related to the housing market!

ggg - Little bells chimed and danced at certain details... Did you, then?

What a great question hullygully.

Backpack, hmmmmmmmm............. why?

I don't, but visited Castellane (near Grasse) last summer and would quite happily relocate. I'd never been to France before.

AA - I got it. Ds has turned into the amazingnonsleepingbaby and writing anything longer than a single line or two is v diff. Will get back to you!

Weather beautiful here, swallows and martins swooping under the eaves, summer may have finally arrived. About time...

I live in the Deux Sevres region!!

Diesel is 1.40ish Euros a litre where I am too. Weather has been terrible until today, very unseasonal. Forecast is good from now on though.

There are lots of us aren't there? We should get together regularly for an update.

ggg - did you write a book about a backpack by any chance?

Wow Doozie - Sounds like you have been through the mill! My heart goes out to you. Hey - You are in safe hands... AHP, so I am told, is the best of the best. Good luck, relax, and keep us posted on your development and Bub too!!!

This is a great thread . It feels nice to be sharing common experiences.

Have a nice evening, y'all. I hear the weather is GORGEOUS in France at the moment - shame the same cannot be said of London [evny] but I'll be home soon.

<<psst, ggg, you still around?
Did you get the e-mail I sent?>>

thanks ggglimpopo
I think it is worth waiting then

the ? is a euro sign!

Diesel (where I live) is around 1.40? a litre.

Blimey. There are loads of us.

Hijack
coming to france on Holiday on Friday, going down the Loire Valley (Chambord)
Could anyone tell me if you have seen a weather forecast for next week?
Also is Diesel less than £133 a litre as that is what it is here and we are trying to work out how much to fill up before our drive down through French Countryside.

Sorry to Hijack..

Disclaimer!!

Not saying people in Glasgow tenements are not domestic jam making godesses, just that cherries are too pricey.

I'm in the middle of nowhere in a small village outside of Valence (Drome departement). Our village is nice and we have great neighbours, the kids all play together whilst we adults have street BBQs and drink too much cheap wine.

I'm from Scotland but DH is French, he is from this region which is why we ended up here.

I've just taken two years off to look after the kids (2 and 4 years old) but am going to be doing some work from home soon. I used to teach business English at the local Chamber of Commerce and did a little teaching in a university.

I miss home a lot, have been here for 11 years now and still think about moving back, not sure DH would be very keen though even though he loves Scotland (we lived there together for 4 years).

Lots of good things about where we are though, countryside is beautiful and food is fabulous. I have just been making cherry jam with some cherries my neighbour kindly gave me from his orchard, not something I could imagine doing in a tenement in Glasgow .

That’s a good point Teafortwo, I don’t know how we’d manage if we were both working. Everything seems to take longer, so it has been very handy I’m around during the day to get stuff done. I guess we’d just have Picard every night!

I have had no experience with midwives. I was never pregnant in the UK however I’ve come from living 5 years in Australia and there I only dealt with the obstetrician. The day after we arrived in Paris, I was on the verge of my 5th miscarriage and saw a fantastic doctor, but who was only a gynaecologist so she referred me to St Antoine’s Hospital which is meant to be a pregnancy specialist. It is a public hospital and it is grotty, grim and the equipment is basic and decrepit. Avoid it like the plague! I’m sure not all public hospitals in France are like that, but this one was not a good example of the French health system. The doctors I saw there were mainly clueless students and discretion was not something they worried about. Needless to say, I’ve found a new hospital. I’m having the bub at AHP, which is the other end of the spectrum. It makes me laugh when I walk up from the metro and see all the chauffers waiting by their Bentleys out front! I had a fantastic experience with my doctors here. They were horrified my Australian ob had done nothing more than a few blood tests at my demand to try and work out the reason for my multiple miscarriages. Here they are extremely thorough, so many tests and I’ve been monitored very closely. They have wrapped me in cottonwool, and so far it seems to be working! I have my obstetrician who is delivering the baby and another who is an echographie specialist, both men and they have been brilliant about my miscarriage history, immediately understanding the emotional rollercoaster another pregnancy means. This has been a big help for my own mental health, and to be positive and relaxed with this baby. It is a long way from my doctor in Australia who said to me after my third miscarriage ‘100 years ago you’d have been happy to have a miscarriage’??!! I just added that to my very long list of crap things people say to someone when they’d had a miscarriage. I’m digressing now… But yes, I'm looking forward to having the baby here and have plenty of confidence in the system. I'm a way off delivering so I don't know much about that side of things yet.

Sorry this has turned into an epic!

Other side of the Luberon, judeat40...about as far as you can get from l'Isle sur la Sorgue without leaving the département, I'm afraid.

Hi AuldAlliance I am near Isle sur la Sorgue where are you?

My DS is also due to start CP in September. We have concentrated solely on reading in English, and although (like many boys!) he's a bit lazy - he'd much prefer me reading H.Potter to him rather than making much effort to read himself, he has picked up the basics and can handle easy "puddle lane" type books without help now. I had a long chat with his teacher on Monday (it's a tiny school & she has been with him since he started at 2 and a half) and she felt he would have no difficulty reading by Xmas based on the prep they have done this year [proud mum emoticon] I am so keen for him to read English as well - just to enjoy reading in either language for it's own sake, & I'm slightly worried that after a year of reading French at school (& me with a new baby & no time) it will quickly be just French...we'll see.
I have no 1st hand experience of the UK system (attitudes of children, teachers etc) since I was there in the 70's, so it's interesting to read the opinion of those who do know the system better.
My experience so far of parent/teacher liason, motivation, keeping the children interested etc here in France has far exceeded my expectations. But it's early days - and like everything, vast differences from school to school too...

