tech-teacher

We are moving to France this summer, hopefully that offer for our house that's coming today is acceptable.  I have been doing a lot of IT consulting (for lack of a better description) from home online.  I have lots of work and would love to continue this while in France.  How is the best way to go about it?  I basically work on contracts, not by the hour. I want (if you can say that) to pay my taxes and contribute to the French system.  I will be going on a student VISA so I'll be able to work 19 hours per week.  What are my options? I was thinking maybe I could just continue to work like normal but pay my taxes in France.  I'm not sure how this would work.  Can you pay quarterly like in the US.  I get paid as an independent contractor so I pay quarterly here.  How would this square with my 19 hour max requirement? I could set up a company in France for IT consulting if that would make it easier and pay my share that way.  Then it could pay me a salary based on 19 hours per week.  Since I work by the contract it would be impossible to know if I worked more than 19 hours per week.  If I paid myself a salary I wouldn't necessarily document all of the hours I spent working. I am an American and my partner is French so I don't want to jeopardize our ability to stay in France but I seek the best solution that lets me go legally, work legally, contribute to and use the national health care system, and pay my taxes.

My partner and I are moving to France this summer.  He is a French citizen and I am an American citizen.  To get my long term VISA I need to get health insurance for myself.  I was considering going on a student VISA.  When I was researching this option I kept reading that students could get insurance for about 450 Euros a year.  Now that I'm just considering the lng term VISA for non-professional purposes I don't see insurance so cheaply.  I want basic coverage nothing too fancy as we may not stay a long time.  Any ideas on what to expect to pay?  Who would you suggest I look to for insurance?  Do I need to go to France to get the insurance?  Of course you all know the need insurance to get a cart du sejour and need a carte du sejour to get insurance routine I am about to embark on.  If we decide to stay longer than a year and stay permanently I will just pay into the French system but for one year I'd prefer to go as cheap as possible.  Maybe going on a student VISA would be better, what do you think?

We hadn't previously thought we would even have a car right away as we are going to settle in Toulouse in the city but now I think we will spend 4-5 months traveling around before we settle down and thought why not look into bringing our car.  We figured we'd have to buy one to do the traveling and since ours is already paid off and we like it why not look into bringing it. We have a 2000 Subaru Impreza wagon.  It is coming from the US.  Where can I find out more about what I have to do and how much it will cost?  We are not against selling it and then buying a cheap car in France either.  Just don't want to get rid of the car we already have if it is not too complicated, one of us is French so we have some idea of how complicated it could be.

[quote user="Just Katie "]Too many Welsh decendents live there RH[:-))] [/quote] It must be an inside joke.  According to my mother, we are Welsh.  My name is Owen after all, named after my great grandfather, not the black knight, at least I don't think I was named after the black knight.

[quote user="Russethouse"] I was thinking of visiting Philadelphia next year - what's the problem ?[/quote] There is no problem.  We just don't like it too much.  People seem to be moving here because it is likely to be the next big city to boom in the US.  A lot of people who got priced out or couldn't make it other places came here so it has a strange feeling to me.  As a whole the city has a chip on its shoulder about its 200 year fall from grace.  It used to be the premier city in the US, we're talking many years ago.  It has lots of things you'd expect big cities to have restaurants, entertainment, public transport, etc but it doesn't add up for me.  It's like in its recent renaissance it just plopped down the things it wanted but didn't dvelop them so it feels soulless to me.  It was very affordable 5 years ago when we moved.  It has gotten more expensive but I don't think it is changing as rapidly as we hoped.   Coming from CA it was nice because it looks more like a European city with small narrow cobblestone streets, lots of stone and brick construction, etc.  Oh yeah it is very corrupt, yeah yeah I know all cities have a level of corruption but Philadelphia really takes the cake, at least here in the US. The real problem, if there is one, is that it is large geographically and only about 20% of the city is nice and has interesting things to do.  About 20% more is okay and really about 60% is extreme poverty and very depressing.  It is less than 2 hours drive to New York City and less than 3 from Washington DC.  That seems to be its biggest selling points, not something about itself as a city.  I spend more time in NYC than in Philadelphia.  I'm getting older and don't want to wait for it to become the city we want it to be, if it even does that.  We'd rather move to a place that we like now so we can live the way we want now.

