I would like to move my family to france?

Question

i would like to move my family to france i have two children primary school age but none of us speak french. this i could cope with as we could all have lessons but how do i go about finding out about work for me and my husband and schooling for my children? also would we need to be fluent?

Answer 1

I don't mean to be harsh, but where did you get this idea?  You want to move to France, but you don't know the language, the culture, or the various socio-economic systems.  You have a long ways to go.

First off, in the manner in which say, Americans revere "freedom," and it's represented by the U.S. flag, the French revere "Frenchness," for which a primary emblem is the French language.  French people absolutely expect you to speak, read and write French, and to do it well.  You will be considered unpatriotic to do less.  Your family will be at an enormous disadvantage in France without language skills.  

You will suffer other disadvantages than mere communication skills.  French people do things very differently from anglo culture.  They don't have our easy friendly nature, whereby we talk to anybody, anywhere, for any reason.  They tend to associate only with people they've known for a long time, and observed from a distance, before letting them into their lives.  If you have no friends in France already, expect to spend a lot of your time alone.  Your children will have an easier time, as they will be in school, but you and your spouse will be quite socially isolated.  

French culture is very different than anglo culture.  Their points of reference are very different.  They draw upon centuries of history and literature and culture to form their identity, which is nuanced and complex, compared to anglo or pop culture.  They are also very suspicious of pop culture, which many French believe is unjustifiably replacing French culture.  The French are suspicious of British and Americans, due to political and cultural competition.  It can take a lifetime to learn French cultural skills, mores, and manners.  Again, many French consider the proper understanding and execution of French cultural skills to be a matter of patrimony, taken seriously.  

Then there's French life.  It has some charming aspects, but since you'll be learning basic French and trying to figure out how to buy bread, you won't have much time to play.  Life in France is very expensive compared to many other nations.  The French rely more on handmade goods, personal service, and small businesses.  They also have a smaller population, and therefore a smaller market to sell to, which reduces competition.  All these factors raise the prices of goods considerably (than the U.S., at least).  Rents are high, and merely renting a place has additional costs that you would never encounter elsewhere.  You will need to take a wheelbarrow of money with you to France in order to settle in with your family successfully, and to make the transition to being financially and linguistically competent.  

Your children will suffer as everything they are familiar with will be taken from them, replaced by alien sights and sounds.  French schools are far more disciplined and academically rigorous than most anglo schools, and your children will be at a disadvantage due to lack of language and experience.  

You and your husband will have a difficult time finding work, unless you have irresistable skills in a field where you don't have to communicate frequently with French people.  France has a high unemployment rate, with labor unrest that has in the past couple years, led to riots and nation-wide political demonstrations.  France also has very strict immigration rules, and they don't include allowing people with little money, average skills, and no French in--unless you're from a former French colony.  

So, with all that said, do you still want to move to France?  I lived in France--twice.  And I never felt like I fit in, my language skills were not what I needed in order to function well, and the people and culture constantly threw me curveballs.  It had its good side--I have nothing against the French or the way they do things.  I'm just trying to show you that it is so very different from the North American, or the UK way, that you and your family will suffer while adjusting.  If you want to try such a thing, you must have plenty of cash, loads of patience, and very adventuresome spirits, in which case I wish you the very best.  

You must begin studying French before you go to France, and you must begin studying all the peculiarities of French life and culture, so you have some sense of how things operate.  And you must begin this now.

Answer 2

go, x*x

Answer 3

Speaking French in France is an absolute necessity if you want to live in France.  Do you need to be fluent?  Well, let me put it this way-- to survive anywhere, all you need is food and a blanket.  But to function in society, you have to speak the language well.  Ppl in France are like ppl everywhere.  They are working to pay their rent and living expenses.  Many ppl do not have the patience to deal with someone who cannot speak French or who can barely spk French.  You cannot assume that you will be with ppl who can speak English.  Though many French ppl have studied English in school, most are not fluent in English and in France, they really are not obligated to speak English.    Living in France vs. visiting France for a couple of weeks are 2 different worlds.  If you are from the US, you'll be shocked at how expensive the cost of living in France is, not to mention that you might not be able to work there legally.   If you are from Britain, you might have an easier time finding work bc the UK and France are in the EU. You would have to speak to someone from the UK who lives and works in France.  I understand that the pay in France is sometimes better than in the UK.  Moving there with no job sounds risky.

