Claire333

how can 15 years in the same managerial position be 'un concrete employment history'? Or maybe the problem you guys have is me choosing to stay at home with my baby for a few months while my husband went out to work?! This is getting ridiculous.

Sally Redux

.

Sue

There's nothing wrong with someone feeling out the different countries. On BE we always try and encourage folk to research and read as much as possible before a big move and if one is unsure of where they want to hang their hat there is nothing wrong with asking questions about all the countries they may be considering.

We often get folk here who want to move to Australia and/or Canada (for instance) and so they come to BE to ask questions of those who already live there ... its the BE way. Just because someone is asking in a couple of other country forums it doesn't make them a troll

Peace and goodwill to all

Sally Redux

She appears to be sorted in Cyprus now so all is well.

Sue

Indeed

Claire333

My husband has solid work experience. He's gone out to work every day of his adult life. I have always worked online while studying for my degrees. And my online work has always been self employed (translating, copywriting, editing, content writing). I never really considered it work experience in the same way.

Claire333

I would love to stay in Northern Cyprus but teenager and hubby want to leave. So I'm about to throw in the towel (though I try and convince them to love it everyday). It doesn't help that school fees for teenager will be £7000 here and I don't really like the prospect of enrolling him when he wants to leave. Once he starts his A-Levels it would be very disruptive to move him, so if we leave it needs to be soon.
Now, if you'll all stop making assumptions and judging me I'll go to bed. I'm sick of having to defend myself. I've spent months ignoring nasty comments on this website and I should have just carried on ignoring them.

jvc

Claire...good luck to you, and I really mean that. I think the comments are honest, and there is no point it glamming up a relocation with work if it simply isn't a practical move. It is really important people understand the economic situation here, before such a big move. This website has been very helpful, and sorted us out in France...(OK on some issues maybe not), and I thank all those genuine reviews who have come back with helpful advice. However, like all forums, (and I am with Claire on this one), some of the comments are quite "direct" or "blunt", and often have had input from people who really haven't a clue on some of the topics raised . Not this topic I may add!!!!
It's a matter of filtering the reviews a little! However most comments are quite helpful...it just gets a little heavy sometimes. I think the moderator knows about this!

Claire333

Hi JVC, I totally appreciate responses that are realistic and blunt and give a good indication of the situation in the proposed country. I'm not focused on one specific area yet, but rather seeking information in several countries with a view to honing in on the best option. My teenager was asking to go to boarding school at his old school so I thought I would weigh up France as it would allow him to commute home for weekends. Also it would enable us to rent out our house in the UK while being able to take a trip back to maintain the place or deal with any issues. However I'm sure you're right that it isn't the best idea. It would give our teenager lots of pluses but leave my husband and I high and dry so we'll almost certainly focus on a different country. As for rude responses from other people - I have absolutely no problem with people being blunt, heavy or negative. What I don't like is rudeness and spitefulness. There's no reason for it.

L'Acajou

Hi Claire333

Like many regulars on this site, I read your first post and rolled my eyes. We see posts like this (and much more abstract) on a weekly basis. Please don't take the criticisms personally, at first sight it looks like yet another - "same old story" - I fear that was the first impression you gave.
Not only is France not an easy option, in many cases it is simply not an option and those of us here are very aware of that. Maybe we are a bit jaded in repeating the message
To me you simply popped your head up and asked a simple question then got shot down in flames. I just wanted to qualify those shots.....

Sue

EuroTrash

I'm sorry my post caused so much offence, but it really wasn't intended to. The rolley eyes about jobs in Cyprus were a comment on the global economy, which I don't hold the poster responsible for. I agree I sounded dismissive in the rest of my post and I apologise for that. I suppose I find it frustrating when people post questions, and you try to answer them, and then you find that your reply was completely wrong because the poster is not in the situation you thought they were; when someone enquires about moving, it helps if you know where they're moving from. But I still fail to see why the OP took offence at the deduction that if they have been abroad for a while, their NI record will not be complete (I assume that was the 'nasty little remark'). There is absolutely nothing judgemental about that. If you are working abroad you are paying into a different system and therefore not making NI contributions, it's a plain fact, and one which people don't always take into account so I thought it worth pointing out. Even if someone has worked for decades in the UK, if they happen to have made insufficient NI contributions immediately prior to applying for their S1, their application won't be accepted. I wasn't implying they hadn't been working - in fact I could be wrong but I believe that if you are on benefits in the UK, you get NI contributions credited. So why would it be in any way nasty to suggest someone doesn't have a complete NI record?

Chatter Static

I would like to take the time to point out to Claire that the cost of living in France is quite a bit higher than that in the UK, Yes houses are cheaper to buy here but that is pretty much were it stops.

In my 20 years on and off of being an Expat moving to a completely different country just because you found work there can make you super miserable very quickly with your hubby being the bread winner that puts a lot of pressure on him, in the seven odd years I have been a member here I have seen lots of folk leave various countries as quickly as they turned up because although the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence human nature makes them miss the minefield inbetween.

MillieF

I would suggest that you might personally feel a bit fragile at the present Claire...you aren't feeling exactly settled where you are living, and have a young child and a teenager and and an unhappy husband! I'd be tearing my hair out I don't think that anyone was being the least judgemental, but attempting to be helpful using the experience they have. I lived in Northern Cyprus for a year as I worked at the Uni, and loved the place, but I wouldn't want it for my son, who is now 12. That being said, I lived in the Middle East for years too, and worked at an international school....but I wouldn't have let my kid study there! You do feel a desperate need to move somewhere your kids can grow and develop socially in a solid academic background, don't you? That being said, how would France help with that? At 16, you'd be looking at international schooling which is a mega bucks job, and socially they'd be out of the social loop too as they wouldn't speak French. What happened with the Canada forum? I moved to Canada last year, after 15 years in France, and for our son, it's going great guns.

Keep exploring your options....even better put it to the back of your mind for a couple of days, sometimes you get so hung up in a problem you can't see the way forward until you stop for a while.

Making the decision to move to Canada, was one of the most difficult decisions we ever made as a family, this time last year, I was feeling very mentally fragile. I loved France, and I would live there again in a heartbeat, but only if I were retired or had a good private income and no school age kids.

Very best of luck in finding the best solution for your family.

cyrian

I agree.
If you don't have to find work and have enough income and are reasonably fluent with the language it can work well.
I socialise with a group that is all retired french dentists; doctors; lawyers and pharmacists and life is great for all.
However, the gap between this group and ordinary workers is large and life is not so good for those further down the food chain
In addition, I had a friend who worked for a large multi-national in Paris where everything was provided for him.
They provided free language lessons; finance to buy electrical goods and a native french-speaking secretary who could make phonecalls for him and arrange things like electricity and water accounts.
They also paid for schooling for the kids.
With this sort of backup it all becomes easier.
Hope you find your destination.

Claire333

Yes, I think it would only work if we could secure a job offer with an english speaking multi-national prior to entering the country, were certain we could become fluent in French, or could work online. All of these are possibilities (We already have an online business, could approach multi-nationals and there is a good chance we could become fluent if we worked intensively enough at it (we already speak 2 languages fluently so hopefully a third would not be impossible) - however none of these are certain. I think France will have to come low down on our list of options after more accessible and less risky ones. Then again my husband could always commute to the UK as he has a job offer there. This isn't ideal though and I'd still be in a difficult position to find work myself.