Are there any Mumsnetters near Bezers/Narbonne area in Sth of France???

[aznerak]

Hi there
My DH are I are starting to think that life would be so much better for us all over there. We love the pace of life, the region, the people, the weather and the list goes on. My parents own a villa in a village just outside Beziers and we simply love it there. So far, we've only spent holiday type time there (ie not working) though I was there for all of July and August last year plus 3 weeks in December.
The only real sticking points for us are - we have a DS who is just 5 and very shy. he is very bright and confident once he is in familiar environments and as such, he adores his primary school here but in unfamiliar territory, he is SO shy and timid, I wonder how he'd settle in to a school where no-one speaks English at all. I am worried how the move may affect him longer term. OUr DD is only just 2, so she'd be fine, I'm sure of that.
The other issue is work. I speak French virtually fluently (did a degree in French) and lived in France for a while 15 years ago. However, my hubbie's french is only basic so we are worried about getting jobs as I know employment can be hard to find. At the moment, I am the stay at home one, which of course we could reverse if need be.
what do you do in terms of work? Did you/your DH/DP go over there with a job already or did you find work?
How have you found it making friends? Are you in Beziers itself or a village nearby? How old is your DD? So interested to hear more!
Any advice gratefully received. x x

Lucky, lucky you. We've lived in Beziers for 6 months, but sadly feel the need to return to Scotland - family miss DD, MIL now ill and missing DD.
Cannot comment on your DS. Our DD is only 2 and there is no mother/toddler group. She has picked up lots of single words and the odd phrase (qu'est-ce tu as dit? etc)
Have made a friend, the ex owner of this appartment comes every week for mail, and now lunch and hillwalks. We're very guilty of being this tight little unit, and too happy just to have this massive holiday together to actively seek out friends. And of course when you know you're not staying... There are also other locals, on the street who we chat to.
Work. I feel that I could get work with my French now, and in fact am tutoring English. But I refuse to do more than that as the reason we came was so that I could spend all this time with DD (oh so CHEAPLY!!), having been the main earner for ten years, and having hated going back to work when DD was 6 months. DH has applied to very basic jobs with his awful French (much better now than the zero when he came, and very good at handflapping). But no luck. My French was basic when we came - beginner's French as an extra course at University, now tutoring a non-English speaker through French.
Love, love, love Beziers, and we both want to think that we could come back to permanently stay with better timing.
If you do, best of luck. It's such a beautiful place.

THanks for your message calmontheoutside. Sounds like you are having a fab time in Beziers - we are still trying to weigh up the pros and cons. Family in the UK is also an issue too.
When are you planning to come back? Do you live in Beziers itself or in a village? Did you take a car?
So interested to hear how you got started over there!
A x

The family, yes... we were surprised when they reacted so badly... various comments ranging from 'how selfish to take her away' to 'yes, well I'm coping but I cry myself to sleep every night...' . My family are prone to amateur dramatics though, and I suspect will never thank us for returning. However MIL is ill and 80, and misses DD. It's hard for us to stay and feel so guilty.
Going back depends on when I get a full time job in Scotland. I am a teacher and will begin looking soon .
Yes, we took our car, good to have it, although we rarely use it.
How did we start? We'd been coming here over the years - BIL used to live near here until 10 years ago with ex-wife - and we just LOVED it. We'd been talking about it for five years as a possiblilty, although I must admit we assumed that DH could get some work. Finally we thought that unless we just do it, we'll be wondering still at the age of 70 whether we should have...
No income for 6 months, (apart from a little pocket money from the tutoring), we afforded it because we sold our house in Scotland. When we get back we'll be back in a flat again, with no garden, not a house, but it's worth it. We've had our very best of times here...
Good luck with your decisions.

Its intersting how you put it actually. We have the same thing that we really don't want to look back in years to come and say we wish we'd done it, so we are really trying to work out what to do.
As I said before, work is a worry and this is underlined by your experience.
We live in SW London and pay such a ridiculous amount to live here. My husband has a well paid job in IT but even so, we still have to count the pennies every month and as far as we can see, it'll just get worse. Primary schools round here are great but our problem is lack of good secondary schools - and we simply can't afford the private option. Education in France is very different, I know, but the standard is apparently good. This is also an issue in our decision making. Thanks for you messages though - I may well be in touch again with more questions! A x