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If you could live in France for a year, would you a)......

If you could live in France for a year, would you a)......

Old Aug 13th, 2012, 02:08 PM
  #41  
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More fantastic responses - and EXACTLY the sort of things I was hoping to hear. It sounds like you use the same formula for most things in life - balance/moderation.

It is a shame that the Brits appeared to have spoilt it for the 'rest of us'!! I am sure there are some lovely ones but like a famous aussie author who lives there also a lot refuse to learn the language properly. This for me is probably one of main reasons for going to live in France, until you have lived in a country you don't really stand a chance of speaking the language properly. I realise that a year is not going to make me sound like a native, but I have to get better - yes?

I shall look up that web site - Cathinjoetown, and thank you for your kind offer. ARe you going to be living in France permanently now? I didn't realise you lived there... now I do!!

I have spent a fair bit of time in Paris and love the city but the last time I was there (last year) I felt I had "done" Paris (for a while at least) and think Kerouac is absolutely right to choose a 'normal city'.

I feel like I need to spend a year in France choosing where I am going to spend a year in France... now there is an idea!!

Jamikins your response makes perfect sense and I do feel I couldn't live in another country without some contact from the home land and I think you are absolutely right when you say the ex pats want to do the same things ie investigate further afield but I shall promise not to be roped into the drunken expats at the bar. I remember when we lived in the West Indies as ex pats the drinking and the partying was at the forefront of a lot of ex pats' agenda. I was only a teenager so it didn't affect me. I am more into dancing than drinking...

Queenie it sounds like you have met an amazing group of people in your time, do you still keep in touch?

St Cirq thanks for all your comments, I am hoping that some friends will come and visit me, but I don't want to end up as a b and b for all.

Thanks everyone again, I shall print this off and keep it in my 'dream file' for future reference.

Schnauzer
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 02:50 PM
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Can I just say that there is nothing worse than a Canadian bar in London, Paris, or anywhere else haha!
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 06:14 PM
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Why is that jamikins? Sorry, know nothing about Canadian bars.

I'll just add (and I realize I keep on just adding) that I've never been an expat or an immigrant, though I'm probably going to be one or the other soon, so my experiences are limited to being a part-time resident. My caricatures are actually real-life moments, though I didn't temper them with the more normal experiences (because I like to play with words). I am very fond of Brits in general, not so much the rich retired ones in the Dordogne as a group.

Schnauzer, do be wary of becoming a B&B. I actually chose the Dordogne 20 years ago because it was, in Rick Steve's words at the time "really hard to get to." Brilliant, I thought. Though at the end of the day we had more people find their way to us "just to crash for a day or two"(right!) than I ever wanted or expected. You gotta set limits.
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 08:33 PM
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What a great idea, Schnauzer!

Could you do a couple of house swaps/house sittings?

Not everyone needs or wants to do a concurrent swap, and it might give you an opportunity of trying out an area before renting, or returning there.

For the string - lipped "why would you want to do that?" - your line is a triumphant, "Because I can!"

Knowing you even slightly, I know you'll fit in wherever you go and have a wonderful time.
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 09:11 PM
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Indeed, pay attention to StCirq's indirect words of warning: once you are settled, people you barely know from back home may suddenly decide that they are your best friend and would just love to come and visit. During my first couple of years in Paris, I was swamped with visits. While only close friends actually camped out at my place, so many others decided that I would be their personal tour guide/interpreter.
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 10:30 PM
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I just find cdn or American or Irish or British pubs outside of their own country horrible...why on earth would I want to go to say Paris and hang out in a cdn bar watching Canadian or American sports (outside the NHL playoffs obviously haha)??
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 11:47 PM
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Moosehead beer?
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 12:36 AM
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Hahaha Cath - ok, maybe also for the Moosehead, but only during the playoffs (GO CANUCKS!)
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 01:07 AM
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I think I would rent out my house here in Sydney and the rent I can receive here per week would pay for a house in France for a month!! (so one advantage of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world...) Okay so in the summer months the prices may be higher but looking at the sites I have already earmarked it would appear I am on a winner $$$ wise.

