Do you live in France?

[ggglimpopo]

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?

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!)

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

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.....

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

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...

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!

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 - I will CAT you!

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

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.

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.

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 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!

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....

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

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.

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.

Hi everyone
Dh has potential of an amazing job in Vannes. Trying to find out if there are good international schools for my year 1 aged 6 twin girls nearby. would really appreciate any information on the area and any details on good property rental sites please

Thanks :-)

hi guys :)
I'm studying here in Paris for a semester. The workload was a big shock at first, much more pressure than in the UK.
It's super crowded which gets to me but you get lovely serene moments when the light makes the buildings look gorgeous, oh and there are so many fab cinemas around, little bookshops and Gibert....
And nothing beats being able to pop out to sit by the Seine during free periods

Nik I have family in Vannes. It's a cute little town, very touristy tho. Sorry can't help with the specifics but maybe you could make a trip there soon to see if it's your type of place?

Hello! I wanted some advice about moving abroad post divorce. How did you do that with kids etc? How old were your kids? Mine is under 2.