French Kat in England Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 Sorry I can't find a general discussion category so I hope this one will do.My question is simple : why have you decided to come (or intend to go) to France ?Maybe I should introduce myself a little. I am a 33 year-old French girl. I come from Provence, near Marseille. I have been living in England with my English boyfriend for 4 and 1/2 years now. We might receive a large amount of money and we are hoping to go and live in France. Somebody recommended this site to me as I am now trying to get some information about what the conditions are for my boyfriend to emigrate. I have been reading this forum for a few days and got quite a lot of answers to the questions I was asking myself. I find it fascinating to see France from an english point of view and I am having lots of fun So, to satisfy my curiosity, will you tell me what made you come to live in France ? ThanksFrench Kat in England Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 I too asked this question when I first found this board and was given a very hard time for asking. When we came here in 1981, there were so few people who were coming here or even giving a thought to moving to France. We came to ski, nothing more, nothing less, there was skiing and a job in the region, we could have moved anywhere really, as it happened it was France. It is a fascinating though isn't it, and I still do not really understand why there is this wave of folks moving here or wanting to move here.And I have a question for you, is there a board like this for french people living in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piprob Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Il s’agit de cœur, pas de raison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 [quote]Sorry I can't find a general discussion category so I hope this one will do. My question is simple : why have you decided to come (or intend to go) to France ? Maybe I should introduce myself a litt...[/quote]Hello French Kat.Put very simply, we came here because my partner wanted to retire early, (at 50) this he had planned for since he was 20. He had had many holidays in France since the age of 19, and we had come together a few times. So, for him the reason would be that he absolutely loves France, and doesn't like England. For me the reason was that I absolutely love him, and chose to have a live, mentally healthy husband in France rather than a cracked up heart attack victim in England. For him to retire at 47 (as it turned out) we simply would not have been able to have the kind of house, and the peace and tranquility that we have been able to afford here. I really like England, but I could not have had there, what we have here. I'd just like to add the obvious, your written English is superb. I'ts nice to have a French person contributing too.Tresco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjb Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Hi,We were in a remarkably similar position. My wife is French and I'm English and we spent 4 1/2 years together in England before moving to France in July 2003.As for your boyfriend:1. What does he do for a living?2. Can he speak any French?3. Has he spent much time in France?4. Does he like any particular regions of France?I'm 30 and my wife is 24, so we made the move at a relatively young age. I'll never earn what I earnt in England (and what's more I'm a teacher!!) but then again we've never looked back since making the move to 06 and our quality of life is far better than it ever was in England.There's good and bad in both countries, as one would expect, but if he's able to crack the language side of things life will become much easier, providing you can hold his hand when it comes to french bureaucracy!! Also, as far as english qualifications are concerned, these are not always accepted in France, despite EU rulings!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Having lived in 3 continents and gone back to the UK for over 20 years I knew it was not for me. Moving further and further into rural areas and watching drugs and prostitution move into those areas as time went on. Being let down very badly by the NHS not once but many times - and having to pay to get life saving treatment I decided that I had had enough. I have heard that the village we left is now far worse.John was more intent to leave the UK than I was - I was actually very depressed and it was not until we came to France (where I had spent a fair bit of time) did I realise that there was still bits of France that were rural and quiet.I realise that all ills of the modern world will eventually get to all the rural areas in all the countries of the world, but I don't have to deal with the physical evidence on the rural hill that is my home at the moment.I am pleased to be here. I cannot see myself ever willingly returning to the UK to live. My place of birth was an accident, where I live is luckily my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
