tommydavis

hi my names tom, I am 24 years old and I have just come to France two weeks ago. I've decided to take some time out and moved here to France and living with my parents.
I was working in UK as a community worker for a large umbrella corporation called Voluntary Norfolk. I was made redundant due to the cuts made by the government within the public sector. I have tried to find employment within the same sector but found it next to impossible. Working dead end jobs on zero hour contracts only to be laid off when my services no longer needed ( cuts to save money). I am currently having a vacation but testing the waters to see if life here is my cup of tea. I speak very little french but intend to learn to the best of my ability. I've created this thread to see and discuss with others who either are in similar circumstances or can give any information to my future intent to live here in France. I am a get up and go type guy so it will only be a matter of time before i would like to integrate into the community here and perhaps find some work. thanks for reading and i look forward to hearing you opinions and thoughts.

dennerlymum

Good to see you taking the intiative Tommy! Not sure if you will find the work situation any better here than iin the UK but good luck to you!

bigglesworth

Hi tommy.
It is easier if you have specific questions.
However.
You need health cover. You say you were working for Voluntary Norfolk. Did they pay you, and if so - did they pay your National Insurance?

If they did pay N.I. you will get up to two years health cover, but you need to apply to Newcastle. You will also need to take out a "top-Up' health insurance with a mutuelle to cover the approximately 30 percent the French system does not cover.
Otherwise if you are living with your parents, hopefully that removes the "roof over the head and food on the table" worries that are often under-estimated.

Life is not going to be any easier here than the UK. If and when you have learnt French, you still will not BE french, and you will struggle to get employment competing against locals. It is not impossible, but it will not be easy.

France is in at least as bad a condition economically as the UK. But France has not started on much of the necessary reforms, so life is likely to get worse here. Possibly very much worse. I note your comment that you are a get up and go person. Good for you. But you may find that strangled out of you by the bureaucracy that can feel suffocating.

Post some more direct questions, and you will find lots of help and advice on this forum. There are some very helpful and practical people here.

Best of luck.

Peabrain

Hello,
As has been said time and time again on this forum, the first, fundamental factor, and an inescapable one, is language. Without being able to speak French, one can do very little. Mastery of the language brings with it autonomy, freedom and will enable you to fit into the French-speaking community. Without a decent command of French I'd say one is wasting one's time. So many people go to a foreign country hoping to be able to get by in English or whatever their native tongue may be, and just sound like wallies. Thus a potential employer won't even take a non-French-speaker into consideration. If one has the basics already in place, a solid foundation upon which to build, then progress is fast. If this isn't in place, and I would include accent among the basics, then learning can be a long, tiring and disheartening process. For every Petula Clark or Jane Birkin with their 'charming' British accent, there are thousands out there who can't speak the language to save their lives and who are just not taken seriously. — by anyone. So your priority has to be to learn the language, properly. Read the French press, watch French television, listen to French radio, go to see films in French, read French literature, seek out French people to make friends with, take notes, take an interest in all things French. Don't spend your time with British expats; neither they not any other non-French speaking person will help you progress in what must be your number one, absolute priority.
All this takes time, a long time for some, for ever for others. I've known hundreds of English-speaking adults who've come to France thinking that the world somehow owes them a living and that just don't get the fact that as soon as they open their mouths in what they fondly imagine is 'French' they lose all credibility. They become resentful, Bolshie and embittered — and they also make lousy company with their constant moaning about the French system.
What qualifications do you have? I'm surprised that you say you want to integrate the community "and perhaps find a job." The 'perhaps' is very much de trop I fear. What are you going to live on in the meantime?
As others have already said, the economic situation here is dire and isn't likely to get any better for a long time yet. What you describe as your experience of employment in the UK can also be found over here. Graduates of some of our top schools are often used as unpaid interns only to be thanked after a few months whilst the firm hires another one. OK, so they get work experience (always required) but work should be paid for.
Far be it from me to wish to discourage you, but it's important to point one or two elementary things out.
Lastly, if you have health insurance, given your age I'm not sure top-up insurance is worth it.
Bonne chance,
PB

bigglesworth

"Lastly, if you have health insurance, given your age I'm not sure top-up insurance is worth it."

Yes of course you are right PB. Silly of me.

dennerlymum

... and if he has an accident and is rushed to hospital??? 30% of a HUGE bill is still HUGE for a young person... much cheaper to pay a small sum each month and be covered in my opinion...