I don't know if it is worth responding now but here goes I am learning the language now and plan to spend our first year exclusively devoted to learning the language.  That won't be a problem. I understated my tech skills so as not to sound arrogant, its an annoying habit of mine, I didn't want to sound too confident about getting work.  I think my language issue will prevent me from getting work more than my technical ability. I think I will focus on developing websites and tutoring in English to earn a little money right away.  We do have income from a rental property and a sizeable chunk of money when we sell our main home and business. I know our standard of living will be different and I don't think of it as living our dream in France.  My partner is French, his mother is old, he'd like to go back and occassionally help take care of her when needed.  I think our reasons are different from the "lets try to live in France" crowd, not that there is anything wrong with that but it is not us. Having made the "mistake" of moving to Philadelphia we are pretty clear on what aspects of a place are very important.  I just want to find out if it sounds reasonable that I would be able to supplement our income with income from web development, on my own if need be, and English tutoring.  My partner is French and able to work, so providing he can find a job, I think we'll be alright. We haven't decided if we will try to open a store or not, but if we can both find work, even a little our income will be sufficient.

I am moving this summer to Toulouse.  I will be taking language classes immediately, though I know a bit now.  At the same time I'd like to update my digital design skills.  I was hoping that I might enroll at a university where I could take a French class and some kind of digital design class.  Maybe my French isn't up to it yet but even for the future.  I am self taught in web and graphic design and wonder if getting another degree or certificate in France would help in getting work here.  Does anyone know which schools in the Toulouse area are known for digital design.  I have done a Google search but my head hurts from reading so much in French.

[quote]TT - I would have thought that in this thread the pros and cons are exactly what you have been given[/quote] I was specifically talking about Toulouse.  One poster a while back said it would make more sense to say I'm considering moving to "X" to be more specific and get better info directly related to that area.  That is what I did and hope to get more specific info.  Maybe it won't work that way.  Some people also were bored but I don't know if they were bored because they lived in the country or because they were isolated because they don't speak the language.  I don't anticipate boredom being a big problem in a big city.  I bet there are other problems that I haven't even considered.  I was hoping someone might shed some light on them in regards to Toulouse.

Does my post really sound that way?  It's not how I was thinking.  This thread in particular has a lot of negativity to it.  I really wondered if it was that bad or if it was part of the French past time of complaining.  I have lived with a French person for 10 years and with many French friends I feel fairly comfortable commenting on the French penchant for complaining.  Maybe complaining isn't the right word for it because that sounds negative and I don't think of it that way.  Maybe it is being critical, which I value.  I am also that way myself which is why I sought to distinguish whether it was people just being critical or was it really that  difficult.  Sorry for any confusion or offense. I wasn't unhappy in CA.  We were just pushed to the financial max.  We thought our lives might be better if it weren't so tight but we found out our lives weren't better.  We would like to restore our lives to a similar way they were in CA.  Going back to CA is not an option as my partner's mother is getting older and lives in Charente Maritime and will need him reasonably close soon.  If that means moving somewhere more expensive then that is what we want to do.  Once again maybe it is my own perception but after numerous rereadings of my post I don't think it was negative.  Maybe too careful a reading of it distorts ones senses. I'm not looking for Toulouse to save us.  We've been a few times and really liked it.  I was looking for someone as an insider who might give me  pros and cons that are not as obvious to the casual visitor.  Everyone seems to think it is a tremendously dynamic and growing city that is starting to attract people from all over Europe, not just France.  Diversity is important.  I don't want to live amongst just French people.  I too suppose we'll be happy but wouldn't mind hearing about some less than obvious problems.

