Daley

Obviously not, or have I touched on a subject no-one is prepared to talk about??[:)]

    If only they were true.  I have been actively looking in France for about a year now and some of the jobs and the salary to go with it have made me fall off my chair.  I am not sure if the French are into titles i.e. Directors is a term loosely used in England, but for Directors jobs in France I have seen some really insulting salaries for the responsibility of the position.  Then when you see how much you have to pay in taxes, I am sometimes wondering why would I want to leave Germany, but it's not just about the money.  Take a look on the APEC site and you will see what I mean. I shall quote L'express figures at the next interview when we get to discuss salaries!!

    Hi Jason I read your entry with interest as I am looking to move to France in a couple of years time to start a B&B, but also realising that I will need to continue to work whilst my wife works on making a success of the B&B.  I have a job as a Corporate Assurance Manager for Europe, which also means I do audits of systems including quality systems.   Now to my question, where do you do your auditing? in France or returning to the UK?  Who pays for your travel and accommodation? Of course you are not obliged to answer these questions, but I would like to propose to my employer a UK company here in Germany, that I also work from home and that of course could be anywhere. Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers Dale

    Hi Although I do not live in France, yet! I have lived in three countries outside of the UK and like yourself I have read the books before hand, culture shook etc.  I started out submerging myself in the culture and language in those countries, but there are times when the reality hits you that is now your home that you will yearn for somethings English.  I don't think it is a bad thing to have some English friends as they will probably have some French friends that you will get to know, you can also share experiences good and bad with some Brits.   Why not watch some English telly, having English telly has not stopped me from learning languages. You will obviously come across the sterotype French person your book refers to, but that's the same everywhere.  You will surely make some mistakes on route, as I have done, but you will learn from them.  Enjoy the experience and find out for yourself. Good luck[:)]

    Yes Englanderin, nothing has changed here the staple diet being; sausages and cake!!! Lecker

    Hi Has anyone any experience of managing second homes from the full-blown do everything for them to just offering an ad-hoc service?  Is there a demand for this in France? I had some dealings with a French company offering the services and it seems the customers where there, but they had problems with maximising the utilisation of the staff. Thanks Dale

    Don't mention the war!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Thanks Quillan, I was considering what activities would attract people and provide a source of income such as, fishing, white water rafting where it may be possible to work with a local providers of these activities.  I trust that was free advice??[:D] Regards Dale

Amazing, how does a question about Germans coming to stay in France end up comparing the differences between East and West [8-)]  I live in Germany, in the west and I believe that the west Germans are resentful of the east Germans as they for one are paying a tax for re-unification (myself included) and they have seen their country suffer finanicially because of re-unification.  This is not a generalisation, just an observation from the Germans I know.  A tip for attracting Germans; offer coffee and cake, a favourite pastime for the Germans.

    Hi I have a question to B&B/Gites owners, do you have many Germans as guests?  I was reading a website that said more Germans visit France than Brits (maybe cos there's more of them), can anyone quantify this stat? Danke Dale

    Hi I am currently planning to move to France in 3 years time to start myself up in a B&B amongst other things. I have started my business plan of which is in a very draft form, but I do have three years to get it right.  I am prepared to share this with you if you like.  My background is in Hospitality and Services, so I do have some idea, but obviously I have not been to the bank with it yet. Let me know if you want a copy, it's in excel and word. [email protected] Regards Dale

Thanks Lori for your thoughts.  It was the exact reason you stated that "it is not too big and not too small" that appeals to me.  I am English as is my Wife.  I am negotiating relocation allowance, so as you rightly said there is nothing like being on the ground to see everything.  If we do decide to make the move, I'll be in touch. again thanks for your help. Merci Dale

Hi Thanks for the replies.  I am possibly coming to Avignon from Germany (Bonn).  I have found numerous websites for renting property, although I can not believe the quality of the photographs (if any at all), and I thought the Germans were useless at this   However, if you know of any good websites, I would be interested to know of them.  We have a 100 sqm in Bonn which costs around 930 Euros inc,except electricity, another 60 per month. I was looking at Avignon as it is a city and we have already made a mistake of living in a quiet town, so we are interested in the city life as my wife will not have a job.  So I am really interested in knowing what life in general is like, good, bad indifferent? Many thanks

I may be moving to Avignon (the job will be based in St Rémy)  in the not to distant future and although I have been there once for a few hours, I was wondering if anyone had or has experience of living there? Good or bad experiences would be welcome to give a balanced view, as I am sure 350 days of sunshine is not the only good reason to live there. Many thanks Dale

Thanks Céline, I feel a bit better now. I guess my priorities are not the same as hers.  It was just luck my letter of speculation arrived on her desk and she now wants to meet me, so when she called me it was a total surprise.  However, being as I am, patience is not my strong point, however, it can be seen as a strength also. Regards Dale

Hi I am currently living and working in Germany for a UK company. I applied to some French companies to work in France, 90% never acknowledged my application, 9% sent the bog standard letter of thanks but no thanks and yes 1% rang me to invite me to an interview.  I had an initial phone interview with the MD of the company and she said she now wants to meet me.  Before I was able to agree to this I asked her for a job application and benefits package, to see if the job met my expectations before I fork out for a trip to France, only to be dissappointed at the package, she agreed to this and said I will have it in a few days.  One month later, as I was about to ring her and withdraw my application, as I thought maybe she has changed her mind, I received an e-mail with the information I was asking for, is this type of behaviour normal in France (demain attitude), or is she hinting that she has changed her mind, but wishes to remain professional.  Anyway, I spoke to her and arranged an interview for a few weeks time, and then sent her an email for clarity on a couple of things (every time I ring she's in a meeting ) and again I have had no reply. Although I do know she is very busy as she has created this role to take over some of her responsibilities, so in effect she is doing two jobs.  The reason I have perservered is the job is a really interesting one and the chance/challange to move to a new country again.  So my question is can anyone read between the lines here and has anyone had a similar experience with French HR? Danke Dale