New members of the France forum, introduce yourselves here - 2021

Hello,

My family is planning to move to Paris in summer 2022. My wife will be going to graduate school and I will be running my business. We have a 3 year old.

I'm most anxious about finding a good school for our daughter and helping her transition. She speaks no French. So we think a bilingual Montessori is the most appropriate place for her for the time being.

Excited to be a part of this community!

well ... out of experience .... she's 3 years old ... immerse her in a normal French school so she becomes a normal French girl (at least I suppose that's the aim) ... English at home, French at school and with friends. It'll be a challenge for you and your wife to keep up with her hahaha

You didn't say whether you and your wife have long-stay visas; if not, you'll need to apply and be granted them before you leave for France. Once you arrive in France (and I'm assuming you and/or your wife already speak French; if not, you'll have a tough time), you will find a place to live. At that point, you will need to apply for a titre de sejour, at which point you will be entitled to send your daughter to public school (maternelle) and the one she attends will be based on your home address. Should you decide to send her to a private school, you'll have to foot the bill.

As for your question, vsam is absolutely correct: kids learn languages super quickly and within weeks, your daughter will be indistinguishable from a French kid.

Robert Uomini wrote:

You didn't say whether you and your wife have long-stay visas; if not, you'll need to apply and be granted them before you leave for France. Once you arrive in France (and I'm assuming you and/or your wife already speak French; if not, you'll have a tough time), you will find a place to live. At that point, you will need to apply for a titre de sejour, at which point you will be entitled to send your daughter to public school (maternelle) and the one she attends will be based on your home address. Should you decide to send her to a private school, you'll have to foot the bill.

As for your question, vsam is absolutely correct: kids learn languages super quickly and within weeks, your daughter will be indistinguishable from a French kid.

Sorry, I missed the part about your wife starting grad school, so she obviously speaks French quite well and she will have already received an education visa entitling her to live in France beyond 90 days. That should be enough to enable your daughter to live there as long as Mom is in school, but I don't know whether you can go along for the ride. I think you'll need to apply for a visa longue sejour at the French consulate in the US and receive it before leaving.

Just a thing veryimportant. The price of accomodation in Paris intramuros are absolutely crazy and if you don't have a permanent job, earn threetimes the rent cost, the salary sheets of your last three months and a guarant with winning at least 6000€ by month, you can forget!!! (without count the problems of incivility, unsafety, etc..)

And around Paris there are so many places to avoid because unsafety and the good ones are, also expensive...

Pouvez-vous m'aider à trouver un CDI en France ou Anglais

On galère déjà nous-même à trouver un emploi CDD... Et vous avez des qualifications éligibles au visa de travail, au moins?

Oui.

Bon jour
Frère Robert, merci pour votre message. Je suis membre d'Expact. Avez-vous de l'aide pour obtenir un contrat de travail en France ? Si vous pouvez m'aider, voici mon email pour contacter mon frère Robert. L'email est mustaphaelmaataoui047 @gmail.com.  Merci .

Hi I have just joined expat.com and would like to introduce myself .I am English originally from Croydon South London I now live in Morbihan Brittany France .I have lived here for about 12 years (I am sorry to say my French is not very good) I would like to talk to other expats

Would you like to talk to us in French, English or another language?

Hello friends, I am an Arab. I want to immigrate to France. I want help. Thank you, friends. I want to live and work there

Hello!
My name is Brie, and my husband Peter and I are moving to Montpellier at the beginning of November so we're busy packing right now. I'm from Ireland but am currently living in Berkeley, CA, where I was a teacher for many years. I just retired and am excited for a new adventure. I'd love any advice on moving, from moving companies to health insurance. We have a 23 year old daughter who is currently living in Barcelona, and I have family and friends in Paris and Avignon, but we don't know anyone in Montpellier - yet! Peter speaks pretty good French but mine is very rusty as I haven't spoken it since I was a school girl, many moons ago. I plan to take classes and would also love any recommendations for good programs.
I'm really looking forward to meeting lots of great people, making new friends, and exploring the beautiful region.
Brie

Greetings, Brie, from a former Bay Area native (I lived in Kensington for over 34 years). First, about moving: stay away from the company I used for my move 2.5 years ago: Crown International Forwarder,  who used Troy Container Line and,  in France, NVO Consolidation. Stuff was broken in transit and we weren't compensated, but the wrist thing was that they didn't deliver my shipment to where they promised, which was Strasbourg, and we had to go way out of our way just to pick up our things. I have many back and forth, frustrating emails between me and Crown, and then me and NVO. Crown has a Facebook page and at one time, they had nothing but negative comments, until they noticed that and erased them. STAY AWAY FROM THOSE GUYS!

