Jomo

This is probably a silly and obvious question , but I`ll ask anyway!!Perhaps Quantum could help. We lived in France several years ago , for 17 months,when my daughter was very small she was 2.5 years old when we left. As she was in a creche full time she was speaking mostly french by the time we left. We are planning moving to france, she will be 11 when we go. Do you think the fact that she was already exposed to the language will help learn French at school, or was she too young and maybe too long ago? She still has French lessons weekly with La Jolie Ronde but is now getting French at primary school but it is a very basic level. I have concerns about us returning to France and how she will cope going straight into college. Joan

Does anyone have any info about Ceret? Is the climate dry or humid? Are there many expats in the area? Any clubs etc for children? We know languedoc quite well but have never been here yet. I am hoping to go over quite soon to look around this area, as I would like to be both near the mountains and the sea. Can anyone recommend a gite to stay in? thanks Joan

Patients in the UK can get angioplasties very quickly if necessary. It all depends on the extent of the stenosis, if post thrombolysis there is an unstable plaque or immediate danger of reinfarction,every case is individual and depends on the results of the angiogram. However I do think in general that in Europe the trend is to operate rather than treat conservatively, I noticed this also whilst living in Switzerland. Joan

Hi Cecil, it was a subsidiary of Bougyues who are based in Normandy. I have forgotten their name but it begins with a Q !They have offices in Rouen and Beauvais, quite handy for you!If you check out Bouygues website you should find it. Re your CV I had to research on the internet finding examples of French CVs by other civil engineers and copied the format. There are a few website giving advice about layout, content etc. The agency did advise me over the wording of some phrases. There are agencies in the UK and Paris eg Haysworks which might be helpful contacting. At 45 we cannot contemplate retiring for quite some time so I think he`ll have to look at going self employed, building, surveying etc. Are you chartered? Couldn`t you set up a cabinet? If you are over 40 as TU says its very difficult. good luck Joan

I should have said that the company has to recruit a number of foreign nationals, the subsidiaries have all been set quotas they have to reach in order to bring in new blood, management styles etc, so the language was not the problem.They have to recruit foreigners, to fulfil the quota, not French nationals who speak good english. Therefore I assume the age comment was correct. On previous occasions, a few years ago when we were aleady living in Toulouse we did try approaching the big companies without much success although I think the construction industry was going through a bad patch. Don`t know if its much better now.We ended up having to leave France due to the work situation.We don`t want to go through all that again. Next time we go its for good! Joan

My husband recently was interviewed by a UK subsidiary of one of the largest French construction companies for a post in France.The interview was arranged by an agency. Well the interview went very well and the HR guy in London was quite impressed and sent his CV over to France for the second stage of the interview process.We were quite optimistic and thought that if he had got past the first hurdle then we were on our way! Anyway to cut a long story short he didn`t get a second interview and was basically told that at 45 years old he was too old. He is a very well qualified civil engineer and speaks French. This company is actively recruiting english speakers. Do you think at 45 years old it is unrealistic to look for a position in a French company? We are now exploring other options as hubby will not move unless there is a solid prospect of work. So as a civil engineer in this country he can do things such as land surveying etc as part of his job. Does anyone know how we can find out if he do surveying in France? He is also a chartered builder, is there an equivalent in France? Thanks for any advice Joan

Hi, have you had a trip to your local Emmaus? I think that they are found throughout France. When I lived in Toulouse I was addicted to the one there!! You might be able to pick up something there. Joan

Dear Tracy, Hi I` posts. -Re your questions. Your qualifications are recognised ie. your RN diploma, however if you have higher qualifications you may have difficulty having these recognised,and as I stated in the info in a previous post even if you are not RMN you can work in a pyschiatric setting. I did not require verification from the NMC but did register with the DHASS .When I worked in France, now 7 years ago, the money was not great at all, especially as I was paying quite a lot for the rental of an appartment in Toulouse. They have sort of district nurses, infirmieres liberales, they are not usually employed by the health board but are private practices affiliated to a surgery. You could possibly find a job with one of them . With summer coming up there is always the opportunity of "remplacement". One option if you are thinking of Paris is the American Hospital in Neuilly, it is a prestigious private clinic in the suburbs of Paris. I worked there and found the conditions pretty good compared with the other clinics I worked in. Good staff/patient ratio, subsidised accommodation. However as it is very much a consultant led clinic I found it quite frustrating at times that I could not even do a simple wound dressing without first asking what to put on it! In some parts of France it is difficult to get a position in a public hospital but there are plenty of large private clinics. There is also the Hopital Franco-Brittanique closeby in Levallois, Paris. Both these hospitals employ bi-lingual staff. You should have a copy of references from all your previous jobs in order to have your experience recognised and be remunerated so, I think I had everything translated too. How is your French? Are you fluent. It really is quite difficult if you do not have a good grip of the language. Prior to working in France I was a head nurse in a big Swiss-French speaking hospital. I thought my French pretty fluent after several years in Lausanne however the speed and dialect of the Parisians really took a bit of getting used to. There are also agencies eg Appel Medical, where you could get work, however unless you are really fluent I would definitely not recommend this, I walked out of a ward after being asked to take charge of a very busy surgical ward plus high dependency beds . no other qualified staff, no orientation, had never worked in the clinic before, I was terrified I would kill someone! This was despite stipulating to the agency that I never wanted to take charge of a ward and that there would be other qualified staff, so be careful. i did do several other shifts with this agency and although I was with another nurse , I found it very stressful.I am not trying to put you off but be realistic , and you are accountable for your actions so you must make sure you are able to cope with what you take on. Working at the American Hospital was a good experience, and when working in Toulouse I chose to work in the psychiatric sector, more laid back, but could be scary too at times ! Have you considered Switzerland? Better money, subsidized accommodation, good social life, skiing etc, better working conditions and always looking for nurses too. if you need any more info-, websites etc let me know. Good luck Joan- sorry about the length of this post!