French Kat in England Posted January 12, 2005 Author Share Posted January 12, 2005 Thanks everyone ! Sorry I can't name you as I don't see your name (a problem with my firewall apparently ), so I will just quote you "I too asked this question when I first found this board and was given a very hard time for asking". What's wrong with this question ? I will have to do some searches to see the post in question to find out "We came to ski, nothing more, nothing less, there was skiing and a job in the region"That's an unexpected reason, but why not after all ? Do you actually like there now and think you made the right choice ? "It is a fascinating though isn't it, and I still do not really understand why there is this wave of folks moving here or wanting to move here."Yes, fascinating. But I also understand that with all thoses programs about moving to France, one feels like going there. They make me dream too After all, France IS a nice country, with beautiful landscapes and in general with a nicer weather (I feel so depressed by the weather in England Coming from a very hot place like the South of France, I can tell you I can see the difference...). "And I have a question for you, is there a board like this for french people living in the UK."I don't know a board quite like this one, but know a few for French mums in the UK yes "Il s’agit de cœur, pas de raison. "I can relate to that, as it is for the same reason that I am in England Tresco, retiring in France looks like the perfect solution to money problems (and the difficulty to find a job) it seems. I hope that despite the fact that you are not the one who originally decided to move to France, you do enjoy it now "I'd just like to add the obvious, your written English is superb"Thank you so much for that compliment ! I wasn't expecting it and it touched me a lot "We were in a remarkably similar position. My wife is French and I'm English and we spent 4 1/2 years together in England before moving to France in July 2003.As for your boyfriend:1. What does he do for a living?2. Can he speak any French?3. Has he spent much time in France?4. Does he like any particular regions of France?"Wow, this does sound very much like our situation indeed Except that we are not going to get the money we were half expected (we got the verdict tonight ), so for the moment, our plan is "a l'eau" . We have to find a way round the financial side and that can take years unfortunately To answer your questions :1. My boyfriend is a lab technologist (I think that this is title anyway ). 2. He can manage in french but doesn't feel he knows enough to find a job (our plan was for him to take a year to study french in France at university). 3. We have known each other for 10 years so he has travelled a lot to France.4. He wanted to come really for me, who is missing my family so much They live near Marseille and we had planned to live at my parents' 4 bedroom house for a while, to give us the time it takes for me to find a job and a flat nearby and for him to study french properly He is quite depressed with his job at the moment and I am depressed because I am homesick. So he thought that by coming to France at least one of us would be happy . To give our 2 year-old daughter the chance to grow up with her cousins was one of the other reasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... French Kat in England Posted January 12, 2005 Author Share Posted January 12, 2005 And thanks Pucette for your e-mail. I will try and answer it as soon as I can French Kat in England Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Teamedup Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Teamed up here, I was the one who came to ski and also asked the same question. I'm afraid that you won't find the question as it was a few years ago and most of the old posts seem to have disappeared from the archives, although who knows, with these changes, they may be available again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Pucette<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Pucette<FONT><P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">"Qui ne connaît pas la campagne lhiver, ne connaît pas la campagne et ne connaît pas Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 I asked a similar question when I joined the board too...I've met a few lab technicians & research scientists who moved to the UK from France to work, none the other way... I've been told that difficult as it is for a French person to get into the system after finishing their studies it becomes virtually impossible if they have worked abroad for more than a year (a year is approved of to improve their English; it is standard practice to ring up potential employees at 9pm or 8am to see how good their English really is!).Here in France I've met a former lab technicien who works as a care assistant in a nursing home for the elderly.Mind you, my corner, 24/87 seems to be an employment black spot, there is much more work around the big cities in the south, a lot of people from here work there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Chouette Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 I think one of the main (or maybe the main) attractions for a large number of British people moving to France is that their £'s go a lot further when it comes to buying property. As you are no doubt aware, property prices in the UK are ludicrous; as a result of this many people have a nice bit of equity tied up in their UK property, which if they sell up will allow them to pay off the mortgage and buy a house out-right in France. Then there's the fact that France is three times the size of the UK and therefore there is a lot more space for everyone which definitely makes for a better quality of life IMHO. The UK (especially the SE) is extremely overcrowded and it will only get worse. Also (although I know Teamedup will disagree ), there appears to be less materialism here in France and people seem to be satisfied with less and lead a simpler way of life; their priorities are different. When you live in the UK it's so easy to get caught up in the whole consumerist, materialistic thing which just adds an additional pressure to the already 'rat-race' way of life there. C'est mon