Someone (St Cirq??) mentioned about buying - no intention (at the moment...)

I might have to be 'away' when certain folk come calling... but that could also be part of the fun showing people around - until the novelty wears off of course.

I understand about Jamikins and the Canadians - we were overseas once and there were a group of rather inebriated Canadians at the next table, every five minutes or so they would make "moose" antlers with their hands and state in a loud voice "I am a Canadian". It became the catch phrase for our holiday with my 16 year old - everytime something happened - funny or just, well happened, we would do the antler hands and say "I am a Canadian", well we thought it was funny at the time!!!! Lost in translation me thinks.

Thanks for the good wishes Bokhara, of course you will be invited to stay!!! See, already issuing those invites,... gotta stop.

Schnauzer
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 01:15 AM
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Hi Schnauzer,

Yes, we plan to live here permanently, the lifestyle, weather, etc. suit us.

There's no single home base tugging us back, friends and family are scattered.

Buying a large farmhouse here was tempting but we opted for a smaller place that is easier to maintain and heat! We occasionally wish we had another guest room for large groups but there's a wonderful gite/chambres d'hotes in the village that our friends love--we have a great view but their's is better!

When I moved here I had passable tourist French and deep in my memory, three years in high school and one at university. You'll make good progress in a year, highly recommend 3-5 hours a week in class unless you have a lot of self-discipline.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 01:39 AM
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'I am sure there are some lovely ones but like a famous aussie author who lives there also a lot refuse to learn the language properly. '

I think I have read this 'famous Aussie author' and noticed that she came to France to experience life here, and then spent her whole time with English speakers. And half way through the book I realised I had met some of them! And they weren't my favourite people.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 02:02 AM
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Carlux, LOL!! She has written three books (I think) about her experiences, one about her affair which I thought a bit "off". I went to hear her talk at a library (years ago) about this particular book and lo and behold front row in the audience was the husband. I thought that a bit strange, fancy sitting there listening to your wife bang on about her fling. Nowt as queer .... etc

Knowing that you live in the Dordogne - I need to pick your brains later about the Dordogne for next year - do you find you speak english a lot or do you manage to speak French most of the time? I think the Dordogne is a beautiful area but would be put off if it is just another London suburb... (exaggeration)

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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 02:20 AM
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I'll try to keep my jealousy under wraps, as I lived for a year in Lyon a little while ago and have planned ever since to move back but, as always, life somehow gets in the way...

Regarding learning the language I found that being on my own helped enormously in this regard. Despite having what was thought of as intermediate French, nothing prepared me for the difference of actually having to use it all day, every day.

My advice is to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. Even though my budget was tight at the time, my first purchase in France was a radio so I could listen to French as much as possible and I bought a newspaper every day, to keep learning even when I wasn't speaking to people for more than minimal amounts each day.

Another piece of advice is to not lose heart. I found that even after I'd made French friends, was listening to the radio, and reading the newspaper daily it still took around six months before the switched was flipped and I could actually interject into conversations at the right time, rather than missing the moment as I formulated my response in my head.

I also think Lyon would be a great option for you. Busy enough with enough to see and do without being as hectic as Paris, great transport links and only a couple of hours or so from the Alps and the south coast.

Happy hunting...
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 06:12 AM
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Ok,, this goes back many posts,, but its not just expats that complain about french workmen or trying to get through french bureoucracy,, heck all my french relatives and friends do too!! That has nothinng to do with being expats!

As for getting to know the neighbors,, my friends ( french)have lived for decades in same places and it is not normal to have more then a nodding aquaitance with neighbors,, you will really have to make an effort to get involved with activities to make any actual friends( as opposed to chat over the fence neighbors). I agree a university town may be a good choice.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 06:34 AM
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This is hilarious! I live on Nantucket, a resort island about 25 miles off the Massachusetts coast, and just about everything said here about France and elsewhere applies to our situation.