Peabrain

True, though an accident would probably be covered by car insurance, or some other responsabilité civile type thingie, and in case of a really serious illness, the patient would be on 100%. It's a risk that is no doubt worth taking when young, but then again………

Garonne

Health cover is only covered if a vehicle accident is the fault of the other party. Your own car insurance doesn't cover you if it's your fault. My son had a serious accident and if we hadn't had top up it would have cost me a fortune ... Under 25 year olds can be 'ayant droit' on their parents' medical cover if they are in the system but obviously this would only give you a short time to be covered by them.

tommydavis

Thank you all for your reply. I'm happy to see such helpful and valuable information however I very much doubt i will have any accidents but again useful to know. In regards to direct questions the topic of this thread was more to gain a sense of information for new expats as this is my first time away from the homelands. Living off money that i had brought over from working within the UK before i set off on this adventure. I'm aware it wont last forever but fortunately i have a steady income from a rental home back in the UK.

I will ask one however; why do you assume ( maybe not directed at myself) that we ( I ) feel like i am owed something out here in France ? or in life itself. This is not the case at all and trust me when i say this I have not been fed the silver spoon so I am fully aware of the fact in life we must work hard to achieve things we desire.

That said I don't Take your comments personally or negatively I'm in fact grateful that you all have taken the time to post here.

"edited"
in regards to my qualifications feel free to check out my website with a small brief description of my work credentials
https://sites.google.com/site/employthomasdavis/home

jsbach

Hi Tom,
I hope you don't mind me saying that I think your work credentials details need a few adjustments.
If you have any Uni/FE qualifications, it would be to your advantage to add them.
It's not clear whether you were actually in the Army. If you were, it's in your interests to say for how long and what you did.
"RTC (road traffic collision) with the British army and Cambridge fire department." - this reads a bit like you're reporting a vehicle accident between an army truck and a fire engine!
Some of your grammar isn't too good (your last sentence of your penultimate para, for example).
Good luck!

bigglesworth

Tommy
I am sorry if you interpret posters' comments negatively. I think all anybody said was that France is not an easy option. It is a bit of a jump from that to suggesting we were implying you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
It is clear that you are an industrious and conscientious chap. That is not always enough.
I suggest you need however to put some work in on both your language production and language reception skills. Undoubtedly learning French would assist with that.
I note JSBach has posted some good advice. I would echo it. You need to tell potential employers what academic qualifications as well as concrete skills you have acquired. The sense of industry and character that already comes through is strong and positive.
Once again,
Good Luck

Peabrain

Hi,
I hope I didn't give you the impression that I saw you as someone born with a silver spoon wherever. Going on my experience of loads of both young and older English people over here that I have known over the years, I was trying to point out the danger of thinking that France is an easy touch. I've know a lot of people who think that because, say, English is a requirement for a job, they should automatically get it, simply because they can speak the language.

As regards accidents, I believe that in case of a road accident for which one is to blame, insurance will cover costs if the driver has "fully comprehensive" insurance (assurance tous risques). I hope I'm not wrong, because if so I've been labouring under a very large illusion for the past 30-odd years.
PB

tommydavis

First of all I’d like to apologise for the misunderstanding, I believe I didn’t explain in detail enough to what I was saying, nether the less is irrelevant and your point was a very valid one. Again I’d like to thank you all for sharing your opinions and knowledge with me here and taking time out of your day to post. Thanks for pointing out the errors upon my website i will be addressing this and in regards to your question, yes i was a solider with for one year before self-discharge due to an injury. After leaving the forces i perused my career as a community worker and i don’t regret the decision. I’m overwhelmed with the response and how many have taken the time to do so.

The RTC training i received was whilst with the Army and was situated at the Fire department at Cambridge again thank you for pointing out the confusion as it is important that this is made clear for readers. Just a quick reply and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have at a later date.


Thank you all and have a jolly evening

I would just like to clarify I am new to this and sometimes can come across with the wrong perception so please again sorry for the confusion.

dennerlymum

phew! yes, it can be a real minefield posting on forums and I know I for one have caused upset and /or confusion at times!!

Good luck with everything you try... France can be great... for younger life, try one of the bigger uni cities such as Toulouse, Bordeaux etc