avis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... moonbus<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpac Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 I am really desperate to move to France but I have a lot of obstacles at present. My partner and I could buy a house in France but I would have to stay in the UK to work for a while. My partner isn't too keen as his French is minimal and would have to spend a lot of time alone (apart from the dogs), he also has a disability which precludes him from working. I know it can be done having been married to the Royal Navy for 20 years!! Does anybody out there do the same - working and living apart for longish spells? and how do you get on with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Tresco Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 French Kat, just to clarify, I did not come here against my will, and I am happy here.Moonbus, what you are proposing sounds pretty grim from your partners point of view. It may be that in your Royal Navy time you were in UK, perhaps surrounded by family, friends, informal support structures. I'm assuming that for much of the time, at least you were on 'home ground'. Presumably your partner would have none of these, not even you initially. I come from a Naval family myself, so I do understand that it can be done (although my experience was as a child, and for the most part it boiled down to 'wait till your father gets home - in 6 months!!!'), but for your partner, his lack of French could only add to his isolation. Perhaps he could take some classes before you go any further with this plan.tresco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Battypuss Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I have previously lived in Africa, Greece and Turkey. Only at the age of 21 did I find myself married to a German and living in England. I hated it! Then I had my daughter and lost the husband. To start with things weren't too bad until education reared its head...after losing my job I couldn't afford her private school any longer and the council schools round South London were so dire I wouldn't send the dog to one. So she was home educated until her best friend was murdered next door age 7 and I had daughter 2, then aged 3 months. Within 2 months I had packed and gone and have never been back. Now have a third daughter currently aged 10, second is 11 and third 20. Wild horses wouldn't drag me back to England. I can't even be bothered to renew my passport as I have no intention of shifting from here and have no family in England anyway!So I suppose you could say my primary reason was the children, the second...my mental health! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Jill<br><br>Jill (99) Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 [quote]Hi,We were in a remarkably similar position. My wife is French and I'm English and we spent 4 1/2 years together in England before moving to France in July 2003.As for your boyfriend:1. What does he d...[/quote]"I'll never earn what I earnt in England (and what's more I'm a teacher!!) but then again we've never looked back since making the move to 06 and our quality of life is far better than it ever was in England"My understanding is that French salaries are lower than British, so why is it that quality of life is so much better in France? I always felt our French friends had a better quality of life than we did in England. We are still in England, but as we have got older our quality of life here has also improved. Our French friends still have a good quality of life although I'm not sure whether theirs has improved or not with age - most of them have more children than we do, so that may have prevented them from improving their quality of life. When we are in France, we tend to eat as our French friends would do and it costs a bomb to eat that way. We spend far more on food in France than we would in England and we are pretty extravagant at home too. Our French friends always seem to be able to be more generous than English friends would tend to be or could afford to be.It is something I have never understood, but I hope I'll get chance to find out one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Please sign in to comment You will be able to leave a comment after signing in Sign In Now Share More sharing options... Followers 0
French Kat in England Posted January 12, 2005 Author Share Posted January 12, 2005 And thanks Pucette for your e-mail. I will try and answer it as soon as I can French Kat in England Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Teamed up here, I was the one who came to ski and also asked the same question. I'm afraid that you won't find the question as it was a few years ago and most of the old posts seem to have disappeared from the archives, although who knows, with these changes, they may be available again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pucette<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Pucette<FONT><P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">"Qui ne connaît pas la campagne lhiver, ne connaît pas la campagne et ne connaît pas Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 I asked a similar question when I joined the board too...I've met a few lab technicians & research scientists who moved to the UK from France to work, none the other way... I've been told that difficult as it is for a French person to get into the system after finishing their studies it becomes virtually impossible if they have worked abroad for more than a year (a year is approved of to improve their English; it is standard practice to ring up potential employees at 9pm or 8am to see how good their English really is!).Here in France