carol24

hello there, new to the forum today ...I have many questions ,I will post and hope to get some good answers and suggestions
carol

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
Post again with all your questions and we'll try to give you good answers and suggestions!

Alyson68

Hi
We have just moved to Manche Normandy and are all slowly settling in but my 17 year old daughter is desperate to meet other teenagers to socialise with,she speaks only English at the moment but is keen to learn french
Any ideas or suggestions welcome

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
Presumably your daughter's not a Lycéenne nor a student if she's not meeting other teenagers. You can ask at your Mairie for a list of Clubs and Associations which she can join. She'll soon make friends with young people with the same interests. If she intends to remain in France, she should be more than "keen" to learn French!
All the best!
P.S. You may like to post again in a New Thread - questions in the Introductory Thread tend to get swallowed up by the following posts.

Jakhil

Thank you so much for your advice and well wishes! will take it all on board!

tommydavis

Hello (bonjour)
I am a new member and I have just moved to south France with my parents. They already lived here for about a year semi-retierd. We live in Deux-sevres in a little old stone farmhouse just past Poitiers.
I'm 24 years old and I work as a community worker ..... well did until was made redundant back home in the UK at the start of this year. Typical government screwing over us young members of society. ( just my opinion) Being unable to afford my rent ( expensive when you live near London ) i decided to take some time out and stay with the folks.

Just thought id say hello and give a little brief intro. ill stop before i go on all day and trust me i can talk and talk.

thanks for reading

cjm

Hi Tommy, or should we say 'chatty-boy' - others will be along to say welcome. I'm a bit north of you, but I know there are Brits living down your neck, hopefully they will come along and say hello.
What do you fancy doing while in France? Do you play sport?

tommydavis

Thank you for the warm welcome and the chuckle 'chatty-boy'

I do enjoy sports basketball being my favorite, I would like to indulge in the culture here and as i write take the opportunity to gain some inspiration. I'm currently helping the folks revamp there lovely home doing the odd building work and gardening. The quite life is nice but being a get up and go yoyo kinda guy i would like to keep myself entertained, learning french in the evenings to be able to say hello and chat with the locals.

cjm

Take a look here - http://uk.poitiers-tourism.com/home/leisure/sports.aspx

Basketball gets a high reference. I Googled in English, so conversation ought not to be an issue My French aint too good either, but when you are an old bludger, you get to shrug your shouders and mumble ... where's me tablet sweetheart

Finvola

We moved to France in 1991 & still loveit. So much to see & do & space in which to do it.
Hi to all the other expats here.
more later.

suedawson

Hi all,
I am new here and would really like to get to know some of you here
As a fifty something divorced woman I`ve finally decided that I want to start a really big adventure and move to France. I would be buying an apartment (no mortgage) and am looking at Perpignan as a lovely looking place and for ease of travel to UK.
Does anyone have any thoughts/ advice they could share?
I will be visiting Perpignan in next few weeks. If anyone can suggest somewhere to stay and, even better, possibly a meet up for a coffee that would be great.

Thank you all
Sue.

Chatter Static

Welcome to the Forum, It wont be hard to find folk to chat too there, But personally I would look at one of the smaller towns around Perpignan and I would avoid Apartments. The latter is just me having lived near and spent many a summer on the coast there when dealing with apartments I would be extremly wary of all the holiday lets around you It's a recipe for disater if you are looking for a quiet life..

cjm

Welcome Sue, can I ask why Perpignan?

Finvola

Yes, you'll get better weather in Perpignan, but it's full of Brits!
We live 3kms outside a small village, in Normandy & are the ONLY British family here, so lots of chance to learn French & the locals are really friendly!
Bet the cost of living is lower inNormandy than it is in Perpignan. Also much easier & quicker to get back to UK - we live about 40 mins from the Caen / Ouistreham Ferry terminal & Cherbourg is about 9o minutes drive.
Our local Primary & Secondary schools are good - I know as I worked with Primary pupils for several years &, in comparison to their counterparts in UK, they are much better behaved & so easier to work with.
There is also an expats Lunch Club , which meets once a month, so it's easy to make new friends.
You need to consider all these things, so good luck with your deliberations & also your house/apartment search. Finvola

Finvola

Hi Alyson,
Welcome to the forum and also to France.
You probably don't live to far from me, as I live in Normandy, but many of my friends live in the Manche. Do hope you will enjoy living here.
As regards your daughter, I'd ask at the "Mairie", as they will be aware of Youth Clubs/ Groups.
I'll ask my friends for ideas & get back to you, if any of them have ideas/information. Finvola