Live in France? Join us for a gentil thread

[TheAccidentalExhibitionist]

So how about a lovely supportive, information sharing thread for us mumsnetters living in France?
I've been here for two years, this is my second time living here so 4 years in total.
I have my moans about France, the paperwork, the driving but other than that I love it

[SDhopeful]

fussychica sympathise, but he can still make the most of his time by using the weekends to really immerse himself in the language. My assistantship was in Paris, which sounds great, and was, but the temptation to speak English was everywhere. Please encourage your DH to join any local society, however odd, to make contact with locals - will definitely benefit him enormously!

[Booboostoo]

PetiteRaleuse the French doctors I have come across have not only been out of touch but even unwilling to consider other possibilities (not to mention completely paternalistic). I have had them dismiss questions about other options as "American follies that we don't do in France". They are also quite computer illiterate and unaware of tools like Google Scholar and PubMed.

[PetiteRaleuse]

I sit and argue with them til they listen. Got fobbed off far too often with that paternalistic view. When I first arrived they'd throw antibiotics at every problem and hoped it'd go away :o but that at least is improving.

[Booboostoo]

I packed up and went to another country...although I appreciate not everyone has that option!

[peppersquint]

Fussy - agree with other posters - tell DS to make the most of not being around English-speakers - he'll really reap the rewards from having to make that extra effort (I know because I didn't after a while ...and really regret it now). It must be very hard for him (and you) - but there is light the other side :)

[Impomea]

Hi .Can I join you please?
We are in 86 and have been here 10 years .

[SquidgyMummy]

Hi Impomea

In the spirit of sharing, just wanted to say that Next do free delivery to France at the moment. I have ordered a load of stuff for DS as childrens clothes are ridiculously expensive here. Prices are exactly the same as the UK Next site.

[EmilyAlice]

One of the best bits of living here imo is the local market. Today we bought: very fresh mackerel (will do hot, spicy stuffing and sag aloo), the Christmas goose (because the man on the poultry stall said a couple of weeks ago that it is much cheaper to buy now and put in the freezer) and a butternut (or bootairnoot) squash for soup. The market was full of apples, pears, leeks, spuds, carrots etc, huge tubs of crème crue, camembert, Livarot and Pont l'Evêque cheese, and masses of bunches of dahlias and asters.
What is in the market where you live?

[CoteDAzur]

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[NomDeClavier]

squidgy I think I love you for sharing that news.

[Impomea]

Thanks Squidgy.
I used to shop at M&S online but am trying to boycott them because they have made us use the French site which has less choice,no beauty section and less sales !

[PetiteRaleuse]

Thanks squidgy you've just made my day :)

[SDhopeful]

I've seen lots in the French news about the changes to the rythme scolaire - has that affected anyone on here? Is it increasing the length of the school week, or just lengthening the days, within the week?

[Booboostoo]

I'm near Revel which has an incredible market that has been running since the 14th century. Great choice in cheeses, salamis, fruit, veggies, foie gras (OK I don't like that but others do!) and all sorts of yummy goodies!

I've got a grudge against M&S for making us use the French site. It allows you to order things that are not in stock, the dispatch times are awful and the whole experience is a nuissance.

I quite like Debenhams though who send directly from the UK and have good options for DP who wears XXL.

[Bonsoir]

It hasn't either lengthened the school week or the days. It has added Wednesday mornings and lopped time off at other points.

[tb]

No change for dd - she's at lycée. She has one day that's 8-19, but this year she has Weds afternoons free. Last year, her first, she was working until 17 - générale + arts appliquées.

We have a market in the village - it's crap. 1 stall selling 'tourtous' and 1 selling trout, and that's it. Occasionally they have a plant stall, but not very often.

[clearsommespace]

Fussy I was very isolated and lonely at first during my year as 'assistante'.
It was in the pre-internet/mobile phone days and once I'd used up my phone card phoning friends in the UK, if I wanted any company I just had to pretend to be interested in the various hobbies for which there were clubs I could get to on foot.
It did wonders for my French and I ended up finding a holiday job for Easter and summer holidays so I came back 2 months later than I needed too.

[clearsommespace]

EmilyAlice, highlights of the market here: lambs lettuce season just starting, apples, plums, spinach, tomatoes, autumn raspberries.

[EmilyAlice]

I hate the M and S French site too. It never has the same range as the UK site, though as far as I can see it all comes from the depot near Sheffield
Apparently Lakeland will deliver for a flat amount, £7ish? I have used Littlewoods to send toys to the grandchildren in Spain and that worked well.

[EmilyAlice]

Lambs lettuce is great. We grew it in the greenhouse pretty much all last winter. I have a huge surplus of apples and pears and I just know that plastic bags full of them will start arriving on the doorstep soon.. I love getting walnuts from the neighbours though; they do for our muesli all year round. Last year my neighbour sold our quinces at the market and I got 70€. And yes I had already made jelly, purees, membrillo etc etc

[fussychica]

Thanks for all your positive comments re DS. It's just a hard start. He's just returned from an internship in Hamburg so is pretty resilient but having to cater for himself at weekends using only a microwave in the teachers common room wasn't quite what he was expecting! However, he has gone off to the coast this morning - to meet some of the assistants he met at his induction day I think. He also went out with a group of older French lads from the school on Thursday night (who he doesn't teach) and sounds like he had a good night so I'm sure he'll cope. Thanks again - I'll keep you posted.

[aliciaflorrick]

In the spirit of sharing I can tell you that SportsDirect deliver to France for less than a fiver, they are absolutely brilliant for buying stuff for school including shoes, shorts and t-shirts as well as sports equipment. DFS will now deliver for a reasonable price, Gap have changed and make us use their euro site, prices are marked up in euros but come out of your account in £, so good if you have a UK bank account, their delivery is about £5 and always arrives in 2-3 days. Also of course George at Asda and Tesco clothes for the DCs, very fast delivery for about £5. Boots are going to start delivering but are not quite there yet. Boden also deliver. Great Plains deliver to France, lots of UK companies are now delivering to France and even paying delivery it can still work out cheaper than buying the same thing in France.

I don't know about you but France has become so expensive, when we moved here 10 years ago it was so much cheaper than the UK but now so many things are much more expensive.

[fussychica]

Just read earlier comments in the thread re DCs wanting to studying in the UK rather than France. I think there is a strong desire for many of them to return to their "homeland" in their late teens. DS was raised mainly in Spain but was adamant about going to University in the UK - which he has done. He wanted to experience living in halls, the social life and the feeling of belonging which he didn't feel he would get in Spain. He fortunately missed the fees hike by a year so that may have made a difference but I doubt it.

Good to know that there are lots of places which deliver to France - I'll let him know in case he wants anything.

[peppersquint]

our market is great if you are after leather wallets or belts, fancy nylon house coats, purple flowery frocks, huge y-fronts, slippers, mogettes, table cloths, aprons, roast chickens, prefou or apples!

New Look do very quick and cheap deliveries as does Dorothy Perkins

[EmilyAlice]

Oh I just love those flowery overall things call fantaisie. Whose fantasy are they, do you think? And who on earth wears the underwear? Very hard to imagine on the solid Norman ladies in our markets.