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Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Original poster

maybe moving to france any advice?

44 replies

moljam · 01/10/2006 22:00

we are looking at moving to france,we are looking at normandy and brittany at the moment.dh wants countryside i wouldnt mind a town as i dont drive.we are looking for a fairly cheap area as dh is currently self employed and isnt able to get huge mortgage.obviously schools need to be good as i have 6year old,5 year old and 9 month old.any advice,help,words of wisdom/warning?

OP posts:
Original poster
moljam · 02/10/2006 16:29

bran you make good point about not really saving if we are [aying for commuting,hed stay with his mum but still pretty expensive to commute id imagine.
nannyme,id love to borrow your cds.
fredascuffs thats awful,sorry to hear its not worked out and thankyou for telling me,ive heard of that in a different country before but cant think where.
i speak very basic french and plan on learning a bit before we go as i want to be able to get by,especially with the children at school,i feel it would be rude of me not to try to communicate.

OP posts:
Original poster
moljam · 02/10/2006 16:31

and i love idea of 6 month rent as trial,can you do that though as i keep reading about 3 year tenancys?

OP posts:
mum2monkeys · 02/10/2006 19:00

Can be a bit iffy sometimes finding an agent who'll rent to you - sometimes they'll ask for a lot upfront - but you can definitely find shorter term rentals, again anglo info may be of help....

ilovedolly · 02/10/2006 19:52

hi i moved to france and lived there a year while dp was studying - a few practical tips, which might be obvious, that i picked up when there are:
have lots of sets of photocopies of your identity documents (passport, birth certificate etc) ready as they are requested by banks and landlords (ie EVERY ONE) and it is quicker to have these things ready to go.
Get a french bank account as soon as you can and you will be given a 'R.I.B.', This is a bank identity code which is also really useful when renting a house and when proving your identity.
If staying longterm/permanantly you should join their health system - you must apply to get a 'Carte Vitale' which you present to the doctor etc when you visit. You have to pay them upfront for consultations and If you have got one you get the money back (or some of it).

I really miss France it is very special there but do make an effort to learn some idiomatic French (perhaps visit an Alliance Francaise chat sessions? or get a book of French idioms) as there is a big difference between school french and the french you need to make friends.

ggglimpopo · 03/10/2006 08:16

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ggglimpopo · 03/10/2006 08:29

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ggglimpopo · 03/10/2006 08:30

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milward · 03/10/2006 08:34

kids tv is rubbish as lots of violent type cartoons.

aDAdOnMumsnet · 03/10/2006 08:57

lol ggglimpopo!

You are spot on with your list! I dont know Narbonne though. That bad?

fridascruffs · 03/10/2006 10:48

yes, great list gggl! What's your list of what you like? Weird about the cream, isn't it. Peanut butter's pretty rare too but there's lots of great food to make up for it.

ssandy- it certainly applies in france; i'm not even married and it applies. I don't know about other countries though. In france, if you separate, custody is not granted to one or other parent; both parents retain parental responsibility & authority but residence of the children is granted to one or other parent with visiting rights for the other, unless parents agree to a different arrangement.

nannyme- yes you're right, it's not a hard and fast rule that you can or can't leave the country, you can go to the courts and apply if your partner doesn't agree to it, but they can of course decide against you and tell you that the child must remain in the country in which it's currently resident. I'm no expert at all, I just mention it to people who are thinking of emigrating anywhere so they can inform themselves if they think it might be an issue for them.

ilovedolly · 05/10/2006 14:18

what about having to pay for the priviledge of having a bank card?

Drillbert · 08/10/2006 21:13

We live in the South of France near Pau. We were lucky and were transferred here by my husbands company so he already had work but I have met lots of highly qualified expats who could not get work due to being English. Some even advised not to put their nationality on their CVs by the employment agencies - these are english people with fluent french. If your good man is an artisan i.e. builder, plumber etc he will probably get work as the other expats will use him and there is always a shortage of artisans. However with other professions, he may well struggle.
We enjoy living here but you do need to be comfortable with your own company, though it really depends on the village and you. I find our lot are pretty reserved though friendly but my friend who only lives 20 km away is well involved in all the village activities. My french is better so this isn't language dependant.
I've heard mixed messages about the schooling, some good, some bad. My DS is only 9 months so not an issue yet. Healthcare is excellent, make sure you get your EHIC card before you leave as this entitles you to free hospital treatment and is needed to get the french Card Vitale.
Other than that, good luck, bonne chance!

joedar · 23/11/2007 22:05

did you ever make it to France? we move to the Deux sevres in Jan very excited but a little apprehensive at the same time!

Dorasmum · 07/12/2007 23:33

Yay! Another one of us taking the leap across the channel )

I have posted further up for mortgage advice. We are moving to Pas de Calais, house 40 mins from tunnel. Hubbie will continue to commute daily.

We have 2 daughters, 4 1/2 and 8 months. DD1 has been having french lessons both privately and in school and is coming along superbly. I can't pretend to have good French. But, it's there for the learning and we believe, as you obviously do, that we will get as much out of life in France as we put in.

Good luck to you in all your plans, and stick with it! I am expecting no bed of roses for the first year but it'll be a lot of fun!

Nicky )

CliffRichardSucksEggsinHell · 07/12/2007 23:34
Othersideofthechannel · 10/12/2007 09:13

Dorasmum, I've posted on the mortgage thread.

Your DD is a similar age to my DS (born March 2003).

I am sure she will be fine languagewise in school. I know of lots of children aged 3 and 4 who have been thrown in the deep end with no previous French lessons. It is amazing how quickly they pick it up.

DH is French but we speak English at home and now both DCs are in school we already see signs of the French becoming dominant.

Othersideofthechannel · 10/12/2007 09:14

Cliffrichard, why are you pretending not to see this thread?

dividedselfridgesxmaswindow · 10/12/2007 09:18

God, how did this get revived??? I posted on this thread under my old name and I'm now back in the UK and missing France heaps!

Othersideofthechannel · 10/12/2007 11:05

It was joedar getting excited about moving to France

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