Answer 4

Three out of my four children came with us, (the eldest is taking his A-levels in the U.K) and they have setlled in really well and have made lots of friends. The first port of call in a French town or village, we discovered, is the Mairie. Everything you need to know you will find out there, ans sometimes (but not always) there is someone who speaks  English. The children love school and are perfectly fluent in the French language, which is fantastic, considering we have only been here for 10months. In fact, my Daughter excelled in her end of term exams when we had only been here for eight months and the teacher was so impressed he went out of his way to make her realise just how proud he was of her. It is going to tough at times, but when it is good there is no beating it. My French is still lousy but my husband is improving every day, we get by, you have to as the French are very proud of their culture and refuse to water it down to make it easier, and I have to say I agree with them. Yes, learning the language is fundamental to living in a foreign country, but learning it is better done in small chunks, it is easier to digest! Our children are 5, 6 and 11 now, and moving to France is the best thing we have done for them so far, we are glad we made the move, but only you can make the decision to stay or go. Good luck with your choice. Bon courage!

Answer 5

Depending where you move to there are Lycee Internationale with elementary or primary sections such as in St Germain en Laye which have both a British section and a French section.There is an American School in St Cloud and a bilingual school in Paris 15th

all schools are listed with website below

http://www.amb-usa.fr/consul/acs/guide/S...

If you are British you could try the Franco British Chamber of Commerce.

If you are an US citizen it is more complicated as you need a a visa which means finding a job before coming over.

Based on my experience with expats here in the US, it takes 3 to 4 month for a child to understand and feel comfortable, private lesons can increase his knowledge but teh seceret is complete immersion, it is rough the older they get

for practical info as a US citizen check the second box on the right handside on the following page whcih has a list of pratcical info http://www.amb-usa.fr/consul/acs/home.ht...

you may want to consider giving yourself 6 month on your own to establish teh basis of a family life (job, language, home before moving all your family over and having to face so many hurdles at once

good luck

Answer 6

Wouldn't we all . My girlfriends brother left Northampton  and went to live in Saints in France.

Sold up got the teenage kids and took a chance.

They all speak french now , have a lovely life style and have just bought their second house.

We get very envious when they tell us how warm it is there and good luck to them and Good Luck to you

Answer 7

Generally speaking younger children adjust to new countries and learn new languages far easier than adults, but not speaking French would make it much harder to for you to find employment and unfortunately in France unemployment is quite high.

Finding a school is fairly easy you would just need to visit the Mairie in the town that you decide to settle in, more information about French education here: http://www.lost-in-france.com/index.php?...

Answer 8

There are many, many British people who have done what you are considering, myself among them! If you go ahead you will be surprised at how many other British people you will meet, some of them with children of school age. (Ours are older). Children learn very quickly and make new friends. They might find it difficult at first, after all, all their lessons will be in French.

Where we live the French people are incredibly warm, kind, welcoming and friendly. A lot depends on how much effort you are prepared to put into it. If you give the impression you are not interested in learning the language or joining in their events, you can expect them not to show you any interest.

Many of the French speak at least a bit of English and just can't resist having a go.

Do you or your husband have skills, qualifications? You can set up your own business, but tax bills can be quite high. On the other hand, you can eat out for 10 euros, our equivalent of the rates is about 200 euros a year, compared to 1000 pounds where we were before, TV licence 118 euros a year, no tax disc (though you pay initially to register your car with french number plates)

We are older than you but we certainly have no regrets!