The other day I interviewed an expat British couple in France. They had moved here seven years ago, took early retirement, bought a beautiful country house with a lovely garden in a pretty village in SW France. We talked about how they find life in France and it started off well. They love the food, […]
How would it be if you could go to France – anywhere in France – and live the life of a local? Go to the bars where the inhabitants go, find out what restaurants are favoured by the locals, see off the beaten track places that only those who live there know about. You can […]
These days most businesses, including international ones, are looking for ways to cut back on their costs while increasing their efficiency. Companies can easily achieve both goals by outsourcing. Outsourcing involves delegating some of a company’s duties and functions to specific service providers. These providers could either be individuals or separate organizations. With the recent […]
Fée Rêvée is a French au pair association which has been pairing students from overseas with host families for the past 9 years. The name Fée Rêvée means “dream fairy” and the association’s goal is to help au pairs to find their dream family. Based in Paris, they are a non-profit organisation which aims to […]
One way to have a free holiday almost anywhere in France… James Cave, an Irishman living in Scotland, decided that he’d like to live in France. The problem was, at that time he didn’t have the budget to give up work, to buy a house or even rent a house in France and as for […]
Janine Marsh discovers a way to have a holiday in France for free…house sitting in France It is a dilemma that many of us expats in France face – how to go on holiday when you have beloved pets that can’t come with you. For some animals there are kennels, sometimes neighbours can help but […]
If you’re looking for a chance to visit France on a limited budget and you don’t mind mucking in, then becoming a volunteer in France through Workaway may be just what you’re looking for. Workaway brings hosts together with volunteers in an extensive range of different countries and is the brain child of David Milward. […]
Seasonal work in France is a popular option for those who want to spend time in France, for adventure and cultural exchange and to earn some money at the same time. If you are an EU citizen, you are automatically entitled to work in France. If you are from outside the EU you may need […]
In challenging economic times, more and more people are looking overseas in search of lucrative or rewarding employment opportunities. In the past, securing employment would be one of the first steps on the emigration checklist and few people would move overseas without knowing they had a job waiting for them, or at least some promising […]
Even for the most qualified applicants, finding a job in France for an expat has never been harder than in these days of recession hit Europe. One American expat we know told told us that she had sent her CV out to more than 250 companies – she did not hear back from a single […]
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I live part of the year in Provence and one day I was reading Le Monde and a headline about a “sexy politician” caught my eye. “Well, those are two words you don’t see together very often,” I thought. So I read the article and found out that there had been a poll asking French […]
It was lunchtime in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris, and I was ravenous looking for a place to eat away from the usual tourist traps. I turned down a quiet street and saw the most unassuming bistro. In fact, I wouldn’t usually have considered going in but I decided to take a chance. As soon […]
Catharism has been described as “the most successful heresy in history”. In Languedoc, “Pays Cathare” signs dot the countryside. One cannot drive far in any direction without coming upon the ruins of a Cathar fortress. Who were the Cathars? “Cathar” is allegedly derived from the Greek word, katharos, meaning “pure”. The Cathars were also known […]
The people of Provence have been raising sheep for centuries. You see flocks of them all over the countryside, grazing under the watchful eye of shepherds. But Provencal summers are scorching hot and sheep have heavy wool coats so they’re moved to cooler pastures. The transhumance in Provence The answer to dealing with the heat, […]
There have been many famous families in history. Take the Curies, for example: Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes and her husband, daughter and grandson each won one. Quite the talented family! And then there are the Wright brothers and the Brontë sisters. And let’s not forget those comic masters, the Marx brothers. But imagine […]
“They are NOT babies, they are chickens” remonstrated my French neighbour Jean-Claude. He had come to inspect the eight point of lay hens and two “babies” with which I had returned from the local street market. “I’m going to call that scrawny baby one Eaglet” I said “Non, non, non” came the emphatic response “You […]
“When I move to France I only want to have French friends”. This was a line in an email I received from a couple of Brits. They wanted advice on where to move to in France and this was one of their criteria. They also wanted to be near a town that has a market, […]
June 2005 was a difficult month for Peter Friend and his partner Mark. After a change of jobs, relocation and redundancy they decided they didn’t want the sort of stressful lives they were leading in marketing and business development for much longer. Considering their skills, passion for travel, good food and wine, setting up their […]