MJX

Hello all,

I'm a new member of the BE community and this is my first post in the 'France' section...my wife and I are looking at our emigration options currently and Oz is (or was) currently on top of the list. Why post here then, you may ask! For a number of reasons i'm not entirely sold on Oz. One of which is that I personally think France would be a better place to live...

I spent 7 months working around Aix-en-Provence a few years ago and absolutely loved the climate, the food, the ambience, and the people. I've had a number of superb holidays in France. I love the fact that living practically anywhere in Europe gives you access to such a wide range of people and places. I love the fact that it's 4 hours from family, too.

So, enough rambling - what I'm wondering is if there are any IT professionals on this board who have made the move from the UK to France successfully, and if there any particular issues to bear in mind, hotspots for employment, or any other general comments. For background, I should say I'm a project manager with good experience, including some in France, and with decent French language skills which I think I can improve greatly with some dedicated effort.

Any thoughts that folks might like to share?

Thanks!

Mel

Ka Ora!

Well you are already of to a head start if you got some of the lingo under your belt and previous work in France is going to help a fair bit, There are some big players in various cities it will depend on what area of IT management you have had your experience Best thing is to get your self in country look about lots and see if you can match a suitable location to employment prospect's wont be so hot in the rural area's unless you fancy being one of the half million web designers here (possibly exaggerated) but you do see lots of adverts for them. Its a very nice place life is moderately cheaper, but the enjoyment from life is far greater than the UK.

Nt016

I'm a networks engineer, i've now been working around the Angers area (49) for the last 2 years, 3 other years spent in Paris.

Getting a job as a project manager is quite tough here (i've been doing low level project management for just over 6 months now), but still its worth it in the long run.

Depending on where you live in France, salaries can vary dramatically.

MJX

Thanks!

I guess that most of the work will be in Paris and the surrounds. Personally, i'd like to live in or near Aix-en-provence. It's a beautiful area.

Nt016

Hi there,

Basically there are several big companies around Aix. The ideal option for you would be to contact them directly.

There are sites like: APEC for job hunting. In the south there are seriously big companies like airbus/IBM among others so it all depends what you are looking for. I work for a fairly large computer manufacturing company largely based between here & the UK which means they count on me for linguistics & IT!

Cheers,
Nt

lozthewoz

Silly question I know but how do you pronounce Aix in Aix-en-Provence? Do you pronounce the x as an s/z sound to carry on into 'en'? What about when you just shorten the place to Aix? Do you still pronounce it as if it's attached to the 'en'? Thanks.

Nt016

Pronounced:
ex-en-provonce

criodain

Another silly question. (Sorry for digging up an old thread).

While I'm riding out the "recession" in Ireland, I've recently been floating off some CVs to France. They would be in the area of documentation/technical writing (rédacteur technique).

I sent off a few CVs and a cover letter, all in French to companies outside of Paris. I'd prefer to stay outside of the BIG cities...

Luckily (depending on the job climate) there are aero industries etc in the South, around Toulouse and La Rochelle. I'd love to live in proximity to the Atlantic if I could, so I've been looking at finding companies etc up and down the West Coast.

So, should I follow up the CVs I sent? Is there a French way of looking for work (that sounds stupid I know).

I'm thinking that my French language skills, and being a native English speaker could give me an advantage in someplace like France rather than in Ireland.....

Nt016

Technical writer jobs are quite widely available - especially in the West of France. My company was looking for one recently but there are often jobs in Nantes.

The recession is hitting France quite hard depending on who you listen to, redundancies are planned in my company shortly so we'll see how things go. People in Paris are even out of work and that is unheard of!!!

criodain

Thanks for that info.

I was surprised to see quite a few tech writing jobs advertised lately.
I applied to places in La Rochelle and Nantes this week, so I'll see how it goes.

Most seem to work through English, and request a knowledge of French, so I'm going to try and exploit it. I;ll see how it goes. My timing is great. Just when I'm mad to leave Ireland, it's the worst time ever to look for work...

Who knows.....

Le Chant

Hello matey! Nice to see you posting again, it's been a while! Still haven't gotten around to that pint, have we?

Nt016

that we havent mate - I took down my photography site aswell. Baby due next month so i'm on my toes!

Roger O

Have you seen my various posts in this thread?
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hlight=amadeus

criodain

I have indeed Roger, and I have looked into the links you posted as well. Initially I'd like to see if I could get something on the West (I'm an Atlantic lo lover!!), but I suppose in the current climate I should take what I get..

Roger O

OK, just wanted to be sure you'd seen it..
best of luck,
Roger