Regarding health insurance, you won't need any, since your EU citizenship will cover you and your family. But first, you'll need to apply for your titres de sejour from the Montpellier prefecture and that requires proof of residency, e.g., copies of utility bills (until then, your Irish health insurance, if any, should cover you as it would while you're traveling). Once you all have your titres de sejours, you'll open a bank account and use it to apply for the carte medicale. This will give you basic medical coverage. If you want more, you'll subscribe to a mutuelle, depending on anticipated needs, e.g., dental, hearing, etc. The bank account is needed for the mutuelle.

Finally, getting up to speed with the language. I advise you to do what I did: find a French singer whose songs you really love and listen and sing along. If you're really into the music, the songs will get into your head and you'll find yourself singing them over and over. This will help you with comprehension, vocabulary and pronunciation. For me, the singer was Georges Brassens, whose songs I translated into English. If you're interested, you can find them online at https://sites.google.com/view/brassenst … ions/home. The hyperlink in each title is to Brassens' recording.

Bob

Unfortunately, expat.com truncated the URL to my translations. The truncated part should read "brassenstranslations".

Hi Bob,

Thanks a million for your lovely message; it's great to hear from someone who has done this  already!  I know Kensington well and have several friends who live there. I taught at a school not too far away for over 20 years, on Avis Drive.  We have loved our time in the East Bay and will miss our American 'family' so much, but they have all promised to visit!

Thanks for the advice re movers. That's not the company we plan to use - right now it's between Mayflower, Bekins, and Santa Fe, I think. They aren't the cheaper quotes we got but from my research, it seems like they are the most reliable companies. We're not bringing much furniture, but lots of boxes of books and household effects. We plan to rent a furnished apartment first while we get to know the area before we buy an apartment.

I don't have Irish health insurance anymore as I haven't lived there in over 20 years, so we will need to get some sort of insurance to cover us for the first few months unfortunately. The quotes we have received so far are really expensive and don't cover us for any pre-existing conditions so I guess will be just for anything new that might pop up. I know regular doctor visits there are not expensive compared with here so we will just have to pay out of pocket for a while. I love your advice on learning French and think it's right on target - I'm looking forward to listening to the singer you recommended. I've been advised to watch French TV too, so I'm starting with Lupin.

Thanks again for your helpful message - this is my first foray into expat forums, and 'on the ground' information is always the best.

Take care and be well,
Brie

Hi, Brie,

Regarding health coverage, I'm an Italian citizen (dual US-Italian) and qualified for French health coverage within three months of arrival. Until then, I used my US health insurance. Just tell them you're travelling and you can get travel coverage.

'Lupin' is a great show. We love it and watch religiously, although my girlfriend prefers 'Elementary', which we watch in English with French subtitles. Of course, 'Lupin' is more appropriate for you and your family. We also enjoy "La Meilleure Boulangerie de France".

Regards,

Bob

????? ?????? ??????47 wrote:

Hello friends, I am an Arab. I want to immigrate to France. I want help. Thank you, friends. I want to live and work there

You must ave at least a Master and be able to integrate the French society, because currently, there is a big movement anti-islamic/muslims because there are many problems with a part of them (drugs, crimes, harassments, etc...)

Hi everyone

We are an active couple in our early sixties and have just moved to the Dordogne between Bergerac and Eymet and looking to make new friends or find out if there are any meet ups or clubs for newbies.
Also we would be looking to drive to the Costas in Spain and spend the winter there possibly Jan/Feb times, anyone else do this or any recommendations?
Many thanks.

I have Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Diploma in Computer Science.
I work assistant bank manager.so I have More than twenty years of experience in banking, as well as more than ten years of experience in warehouse management

What is your level in Computer Science? Because to work in Drance and in Europe, you need a Master, and in your domain. I mean, working in France in bank without degree in area is impossible because there are many graduate in Bank-Finance. Moreover, it is almost impossible if you don't speak French (except in big company but, there, you will need at least a Master or MBA).