I've met a former lab technicien who works as a care assistant in a nursing home for the elderly.Mind you, my corner, 24/87 seems to be an employment black spot, there is much more work around the big cities in the south, a lot of people from here work there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chouette Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 I think one of the main (or maybe the main) attractions for a large number of British people moving to France is that their £'s go a lot further when it comes to buying property. As you are no doubt aware, property prices in the UK are ludicrous; as a result of this many people have a nice bit of equity tied up in their UK property, which if they sell up will allow them to pay off the mortgage and buy a house out-right in France. Then there's the fact that France is three times the size of the UK and therefore there is a lot more space for everyone which definitely makes for a better quality of life IMHO. The UK (especially the SE) is extremely overcrowded and it will only get worse. Also (although I know Teamedup will disagree ), there appears to be less materialism here in France and people seem to be satisfied with less and lead a simpler way of life; their priorities are different. When you live in the UK it's so easy to get caught up in the whole consumerist, materialistic thing which just adds an additional pressure to the already 'rat-race' way of life there. C'est mon avis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonbus<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpac Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 I am really desperate to move to France but I have a lot of obstacles at present. My partner and I could buy a house in France but I would have to stay in the UK to work for a while. My partner isn't too keen as his French is minimal and would have to spend a lot of time alone (apart from the dogs), he also has a disability which precludes him from working. I know it can be done having been married to the Royal Navy for 20 years!! Does anybody out there do the same - working and living apart for longish spells? and how do you get on with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 French Kat, just to clarify, I did not come here against my will, and I am happy here.Moonbus, what you are proposing sounds pretty grim from your partners point of view. It may be that in your Royal Navy time you were in UK, perhaps surrounded by family, friends, informal support structures. I'm assuming that for much of the time, at least you were on 'home ground'. Presumably your partner would have none of these, not even you initially. I come from a Naval family myself, so I do understand that it can be done (although my experience was as a child, and for the most part it boiled down to 'wait till your father gets home - in 6 months!!!'), but for your partner, his lack of French could only add to his isolation. Perhaps he could take some classes before you go any further with this plan.tresco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battypuss Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I have previously lived in Africa, Greece and Turkey. Only at the age of 21 did I find myself married to a German and living in England. I hated it! Then I had my daughter and lost the husband. To start with things weren't too bad until education reared its head...after losing my job I couldn't afford her private school any longer and the council schools round South London were so dire I wouldn't send the dog to one. So she was home educated until her best friend was murdered next door age 7 and I had daughter 2, then aged 3 months. Within 2 months I had packed and gone and have never been back. Now have a third daughter currently aged 10, second is 11 and third 20. Wild horses wouldn't drag me back to England. I can't even be bothered to renew my passport as I have no intention of shifting from here and have no family in England anyway!So I suppose you could say my primary reason was the children, the second...my mental health! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill<br><br>Jill (99) Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 [quote]Hi,We were in a remarkably similar position. My wife is French and I'm English and we spent 4 1/2 years together in England before moving to France in July 2003.As for your boyfriend:1. What does he d...[/quote]"I'll never earn what I earnt in England (and what's more I'm a teacher!!) but then again we've never looked back since making the move to 06 and our quality of life is far better than it ever was in England"My understanding is that French salaries are lower than British, so why is it that quality of life is so much better in France? I always felt our French friends had a better quality of life than we did in England. We are still in England, but as we have got older our quality of life here has also improved. Our French friends still have a good quality of life although I'm not sure whether theirs has improved or not with age - most of them have more children than we do, so that may have prevented them from improving their quality of life. When we are in France, we tend to eat as our French friends would do and it costs a bomb to eat that way. We spend far more on food in France than we would in England and we are pretty extravagant at home too. Our French friends always seem to be able to be more generous than English friends would tend to be or could afford to be.It is something I have never understood, but I hope I'll get chance to find out one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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