thanks for your help, guys. i'm from san diego (originaly), too. everything is expensive out there, but we kind of figured it would be more over seas. thank you for your suggestion about the work visa, that is something i absolutely need to look into. 5 years without a job!! how did you do it? (if you don't mind me asking!) as far as the damp and grey weather, i love that! Arizona is too bright and dry for me, and my husband. we've lived a lot of places and the heat out here is inhumane! i'm looking forward to a sudden change in climate. all in all i think france might not be the place for us concidering the language and work thing. corsica was my husband's suggestion, but the netherlands has been one of our choices too. a few others have been itally, costa rica, ireland, belgium, and greece. does any body have any comments on any of those places or know of any good sites to look at before i aimlessly research them? thanks, tara