Am reading all this with interest as DS will be starting maternelle in Sept.
Working at the other end of the state education system, which is grim, wasteful and destructive IMO, I'm very curious to see what happens in the early stages before it all goes so horribly wrong.

"I think their submersion in French is so great that it makes sense to me to concentrate on the English, otherwise they do begin to lose it a bit."
I agree.
We have French books in the house because DH is French and his family buy them as gifts but once we've read them we talk about them in English.

Hi, Walkthedinosaur, my dd is in CP and it has been fine - she's thriving on it. I was teaching her to read in English but don't touch French with them, and she's very a very fluent reader in both languages now.

I think their submersion in French is so great that it makes sense to me to concentrate on the English, otherwise they do begin to lose it a bit. The only French we do in the house is homework. All the books I buy for them are in English, but I'm a bit obsessive about them not exchanging one language for another, and keeping their cultural roots...

Hello there Jude

Walkthedinosaur, from what I understand, GS is about preparing the children to read so your. DS has been learning different sounds and how they are written this year in GS. The idea is that the average child will have learnt to read by Christmas.

I do a bit in English with DS but he isn't that keen to try and work out words that he knows all the sounds for. He seems to like it better the other way, eg how do you think 'cat' is written?

Hey judeat40, where in Provence are you? Maybe we're neighbours...

Hi new to all this. I live in Provence where we moved just under a year ago after 4 lovely carefree months in Cantal, no school, no electricity... We moved from the center of a small City in England to a tiny village and we love it. Big garden, big house, small school, beautiful area.

My french is useless but getting better, I think, and integration is slow, but people freindly.

Kids in CM2, CM1, and MS, and eldest moves to College next year, absolutely love the school and really happy with help and support they have been given since we arrived. Was a parent governor in England and used to dispair at the lack of resources and the constant reports of bullying.

Anyway thats me happy but realise early days and buffered by constrant stream of English visitors.

Hey Jenpet what took you so long to get over here? Keep meaning to give you a ring, but busy, busy, busy over here and when not working spend too long on Mumsnet. Will deffo try and catch you before you go on hols as feel the need for a beach day.

Somebody said CP is a hard year, is this true? What can we expect as parents? Is there anything we can do to prepare the DC's before they get there? DS1's teacher in GS already seem to teach by pointing out the negative and although it really upset me at the beginning of the year DS1 seems to thrive on it as he doesn't want to get into trouble, and he really doesn't mind.

I don't do any reading in French with the DS's although they are learning to read in English with me, is it necessary do you think to do reading with them in French before CP starts in September? So many questions I know, but DS1 has dyspraxia and I always try to cover all bases before he's put into situations so that he can try and get a handle on things, also he's my PFB.

Hi, OSOTC, I remember you saying on another thread that you'd lived in Burgundy. It IS beautiful and still so unspoilt whilst not being toooo rural - can't wait to go back this weekend (an added incentive being that I haven't seen my dcs or dh for 3 weeks ...).

With regards to education, there are things to be said for both systems, as there always are. I wish France had more flexibility and creativity, and that my kids had more IT and more up-to-date text books - things like that. But they are in a place where they can learn without constant low level disruption; where being curious and interested is seen as a positive trait by their peers; where there is an assumption that they will work - hard - without needing to be coaxed and persuaded and bribed to do it.

I know I'm generalising, and in the UK I've worked in a huge range of (secondary) schools now, both as a permanent and as a supply teacher, and my 3 aren't at secondary level yet, so my views are a bit skewed.

I think the thing I find most wearisome and dispiriting is the sense of disaffection and of the irrelevance of education for the kids in some schools; the lack of desire to take responsibility for the acquisition of learning in others, and most especially, of how the behaviour of a growing minority affects the right and desire to learn of a more silent majority. On the other hand, I love teaching and find it a huge privilege to have access to the perspectives and views and experiences of young people.

When I go into schools in the UK, I think to myself how lost my eldest son would be because he's still such an innocent in some ways at the age of 10 compared to what I see of his UK peers.

Anyway, a rough snapshot of my partisan views. I'd be intersted to compare experiences and ideas with you all.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Just have to join in again after having skimmed the thread. DD1 is in CE1 in french system and although very different and stricter than UK system I can see how it works and it get results. DD2 starts in September (DD3 in 2010) and it will be interesting to see how she fares compared to DD1.
I personally think the discipline/strict rules is a good thing. The children know where they stand and what is expected of them. Sometimes during CP ( a tough year) I felt the teacher was working on fear techniques but DD1 was so anxious to please she came up with the goods so to speak. She is always the youngest in the class too. After speaking with the teacher I could see her how her methods worked although very unlike the British system of over enthusiam.

A note on bilingual schools. DD1 has been externe in the Lycee international at St Germain for three years and it is a very very good school. I think number three in all french schools but it is a lot of work for the kids as well as the parents and you have to be prepared to put in the hours too. We are, after much soul searching, taking DD1 out and are moving out to a village and have enrolled DD1 in a bilingual school unlike the Lycee of two curriculms. I feel we will all have more of a 'life' rather than a 'school life' with this decision.

and in instead of is???? AAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWw - bed time I think!!!!

because - why did I put an a - I am typo queen!!!

Doozie - don't be guilty!!!!

I found in my first month of living in France just day to day living in a city I didn't know very well, trying to speak a language I didn't know at all and being pregnant, I was working harder than when I was getting paid to work!!!