Last week I served as an unpaid guide for an old but not close acquaintance for an afternoon and wound up buying his lunch as well! Our "expats" do a lot of charity work -- which we appreciate -- trying to become "locals" but they really only socialize with people they knew in prep school or the like.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 08:54 AM
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We got around the visitor problem by buying a 2 bedroom home. Most visitors come in pairs and we send them to a nearby hotel. Not the kids, they stay here.

Buying for us just made more sense, because it is Argentina where rules/laws etc can change by the day, the hour .. we felt it was a good investment also.

After over 5 years here, we have Never ... gone to an expat meeting/social event .. we met a couple of American visitors and while it was nice, I never make it a habit and prefer not to be seen as the Local that everyone can contact.
Some people try to live their dreams through you, so you get all sorts of strange questions, requests and intense not real friendships .. so we learned as we went and now almost all of our friends here are Argentine. . and the couple that are Americans are part time residents.

I think it took us about a year before we settled in completely and felt like we were actually living here . The move, house hunt, moving in, renovating , getting ID paper work which takes over a year .. all kept us busy.

Personally, I think everyone should live in a foreign country for a year or more.
It really opens your eyes to so many things .. good and bad. Things that make you thankful for what you have , and sometimes that inspire you to do things that you never considered doing.

I hope you get to do this ... it really changes your life.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 09:15 AM
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I agree, cc -- that website on languedoc was very helpful for us, and had we continued on our original plan, we would have gotten more use out of! Personally, I think I could become pretty fluent in French, but it was really throwing my husband for a loop. Besides, the expats we met (you can always stop by an English language book store as a start) were helpful directing us to real estate agents who spoke English, identifying good language teachers, etc.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 09:28 AM
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I will add another little snippet of advice that nobody has mentioned for being able to fit in while you are in France: watch French television, even though so many foreign channels are available. Watch the French news. Try to understand the political issues, even if you may want to refrain from voicing opinions. And read some French magazines, too. To make contact with the residents, you need to know the basics of local pop culture.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 12:42 PM
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I don't know that many of our friends here in the country are into 'local pop culture,' but it certainly does help if you understand references people are making in a conversation - which comes from television and radio. In fact the French news and documentaries are not difficult to understand - mostly the presenters speak clearly, and of course with the news there are pictures, which makes it easier to follow.

Some years ago someone told me that in her English class the teacher said - All right, you have all come here because you say you love the country and the food and the history, etc. So what do you think are the main issues for French people today? Hardly anyone could respond, because most of them associated more with people from their home country than with French people.

I used this as a topic of conversation with my English class, and while there was some heated discussion and differences of opinion, it was pretty clear that unemployment, even some years ago, was the most significant concern. I have to add though that it was a time when the media were all highlighting security issues, which means that as one does everywhere, you have to take news reporting with a grain of salt.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 02:01 PM
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Yes! French TV is very helpful in getting you in the groove and understanding things in context. Watching the weather is a good easy step, then the news and sports give you a lot to relate to...and also help identify differences between regions. While in the Dordogne, we saw lots of football (soccer) references to local teams, etc. In the SW, it was rugby ALL the way.

Watching the news, you can't ignore the issues that are present. Sometimes it takes more concentration, but you can "get it," especially if you make it a daily practice. But then, we have been life-long news junkies, so just because it isn't available in English isn't going to keep us from wanting to know what is going on around us.

It kind of brings in that feeling you get watching a subtitled movie, when you realize after a bit you are understanding the dialogue instead of reading the subtitles.

Radio, though, is something else. Good lord, those people talk endlessly! I think I would classify myself as truly fluent in a language, if I could listen to the radio for half an hour and not become totally frustrated.
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