5 Good Reasons You Should Move To France (And 1 Reason You Shouldn't!)

France, with its rich culture, beautiful landscapes, fine wine and scrumptious cuisine, is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world. It probably doesn’t take much to make you want to pack your bags and head to the picturesque French countryside for a weeklong holiday. But moving to a foreign country is something quite different. It is a truly life-changing move, and one that should usually involve a great deal of thought. If you’re wondering whether moving to France is the right decision for you, here are 5 good reasons why it just might be:

A new cultural experience

Getting introduced to a new culture can always be an opportunity to evolve as a person.

French culture is vibrant and fascinating. Adapting to some of it may take a while, but it’s likely to be a welcome change. The French love to spend time with family and friends, and especially enjoy long, luxuriating meals. It’s a slower pace of life, and the best way to adapt is simply to embrace it. Learn to enjoy fewer work hours and more leisure time. Avoid rushing through your meals, even if you’re by yourself at a restaurant. Take the time to savor your food and drink, enjoy the natural and man-made beauty around you, and maybe learn to spend time people-watching.

Great for those who love to travel

Within France itself, there are myriad places to visit. Apart from the big cities, there are beaches, quaint little villages, and the sprawling mountainside. The added benefit of living here is that France shares borders with many other European countries such as Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany, which are all great travel destinations. If you have children with you, it’s a wonderful way to expose them to diverse cultures...

Read More

Expat Experience - Diane Wargnier, Loire Valley, France

Who are you?

My name is Diane and I'm an American originally from New Jersey now living in France's Loire Valley with my husband, Tom, and Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dagny.

Where, when and why did you move abroad?

I live not far from Angers, France, and moved here about two years ago.

What challenges did you face during the move?

I think the move was the easiest part.

The challenge was maintaining a long-distance relationship (me in NYC and him in France) so once we got married, I moved and it wasn't challenging at all. I bought a one-way ticket, packed two suit cases, and was off!

How did you find somewhere to live?

When I first arrived, I just moved into my husband's apartment so it was a seamless transition for me. It's the same town I'd visited many times on trips and is where my husband works. But five months ago, we bought our first house in the same town to have a space we call our own complete with a little backyard for the dog. We searched for several months and in France, the home buying process is a little different than it is the US. Here, you work with many agents since certain properties are only available with a certain agent. I have to say I'm lucky that my husband is French and could navigate the process with ease. Between the paperwork and cultural differences along the way, I would have been lost otherwise...

Read More

Phuket Is Still Peaceful

by Anne O’Connell

I’ve never been a political animal… and, never will be, but I would be remiss as the Thailand columnist for this forum not to share my impressions of the protests and the election that never really was.

Most people who ask us about the situation are obviously concerned for our safety. They needn’t be. We have felt absolutely no repercussions in Phuket from the protests since they were reignited in November when the current prime minister attempted to pass an amnesty bill that would have allowed her brother, the ousted PM, to return to Thailand without facing the corruption charges he would have to otherwise.

Basically, the protesters want her to resign. They are proposing that a non-elected People’s Democratic Reform Committee take charge and totally re-vamp the existing system, which they claim is corrupt. An article on the ABC News website on Feb. 10 said that “She has refused to resign, arguing she was elected by a large majority and is open to reform, but that such a council would be unconstitutional and undemocratic...”

Read More

Tales From A Spanish Village: Two Old Fools And Expat TV

by Victoria Twead

One could almost hear the howls of anguish from expats across Europe this month, and Joe's was probably the loudest. We'd been warned, although I don’t think anybody really believed it was going to happen. But it did. One day all the BBC channels simply vanished from our screens.

"No BBC1 or BBC2?" asked Joe, desperately punching the buttons on the remote control, scrolling through the channels.

"No BBC3? Or 4?”

NO SATELLITE SIGNAL IS BEING RECEIVED advised the message on the otherwise blank screen.

"No news? No Match of the Day? No golf? No rugby?”

"All gone," I sighed. "I understand they've replaced the old Astra satellite, which means UK residents will get a better picture, but the footprint is smaller. Viewers in Spain and the rest of Europe won't get anything.”

"No darts, no tennis? No World Cup?" Joe slumped back on the cushions in despair...

Read More

Expat Experience - Elle Draper, Almeria, Spain

Who are you?

My name is Elle Draper, and I live in a little converted farmhouse on the side of a valley in Almeria, in Andalucia - Southern Spain. I live here with my partner, Alan, and our three very enthusiastic rescue dogs These are Guido (Chief of Security / G Unit), a Beagador. Pepper (Big Face / Big Black Bear), a Labrador, and Billy (Billster / Ginger / Benjamin Button), a boxer.

Originally I hail from Southsea, Hampshire although I was actually born in York. Together with Alan, I provide web design, online marketing and search engine optimisation services (getting sites to number one in Google for example).