This is your time - enjoy it!!!! Soon there is going to be a new little lovely so you have lots to feel happy about!

Urrrmmm... tell me... have you been a bit surprised by the French medical system??? I was to begin with bacause they kept asking me to get naked waist down. "Urmmm don't you know I'm British???" was my embarrassed answer. Oooooh and then they kept giving me blood tests with syringes I had only seen on carry on films!!!!! But really, believe me it is so so good here! I was at hopital Foch and it seems very old fashioned and stiff in comparison to the cool midwives back in ol' Blighty who used to come and see me in my home and chit chat over tea and biccies... but on the day... I really found it to be absolutely brilliant here and I was glad to be in France for the birth - it all felt so simple and normal. No scare story - just zen and cool. V French!

When in Bub due??? He he he - It is sweet you call him/her Bub - we used to call my dd Golem on account of her appearance first scan!!!

I'm a mum to be, all going well our bub is due in November. We moved to Paris with my husband’s work. I’m not working – doctor’s orders. Took me a nanosecond to adjust to my new life of leisure! It took a little longer to get over the guilt (why?) and feeling like a social pariah when I told people I'd just met I wasn't working. I’m enjoying it while I can, beats waiting for retirement! I'm in the 9th, so La Defense is not far at all.

Hi everyone, have only just caught up with this thread - behind the times as usaul! It's a great idea & there are some really interesting stories, look forward to finding out more about you all (waves madly to walkthedinosaur & looks sheepish for not being in touch - still having fun with MIL & SDS!) Anyway, briefly, this is me ;

Live about 10 mins from Vannes in South Brittany.

Searched for ages for the right area, but Vannes ticked all our boxes as OH is quite "boaty" (if he had the time!) we both like the sea generally, it's UK accessible (OH has 2 DC's there from 1st marriage)
also, I'm not keen on being too isolated - much as I like the idea of a "cath kidston-ey" type rural dream, I know I would go a bit weird - I need people, and shops and "things" nearby!

We originally had the idea that we would spend 6 months here & 6 months in the UK, keep my restaurant & sandwich bar & have the staff running them (yeah right!) but then, DS1 arrived, we got burgled twice in as many weeks, OH got made redundant & it all seemed to add up to us moving here permanantly. Also, living in the centre of Nottingham, I got fed up of avoiding the puddle of sick & the used syringes every time I left the house with the pram (I know the whole of the UK is not like that!)

I have a gite (year 2) & despite warnings of market saturation with holiday lets I had 26 weeks booked last year & about the same this. Which is a bit worrying as I have DS2 due at the end of August & bookings til October so far (hopefully he'll arrive on a Sunday & I'll be ready for the following Saturdays' changeover!) I teach English voluntarily at DS's school & OH works remotely with UK clients...

No regrets. There are things I miss (as I'm sure we all do) but the biggest thing for me is this idle "chatter!" - saying whats in your head without having to think about it first (can see walkthedinosaur nodding sagely recalling marathon chats!) But overall I feel I've got the best of both worlds - we visit the UK maybe every 4 months or so, & much as I enjoy it & load up with Waitrose shopping, I can't wait to get home, which I think sums it up really....

Looking forward to finding out more about you all, will post a bit more about thoughts on education etc when I get a few minutes...

TMD I lived in Burgundy for a year. It is beautiful.
I'd be interested in hearing more of your views on the education system. My knowledge of the UK state system dates back to my personal experience and I am sure things have changed since the 70s!

Hello Doozie - Nice to meet you. What is your story? Are you a Mum? Mum to be? Which arrondissement are you in? How did you end up there? I live quite close to La Defense so I am not far from you!

trulymadlydeeply - I find it really liberating living in France too. If you do something different from the norm in your home country you are quirky (polite descrition) or strange (impolite description) if you do it in another country people find so much of what you do a bit weird anyway they don't notice!!!!

CoteDAzur - it is a simple story. Being a Mum MIL was very sensitive to all the negative sides of Monaco you have mentioned. She is a very practical, lets get on with it, woman. She decided it was time to move on so did it quickly to fit into the start of the school year and still lives in Brittany today. She adores the realness and earthiness of Brittany but I am sure she would never have swapped her glitzy youth messing around on boats, sipping champagne and partying for England for anything!

One day we are going to take a holiday to Monaco so dp can show me his old stomping ground!!! I can't wait!

Thanks for the conversation on friendships and shared mother-tongue. Very interesting! Friendship is about more than a language or culture. In my group of Mummy friends there is one lady who speaks very good English as a second language but we don't chat much. There is another Maman who speaks a little English and I speak a little French and actually, somehow, with lots of nodding, smiling, pointing, acting out and good nature on her part especially (she could be chatting to any other friend in French) we have managed to become good friends!!! Funny hey?

My DH and me and our 3 DCs moved to Burgundy 4 years ago and we LOVE it. We've done a fair bit of renting before deciding on where to buy, and we live quite near Beaune.

We were Secondary school teachers in the UK (me Drama and DH MFL), and now we have our own business, working with French estate agents selling properties to UK clients. Life's VERY hard at the moment as the market has crashed, so we're looking to do other things on the side in order to stay here...

At the moment that means me doing supply teaching in the UK, and from my recent experiences over the last 2 months, for all the failings of the French system, I feel my kids (now 9, 7 and 5) are getting a more rigorous education in France - with the advantage that they're also bi-lingual.

We don't have many English friends at all, as Burgundy isn't that well known yet, but I, too, don't want to socialise with English people I wouldn't like inthe UK, just because we're "all expats together".

