P_M

All I can tell you is that it's a lot easier to get permission for an American to live in Paris than for a French person to move to the US. My cousin married his long-time French girlfriend in January and the last I heard, she STILL doesn't have a green card yet!! I don't know exactly when they began the process but I know it was before the wedding. It s/b obvious to the INS this is not a sham marraige to get a green card, as they've been dating for 10 years and they had a child together last year.

They have looked into what it would take for my cousin to move to France and the process isn't nearly as bad. The problem with that is my cousin is almost eligible for retirement from the Reserves so he has to stay in the US for about 2 more years.

So in the meantime, my cousin's wife is living in Paris with thier daughter, but she comes to the US as often as possible as a tourist. The quest for her green card continues....

suze

If you can get a transfer from your own company or a company in Paris wants to hire you, that is (of course) the easiest way in.

Ainhoa

OR... you could do a home exchange for two or three months. Check out this website. A lot of French people would like to do a swap with someone in America. www.homeforexchange.com Itīs free for the first year.

Ronda

BINGO Ainhoa! That is exactly what I have been thinking. I checked once though and it seemed a lot more people in America wanted to switch and Europeans. I'll have to check again.

After all, do I really want to leave my family and move to a foreign country where I don't know a person? Aging parents, grandchildren (someday), friends, etc.

I have also thought that it would be fun to exchange with someone only be here to host them. Wouldn't it be fun to make friends with someone from another country, have them stay at your home, show them all the little places that they couldn't possibly find on their own and then go over to their home in Europe and do the same thing. Kind of like exchange students only for the adult set. Heck, this could be a business idea - instead of e-harmony set up a site to match up people for exchange adults program. lol

starrsville

GREAT website, ainhoa! Time for serious dreaming...and potential planning!

laclaire

Though everyone's experiences are different, the one thing that I have found about opting to move abroad is that you need to be prepared for some initial suffering that apple turnovers will not help. Maybe a chocolate croissant will do the first few times, but then your clothes stop fitting and you just want to shoot yourself.

I got back to BCN a few weeks ago. I returned to my job, to a lot of friends, and had my apartment lined up. Well, that is a rare case, as most people show up with nothing (what I did 2 years ago when I moved here to do my Master's degree), and the paperwork to be done is out of control.

My time is almost up at the internet cafe. More to come on this topic. . .