What work if any?

[jackrabbitslims]

Also Posted in 'Employment in France' section.

Hello all, having read loads of threads on the livingfrance forum re employment (and lack of it?),  my wife and I would like to know your opinions\experiences of moving to France with no jobs and no big financial lump sum to live off for any period of time.  Our dream is to live in france permanently but we would take a year to get a rounded, realistic picture of what this actually entails. 

We plan to rent out our house in the UK for a year and rent somewhere in the Pyrenees\Languedoc.  This doesn't phase us at all.  We are simply worried about earning enough to get by.  We are a qualified dietician and an HGV driver (now office based) and would consider doing anything initially until we find our feet.  Are there agencies in the above areas that could help us?  Our language skills are weak at the moment so that is an obvious hindrance.  If there are jobs, what type of work would it be?  What about salary?  We don't really need to be told that 'this is a massive risk' and you're crazy to move without language skills' as we've read this lots of times on the forum.  What we would like are peoples EXPERIENCES.  Are there jobs in factories\fruit-picking\couriers\market stalls?  We have considered starting a business but the bereaucracy puts us off somewhat!

We're not frightened of people being realistic with their replies as this is what we want.  ALL experiences relayed to us will be welcomed.

 

Thanks & Regards. 

[Chezstevens]

..

On following your instructions about negativity there is only full stops left I am afraid.

Retirees and commuting workers, like myself, have an almost idyllic lifestyle here.

[Clair]

Friut picking in summer & autumn, usually through temping agencies (Manpower, Adecco...)

basic minimum salary (SMIC), no specific language skills required, but you'll need to understand the safety instructions.

If this is the route you choose, you'll need to be prepared to sell yourself to the agency staff, as there are a lot of French people who have no other job than these and families to support, so they'll probably be getting the pick of the offers before you...

It took my OH months of persistence and not a few tel calls from me to the agency staff to gradually get him into a night-shift cleaning team at the local jam factory. He did 8 months in total, now laid off for a while (his choice to have a few weeks off after 8 months of night-shifts) but able to get unemployment benefit of some sort until the fruit season starts again and he is (hopefully) offered another stab at the same job, as they know him now... I am quite sure that the fact I am French and could speak nicely to the staff played a big part in him getting job offers from the agency.

[julia]

[quote user="Clair"]Friut picking in summer & autumn, usually through temping agencies (Manpower, Adecco...)
basic minimum salary (SMIC), no specific language skills required, but you'll need to understand the safety instructions.

[/quote]

 

Safety instructions! yes they should be given but I wasn't  at the place I took a job at, which was packing and sorting the peaches(they were nectarined actually but everyone called them peaches)  And this will be mentioned next time ANPE call me in for an interview (not, that they will be able to do anything , I suppose)

No time for talking if you do go the factory route, they needed Octopuses not humans to do the job.

There is tonnes of work around the region you are looking at , but only from May to Sept and it is hard graft.

If you are still a HGV licence holder you may get the odd job through an agency but you will have to sell yourself.

 

[andyh4]

"... but you will have to sell yourself"

 

Too true with Polish and Slovak drivers working for 3€/hr net.  Admittedly they are now beginning to push for more.  And you will neeed to get French accreditation - round about 1000€ in training, which you pay yourself, not the firm.

 

Midi Pyrenness has 2.55m inhabitants with 1m in employment.  Most of those seking work will speak fluent French.

 

Sorry to be a downer, but this does not seem a very sensible move to me.

 

As someone else posted France is great for retirees and commuters - and from my details you may surmise I am one of the latter.

[PossumGirl]

[quote user="andyh4"]

As someone else posted France is great for retirees and commuters - and from my details you may surmise I am one of the latter.

[/quote]

It also can be great if you are self-employed with portable skills that only need internet access.

PG

[jackrabbitslims]

Thanks for your replies thus far, you've basically confirmed what we thought anyway though it's always nice to hear from people who've first hand experience.  With regards to the potential move being 'sensible', I don't think that leaving a nice home and secure jobs\careers to move to a foreign country, hoping to do ANY type of work could ever fall into the realms of sensible!!  As I've stipulated, this is a dream of ours, one that may take hard work and a big risk, but one that is attainable.  Maybe starting our own business is the way to go.  My wife and I have a couple of interesting ideas that we may research further.  Entrepreneur's a French word isn't it!!??

Just wish we'd bought our UK home 10 years earlier!

Thanks again to those of you who've taken the time to reply. 

Merci et Tout a'lheure (is that how you spell it)?

[samdebretagne]

[quote user="jackrabbitslims"] Entrepreneur's a French word isn't it!!??[/quote]

It is, but it isn't.  I think you'll find it extremely complicated and expensive to start your own business here.  The French gov't does not really encourage risk-taking, and thus the process of starting up your own business is a very long matter, and involves paying high social charges from the start, even if you have no guarantee of income.  It's something to think twice about, as it's not nearly as easy to do as it is in the UK or US.  Even the French find it complicated, so imagine being a foreigner trying to do it.

[LanguedocGal]

 

Agree entirely!

Entrepreneur may be a French word but they have forgotten what it means...  Most of their young dynamic Entrepreneurs are in the UK or US, so that should tell you a thing or two.

Entrepreneur in France is basically ''Antipreneur''.

[Bones]

My partner is French and hasn't had a paid job in two years (other than on the black - and even that's been a rarity).

Her CV is really impressive, and she's a tryer! She'd been away from France for ten years and cannot believe the massive difference between employment in France and employment in the UK.

Remember, this is a French woman willing to do ANYTHING - as you put it - and still banging her head against a brick wall! Try and remember the last recession in the UK, living 'oop north' - but outside a major city - and you'll start getting an idea. (Oh, and imagine you're French). We've picked grapes, but only because there were weather problems and the Spanish pickers had to go home! Most places use machines to pick these days. No jobs at the supermarket - no jobs at the employment agency ("Er, we might have the odd couple of hours for an electrician!").

She's recently managed to cobble together some teaching sessions through local associations and is only now ready to take the plunge and set herself up as a translator through a co-operative; if she didn't use the co-operative initially she'd be in deep doo-doo if the venture were to fail.

On the bright side, if you are prepared to tough it out and hammer the french lessons you could get your qualifications translated and maybe you'll be in luck?? Obviously, check out whether you can use the qualifications here first. There is a good thread on HGV work on this forum somewhere (didn't sound too promising though if I remember); there does seem to be a lot of drivers jobs advertised around.

My advise would definately be to spend some time here without making the proper move first, get a feel for it, experience the job market for yourselves. Unfortunately, the lowered employment aspirations attitude does not cut it here: no really, it's that bad!

Good luck, hope everything works out.