I also like that we can stand outside the expectations of the French social norms because we're English. I don't mind if we're seen as slightly mad or odd (because DH is looking after the kids while I'm back in the UK, for example), because we don't have to conform - the French just think "Oh well, they're English", and it's quite liberating.

Thanks for starting this thread, GGG. It's nice to have a group of our own. Let's keep it going.

Hello Doozie
Are you a mum or a mum to be?

Welcome to MN, doozie. And to France.

I live in Paris and love it! I'm also a MN virgin - this is my first post - so hello everyone! I've only been here 8 months so the love affair is still relatively young but it has been the best move for me and my husband. Even though we've left behind close family, great friends and better jobs - I can honestly say, we've never been happier. We did have some trials and tribulations when we first settled in, but we quickly learnt you get no sympathy or empathy from friends and family back home. To prove the point, I met a girl living here who was robbed, lost her appartment and was in a car accident, and her friends and family's response was 'but you're in Paris!'...

Because we live in an urban area I have never come across another 100% British family, at least not locally.

But there are loads of Franco-British couples with children. There's one in the next street in fact, with children similar ages to mine which is fab. The kids all speak to each other in French though, of course!

teafortwo - I sense a story behind that sudden move from Monaco to Brittany

I wonder why your mother in law hated Monaco. I loved it when single, and I love it now, married & with DD. Before it was all about the 'apero's after work in the week and parties every weekend. Now I am with DD on the beach (even in winter, which is very mild here) or in playgrounds. Meeting up with other mums & kids is very easy because everything is so close.

The only problem is that (1) kids here have too much, and (2) they get into the high life too soon.

When DD is old enough to realize her classmates have diamond watches, I'd rather be living somewhere else. And I would hate her to notice the pretty young topless girls in their little dresses in older men's Ferraris and think that is normal.

Divide and conquer

I live in a little hamlet with about a dozen houses, we live here full time as do two other retired couples and then there are another two houses which are owned by Brits but are holiday homes. I presume the rest of the 40 odd are scattered in the main village and other hamlets, but like I say they're all retired and don't work, or the houses are holiday houses as we are on the Nantes Brest canal so it's very pretty. I work full time, am renovating a house and have to look after a 5 and 3 year old, so no time for --bitching sessions-- coffee mornings with the other Brits. Saying that though, my two boys are the only English children in their school and it's quite a large school in the nearest town. My friend who lives in the next commune and has two children in a local village school, and with her two children and two children from another English family they make a quarter of the whole maternelle. I think in that situation it becomes difficult for a non English speaking teacher to have a 1/4 of the class speaking a different language between themselves, also the children appear to have been slower to pick up French because obviously they have stuck with the children who speak the same language.

42 homes does sound huge but I think compared to other areas of Brittany it's not that bad, the commune does cover quite a large rural area so they're not all in one place.

42 homes Walkthedinosaur! That's huge. How many homes are there in total in your village?

By the way Mitigger, I know what you mean and it doesn't sound snobby to me. Just because you have the same nationality or mother tongue as someone doesn't mean you have the same interests or values or sense of humour.

Hi Mitigger

Where we live in Brittany there are lots of retired English folk who do all cling together because of a shared mother tongue, they are very, very cliquey and it's not my scene at all. I generally just say a quick hello and am on my way. My Maire told me there were 42 English homes in our commune and I think I only know two of them and that's because they're my neighbours! I don't think there are many Brits here with children the same age as mine. That said, I have made a couple of very good friends here who are English but I know I would have been friends with them in the UK and I've also made a couple of French friends but that's more difficult with the language difficulties, they're very patient with me as I stagger through my sentences in French.

Hello Mitigger
No expectations on friendship from other English speakers because we have the same mother tongue.
This may be because there aren't that many English speakers where I am compared to certain areas. I was here for a few years without meeting another English mother tongue person, apart from a wife of one of DH's colleague's when we first arrived and there was a work social event. See as DH and this colleague didn't start socialising outside of work, I didn't see her again.
I actually started seeking out other parents who are bringing up their children bilingually so that DCs will continue to play regularly in English. Fortunately, the handful of people I have met this way are all lovely and I would definitely be friends with them if we had had children in the UK and I was looking for other parents to socialise with.

I live in the Lot. My DH bought the ruin of a house about 10 years ago and we are still renovating. We have 2.5 DC, third due end of October. We love the region, it is wild and rugged, very quiet and mostly rural but I do miss the sea (I am an Aussie).

DD1 goes to the local maternelle and loves it although, she has recently had a supply teacher (a male) take over her class and she doesn't like him. School year finishes soon and I hope her new class next year will be a better fit.

DH works from home - the internet being a wonderful thing but it can all get a bit hectic when deadlines have to be met! I hope to take up some part-time work when the DC are old enough.

Language an issue but I am taking lessons and am improving. Does anyone else find that there is an expectation from other English speakers of friendship or socialisation just because you have the same nationality? I do find it a bit annoying as they are not always people we would be friends with in England. That sounds really snobby but it isn't meant that way. Besides we want to integrate as we prefer not to be separate within our small community. So no regrets!

So, so, so... CoteDAzure... They drove to Brittany and because it was done in a bit of a hurry they had to stay in a hotel. This was a bit grotty!!! Then they found a nice house for their family (Mum, two teenagers, a big dog and Granny) with a garden which was really idyllic. Dp was settled very quickly but his sister was a bit slower to settle. This is very funny because she still lives in Brittany now and is completely in love with the place - it really is where her heart is!!!

