Moving to France and in Need of Advice on How...

hello fellow thorn tree members,

I'm a newly instated lonely planet member, and I heard about this forum via a coworker. seeing if I can get some helpful insight on moving to france.

I'd like to move to southern france around january 2008 in the nice, aix en provence, marseille area, but it's not set in stone. I plan to be there for around 6months-1 year depending on my ability to find work/happiness.

does anyone know if you can pick up a job there? I know under a long term visa you can't legally work. what about the other visas? I will also need to find some sort of housing. suggestions? pensions, hostels, short term apartments/studios? and the cost of these?

also, since the euro isn't great against the dollar I'm trying to figure out much money I would need per month to lead a modest french lifestyle.

thank you guys for reading this and taking the time to answer.
I appreciate the help.

peace.love.and travel.
-ally

Ally,

Your posting is rather complex. I gather that you are just beginning your research. The TT search function is valuable and to begin I suggest :

Re: Work available............Search "working in Southern France" (276 results).

Re: Visa/work permits.......Search "schengen" (317 results)

There is a vast amount of detail and time and energy involved in answering your questions.

Re: Housing.....a google search....what you want will become clear as you explore. Others on TT will probably have special sites, but I have only rented in Paris (and spent countless hours online searching for my place that met my needs.)

Your budget depends on many factors, but the most significent is your cost of housing. Usually it is less expensive in smaller centres. You will of course rent with cooking facilites (saving much money!) If you are renting for 6 months-one year you are in an excellent negotiating position...who knows, perhaps you can tend the garden,
do light housekeeping, take care of doggie etc.?

After you refine your needs, wants..... you can return with more specific questions.

regards, Betsy

I cannot suggest that you go there as a tourist, which limits the time that you can spend legally in the country, and then try to find work (which will be illegal as a tourist) and overstay your 90 days visa-free period. As an American, you have NO RIGHT OF ANY KIND to a job in France or any part of the EU. In theory, you would need to arrange employment BEFORE you go and have a French company sponsor you for the right kind of visa. The last I heard, the economy wasn't great. Employment in France is literally for life, so they aren't real keen to give foreigners those kind of jobs. Sponsoring companies will do special things that they can get away with for foreigners, like sign you to contract jobs, not permanent jobs, with the company so they don't have to keep you on forever. I can promise you without any hesitation that if for some reason a French company has to choose between you and a French person and they somehow have to get rid of one of you that you are 100% toast. They will ALWAYS protect themselves. ALWAYS. My former company literally invented a do nothing job for a French national just to keep him in the USA. The company eliminated a small department to save money and he was the only French guy in it. The other people in the department had to find other jobs, mostly with other companies, but they invented a job that didn't exist before and had no real responsibilities just to allow him to stay in the USA. That is how the French are.

I worked for a French company in one of their branches in the USA for over a decade. I've dealt with French people for years and been to France. I have seen a lot of Americans have this starry eyed romanticism for France and then watched as it got dashed with the reality of what it's like to live there and deal with them on a daily basis. I've seen people who moved over there for jobs and then when they came back to the USA, they had no desire of any kind to ever live there again. In my company we had plenty of French people who moved to the USA and never wanted to move back to France. I don't recall the reverse happening even once. I have very mixed feelings about the French. There are things I like a lot. There are things I absolutely despise. I can tell you that they don't make friends quickly and you will find it challenging to establish meaningful friendships with them. You're a lot more likely to find a boyfriend over there than to make any meaningful friends. They are masters at pretending that they care about you when in fact you mean absolutely nothing to them.

You may get over there, love it, meet a French guy, get married and stay. Then again, you may find after 6 months that living in France sucks and you want to leave. Whatever you do, do NOT burn your bridges in the USA and don't do something stupid like give your car away for free to someone because you are going "to live in France forever" because there is a very good chance you will not want to stay there as long as you think you do right now.

Despite his "mixed feelings". jman98 has good advice.

If you don't speak French, living in the countryside will be difficult, and living in any large town will be more expensive. Finding short-term furnished rental housing can be difficult as well.

You will be quite unpleasantly surprised at the cost of living, given the $/euro exchange rate.

hey

i had the same plan as you back in 2004. I moved to Toulouse...here's my advice.

Try and get a TEFL course under your belt if you don't already have one. It's an option at least...and if France doesn't work then you can pop down to Spain where it's easier to get TEFL work.

If you don't speak French then sign up for a residential French school plan...I wish I had done this. It would have cost me but in the long term it would have upped the possibility of getting work.

Contact English-speaking bars before you go.

I found accomodation through people I met and was lucky to get some ridiculously cheap and comfortable accomdation for the period I was there (ultimately only 3months as I wasn't able to find work and opted to Spain instead)

Be as prepared as possible before you go. Contact anyone you can regarding the possibility of work. Never assume any job offer is cast in stone (made this mistake and was let down twice) and always be prepared to move on to another town if it's not working out.

all the best

you don;t state where you are from. but presumably it is non-EU. so forget about getting work. even more so if you don't speak French.

#6, i can see why they took the mickey out of your spelling. if you are dyslectic than I am sorry because it is really unfair.

#7, yes it is bad, i have no excuse....I am an army brat that went to too many schools and didnt listen...but I am going to look up to see if you have spelt dyslectic right..

it is.....oh my god i cant believe i can prove miss smarty pants right...dyslexic or dyslexia....
But if you are from a country that spells it dyslectic then I too am sorry....how do you spell then, then.coz you spelt it than....

good for you!

I suggest you read the book, "A year in the Merde".

Jayunglee and #6 ntthegrixdr:

There is a very delicate balance between "negative" and "realistic". The posters above (with the exception of myself) live in France, or have lived in France. They are trying to help you and I would Pay Attention to what they have to say. It is NOT easy to move to another country, culture to live and work...but with awareness, attention, research, LOVE and effort it can always be done. Listen to what others are trying to tell you, they have nothing to gain ... (do you think that they are in the employ of the French Embassy?)..No. I wish you well.

And #6, ntth......Quote: "I don't speak a word of French, its not going to stop me.." If you intend to move to and work in France, it WILL stop you, unless your idea of a new career is to wash dishes or pick grapes. Have some respect for the country that you are moving to.

I'd be interested to hear Kerouac on this subject. He is born in Mississippi but of French descent, and now lives and works in Paris.