I wonder if it is worth posting but I will anyway. I do wonder myself why some people stay as they have many negative things to say.  I know the French tend to be negative but I wonder if it just cultural or is it really that bad.  I'm am American so I know even less about the Brits.  Some of you sound like you'd be at home here in Philadelphia. My partner and I are planning to move to Toulouse this summer.  He is French and I obviously am not as I said earlier.  It may be a stretch but I think we are in similar situations as some of you. an abbreviated CV We lived in the Bay Area in CA for many years.  SF, then Berkeley, and then finally we bought a house in Oakland.  It was very expensive and we didn't have much extra money but we owned a little house, had great friends, excellent intimate connections with people, ate great food (CA produces much of the best produce in the US), perfect weather, it goes on and on.  After a while the stress was catching up with us and we looked at other big cities in the US (we were too afraid to go to France then) and decided to try Philadelphia.   We wondered if have a smaller economic burden would make the trade offs of living in Philadelphia worth it. We sold our house in Oakland and were able to buy a home to live in, a duplex in the best part of downtown Philadelphia, and start a business.   Financially the move made great sense.  We live at a level that we never could have dreamed of in CA.  The thing is we are not that happy.  Of course I don't have a lot to complain about but we don't like the people here, the overall quality of the food is lackluster, except of course for the expensive stuff, the weather too cold, etc.    I feel like that was our equivalent of going from The UK to France, for an easier life, but realized it didn't make us happier so we want to go to France. We thought about the countryside in the SW because of price but I think we need to be in a city.  I know we won't have as much money and  it will be tight but I am expecting it to be more rewarding the way CA was in terms of people, food, climate, and overall culture.  It is a tradeoff I think I am willing  to make now.  I am glad we tried the move to a cheaper place though so I know not to be tempted by "easier" living. I work in computers and education so I know Toulouse is a big high tech hub so when I eventually get to the point when I can work I hope my specialized skills will serve me well in that region. My partner is French but he has not lived there in 20 years.  We have no illusions about the bureaucracy but also know you sometimes have to try 10 times to do one thing before someone will actually do it for you.Philadelphia is surprisingly similar, even the French here say how similar the bureaucracy is, at least if you deal with the beauracracy in France you are living there, not here in Philly as they call it. I too am curious why people stay.  In the US I think people are more mobile so if they really hate a place many pick up and leave.  Is it just hard but manageable?  Is it just a cultural norm to complain about things?  Things that matter to us, climate especially not too cold during winter, access to good fresh food, reasonably educated and interesting people, diversity, Cultural life, public transportation, aesthetically pleasing, close to other things to do, not too far from an ocean, ease of using train for longer distance travel. Anyone from in or around Toulouse that is dying to get out and think we are way off base and should reconsider.  We will have a bit of money from the sale of our house and business, and a small income from our rental property.  He'll be able to work immediately (I know if he can find a job) and hopefully within a year I will be able to work too.  I can teach English and design websites on the side until I am legit, I've done and currently do both now. PS I find it strange that people move to the country and then find it boring.  I mean when I am ready to move to the country I would be expecting it to be boring.  That is why we opted not to look much in the Dordogne, we are not ready yet.  I mean we could buy a house for cash and not worry so much about work but then we might be in the situation we are in here in Philadelphia, easy life but not fulfilling.

Thanks for your encouraging response.  I too would consider starting my own web design business but I think dealing with my residency issues, opening the store, and adjusting to life in France will be more than enough.  I would like to get a job first and then when things are more stable consider starting my own business. It is still a little perplexing to me this PACS A foreign partner in a PACS with a French citizen can obtain a temporary residence permit (“permit de sejour”) after a one-year waiting period. It is subject to annual renewal through the local mayor's office.  After five years, a permit de sejour holder is eligible to apply for permanent residency (which in France means a ten-year permit).275 Article 12 of the PACS law states that in considering the grant of permanent residency to a foreign partner, the existence of a Pact is “one of the elements for assessing personal connections in France.” Does anyone know if this means I can go to France but during that one year waiting period I have to leave every 3 months?  Can we apply for the PACS while living in the US and then move to France after the waiting period? Does my partner maybe have to move to France first so we can get PACSed and I will still need to live outside of France for a year for that waiting period? Can we move to France, get PACSed, and then I attend school on a student visa to allow me to work part time?  After the year waiting period then apply for my permit de sejour so I can get a regular job? I know in the US companies now are reluctant to even consider employment for people who don't already have their papers in order so I would like to have my permit de sejour before I try to find full time work in France.  With specialized skills are French companies willing to help get papers in order for the right job candidate?  I can probably guess the answer to that question. Another trip to the French consulate is again in order, but they have generally not been very knowledgeable about this, so they have been only marginally helpful.  Anyone else in a similar position?

