Q & A: About Me
Q: Why France? Why not roam around Italy or Amsterdam or Spain or Fiji?
A: Well, France is the location of choice for several reasons. One, it happens to be the home of my beloved, we will call him "F" or as I like to call him (he will kill me for this!) "Frenchy." And after much ta-do about how we were going to make this wonderful (yet sometimes stressful), pond jumping romance work in the long run (thus the stress), it was decided that out of the two of us, I was in a better position to pack it all up and high-tail it to the land of croissants and cheese to "live in sin" (lol)....ok, I know there is more to France than that but, we are trying to be smart and witty here!
Q: What will you do once you are in France? Work? Vacation (or as the Europeans say, "holiday"), Become an American Bum? Go to school? What?
A: Well, that answer is a bit complicated. Due to the ever increasing red tape that makes up the French bureaucracy, it is nearly impossible to come to France as a foreigner and get a job right off the bat....or at any time for that matter....so I have decided that at least for the first two years or so, I will concentrate on my French language studies, do any small side English tutoring and most importantly, work on my US based business of graphic, web and branding design and illustration. I will also be working to build up my personal handmade greeting card business from my newly constructed (and waiting on me) office in my lovely new home in France. Other than that, I look forward to creating a small but bountiful little garden and exploring the part of France I am now claiming as my own. :-)
Q: How does French living compare to the US?
A: I don’t know yet, but when I feel like I have been around and in the country long enough to start forming an opinion, you will see me blog about it for sure! Until then, just consider me too green to know or to form an educated (enough) opinion.
Q: As you go through the move-to-France process, what if any tips, lessons or just comical antidotes can you pass on to others looking to do the same thing or something similar?
A: Well, funny you should ask (as if you really did!) because after a lot of pondering and pilfering of the internet, I found that although there MAY be a lot of information out there about moving to France, I DID NOT PLAN TO PAY A SINGLE DIME TO GET IT! I mean really people! All those out there that have gone through this experience and now want other people to pay for the knowledge they gained FREE OF CHARGE-uh uh...not going to do it AND I did not want anyone else who happened to stumble across my website to do it either! So I created a Yahoo Message group that is SPECIFICALLY for information pertaining to what you need to know to move to France. Not just an expat site for everyone to read about experiences, but an actual site listing Visa Forms, requirements for long term stay, how to go about getting your Visa, what NOT to do when applying for your Visa and hopefully, time and money saving tips on the whole relocation process. (Wheew! that was a lot!) The Yahoo message group is called Guide to France and is located here. It is in its infancy right now (as of 5/9/06) but I hope that as years go past, it will become a FREE (TOTALLY FREE) resource for all those trying to make the move but they are just not sure where to start. I enjoy a few expat groups right now and they have become sort of my lifeline to what to expect and to what is to come with my new life in France, but I really felt lost at first as to where I should start. My hope is that I can help someone else avoid the same confusion.
A: Well, France is the location of choice for several reasons. One, it happens to be the home of my beloved, we will call him "F" or as I like to call him (he will kill me for this!) "Frenchy." And after much ta-do about how we were going to make this wonderful (yet sometimes stressful), pond jumping romance work in the long run (thus the stress), it was decided that out of the two of us, I was in a better position to pack it all up and high-tail it to the land of croissants and cheese to "live in sin" (lol)....ok, I know there is more to France than that but, we are trying to be smart and witty here!
Q: What will you do once you are in France? Work? Vacation (or as the Europeans say, "holiday"), Become an American Bum? Go to school? What?
A: Well, that answer is a bit complicated. Due to the ever increasing red tape that makes up the French bureaucracy, it is nearly impossible to come to France as a foreigner and get a job right off the bat....or at any time for that matter....so I have decided that at least for the first two years or so, I will concentrate on my French language studies, do any small side English tutoring and most importantly, work on my US based business of graphic, web and branding design and illustration. I will also be working to build up my personal handmade greeting card business from my newly constructed (and waiting on me) office in my lovely new home in France. Other than that, I look forward to creating a small but bountiful little garden and exploring the part of France I am now claiming as my own. :-)
Q: How does French living compare to the US?
A: I don’t know yet, but when I feel like I have been around and in the country long enough to start forming an opinion, you will see me blog about it for sure! Until then, just consider me too green to know or to form an educated (enough) opinion.
Q: As you go through the move-to-France process, what if any tips, lessons or just comical antidotes can you pass on to others looking to do the same thing or something similar?
A: Well, funny you should ask (as if you really did!) because after a lot of pondering and pilfering of the internet, I found that although there MAY be a lot of information out there about moving to France, I DID NOT PLAN TO PAY A SINGLE DIME TO GET IT! I mean really people! All those out there that have gone through this experience and now want other people to pay for the knowledge they gained FREE OF CHARGE-uh uh...not going to do it AND I did not want anyone else who happened to stumble across my website to do it either! So I created a Yahoo Message group that is SPECIFICALLY for information pertaining to what you need to know to move to France. Not just an expat site for everyone to read about experiences, but an actual site listing Visa Forms, requirements for long term stay, how to go about getting your Visa, what NOT to do when applying for your Visa and hopefully, time and money saving tips on the whole relocation process. (Wheew! that was a lot!) The Yahoo message group is called Guide to France and is located here. It is in its infancy right now (as of 5/9/06) but I hope that as years go past, it will become a FREE (TOTALLY FREE) resource for all those trying to make the move but they are just not sure where to start. I enjoy a few expat groups right now and they have become sort of my lifeline to what to expect and to what is to come with my new life in France, but I really felt lost at first as to where I should start. My hope is that I can help someone else avoid the same confusion.
