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Moving to France:- long as thread in a rambling tone? yeah it's kinda my style :P

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jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
Well, it's been a while coming but my and I wife have decided on Moving to France from the UK around august this year

(it was my idea for the move stemming from all the great times I have had there recently).

this has nothing to do with Brexit and more to do with the pace of life.

we are going to move to a village near Toulouse to her mum's house. in a few weeks we are going to put our house up for sale in the UK and use that towards a place in France.

my wife is a French National who has lived in the UK for around 15 years.

I am really looking forward to the move, it's becoming more real each day, I can't wait for the change of pace in Lifestyle and further down the line Job wise - to start with I am going to work out something with my current employer to work two weeks a month (condense my shift patterns down)

then I will try and find something once we are settled in France.

as my wife pointed out the 2 weeks a month work pattern isn't forever it's until we get sorted.

she is more set as her current job allows her to work from home and once in a while she needs to travel to the UK to work in the office, she has a better skill set than I.

I work in TV but the area of France I am going to is all about the aviation industry.

even if I need to totally change my career direction I don't care.

I am still learning a bit of french daily but I think once I get there it will increase and I will have to sink or swim.

the main issue is I have a son from another relationship. I would love to take him with us.

(I have two daughters who are moving to France with us)

we are going to meet his mum on Friday to discuss the move and what benefits it can bring to him. we have looked into a school to help with his ADHD and dyslexia

this is one of the biggest decisions I am going to make in my life, kind of nervous but in a good way.

any advice to anyone who has moved to another country?

any advice from French GAF?

update:
meeting my Ex tomorrow to discuss the move and put forward out point of view as to why we think the move is for the best and how we hope my son can come along. really nervous as hell. hope it goes well.

will update.
 
M

Mimosa97

Member
How old is your son ? I don't think that would be a good idea if he's a teenager. I know I wouldn't have wanted to leave all of my friends back home to follow my dad and stepmother to a foreign country. Also I guess he doesn't speak french ? That's gonna be really hard for him.

As for you I only have one advice : learn french as fast as you can. There's nothing we french people love more than a foreigner who knows our language. Even if you make tons of mistakes at first it doesn't matter, it's the effort that counts. Also the british accent is especially popular :)

All I can say is enjoy the weather, the good food, the lifestyle. If you're doing okay financially you'll have one hell of a time. If you're struggling financially that's another problem lol
 
E

Elandyll

Banned
What did you use to do for TV?

If it was tech related, check out Videlio IEC, they have an agency in Toulouse (I used to work for IEC Lyon 13 years ago (man time flies).
 
jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
Mimosa97 said:
How old is your son ? I don't think that would be a good idea if he's a teenager. I know I wouldn't have wanted to leave all of my friends back home to follow my dad and stepmother to a foreign country. Also I guess he doesn't speak french ? That's gonna be really hard for him.

As for you I only have one advice : learn french as fast as you can. There's nothing we french people love more than a foreigner who knows our language. Even if you make tons of mistakes at first it doesn't matter, it's the effort that counts. Also the british accent is especially popular :)

All I can say is enjoy the weather, the good food, the lifestyle. If you're doing okay financially you'll have one hell of a time. If you're struggling financially that's another problem lol
Click to expand...

he is ten years old so hopefully in that sweet spot not too young and not too old to move. but if he wants to stay in UK, we will arrange him to come over in half terms and summer holidays and the odd weekend :)

as for Money, for the time being, my wife is working and getting an income, I will too and then look for something else if I can

Elandyll said:
What did you use to do for TV?

If it was tech related, check out Videlio IEC, they have an agency in Toulouse (I used to work for IEC Lyon 13 years ago (man time flies).
Click to expand...

ohh thanks for the link I will check them out.
I work as a Media Manager (not of people but video files etc) before this job I worked for the BBC in the world service.
not sure how many TV companies around Toulouse. but if I have to change career I don't mind
 
B

Bruce Springsteen

Member
jufonuk said:
he is ten years old so hopefully in that sweet spot not too young and not too old to move. but if he wants to stay in UK, we will arrange him to come over in half terms and summer holidays and the odd weekend :)
Click to expand...