We have clients all over, including the UK, Spain, Canaries, France, Germany, the US, and even Australia. However we also have a number of our own websites... mainly with a Spain focus. Our most recent is www.spainbuddy.com which publishes daily articles about anything Spanish... food... photographs... tips... local events... and much more.

Where, when and why did you move abroad?

We originally moved in the summer of 2006. Alan and I had met in Portsmouth, through work – and both expressed a desire for warmer climes. We considered Italy and the Canary Islands, eventually deciding on the Canaries. We lived in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for 6 years before moving to Andalucia in September 2012. The resort we lived in on Lanzarote (Playa Blanca) is a beautiful resort, and has oodles of restaurants and nice bars... as well as a stunning Marina. However, we had been hankering for a more rural existence for some time – and our current home in Almeria ticks all those boxes.

What challenges did you face during the move?

I have to say that we were really lucky as we didn’t experience many problems with the move. All our friends and family were extremely supportive... with a number of them being surprised it has taken us so long. The only issue, I suppose, was when our household belongings got stuck in Customs for 10 weeks because we used a terrible shipping company...

Read More

Global Mom: Eight Countries, Sixteen Addresses, Five Languages, One Family

Expat Focus talks to Melissa Dalton-Bradford about her Memoir - Global Mom: Eight Countries, Sixteen Addresses, Five Languages, One Family—a Memoir about her fantastic journey of motherhood that will inspire any family.

Melissa, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m an American by birth and by passport, but like many of your readers, I’m a good solid Citizen of the World. I was raised primarily in the great American west by parents who had studied and worked in Germany, spoke fluent German, and subsequently kept their secrets from us in German. We cracked that code, there were no more secrets, and my passion for languages (and discovering the world) was ignited.

With my parents and siblings I spent portions of my upbringing in Austria (Salzburg and Vienna), then worked and studied in Austria during my university years and as a young married graduate student. (My husband, who’s American, who’d lived in and loved Germany, and spoke the kind of German that made my jaws and heart melt. I was wooed by his umlauts.) Together, we launched an international career and family trajectory––me writing and mothering, him businessing and fathering–– that has spanned over 20 years and has taken us to Hong Kong, Oslo, Versailles, Paris, Munich, Singapore and finally to Geneva, where we currently live with the youngest two of our four children in a village close to the banks of Lac Léman.

You recently published your memoir - Global Mom: Eight Countries, Sixteen Addresses, Five Languages, One Family. What is the book about?

Global Mom: A Memoir is, as New York Times best-selling author Kate Braestrup wrote in her endorsement, a book about love. Yes, it’s also true to its subtitle, and draws readers across the global panorama our family has lived in. But it’s far more than travelogue. Far more than cultural commentary. And it’s more than vignettes that leave readers laughing, gasping, swooning, fuming or crying, although I hope it’s that, too. What it is, is a frank depiction of what this kind of peripatetic life deals you––the stress, the loneliness, the fractured then reconstructed identity, the many losses––and how all those factors are counterbalanced with the innumerable gains. At the heart of the book (and here comes the spoiler) is the tragic loss our family has known in burying our oldest child when he was 18. That loss, which hit in the middle of a major international move, re-contextualized every other event––every other element––in life, and sent our family to the strangest, hardest place we’ve ever lived in: the land of loss. Here, the book takes a dive into a new landscape, which heaviness is deliberate on my part, since that’s the reality of traumatic loss. What is redemptive in the book, and readers have commented that it is the strength of the narrative, is that in spite of so many losses and the ultimate loss of death, there is hope in the possibility of living onward. That possibility hinges on love...

Read More

I Come From A Land Down Under…

by Nicole Webb

G'day,

If you're a regular reader of my ramblings, you probably know I've spent a fair bit of my writing time, wearing expat shoes and being quite vocal about the thrills and spills of culture shock - you know - stuff like: what happens when you find yourself catapulted into the arms of another country, anxiously wondering if this is simply a fling or a lasting love affair?

Well, in answer to that - Hong Kong has me in its clutches, but Australia you'll always have my heart. (Awwww.)

But on a recent trip back Down Under, it was kind of like running into an ex-boyfriend and finding something that had been so familiar, for so long, was suddenly quite alien.

I think it's what they like to call "Reverse Culture Shock."

Strewth mate! So where the bloody hell are you?

Stepping into the airport, for a brief moment, I contemplated, Mars? For starters, there's a new thing they call the ePassport. Have you heard of it? I suppose I have, but watching everyone flock to the 'SmartGate' for self-processing had me in a flap. Yes, Yes, I know they have a similar thing in Hong Kong, but this is Australia! My Australia! "Whaddya mean things have changed!?" I've obviously been living under a rock because when you're flying domestically these days, crikey…the people seem to have all but disappeared? "Bag drop-off" has reached a whole new level, it's now called Check-in Kiosk! Not a soul in sight!

Again, "where the bloody hell are you?"

Read More