When dp and his Mum talk about Monaco it is v funny. She talks about it quite negatively while he describes it as a paradise - children's eyes are very rose-tinted! Hope this is interesting for you and bfn!

teafortwo - I would be very interested to hear what he thought about the move from Monaco to Brittany, how easy/hard the adaptation was for him, and what he would recommend. If you would please write them at some point. Thank you!

Walkthedinosaur - "Grande Section" is actually a cycle with CP - the teaching of reading and writing is prepared (increasingly thoroughly) in Grande Section so that most children should be able to read by Christmas of CP.

All a bit confusing, I know.

Walkthedinosaurs, DCs are also in Gde Section and Petite Section. Seems to vary from school to school because where we are inn GS, they don't get anything for bad behaviour but for good behaviour they get a 'bon point'.

My boys are just finishing in Petite Section and Grande Section. It's true that they are both awarded with smiley faces etc for work done and I have been quite shocked this year how much academic work they've done in Grande Section as I was always under the impression that Maternelle is just playing. However, I will say that DS1 has done very well in GS, he loves school and the smiley face system works well for him. I was a bit shocked when he told me that La Maitresse had a system of notching up bad behaviour on a board for the whole class to see and no system of reward for good behaviour because that is just expected. DS1 is fine with that and he actually works hard because he doesn't want a cross on the board! He's also in the last couple of weeks been given lines for naughty behaviour but again, took this all in his stride. He's dyspraxic and has had trouble holding a pencil when writing, but together the teachers and I have worked on this and he's much improved.

DS2 is 31/2 and is completing PS this year, he had no French whatsoever when he started. The skills he's had to learn are putting on his own coat, washing his hands, following instructions etc, They do lots of singing, he learns sequences etc and has learned to recognise and write his own name and also recognises the names of the other children in his class.

So far it's working really for my DS' although I suppose next year is when it all starts to happen for DS1, but I think with the groundwork they've laid down in GS he should be OK.

TFT - your DD is couple of months older than my youngest then

Cote - Moyenne Section is 2nd year of maternelle, so age 4. Grande section is age 5. After that children go into CP (cours preparatoire) which is the first year of primary, at age 6.

Then it's cours elementaires - CE1 and CE2

Then cours moyens - CM1 and CM2

Then it's college (junior high) where there is 6eme, 5eme, 4eme and 3eme.

Then lycee - seconde, premiere et terminale.

Anna - I looked at JM's website.

I'm rather clueless with the French school system (and the UK one, really), so what ages do 'Moyenne Section, Grande Section and CP; in 6ème; and in Seconde' start?

If 'Moyenne Section' what we called "middle school' and 'Grande Section' "high school", I would guess ages 12 and 15.

Thanks for the tip on presentations. I will definitely do that.

Momaco - ha ha ha Monaco is what this busy Mummy meant!!!!

Hi Anna, Thanks! This sounds really interesting... dd is only just two, Castille, so we have a little while to continue pondering!

By the way, when my dp was a teenager they moved out of Monaco and to Brittany as his Mum didn't didn't think the atmosphere of Momaco was good for teenagers either!

Nice to chat. BFN

The other great school is the Lycée International de Saint-Germain en Laye Lycée International. That's an excellent school if you want to live in the western suburbs - in fact, a Franco-American couple I know have just moved from central Paris to Saint-Germain en Laye in order to send their daughter (4) to that school, which has both British and American bilingual sections.

There you go - those are the three schools that you ought to consider: EaB is fine, and good for the less academic child in secondary; EABJM and Lycée International are highly academic/selective.

CoteDAzur - I mentioned two schools so I'm not sure which one's web site you looked at.

Ecole Active Bilingue EaB is my daughter's school and is on the Right Bank.

Ecole Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel Jeannine Manuel is on the Left Bank. I hope we will be able to send my daughter there in due course - for secondary, at the latest.

Neither school has a catchment area, though you would always do well to live nearby since the school run in Paris is a nightmare (unless you have a chauffeur...) (on foot or on public transport). Both schools give info on dates for application on their websites; Jeannine Manuel is much harder to get into and requires a substantial dossier of past reports, letter of recommendation for the family, interviews, speech therapist's report etc. EaB is easier-going.

I went to the presentation at Jeannine Manuel last year. I would highly recommend that you do this (they have loads throughout the year, you could arrange a trip to Paris around one) as you get a good feel for the school and whether it would suit your family. Jeannine Manuel's main intakes are in Moyenne Section, Grande Section and CP; in 6ème; and in Seconde. It is very hard to get a place otherwise, though it does have places reserved for people moving to Paris which I suppose would be your case.

Anna - We intend to move to Paris in 7-8 years, because we don't want DD (& any future babies) to grow up in Monaco beyond their childhood. It's nice but it's not the real world, and people who have grown up here have a very warped sense of life, money, friendships, relationships, etc.

I don't know anything about the schools in Paris, though. I found the website for that school you mentioned and it looks good. How far in advance of our move to Paris do you think I need to apply? Is there a catchment area requirement?

teafortwo - there are also English classes at the British Council on Les Invalides for English mother-tongue children who are in French schools - they start at age 5 and teach the British NC, on Wednesday afternoons or Saturdays.

How old is your DD TFT?

It's Ecole Active Bilingue (EaB) on Parc Monceau (so metro Courcelles or Villiers).

She learns loads in English - at the moment all the children are together, but later they will be streamed for English and she will be in the "mother-tongue English" section with other English and American (or half-English etc) children.

