hstraf

[quote]We are down in Calvi so give us a buzz if you pass by http:/www.corsicanholidays.com[/quote] I will call you in a few weeks.  My sister-in-law is coming for a visit (assuming she can get here and the strikes are over, etc..), so we'll be taking her to see Calvi.  Would be fun to swing by and have a chat with you. Cheers!

Well, we must moved to Corsica for at least one year.  (We were living in Canada before..) I am French, and I have my carte d'identitie.  I also have my "livre de famille", which has our marriage registered in it.  (We were married eight years ago.) Can anyone tell me what my wife needs in order to work here in France?  Our French is pretty sad, and we're just learning slowly.. but we don't have enough yet to properly read the French government websites and understand things. Hopefully someone here can point us in the right direction. Does she need a titre de sejour? Can she apply for French nationality?  Thanks!

Our pallet of personal stuff has just arrived in Marseille, and we need help to arrange for it to clear customs and then be forwarded to us here in Corsica. We don't speak French very well, so we are desperate for some help trying to find a forwarding company, etc. If anyone can help, please PM me asap. Thanks!  

It has to be GPRS or 3G over the cell network.  My job involves visiting places where there are no wifi networks, and the only connectivity option I would have is the cellular network.  My laptop already has wifi built into it, and it's great.  But once I leave the city... I'm out of luck.  Thus.. it has to be GPRS or 3G. The question is whether to use a 3G/GPRS phone (via bluetooth connection to my laptop), or one of those PC cards from vodafone (uses pcmcia slot). I'd like to know which option is "better", if any.  ;-)

Thanks Sue.  For me, the cost isn't too bad as I can get a decent plan for either setup.  (About $50 USD for 150mb download/data, which is pretty good.) I'm just wondering what is the best way to make the connection...  and it seems you didn't have any problem with the bluetooth/cell/laptop method, which is good to hear.  (That's the direction I'm leaning, since then I can use the phone for voice, too.) Anyone else care to share their advice?

On a side note.. do you think it's needed for us to get French driver's licenses?  Is there a benefit?  (ie: It doesn't seem to be actually "required"..) What do you think?  Would it make things easier, etc?

[quote]Sorry, the link's in French.[/quote] Yes, I got my "livre de famille" before I left Canada.   It took a while, because I had to write to various places in France to get a copy of my father's birth, etc... but eventually I was able to prove the family tree.. and then I got my book of the family and registered my marriage in it. So now I have used that to apply for a "carte d'identity", which will hopefully be the final "step" to "proving" that I'm actually french, etc.  heh.  Not an easy task when you don't speak French. But we're learning! No worries about the link being in French, as I can try to use Google's translation feature to figure out what it's saying.  (That and my handy french<->english dictionary.) Cheers!

Excellent.  Thanks for the link to that website; I'll check it out asap! I'll definately file, if I am instructed or obligated to do so.  It's just a matter of getting the right information.. which seems to indicate that I do need to file.    Wish me luck!    

Does anyone know if a test is involved if I just want to "swap" a Canadian license for a French license? While I don't have a problem driving or anything, it's been about 15 years since I got my license in Canada...  I don't know if my bad habits might cause me to fail a French test. Anywhere I can find out this info?  (ie: Point me to a french site, and I'll try to decode/translate it using google language system..) Thanks!

Thanks for the info!  My goal isn't to hide out.  Actually, I'm a pretty honest person. My goal is to just try and figure out what is needed and what is not.  I don't want to register for a bunch of taxes if I don't have to. At this point, I'm so confused about what I do and don't have to do that I'm just wondering if it's easier to live here without doing anything at all.  (Hence my post.) Since I don't speak French, I'm having no end of problems/difficulty trying to find accurate information about what I need to do. (BTW - I'm from Canada.) At the moment, my entire business is internet based with all revenue coming in from either PayPal deposits or merchant account deposits into my US bank accounts.  I file my Canadian taxes every year, and declare my income, etc.. So now I have moved to France, and I'm very confused on what to do. I am actually French (my father was from here, and now I'm just waiting for my carte d'identity" to arrive), with a French passport, etc..  Not being able to speak French is really causing a problem, as I live in a fairly isolated area where there doesn't seem to be anyone who can help with translation.  (I'm in a smaller village in Corsica.) Any advice? For now, I'm just planning to continue my business activity (I finally just got ADSL!) and at year-end I'll file my usual Canadian tax return.  I'll continue trying to get info on the French rules/regulations to find out what I "need to do"... Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

My company is "internet based".  All my revenue is placed in bank accounts in the US, and I pay taxes in Canada for what I claim as income. I just moved to France... and I'm trying to understand WHY should I register or file an income tax return here? From what I can see, it will be a distinct financial disadvantage (ie: cost me much more in taxes) to pay taxes here. I don't understand.  I also don't speak French, so my ignorance  level is pretty high...) Thoughts?  

[quote]This is an option I looked into myself... It seems to be commonly accepted that the best course to do is the Cambridge tefl, with Trinity a close second. In terms of finding employment in language s...[/quote] Do you mind if I ask what area your sister is teaching in?  My wife is currently looking for work as an English teacher, and she's a native English speaker.  We're living in Corsica... Thanks!

My wife and I just moved to Patrimonio -- a small village on the western side of the bottom of Cap Corse.  It's the village where my dad was from... Unfortunately, he never taught us French... (we're from Canada) But we're here for at least a year, and interested to meet any other "English speakers" who might be in the area.  

My wife and I just moved here for at least a year.  We have basic French (we're from Canada and took French for a year or two in high school) understanding.. but we are very very very far away from being anywhere near fluent. Does anyone know where we can find a school or place to learn French in Corsica? Thanks!

I'm trying to find out what is the best solution for me.  I need to connect my laptop to the internet, so I can do my work while travelling. I seem to have two choices: 1) Get a "Vodafone PC Card": http://www.sfr.fr/FR/utiliser/services/services_business/vmcc/vmcc_3g_gprs/offre/ This is a pcmcia card, that I would need to plug in/out every time I want to use the internet on my laptop.  2) Get a cell phone that can work as a modem. I'm thinking about a 3G phone that has bluetooth on it. This way, I can fire up my laptop and get a data link to the phone without wires, and use the 3G connection from the phone to surf the internet. What do you think?  Recommendations? Advice?  The 3G phone I'm thinking about getting is the "SAMSUNG SGH-Z140v". However, I've been unable to find any info on whether I can actually connect my laptop to it and use it (via bluetooth) as a modem for internet on my laptop. Anyone know the answer to this?

Good question.  Did you find an answer yet?

Do you happen to live in Corsica?  If so, let me know!  My wife and I are desperately trying to find a school or someone to teach us French.  So far... no luck.  

My wife and I just moved to Corsica for at least a year.  We have purchased a car, and now have our carte gris and all necessary insurance (I hope!). However, I have been unable to find out any information on whether we should get French driver's licenses.  We're currently justusing our Canadian driver's licenses... Any advice? Thanks!

I've never heard of running my diesel car on veg oil.  Where can I find out more info on this?  A poster in the thread mentioned he sells the kits.. can you give me a website? Thanks!