My partner and I just came back from a month in Toulouse and loved it.  We have been wanting to leave the US for a while and think we may have found a suitable city.  We love the weather, the food, the diversity, and think it meets all of our criteria, now the hard part, how do we do it?  We would like to move in 1-2 years or so and need some direction finding answers.  I'd appreciate answers if you have them but even pointing us in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. He is a French citizen and I am from the US.  We can't get good answers to the question: If we register as domestic partners in France (the PAX?) will I be able to work legally in France?  For this reason we're hoping gay marriage will go through soon as this sounds more promising for me to attain a carte sejour.  We have been together 10 years here in the US and have domestic partner documents from Berkeley, CA and Philadelphia, PA as proof.  Does anyone know if I can get a carte sejour by being domestic partners (I know we'd have to register in France too, does that take long?) or does only marriage give you that? On to work matters, I currently teach computers in public school here in Philadelphia.  I have taught a variety of grades and a variety of subjects so I know teaching English would be an option.  I'd prefer not to but I wouldn't turn down a job if offered.  I also develop websites on the side which is really the direction I'd like to go into.  I understand Toulouse is becoming, if not already is, the high tech capital of France.   Does Toulouse offer a lot of opportunities for web development?  I can do many aspects of web design and have been focusing on e-commerce as everyone seems to need this these days.  I'm also curious about information security and have thought about pursuing another Master's degree in it but only if there seem to be opportunities in the Toulouse area.  Anyone know?  I also am the network administrator in the school where I work.  I maintain the LAN and do trouble shooting of the network and computers, train teachers in software and hardware, and maintain the school website.  I don't have qualifications for Network Administration but can be a very useful assistant of some kind in this capacity.  My guess is that with all the universities and high tech companies in Toulouse there must be jobs of this sort as well.  What do you think? I understand French very well as we have many French speaking friends so I hear it everyday, but I don't speak that well.  I plan to really focus in the next 1-2 years on speaking better so hopefully language won't be much of an issue when and if we get there.  I am fluent in Spanish, is that seen as a plus?  I thought maybe I could enter a university program for a year or so in Toulouse to learn the language better, and be able to work part time on a student visa if I am unable to get a carte sejour the other ways previously mentioned.  If you are accepted into a French University for learning the language does that give you the right to work like when studying anything else?  We have an investment property in PHiladelphia that we don't plan on selling that will provide me with more than enough income to satisfy the the $500 dollar a month requirement for the non resident student status.  Does this sound reasonable or am I dreaming? I also have read that if you go to school in France it is easier to get a job there.  I thought that maybe I could go to school for web design or information security and have a better chance at getting a job.  Even if it were just a technical school, I would learn more and hopefully be easier to employ, I love school by the way so I really don't mind going back.  Language becomes more of an issue then but luckily computer programming languages are universal.  Is there any truth to it being easier to get a job if you went to school here? Finally we run a contemporary design shop/gift gallery here in Philadelphia, which my partner would like to open in Toulouse.  He basically runs it and I design the website, graphic materials, basic accounting.  He is a French citizen so I know he can do this but where do we begin to look into replicating this in France?  We are an s-corp here in the US for tax purposes but neither of us understands French tax law so we have no idea where to begin.  Any ideas?     Are we deluding ourselves?  I feel there are a lot of high tech opportunities in the Toulouse area so that was also part of our reasoning but does it sound like a long shot for me to be able to work there.  I know I could just work at the store and he can take the paycheck but from opening our store here I know it is more like 2-3 years before you can really pay yourself, if it even succeeds.  I feel like I have many semi-plausible ideas and some specialized skills that make me hopeful for finding work but doesn't everyone think that too?  Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!