It's a good school, undoubtedly, in the maternelle/primary. The very best bilingual school is Ecole Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel in the 15th (but it has no petite section) - harder to get into and much more competitive once you are in, though.

Anna... which billingual school is it???? Would you recommend it??? And what does your daughter learn in English???

My dd starts maternalle not this September but next. The one she would naturally feed into doesn't teach English so she has to get it all from me. Then she would feed into a primary school that would teach her English as a foreign language but not as her mother-tongue. Ideally I want her to learn French and English as her own languages so am toying with the idea of her entering a billingual system... any advice???

My daughter is just coming to the end of her first year at French école maternelle (a bilingual French-English one, here in Paris).

It is... fine. Not really exciting, for sure, but she has learnt all the social skill things Othersideofthechannel wrote about, absolutely masses of nursery rhymes, she has started her letters and counting/adding/subtracting up to 10. The maîtresse is fiercer and more old fashioned in her discipline techniques than I would like (but she has a great, very young American English teacher to relax with).

I agree with what Castille has written about French parenting.

[mouth zipped emoticon]

I was wary of the French system, and so found one which I thought was a gentle, art-based approach suitable to my gentle, sensitive DD. That was the Ecole Maternelle Waldorf Steiner that recently opened near us.

Without going into details (and inviting reprisal from the Steiner nuts), suffice it to say that I was so scared when I looked into it that I put DD's name in the state school in our area right away.

Whatever else French system may be, at least it is fiercely secular, and I will have the piece of mind of knowing that DD will not come home talking about reincarnation and the spirit world etc that she learned about at maternelle.

Parents who go back to work when their children are babies use either 'assistante maternelle' (childminder) or 'crèche' (nursery).

Ecole maternelle is very much preschool in that they are expected in the first years to learn how to follow the basic rules/routines of school ie role call, do what activity the teacher decides when the teacher decides, go to the toilet at breaktime etc

They do lots of different activities and my children really enjoy it. They have lovely teachers.

Well, DD is actually starting ecole maternelle in September. 'Nursery' was my attempt at translation. Is maternelle 'preschool', then? Sorry for the confusion.

It's only three hours per day (mornings) for the first year. Still, I'm dreading it a little bit.

Cote, my children did maternelle in a french state school, and it was very good. Not at all draconian, and they learned lots of stuff. Actually, I have got french workbooks for dd2(4 years old), who is at a super expensive private german montessori nursery, because I preferred the stuff my other children did in france!

After we came to germany we got the whole thing with the teacher trying to tell us that there was something wrong with ds because his colouring in wasn't up to scratch - it was so boring, he just couldnt be bothered - but I found teh french much more laid back.

Cote D'Azur, they use happy, straight mouth and sad faces on the work in DD and DS's école maternelle. I don't know about nursery.
So yes, they are 'graded' from an early age which I suppose could shock.
But from what I have seen think the expectations are quite realistic for the age group and also for the child. DD is one of the youngest in her year and what she puts down on paper is inevitably nothing like the 'work' of the older children in her year, but she still manages to get smiley faces.

DD is starting nursery in September and I am at the stories I hear - if their coloring isn't good enough (?!?) they get sad face stickers on it , for example. And these are 3 year olds!

I think I found a nursery that is more fun and less disciplinary than usual, but don't know for sure.

ggg - I don't think that all French parents are monsters or that all schools are awful either I'm just pointing out what I have witnessed myself and heard from friends. The prevailing approach to education and upbringing is quite different here.

I've just googled it. Looks great although I can see that the combination of back pack and baby carrier would surprise. It could look like you'd stuck your baby in your rucksack!
I used to end up with my rucksack slung over my chest when I needed to carry baby in a back carrier and to have a bag of stuff and DH wasn't with me.

The ergo is a backpack type carrier.

What's the ergo? Excuse my ignorance!

School may not be as bad as you think, seen from the outside things often seem different. My DD is about to complete her first year at school (maternelle), and she's loved it, as have we.

It's the ergo that causes such puzzlement.

ggg, of course not. Just too much of it around where I live for me to be comfortable. I'm sure there are some great schools too, just not anywhere near enough where we live to make it practical for ds to go there.

I wasn't thinking about people being hostile to your way of doing things. More that it should be possible to continue your own way after your DC starts school. And for your DC to have friends where things aren't the same as home.

Mind boggles at strange contraptions! I can't think of what can you mean other than sling or baby back carrier, both of which don't cause any puzzlement at this end of France.

not all french parents are child thwacking monsters. Not all french schools are Dickensian.

No, absolutely! We are bringing up ds our own way...they think we are mad and we don't care!

We haven't encountered almost any hostility to our way of doing things, just puzzlement at the big bloke carrying the child in strange contraptions all the time

We are just going to enjoy the last couple of years we have left before it's time to think of schools.

Hi Belgianchox (fonduesavoyarde? equally delicious)

Yes, I agree the overall ethos of the school leads a lot to be desired, and I can see why you would consider moving for school reasons as the child gets older.

But as regards the regimenting of little children from day 1, it doesn't really affect how you bring up your own children does it? (As long as there is good old mn to find the information not readily on offer here).

Thinking about it, although I've not witnessed much smacking, I have heard a fair few threats of smacking. Ridiculous things like 'you're father will smack you when he gets home tonight' to a 3 year old at 8.30 am!

I live in Savoie, (ponders name chnage...)

Moved here with DP who is Savoyard, he was missing his mountains.

Have been here one year and am mostly enjoyoing it.

Have dabbled with work, fulltime, partime, and not at all time at the moment

Will no doubt be staying here for the forseeable future.