I moved around most of my childhood, 10 years is not too young or old, it's to the parent to help the kid assimilate
 
jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
Should Mention:

our plan is:

Moving to my mother-laws house in France. selling our one in the UK then putting the money into the house in France to modernise it and then buy it (convert the garage into a flat for the mother-in-law)

she has family in France and so by extension and because they are so freaking cool, so do I :)
 
A

azyless

Member
Good luck ! I know a british couple who moved here a few years ago and they love it, they're in the Bordeaux area. The west/southwest region in general is really nice imo, you should be fine.
Number one priority should be learning the language, for your kids too. I know certain schools do french classes in the late afternoon for immigrant kids and their families so maybe look into that, though my experience is with younger kids so I don't know. It should help that you have french family already.
 
W

Wvrs

Member
Weirdly, I'm also moving to Toulouse from the UK in a few months, although it'll be after I've just finished University and I've no real responsibilities yet, so admittedly not as big a life decision. The French will come quick, I learnt more in the semester abroad I did there than I did in the year prior; in the meantime, have you asked your wife to only speak French with you when you're together at certain points in the day? Best way to learn is to immerse yourself.

Hope all goes well for you!
 
jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
azyless said:
Good luck ! I know a british couple who moved here a few years ago and they love it, they're in the Bordeaux area. The west/southwest region in general is really nice imo, you should be fine.
Number one priority should be learning the language, for your kids too. I know certain schools do french classes in the late afternoon for immigrant kids and their families so maybe look into that, though my experience is with younger kids so I don't know. It should help that you have french family already.
Click to expand...

eldest daughter knows French, youngest is not even 2 yet so plenty of time to learn, it's really just me and My Son (if he comes to live) that need to know it.

my brother-in-law's wife is from Japan, she said it took her a while to learn to speak the language but not to worry she is generally shy, she knows I will take less time.

but yeah need to crunch time with the language I am probably at a beginner level.
still, three months of Duolingo and some other material should give me a kick start.

I am at the stage where I can get the gist of what my wife is saying to her mum, as well as picking out a few key words.

have asked the wife to only speak French at times but because we watch a lot of English Language TV and I am too self-conscious to speak at time in french I keep skipping back, but every time i meet my French family I do make more of an effort to listen and try and respond back.

I like to talk a lot so being cut off in expressing myself to them is frustrating. hopefully, the immersion should help greatly.
 
N

Not

Banned
I just heard that French people go "puh" when they don't understand something. FrenchGAF, why the hell do you do this?
 
S

seb

Banned
I'm in Toulouse too... Welcome :)
I don't know about media manager. If you were a programmer you would be set in a matter of days. There are hundreds of subcontracting company for the space/aeronautic industry around here.
If you want to have a look at job offers,
sudouestjob.com is a good site.
 
jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
seb said:
I'm in Toulouse too... Welcome :)
I don't know about media manager. If you were a programmer you would be set in a matter of days. There are hundreds of subcontracting company for the space/aeronautic industry around here.
If you want to have a look at job offers,
sudouestjob.com is a good site.
Click to expand...

I can't program for anything. I suck.
my job, experience and masters is all TV/Media related nothing in aeronautics lol.
 
H

Hypron

Member
Bruce Springsteen said:
I moved around most of my childhood, 10 years is not too young or old, it's to the parent to help the kid assimilate
Click to expand...

Yeah 10 y.o. is perfectly fine. I moved to another country at 15 and that was rough at first, but then it ended up being one of the best things my parents did for me. It seems like I'll always keep my French accent though :/
 
E

Elandyll

Banned
jufonuk said:
ohh thanks for the link I will check them out.
I work as a Media Manager (not of people but video files etc) before this job I worked for the BBC in the world service.
not sure how many TV companies around Toulouse. but if I have to change career I don't mind
Click to expand...
There should at least be 2 local stations/branches, with M6 and France 3 region (bear in mind I haven't been working in France for 13 years, the landscape probably majorly changed with dtv). IEC I think used to provide Avid support. Not sure now :)
 
jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
Elandyll said:
There should at least be 2 local stations/branches, with M6 and France 3 region (bear in mind I haven't been working in France for 13 years, the landscape probably majorly changed with dtv). IEC I think used to provide Avid support. Not sure now :)
Click to expand...

ohh cool, have to look into this :) first the language then the jobs
 
jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
anyone know of any good job agencies or companies/employment sites that could be worth checking out.
 
jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
House in the UK is on the market.

My Son has been told about the move, everyone knows.

now I need to work out if I can still somehow work at my old Job or I have to give it up and be a house husband and commence a job hunt in France?

I am excite

random. my forum account is tied to my Job email if I lose my job what do I do?

can a Mod help me out with this question?
 
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