French Zen required

[Valdo]

I am moving to France in less than 2 weeks and I am calling out to all of you who have been through this already: how do you handle the stress!!!!!???? Despite a whole year of research and organising I am reaching meltdown point right now, trying to organise post redirection, child benefit/pension transfer, car insurance, life and endowment policies at this end while all I have to look forward to is a derelict house with a chemical loo and no shower.  Throw in a couple of young children and it's total panic.... I am terrified of forgetting to do something in the midst of the move and keep making lists I never read.  Oh, and one last point, just to point to the irony of the situation:  I am French but I moved here almost straight after uni and after 14 years in Scotland, I have no idea how things work in my home country.  Can somebody please reassure me that things will work out in the end? That it's really worth it?  How did your move go? How did you feel about it?  I never thought it would be so strange to leave.  Any advice welcome.

[Tresco]

Hi

Stop making new lists. Just have one big one with room for progress notes etc. It's very unlikely you will forget something important, but if everything is written in one place that will help.

I remember a minor panic phase, but that passed and with two weeks to go I felt fairly happy with everything. I wasn't bringing any children though.

Our move went fine, no major errors were made, in fact I can't think of any at all. It was just like moving house any other time, but with a few extra things to do re money/pensions etc. Try and think about it like that.

As you are French you'll soon get the hang of things - at least it won't take you a week to decipher official type letters etc. [:$]

But is your house really derelict? The prospect of that would freak me out more than the move part, and I'm quite a hardy wench.[:)]

 

 

[PossumGirl]

I agree with Tresco.  My husband is French, but had lived in the U.S for 26 years before we moved back.  We moved from Los Angeles, so as you can see, it would have been pretty darned difficult to go back if we'd forgotten something!

But, it all worked out fine.  As a returning French citizen, you will find that it's not that difficult to get back "into the system." Just try to relax and let it happen, the stress is far worse for you than anything that you might forget.

PG

[Graham & Brenda]

Make sure the important things - passport and other ID, driving licence, insurance, banking, medical requirements etc. are at the top of your list - and all will work out. Try to prioritise and take one day at a time - don't expect to have it all sorted in the first week.

In a few months' time re-read your posting and have a good laugh!

All the best with the move,

 

 

[Patf]

When you arrive all you can do is take one step at a time, and I

suppose the welfare of you children will come first. I 'm confirming

what Graham said - just realised.. Even if you forget to do a few

things, most can be sorted from here - once you've got the phone in, or

use your mobile. Especially if you have friends and family in UK. I'm

sure it will go well - Pat.

[Richard-R]

Money-Money-Money

It makes the world go round.

Setting up an account in France in easy if you have all your banking details. Once you have an account with funds and a CB card every thing falls in place.

[Valdo]

Thanks for all the messages - it does help to see that we seem to have indeed taken care of all the essentials (money/bank, health cover, schools).  I guess it is last minute panicking: when I moved to Britain I packed everything I had in the boot of my boyfriend's car and never advised anyone other than friends and family that I was leaving - all these years later, I'm not sure we'll manage to pack all our belongings at the back of the Luton and the list of people to inform is endless! Must be getting old....

And yes, our house is barely habitable: we have two (big) rooms where the four of us will live and the septic tank will not be installed until a few weeks after our arrival.  We have had mains water and electricity installed but other than that, I think we'll be 'camping' for a while.  Just as well summer is around the corner and it'll feel, hopefully, like a holiday until things are more settled and the major renovation works carried out.

Cheers again, I needed that!

[Tresco]

I truly honestly think you should take it easy, just do the jobs on your list, keep crossing them off, play with the nippers, and learn how to rig up some sort of bucket shower... Quick![:-))]

Good luck with everything. [:D]

[Teamedup]

You didn't mention health care on that list and that will need sorting out. If you haven't done so yet,  get your E forms from Newcastle, you need to hand them into your Caisse de Maladie.

 

When we moved to France I sorted it all out on my own and the only difficult thing was that everything we owned had to be listed in french  and the list  authorised by the consulate. The move it self was the easy bit really.

 Where as I am rather dreading this next move back. We are not doing too well with chucking stuff out that we should chuck out.

[Just Katie]

Hi TU, are you moving back to UK?

[Teamedup]

Yes, probably this year. Been here a long long time, but we never considered that we had emigrated, just were living somewhere else and now we are going back.