Yes, that's what I mean castille - conform or die. We don't do conforming in our family so don't see that working for ds...

Oh the smacking is definitely worse here. I've seen children (even teenagers)whacked for the smallest things, it makes me so cross.

Children are brought up in a much more regimented way generally. I know of several people who have left nearly newborns to cry at night, to "teach" them to sleep through very early on. Early toilet training is the norm, so they can be sent to school at 2 or 3. Agree Otherside that adults don't hold back from labelling a child and talking about their faults in front of them. It fits in with the "conform or die" attitude that prevails in the education system. It all seems terribly outdated to British eyes.

Gosh I sound bitter! There are things I like here too... honest

I think it varies a lot depending on where in France you are - we are just far enough from any major cities to make it impractical to go there. I suspect it's quite different in at least parts of the more cosmopolitan urban areas. Sending ds to school here would just have to be the local communal school, and tbh we worry a bit about what his experience would be like.

We have come across a fair amount of racism (dh is of Arab descent) and (dare I say it) some pretty brutal 'class' issues (we probably come across as more upper class than we actually are).

When it was just us we laughed things off without a problem (we've lived in enough different countries to be thick skinned about being treated as a freak show) but we really don't want ds to have to grow up with these issues.

I agree with you on the parenting, it may well be that we never noticed this in the UK as we didn't have children there. I was brought up in South America, where the whole attitude to children is very very different (and people would always have an opinion on how you treat your children, which is also very annoying as a parent).

Even if you don't agree with those discipline methods.

Ib, I wonder if you are having a particularly bad experience or am I lucky?

Although the advice they give out re bringing up babies is a very different from in the UK, from what I have seen in practice the approach to young children is not what you describe.

I have seen a couple of parents smack their children just outside school for running off towards the road, but that's it. The only other thing that has bothered me is people talking about and labelling their children in front of them (both positive and negative). But then I have seen this done a fair bit in the UK too.

I wonder how much people 'bat eyelids' in other countries when parents smack their children in public? Wouldn't the standard response (where smacking is legal) be to leave the parent to discipline their child in the way they see fit?

Oh hello, again - all you people living in France! Nice thread - I have enjoyed reading all your stories and thank all the people that have spent time typing them out for me too on the thread othersideofthechannel made to make me feel so very very welcome. For anyone who doesn't know I am just outside Paris.

Oh hello, again - all you people living in France! Nice thread - I have enjoyed reading all your stories and thank all the people that have spent time typing them out for me too on the thread othersideofthechannel made to make me feel so very very welcome. For anyone who doesn't know I am just outside Paris.

Unfortunately, I do . We have not found anywhere we can take ds to play, as in the places there are round here kids get shouted at and hit by their parents and no one bats an eyelid...we are just not comfortable with that.

It is raining here in sunny Aquitaine!

Oh I know what you mean, ib.

Some English friends of mine are leaving their lovely house this summer to move back to the UK partly because their eldest son is so unhappy at school and they have lost all confidence in the system.

Ib, you must feel so strongly about the schools/parenting thing to leave your beautiful home.

Branflake, where in the PdC were you? (I asked you on a previous thread but if you replied it was after it had gone from my 'threads I'm on')

I live in Provence.

Chose the region 'cause it's so damn beautiful.

Dh and I quit our (city) jobs and bought a rambling old farmhouse which we are renovating in an eco-friendly way. Ds came as a surprise along the way!

Renovation is taking all our time (with ds) but once the house is basically finished will probably go back to doing some freelance work.

I absolutely love the area, my house and the forest around it. I don't love much about the French way of doing things, and I hate the way most people around me treat their kids, so we'll be leaving before ds has to start school - though where I don't know.

I don't regret it though, we've had some amazing experiences here.

I used to live in Pas-de-Calais and then Paris but moved back to good ole Angleterre.

I spent my 20s in Paris (loved it, most of the time) but wouldn't want to live there now, not with dcs.

We live 5 mins away from Swiss-French border (Rhône-Alpes). It's too rainy & I miss the sea & sunshine. I would love to live in Provence or Poitou-Charentes or Aquitaine. Or Corsica!

Beetroot - That is why you should live in Cannes rather than Grasse

Cod you must meet with GGG - when are you there>

We only stay for the holiday although I dream of living there Cote - guess I would be fed up within a month or two though and crave the city

Beetroot - I'm quite near, in Monaco.

We intend to move to Paris in 7-8 years, because we don't want DCs to enter adolescence up here.

It's heaven, though. I love living here.

Message withdrawn

Wanna swap Countess? [yearns for somewhere NOT france!]

where is Carpentras

oh god i wish I could go to a house in france in the summer instead of the farkin US
I HATE the US
grrr
blinking weddings

<yearns for france>

May manage to wangle a long weekend in Carpentras with mates tho...

No, as it happens I don't

I thougth you were going further afield.

I am talking August - MASSIve drive from grasse to Arcachon - oooo

ooo when you coming to me - will call you

Arcachon

Am waiting for friend to text me with the ok; Am over ze moon.

bet she has already said yes to someone else though. Will be gutted.

Am in UK in Jly.

where where - we will be over from 7th - 26th In grasse (well nearby) but could come to you on our way back if it isnot the other way!!

I think I have just found a house by the sea for the summer Beetroot. Are you going to come see meeeeee?

<<skips at mere thought of house by the sea>>

of course GGG

I live in Provence.

Met DH on year abroad (yawn), followed him to the Indian Ocean 13 years ago.
Loved it, but were concerned about how it was evolving, and when DS was born decided to move to mainland France for family and professional reasons. Regret that choice a bit now...

