megane

Thanks LyndaandRichard. I'm also from QLD but I love the heat so I'm in for a challenge dealing with european winters. Thanks for the votes of confidence. Did you find it hard getting work as an english speaker? I think now work is my major hurdle. I'm looking foward to improving my french skills and testing your theory on wine. I'm going to read your web page and get as many tips as I can.  

Oh No Daniel, I was so hopeful for you !! I'm planning to do the same as you in about 6 months (see post "nurse and husband moving to France for more than a year"), but I've not been getting much encouragment. I've been slaving away at french lessons every week for nearly 40 weeks, I still feel totally incompetent. I've been hoping to find somebody that believes it can happen, now you might drop out of the race and I feel more hopeless than ever! I love Australia and will always call it home but I have dreamed of living and speaking french for over 10 years. In retrospect I should have done a gap year straight after high school. So now I want a grown-up gap year when my husband I can afford it but it just seems so hard. I wish someone would say, "Go for it, you'll pick up the language once you are speaking it everyday." It hasn't happened yet. Argh, I feel like giving up.

Yes I've been to the UK and France. No new news as yet. Just trying to practice my French

Thank you Lori and Sprogster and I may do that but please don't take offence when I say, if I can't work in France I'm still going to live there until my money runs out  and then come home. My plan B is to work on Thursday island right on the top of Australia. I have absoultely no interest in working in the UK. None what so ever. I want to holiday there but if I start settling and working there, I would never get the experience of France that I'm hoping for.

Found the visa application for you too.... Hopefully you fit into this category http://www.ambafrance-ca.org/spip.php?article1950&var_recherche=working%20holiday%20visa http://www.ambafrance-ca.org/IMG/pdf/Visa_2E_EN.pdf And here's one that came up on a quick job search: http://www.learn4good.com/jobs/language/english/search/job/40004/ I'm actually jealous that I don't have hospitality experience as it would give me way more options for work. Hope this helps!

I'm planning to do the same thing but from Australia next year, here's what my research has uncovered so far: 1. Best place to look for rentals is at www.frenchlocations.com  The prices are in either euro or GBP and you can search by location all over France 2. If you google "Jobs in France" you find hundreds of job opportunities in hospitality, there are even a few jobs advertised to couples to run small cafes, B&B kitchens etc so you shouldn't have a problem finding work. 3. I have no idea about wages 4. Go to your french embassy website in Canada and search for "Working Holiday Visa". Its a twelve month visa aimed at people like you and me. 5. This forum has been very helpful for me 6. French classes are available in most big cities, you'll be fine! Good Luck researching, Its very exciting, I can't wait to get there.

Yes I've spent a little time in the UK and we have so many friends living there. Its actually quite expensive now for Ozzy nurse to get registered over there, but otherwise very straight forward. EVERYBODY goes to the UK and I know this sounds silly but I don't really want to go where there will be thousands of Australians living already. Next year is more about a new challenge and being surrounded by a different culture. I'll be visiting the UK quite often to see friends but I'm going to do everything possible to make France my base.

Thanks for those websites Lori. I have sent an email to Aile Medicale which looks like a health professional agency, and they have been very helpful. Things are looking more hopeful now for work. After closer inspection, it also looks like the frnace working holiday visa allows you to apply without having a pre-arranged employer. Wahoo! Only problem now is to find a place to stay, which the agency might even be able to help me with! Here's the website if anyone is interested: http://www.aile-medicale.fr/ Anyway I'll keep you posted, so to speak

oh and I apologise for my poor typing skills :)

There is a french working holiday visa agreement available to non Schergen countires which is aimed at young people (18-30) ie: backpackers, au pairs etc. So I would be surprised if you were entitled to a short working holiday but you had to line up your "fruit-picking" job here in Australia. I have little interest working in the UK as my main goal is to speak French, eat great food and drink great wine. I only wanted to investigate nursing as an option as this is my trade. I don't really mind if I have to scrub floors as long as I can get over there. I have read that if I can prove my skills in an area of specialty and my language skills(I am haemtology/oncolgy/apheresis nurse) than I may only have to sit an exam to get the IDE. My husband has no intention of doing pharmacy, he wants to pick fruit, drive a tractor,  be a gardener, whatever I'm sure it would be very difficult for anyone moving to another country for a cultural experience, but I'm not giving up... I just have to find out how.

 Thank you,  I have visited the embassy site.  I understand it is going to be difficult and I have enough resources to support myself  over there for a few months while I study up my French. If I can't get a job as nurse I have heard that I might be more successful getting a nurse aide position but I'm yet to find any english spesaking person that has done this. The working visa requires you to provide an employers name before you apply but I don't know enough french yet to contact employers. Is this totally impossible? Should I just do like all ohter Australians and go to the UK?

Hello Frenchies :) I'm new to this forum. I am a 25 year old nurse and my husband is a pharmacist and we are moving to France in February from Australia. I think I have to get a working holiday visa to start with to get over there but what if I want to stay longer? Also are there any english speaking nurses out there who have battled the paper work and have got their nursing registration in France?? I have been taking French lessons all year and will continue to do so until we leave but I'm not fluent. There is no way I can line up a job before I get there so how do I get a working visa? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.