Moving to France ... need advice!!

I’m writing from Canada and looking for advice regarding a move to France that my wife and I are planning for June of 2007. We, with our two sons (7 and 5) have been discussing a temporary move to France for quite some time. We’re motivated in the main by the opportunity to expose our sons to another culture, and because the both of us are francophiles and it is a dream to live in France. All four of us are bilingual, and my wife and I are self-employed, so our main concerns are not about employment, but rather where it might be best for us to settle. We have Paris in mind, but we know how unrealistic that is. We’ve been talking about Montpellier and Marseilles as well, but neither of us have ever seen these places. Ideally, we’d like to be, if not in Paris, then a mid-sized city, somewhere safe, with good access to the rest of the country. We’re interested in hearing from people concerning underrated spots in France, places maybe a little less known, but fantastic. Also, advice on housing (we’re planning on swapping, if at all possible, and we’d like to be in France for two years), any issues you may be aware of in getting our sons into a school, and other possible snags it’d be good for us to foresee. Note that I am likely to have EEC before we go – does it help much? Many thanks for reading this far and lending us your expertise. Michael Reply to this

Well, Michael, like yourselves I am Canadian and I just recently moved to Paris. As you already seem to know, living in the city of Paris is very difficult to afford. And with children, it doesnt seem to be very practical. I currently work in Levallois (east of Paris) and it is very safe and in fact is known to have many foreign residents (americans mostly), as a result, has good schools/hospitals, etc. However, it is very modern and sometimes appears you are living in present-day American. Most of my French colleagues live in this city. It is very close to Paris. I live in central Paris and the public transportation here is amazing, you do not need to own a car at all. Whenever I want to travel outside of Paris, I would simply rent a car. Driving here is a bit crazy anyways.
I can't tell you just how difficult it is to rent a place here. You need to pay 2-3 months in advance and have a guarantor... kinda like having your parents co-sign a loan, in this case, probably an employer that can vouch for you. Unfurnished apartments have ZERO appliances. I had to buy my own fridge, washer/dryer, oven... some places have stove tops already.
To get anything done is a hassle, the notorious French efficiency. HOWEVER, once you get settled in, like I was after only 6 months, living in Paris is amazing.
Please let me know if you have any specific questions.
Reply to this

Bonjour,

Comme vous avez decrit Paris est une tres belle ville mais aussi belle que chere...

Je n'aime pas trop Marseille car c'est l'opposé culturelle de la France... Mon top three serait:

1. Bordeaux, belle, ensoleillée et avec un bon rapport calité / cout de vie
2. Normandie, tranquille, un peu plus froide, voisine a Paris
3. Lyon, une ville interesant aussi bien economique et socialement. Très recommandé pour des familles avec des enfants.

Salut

Inacho Reply to this

hi
i live in toulon which is near marseille and it's really lovely weather. i don't particularly like big cities but that's probably cos i'm used to living here but i think any city in the côte d'azur is really lovely. Marseille is full of shops and stuff and there's the TGV which can get you to Paris in 4 hours so you'll be close to everywhere. I think the south west is probably where there are the least roads but you'll never be totally lost in the middle of nowhere. afterwards if you don't mind big towns lyon and marseille are nice places. It's just about as hot in the summer so it's probably a bit nicer in marseille because there's the sea right next to it and the climate is a bit heavier because it's more continental but it's a question of taste.
Marseille is the second largest city but i you count the suburbs then lyon is the largest. i do recommend you checking bost cities first. If you do like Paris this much, remember with the train it's very easy to spend your weekend there, go to disneyland and such for the kids, go shopping. Otherwise, i know that around marseille is really lovely and you can get in the town very easily, i live about 45 minutes away and there's no problem to catch a plane or a train.
hope it'll have helped you Reply to this

Years ago I studied in France on a Rotary International Scholarship. First stop was a week of vacation in Paris, then a month in Tours to polish the French I had learned at university in Texas. My recollection of Tours is that it was much less intimidating than Paris, and populated by folks who were generally frliendlier than their Parisian countrymen. It was a pleasant size - not too large and "city-ish" but large enough to have everything you need. Plus, it was only about an hour by train to Paris. The Touraine region is known for its perfect spoken French, so that's why my professors thought it would be the best place for me to study before heading on to the University of Lyon. That fact meant two things that might be important for you - first, the language schools draw a lot of foreigners, which bring a lot of revenue, so foreigners are generally welcomed here (which doesn't seem to be true all over France), and second, the language spoken here is supposed to be the truest form of French, so it may be closer to the French you know and speak. Being a Texan, I can't say this from personal experience, but in my language studies both here and abroad, I was always told that people from Canada speak a purer form of French than many natives of France because the language has evolved differently in different places. By contrast, I found Lyon to be much too "big city" and modern for my taste. I was there longer than I was in Tours, but my memories of Lyon are not as fond, though as one previous post mentioned, I also found the Parc de la Tête D'Or a wonderful place to de-stress.

Wikipedia has good info on Tours, as of course does the city's official website. Reply to this

Paris is great if you have plenty of money! Of the other places you mention Montpellier is one of the most beautiful cities in France. It has easy access to the rest of France with the TGV ( high speed trains .) and within the town there's a great tramway system.

Here's a site that may be of use to you: France Guide

- It's got info, maps and photo's etc. for Montpellier and Marseilles as well as other less known towns in France.

Good luck! Reply to this