katkat1950

Wow! I just signed in to check if there were any responses to the last message I posted, which was sometime in the wee hours NYC time, and I found a treasure trove. I've skimmed all of them, now I'm going to go back and read them carefully. What I gleaned from my skim, though, in all of them, was supportiveness, encouragement, and good will. Thank you for that.

katkat1950

"This is going to be a huge disappointment, I know, ) but marrying a French citizen does not make you French. You have to fill in a number of conditions and wait for a minimum of 4 years after marriage to apply for French nationality."

I knew that. I mean, I didn't know the details you just gave me, but I didn't think I could become a French citizen automatically just by marrying a French citizen. It's just that I know from everything I've read here and elsewhere that it makes the process easier. It's one advantage, one thing that makes it more likely I'd get a visa approved. I wasn't clear enough about that. I definitely did not intend to suggest I think marrying a French citizen is like a magic fairy wand.

Mainly, my joke about marrying Kerouac was just that. FeminineMystique joked about it first, and it made me laugh, and it lightened the atmosphere of the thread a bit, but of course I'm not offering it as a serious suggestion.

katkat1950

Carlux, Pvoyageuse, and Coquelicot, THANK YOU for the links to information about the French language requirement, and to sites where I can practice reading comprehension.

Like you, Carlux, I love languages (I love language, as an academic subject field, to begin with), and I love to study. I've been much more successful at academic achievement than I have been professionally. There are reasons for that, but my point here is that when I take a formal class, in almost anything, I excel. It's harder to study a foreign language on one's own (harder to motivate yourself and stick to it), but it's not impossible. The links you guys gave me can only help.

katkat1950

"It sounds to me like you have a goal to work towards - save money, study French and read, read, read and read more about France. If you're able to work in a visit, great so be it."

Yes, exactly. That's what I'm going to do.

katkat1950

"The first is to stay in the US, either where you are or move to a less expensive US region than NJ. You will be medicare eligible in a few years or perhaps the administration's health care plan may come to fruition before that. Either will help with your health insurance costs. By the way, I am assuming that you are healthy. I you have a pre-existing condition that makes it impossible to find a private health insurer, there are states such as Maryland that offer state options where health insurance is made available at an affordable price for such people."

1. Re "The first is to stay in the U.S..." Yes, I've been giving a lot of thought to that possibility for several years now. At some point, I'll have to decide among all these choices. It's hard....

2. "You will be medicare eligible in a few years." I'm on Medicare now. I qualified for it one year after my SSD application was approved. Because it's disability, not retirement, I didn't have to wait til 65 to get it.

3. "If you have a preexisting condition..." In the USA, my age is a preexisting condition. It matters not what other health issues I have, or if I have any. A private health insurance policy would be prohibitively expensive, but as long as I'm here, I at least have Medicare. I went without any insurance at all for 10 years after my divorce -- until I was approved for Medicare, actually. I relied on Charity Care at a local hospital when I had to see a doctor.

katkat1950

"Hasn't he proposed yet? "

You made me laugh again, FeminineMystique. for which I love you.

katkat1950

"My best thought for you is that you save up enough for an exploratory trip to France of several weeks' duration."

Excellent advice, Coquelicot. Thank you.

katkat1950

"However, do not forget the fact that we have just changed government again and that all of the rules are likely to change once more."

Yes, that occurred to me as well. Another good reason to wait a few years before moving to France, if I do.

katkat1950

"I don't know what that disability is, but obviously one can read and write (and intends to learn French fluently), so it would seem that perhaps one could get a job to earn some money instead of just relying on a SS check."

1. Clinical depression.

2. I can't work at a traditional job (i.e., for an outside employer), but yes, I have already done some paying work on my own, from home, though it didn't pay much -- writing for content creation sites. But some is better than none. I'm also thinking about drumming up proofreading jobs again. I did that freelance for many years, and it can be lucrative.

kerouac

If you can get some freelance work in Fr

kerouac

(Stoopid Fodors!) I was saying that if you can get some freelance work in France (or concerning France), it could make a major difference in your relocation plans.

katkat1950

Would it need to be freelance work for companies or organizations that are physically located in France? Or could I establish some freelance clients here in the States, and then just continue to work for them if I move to France?

If it's just the added income that's important, I would think the latter, but you would know better than me about that.

kerouac

The main thing necessary to qualify for a long term visa is proof that you will not be a financial burden in France. For some reason, Saudis, Qataris, Emiratis and Kuwaitis manage to do this pretty easily.

katkat1950

"For some reason, Saudis, Qataris, Emiratis and Kuwaitis manage to do this pretty easily."

Oh yeah, that's definitely a mystery.

sprogster

The long stay visa prohibits you from working in France, as it is aimed at retirees.
1994, presumably the people you helped applied for a long stay visa, not a working visa? Anyway, that was four years ago in 2008 and the rules were tightened last year.
Not aware of a significant resident population of Saudis, Qataris, Emiratis and Kuwaitis in France!! Generally speaking they are wealthy summer visitors that favour London.
I think it a bit arrogant that apparently some Americans think they should have the right to long stays in the EU, when the their country prohibits EU citizens from long stays in America.
As America tightens its border controls don't be surprised when the EU reciprocate. If you don't like it lobby your Congressman!

kerouac

Sprogster, I work for those nationalities, so I can assure you that they are extremely present and they are here to stay, particularly the Qataris who are less fickle than the Saudis (although the fact that the Saudis own most of the 5-star hotels in Paris says something as well -- the George V, the Prince de Galles, the Crillon, etc.). The Qataris are taking it to a whole new level by having bought the HSBC building on the Champs Elysées and evicting the bank and of course the owning PSG football club. And of course the Emir of Qatar bought the entire tip of the Ile Saint Louis -- the Hôtel Lambert -- from the Rothschilds. Quite a bit a controversy there with the construction of underground parking and ripping up some of the Louis XV bedrooms for the needs of installing elevators...

Gretchen

"Bottom line, I strain to understand why some people continue to believe I plan to chuck my apartment and fly to France tomorrow, or next week, when many others here have already brought me down to earth. It's almost like some people -- especially posters who are new to this thread like yourself -- are replying after having read the last two or three comments without at least scanning what came before that."

Perhaps because this thread is over 200 posts, and impossible for newcomers to read any more than the last few posts.

1994

"I think it a bit arrogant that apparently some Americans think they should have the right to long stays in the EU, when the their country prohibits EU citizens from long stays in America."

I'm not quite sure who you are addressing this comment to. As long as France allows Americans to apply for Long Stay Visa's, they will. France will always have the right to refuse the applicant(s). Whether you think American applicants are arrogant or not is really not part of the equation or process. Thank goodness you are not in the position of processing Visa's.

katkat1950

"Whether you think American applicants are arrogant or not is really not part of the equation or process. Thank goodness you are not in the position of processing Visa's."

Agreed. It's not Americans who want to retire in France who are arrogant about the visa situation; it's the American government.

socaltraveler

It's the American government that is arrogant about Americans wanting to retire in France? No, I think it's Americans, who expect another country to help support them, while living off the benefits of their home country's social services, who are a bit arrogant. Unfortunately, we can't always get what we want.