[dyarza]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are considering a move to France from USA, and since there are a good number of you on this forums that are French or living there, I thought that I would come here and ask for some opinions/advice/encouragement/discouragement... etc.

First, a little background:

I, myself am not American. I am from Spain, and I grew up in a town three or so miles from the French border in the Pyrenees. I used to speak a decent amount of French but have since lost it from not using it, but I believe with some effort it would come back quickly. My wife is another matter. She is from California and has never lived anywhere else and is fearful, yet excited by the prospect. We have a three year old daughter.

The reason for this crazy idea? Well,I guess that you could say that growing up I always idolized America and wanted to come here, so I did and have been here almost 20 years. Times have changed, or maybe I have, and it seems that what seemed like a promised land in the 80s' is now in a downward spiral, while Europe has become a much more exciting, dynamic, and desirable place. I won't even get into the current political situation in this country or the F'd up healthcare system, don't get me started.

We are looking at some property in Normandie and will come to visit to see if it feels right, but I could use some tips on things ranging from Taxes and how they work to high speed internet availability, etc.

One more thing, while I do a lot of 3D for my current job, I am not thinking that I would come there and compete for work with all of you. It is becoming more of a hobby and I am not particularly interested in Archvis as a way to make a living any more.

Well, thanks for any tips anybody can share.

Cheers,

D

[adri]

I used to live in Sabiñanigo...

Miss it loads as I'm now back in the rain in the UK.

Best of luck with the move.

Suerte!

Adri

[dyarza]

Holly f***! My parents are in Formigal!

D

[Hervé]

well well well.. this is indeed a big decision... also you have a baby...

Your wife will suffer the most... lotsa rain in Normandie... ! cold and humid most of time.. but if she can take it...

Also consider the job situation... very poor.. low salaries is what is waiting you in France.. and this is not going to change with the bling bling Nicolas Sarkozy.. I am afraid...

This is on the negative note..

On the postive one.... well Living in Normandie can be very sweet !.. living style is cool... food is excellent... you're by the ocean..

to conclude... moving from country to country is harder these days... regarding the job situation.. if you were alone, I'd say don't even think.. do it !... but you have a wife and kid... a bit different..

What kind of job/business are you planing..? 3D archvis in Normandie is going to be real tough..

It is first important to have a solid project, you just don't change of country just because you're bored... Grass "seams" to be always greener on the other side...

Do you have money in the bank..? (sorry to ask, but that's quiet important..) how about work permit..? you guys from US are not allowed to work in Europe... this is an important point (unless you open a business, but forget the French bank institution... this is very different from US... in France to get a loan, you have to have $$... and a real strong project...)

Last but not least... since the Euros transition, all prices have doubled... so the main complain in France is... we need more money !!!
(when you are going to change your dollars into euros, you will lose a lot... 1 euro = 1,5 dollar... and what cost $1 in US cost 1 euro here...)

Voila.. digest it.. and feel free to ask me if you have any questions..
(I better tell you the hard things now... better be safe than sorry.. no.?)

H.

BTW, I myself moved to Luxembourg... job situation is one of the best in Europe.. biggest salaries of Europe... a bit boring country and the weather sucks.. and kinda expensive... but if your wife is in the bank business, she'll find a job no problem.. with $$$... so.. opening a resto will also make you rich here.. but that's very expensive... on a last note, renting a house is very very expensive (like Manhattan.. sort of..) buying a house is out of reach.. hehe

[dyarza]

Thanks Herve,

Better not tell the wife...

Lots of good points, and I think I have solutions for most of them. Rain? Were in Seattle now, we're used 300+ days of rain a year. As for work permits and money, I still hold a Spanish passport so for me it should not be a problem, and what money I have is mostly in Euros already. I have some commercial property in Spain that pays the bills, any projects I get to do beyond that are just bonus.

So I am looking mostly for better quality of life. I just know that I don't want to grow old here and my heart is over there.

I think this will probably take a while, but at the same time I'd like to do it while our girl is still young enough to adapt easily.