Hi
I can work on the computer. On Excel programs and all Microsoft programs

Alexandara32 wrote:

Hi
I can work on the computer. On Excel programs and all Microsoft programs

Yes but we are billions to be able to work on computer and who know the Microsft programs... It is not a rare skill or in lack of knowledgers...

Also, I don't know if you are a woman or a man and if you are a big praticant, but currently, in France, Islam is very criticized. You must follow rules of companies and State (you can't make your pray at work), long bears and veils for women are forbidden.

Iam man
Yes, this is correct
I also have a lot of experience in banking

Alexandara32 wrote:

Iam man
Yes, this is correct
I also have a lot of experience in banking

Do you also have a graduate degree in business? I believe that would be required also of expats looking for work in the financial sector.

I can work on the computer. I have excel programs and all microsoft programs, as well as I have a long experience in banking with experience in warehouse management as well as in human resource management

I can work on the computer. I have excel programs and all microsoft programs, as well as I have a long experience in banking with experience in warehouse management as well as in human resource management

Hi all,

Greetings from the royal family. I'm a cameroon Ian who dream of living in France, visit Paris and find a job which can help me to take care of my mom and my brothers and sisters.

Hi all
I'm a young Cameroonain student who wish to live in France to find a job so that I can take care of my family

Njouogouet wrote:

Hi all,

Greetings from the royal family. I'm a cameroon Ian who dream of living in France, visit Paris and find a job which can help me to take care of my mom and my brothers and sisters.

Hello,

That does not work like that. You can't come and find a work on place. You must find a job and have your work visa before to come in France.

To be able to get a job in France you must be high-skilled (at least Master) because who can't take the job of a French or European. There are 5M of unemployed in France...

Alos, apart the problem of job. It is impossible with a low or middle salary to help your entire family. With the minimum wage, it is already very hard to find an accomodation, pay all the depenses mandatory, when you are alone, so...

But firstly, your level of degree and skills are the priority.

Alexandara32 wrote:

I can work on the computer. I have excel programs and all microsoft programs, as well as I have a long experience in banking with experience in warehouse management as well as in human resource management

As I said, to be able to use of a computer is not a rare skill. The majority of active people in Europe knows it and for the bank area, you need to know specific software. And now, to work in a bank in France and Europe, it must to know the codes, legislation and all concerning the european bank system. Without degree it is impossible.

For HR, same, there are so many graduate people in this area, knowing the French work law and legislation...

There are very specific skills...

How are can I then have a visa  to travel to France and i'm a holder of a high school diploma.

Njouogouet wrote:

How are can I then have a visa  to travel to France and i'm a holder of a high school diploma.

You won't be able to visit that level of education,

It will be very hard because you are not student, you don't work, you have no activity forcing you to come back in your country... So you have the perfect profile for a clandestine immigrant. Moreover, you must have 50€ per day for all the duration of your travel (+ accomodation + airplane tickets).

With all these points, you will never get a visa...

Ok ! Can I have a visa if I'm a Bachelor?.

Can I have a visa if i'm a bachelor and travel to France to continue my studies.

But can i travel to France and they take me in charge ?

Njouogouet wrote:

Can I have a visa if i'm a bachelor and travel to France to continue my studies.

Yes you can. But for this academic year is too late. Prepare very well your file for admission.

Njouogouet wrote:

But can i travel to France and they take me in charge ?

No, nobody will take you in chrge. You must support you needs by yourself. As international student, you can't get a scholarship except if you are major in your studies (excellent marks). You must prove 10000 to 15000€ for the year when you will go to the Embassy makes you interview for the visa. So you must have this amount before to come in France.

Then, you couldn't work more than 15-20h per week. And only in non-skilled jobs (fast-food employee, disher, washer, handling, waiter, delivery man for Uber eat (plan a bike)... So, with 20h, you will earn all charges removed, 500-600€ per month for 20h. And the difficulty is to find a student job because there are many students who are looking for, to be able to conciliate studies and job (and more you have study hours, less you have the time to work). Some of these job ask to work very late or very early (maybe all the night).

And know that a a lot of French students who have a scholarship and a little cheap room in a student residence need to work because there are too many things to pay or it is too expensive...

Here is the reality.