Moving to Paris for 6 months- HELP please!!!

[thatsnotmymonster]

DH phoned today and said there is a good chance he may be seconded to EDF for 6mths based in Paris. IF it all goes ahead and he is chosen to go it would mean that we would be moving very soon, I think it would be from August to Dec/Jan.

So I have a 5.5yo due to start school in August (Scotland), a 4yo and a 2yo (and a dog). What are the main things I would need to do/know?

My french is ok- did up to 2nd yr University but just very rusty.

Any tips would be very much appreciated!!

oh you lucky girl! I'm jealous. I would move there tomorrow if I could.

Paris lovely for kids too. Don't think they start school until 6 in France? Think until then they go to creche.May be different at the international school.

what do you need to know and where would you be living?

I've no idea- I don't think those things have been thought about yet- I don't even know how likely it is that we will get to go but I REALLY want to and so I thought I would find out as much as I can. It does seem as if it will happen very quickly if it happens at all.

I would be perfectly happy for them all to go to the french maternelle or whatever it's called rather than the international school. It will only be from sep-dec and I think it would give them a better experience. DS can just start p1 here in Jan. He is bright and I don't think he'll catch up quickly.

Can I enter them into the french state system or would I have to do the international school? Just things like that...don't know really!!

You can put them into maternelle. You will need lots of proof of address etc without which you can't 'do' anything but you can (and should) ring ahead to the mairie of tge arrondissement you'll be in to say you're coming. Paris basically shuts for August so you need to move quick!

Will post more later if noone else helps!

ah thanks that's great! well I can't do anything until the job is confirmed so if they drag their heels, not much I can do! However, as soon as I know anything I will act!

So if I put them in maternelle would it be free? I can't afford to pay for school/nursery?

Maternelle is free, but you pay for meals (or can pick them up and give them lunch at home and take them back) and you pay if you want them to stay longer than til 16.30.

Creche on the other hand-well, for that you are supposed to sign up when you're 6 months pg, so depending on where you live you might not get places. You pay for the creche, how much depends on family income. Around few hundred euros a month- my friends pay around 600.

Forgot to say that there are other options for LOs like jardin d'eveil and halte garderie-usually private and expensive.

no we won't be going private or expensive!

What age is creche for? and maternelle?

creche from a few months old.
maternelle from 3 but if they have places and a child is out of nappies then they take them fron 2.5 iirc

and school starts from 6

sounds great- I could have 2 in maternelle then. dd2 won't be 2.5 till Nov anyway so probably wouldn't be worthwhile trying to get her in but I'm happy to have her with me all the time anyway.

dh probably won't be chosen for the job though- I'm far too excited about it.

Do you know in which arrondisement you would live?

no we've no idea!

It was only mentioned today for the first time and dh has put his name forward but I'm sure a few others have too. So it's just a case of who fits the bill best. Should be a decision made tomorrow.

Halte garderie aren't always private and expensive. Ours is WAY cheaper than the creche my daughter went to in the UK. We are just outside of Paris. Plenty of halte-garderies are state subsidised. Think it's just harder to get a place within Paris itself. However, if you are only going to be there for 6 months (fingers crossed!) and your DH's company are paying for accommodation, you should probably try and stay in Paris itself for such a short period, rather than in the suburbs, but that might mean appartment rather than house. How large is your dog? You're probably going to need to be near a park!
Paris is a lovely city. We've been in France for 5 years now and aren't planning on going back to the UK in any great hurry!!

Thatsnotmymonster - your family will be the talk of the town with your beautiful blonde hair!!!

[ooooh lovely profile pics emotion]

Sooooo... How are the plans going?