Well, thanks, lost to think about and lots of places to visit

D

[adri]

ya me acuerdo de hacer esqui en formigal...hace 20 años!!!

a ver si algun dia puedo volver...



Adri

[Hervé]

he he, you should have said all that first..

well for sure the living is miles better in France... no doubt.. (I lived in a lot of places, this is why I can compare.. sort of..)

thee main thing that I like about France is that things are more of a human size...

try to find something in a small city, and you'll be fine..
(and I agree about your daughter... the sooner the better..)

I wish you a nice trip, and a nice life..

relax...

[dyarza]

I appreciate it Herve,

Here is hoping to someday (relatively soon) changing the location in my forum profile...

D

[Hervé]

I used to go in "Villers sur Mer", (my uncle had a house there) beautiful.. we could walk miles on beaches... small markets in small villages..so cool... human sized living... I went to a little bakery everyday... and after a couple of weeks, the baker would say.. " hello Hervé... one or two baguettes today..?".. sooo friendly People...

[leoA4D]

This thread is rather sad for me, a multi-generation American, because dyarza puts a human tag to a tidal change resulting from deterioration of fundamentals that made America the land of hopes and dreams. And because it is those foundational matters we see being compromised there is no telling when, if ever, the tide will return.

Sadder still is I empathize with him.

Good luck with your hunt and move, dyarza.

Edit: And Hervé, posting those pics is what we call "dirty pool" or unfair. Just kidding.

[Hervé]

all great empires failed at some point... I believe America is on its way now... sad like you say... and indeed sadder is that you empathize....

The party's over.... hehe LOL...

Nahhh I am kidding... America is still the land of high hopes

[leoA4D]

... America is still the land of high hopes

Egads, what does that say? I need a magnifying glass! Size 7 high hopes? Size 7 is it? You mean petite hopes, Hérve.

[-Adrian]

Good luck with your move to France Dyarza, if you decide to do it. I can't be of any help on this topic, so that's that

[mverta]

leo, as a multi-generational American, I have no idea what you're talking about. There is no tidal force of people leaving the US, there is a tidal force of people trying to get IN. And for good reason. The rest of the civilized world spends half their time bashing the US, and the other half going to McDonald's and lining up for our movies and drinking Starbucks or whatever. So you can throw all that right out.

The trend of US-bashing within our own country is the result of having utter security, propserity, and freedom for so long that the people take it for granted. 95% of the Americans who complain about America know nothing about their own country - I mean nothing; not geography, not history, not political/sociological matters; most of them can't find their own state on a map - and they know less about any other place on Earth. They don't actually worry about the power not being on, or food running out, and no other country has ever flown bombing raids on the mainland. No military dictator is going to storm the White House; no citizens will be pulled out of their homes. Hell, in America, they pass laws to stop your coffee from being too hot. So they don't worry about anything; they also then don't know anything else, and have no perspective. But they know whether Britney's vagina is shaved, though. And the price of iPods. And they damn sure know where the 2-for-1 deals are on bulk food purchases to fuel their enormous asses. That the country is basically one giant shopping mall filled with idiotic, redundant bags of protoplasm shuffling around buying shoes with lights on them, doesn't mean it isn't still the top dog.

In its own twisted way, the degeneration of the American public is proof of how great a country it is. The only job the people had was not to get so slovenly drunk on the freedom that they lose perspective. But they did.

Still, when the world needs something, they call us. Historical fact. The rest is "lonely at the top" stuff, and any American with a historical perspective and clue, knows it.

One of my favorite discussions to have with friends who are from other countries is to ask them what they feel when they hear fighter jets fly overhead. I've asked that of people from one end of the planet to the other, and you know what the VAST majority of them say? "Fear. Something's wrong." A few said, "Power." In the US, when you hear a fighter jet, you feel safe, "There go the good guys!" Can't put a pricetag on that.

That being said, if I lived in Seattle and felt like I was being peed on all day, I'd probably want to leave the country, too. Best of luck to our expatriates!


_Mike

[Bubbaloo]

Nice writing!
I didn't want to say anything, because I truly just want the best for him.
But the grass does always seem greener...