MOVE TO FRANCE WITHOUT THE LINGO?
Mar 16th 2009 | 7:39 pm
#16
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,549
From: Paris
Re: MOVE TO FRANCE WITHOUT THE LINGO?
Hello,
No I am not but are pleased to know that there a few more of us out there. We have a place in the Lot et Garonne and one in the Dordogne or the Dordogneshire as it is sometimes referred to :-)
I also write a couple of blogs as I find that they are a great way of updating clients on what is happening in our neck of the woods and I am also writing one on mydeco.com about renovating our house.
A bientot
Leeann
No I am not but are pleased to know that there a few more of us out there. We have a place in the Lot et Garonne and one in the Dordogne or the Dordogneshire as it is sometimes referred to :-)
I also write a couple of blogs as I find that they are a great way of updating clients on what is happening in our neck of the woods and I am also writing one on mydeco.com about renovating our house.
A bientot
Leeann
Hope the renovations are going well. I'm working on the kitchen but it's on the verge of becoming a mini DIY disaster. I'm sure I can pull it around!
Mar 19th 2009 | 11:58 pm
#17
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 518
From: Palaja, near Carcassonne, Department of Aude, France
Re: MOVE TO FRANCE WITHOUT THE LINGO?
Hi there,
We're currently trying to decide whether or not to stay in the UK or emigrate to Australia. Two things put me off Australia - the distance (I'd never see my parents again as they wouldn't visit) and the danger of snakes / sharks / spiders / jellyfish / stingrays etc. (sounds pathetic I know, but it's a real fear for me, especially with our children).
So I thought about France - lovely climate, lovely people, close to home, great scenery...
I speak fluent French (having lived and worked there when I was younger) and am currently bringing up our two-year-old son bilingually. My husband, however, doesn't (well, I guess he could order a beer or recall some very basic schoolboy French, probably along the lines of 'voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?'
).
He works in IT (hardware) and I'm a housewife (previous jobs have all been bilingual admin / secretarial). I see there are many Brits moving to France (and indeed Spain) and I'm just wondering (1) do you all speak French (either at a basic level, enough to get by, or fluently)? and (2) what line of work are you in?
The reason I ask is that I can't believe every Brit moving to France is bilingual, or has the luxury of being able to work from home / do their UK job remotely from France (thus negating the need to interact with the locals). I would love to move to France but it's a huge no-no in my husband's eyes as he can't see how he would be able to work. I guess if you have a trade (plumber, builder, etc.) you could find work within an expat community, working purely for Brits, but surely there must be some people with 'regular' jobs who don't speak the lingo and want to move to France?
Would be very interested to hear everyone's experiences / comments on this subject.
Cheers,
WombatGirl
We're currently trying to decide whether or not to stay in the UK or emigrate to Australia. Two things put me off Australia - the distance (I'd never see my parents again as they wouldn't visit) and the danger of snakes / sharks / spiders / jellyfish / stingrays etc. (sounds pathetic I know, but it's a real fear for me, especially with our children).
So I thought about France - lovely climate, lovely people, close to home, great scenery...
I speak fluent French (having lived and worked there when I was younger) and am currently bringing up our two-year-old son bilingually. My husband, however, doesn't (well, I guess he could order a beer or recall some very basic schoolboy French, probably along the lines of 'voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?'
). He works in IT (hardware) and I'm a housewife (previous jobs have all been bilingual admin / secretarial). I see there are many Brits moving to France (and indeed Spain) and I'm just wondering (1) do you all speak French (either at a basic level, enough to get by, or fluently)? and (2) what line of work are you in?
The reason I ask is that I can't believe every Brit moving to France is bilingual, or has the luxury of being able to work from home / do their UK job remotely from France (thus negating the need to interact with the locals). I would love to move to France but it's a huge no-no in my husband's eyes as he can't see how he would be able to work. I guess if you have a trade (plumber, builder, etc.) you could find work within an expat community, working purely for Brits, but surely there must be some people with 'regular' jobs who don't speak the lingo and want to move to France?
Would be very interested to hear everyone's experiences / comments on this subject.
Cheers,
WombatGirl
Check my postings on
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hlight=amadeus
and the local expat radio site
http://www.rivieraradio.mc/
However, depending on the type of hardware you husband is concerned with, if it's big mainframes like airlines (or the Amadeus computer centre, that's near Munich) I don't know of any in the south, although IBM has places around. If its office IT hardware - the Nice Amadeus has plenty and they're expanding constantly!