I work, and worked hard to get where I am, but am hoping to set up as a freelance translator on the side, because my main job is grimly depressing and getting ever more so with each Sarko/Pécresse reform that comes out.
(God, anyone reading this who knows me will recognise me instantly. Maybe I'll be dooced!)

I really like living in France, though my current professional experience makes me wonder how happy I'll be once DS starts moving up through the school system. Education apart, it's a wonderful country and I don't regret choosing it. Provence is beautiful, the food is amazing and (usually) the climate is great, apart from the Mistral. I guess we're staying!

<ggg, I re-e-mailed you last night...>

Rennes, Brittany

Came here on my year abroad and met the H (who is from around here)

We moved to a different part of Brittany briefly for the H's work but I hated it and we agreed to move back to Rennes (after 3 years back in the UK) despite the long commute he now has - it's a lovely city

I work part-time as a translator but am on congé parental at the moment

We def have a better life here all things considered than we would in the UK, so I have to say no regrets

Pas-de-Calais

DH got a job here and handily it's halfway between his parents and my UK family.

A year as an 'assistante' during my degree, then a post-grad year teaching English at a French uni where I met DH.

Yes, part-time

I am happy here, no regrets, although think I would be equally happy in the UK. So far I have been mostly happy wherever life has taken me.

No, Beets you are buying me a house in Arcachon.

I live near Grasse just above Cannes in a beautiful villa with a pool

<wearly wakes up>

bump

We have a big garden but it is a nightmare to keep even vaguely in order.

I am actually longing for a nice apartment right now (previous owners moved back into one in town)

Yes I have made friends with a couple of the mums at school so chat to them and I have a French lesson once a week with a French friend, plus chatting with the DS's teachers etc is all a learning experience.

I've come to the conclusion the more you learn the more you realise you have to learn. I was fine when I was just having basic conversations but now my French is improved and I'm trying to chat, I'll be speaking and then just find I've backed myself into a corner that I can't get out of. It's all very frustrating.

The kids at the DS's playscheme find it hilarious and like to teach me words. 30 minutes last week on the correct pronounciation of grenouille, sounded right to me, but I just can't do that rolling of the R's that is apparently so important. DS1 was mortified and just left the room . Still it's all good for Anglo French relations. (In the end I just taught them all to say frog as it was so much easier).

My parents live in the middle of the countryside with a gorgeous garden and views over fields etc in a typical English retired sort of way (a lifestyle that you cannot have with children/work constraints) so I get my rural fix with them.

A friend of mine's (partner in an American law firm) DP has just bought them a house in central Paris (with a garden) and I am not envious - it's too much of a compromise. If I had a spare 4 million euro I wouldn't have made that choice myself .

Will be glad, however, that my daughter can play in their garden in future.

I live in Normandy.

DH lives here (met him here when on a year abroad) although is not from the area.

Came here because of him, straight from university, but I did study French so there was a link !

I work full-time, teaching at university.

Don't regret coming, can't imagine living anywhere else, but do miss my friends.

Have met a lovely group of "foreign" (mostly English) ladies recently so our DC can practise their English together and we can chat.

Well I live in the centre of town too - and yearn for something rustic to waft around in - WITH A GARDEN. Sigh.

WTD - do you have any french friends that you could do lesson exchanges with? I found life got much easier, less tiring and more enjoyable once I lost the need to stop mentally translating what was being said/I needed to say.

Now I speak crap french fluently and fluent english very badly!

suburban

NO NO NO NO NO NO

I loathe any form of suburbian life.

We do want to buy a maison de campagne - but we are too busy at the moment to do anything about it.

Living for the last two years in SW Brittany - hate the winters (long and damp) but sun is out now, birds are singing and all is well with the world, so am currently loving it. We chose this region becaues we bought the house originally as a holiday home and thought it would be commutable after work on a Friday for the weekend, we moved to live here permanently about 4 years after we bought the house.

I do work, but for myself from home as a transcriber, so don't get much chance to learn/practice the French, but it's getting much improved. Although recently had 5 year old DS1 correcting my pronounciation which was a but humiliating.

Had some tough times here, but we're muddling through and are happy and settled. Miss my friends in the UK at times, but definitely miss the ease of having a conversation without having to think about which words you're going to say, conjugate the verb etc - sometimes I find it really, really difficult particularly after a hard day at work when my brain is tired just from deciphering English voices never mind translating French words that are spoken to me. Got to keep learning I suppose.

I love Paris and would just adore a little studio/loft there for the odd week or two, but I don't know about living there.

Are you ever tempted to move out a bit Anna?

I live in Paris.

I got a job in Paris and moved here to take it up in January 1992.

Yes, part-time.

I have been through every possible love-hate relationship with Paris and all the variations in between... It's fine here, just as long as I get a breather in a less stressful environment fairly often.

Oh, and I work v vaguely - am kept woman lazy writer.

Where do you live?
Why did you choose that region?
Why did you come here in the first place?
Do you work?
Do you regret it/love it?

Tell us all!

I live in Bordeaux.

I initially chose Montpellier and had everything (sort of!) set up there, but found it too hectic - and my original holiday accomodation was vile - so came to Bordeaux on holiday and stayed.

I came here post divorce!

I have had an epic time here - a very very rough ride, but life events rather than simply french ones, and am here to stay.

I love the region and will stay put in the south west. I would LOVE a house by the sea - dream on!

I don't regret it and have married a Frenchman to prove the point.....

Et vous?