So you're thinking of moving to France and you would like my advice?
The fact that you're asking leads me to believe that you have heaps of confidence and infinite patience. You love a challenge and want something more to life than just going through the motions.
Am I right?
Well, I've answered that question before, but I'll answer it again. One more time.
With almost 10 years of living in France experience under my belt, the one piece of advice* I would give to you would be this...take the leap.
Do it.
And don't be afraid.**
Because you never know what wonderful place that leap might take you.
And remember, if it doesn't work out for whatever reason, you can always go back.
No regrets.
*sometimes I hesitate to give this advice, so I asked some others to share their thoughts on the subject
**but don't forget to do your homework!
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9 comments:
I like to try and live no regrets which is why I am heading to France (to visit) in Aug/September of this year.
I would really appreciated any advice that you have for a newbie. I speak french (although slower than I used to) and I have always felt a calling to the country.
In Feb 1st I am starting a #WTFrance2013 giveaway and I would value your opinion/advice very much.
Happy new year!
Murissa
We bought here in 2005 and we have no regrets at all. Happily living in France, Diane
You also did an excellent tutorial on costs of living, but now that's several years old. Do you find that the numbers have changed much since then?
Not all comes up roses when one moves to France, but in the sum of all things if you have the urge, go for it.
The best part for me is that Europe very quickly helps you separate needs from wants. For this alone, it is worth it.
Not to mention the food, the weather, the people, the markets, the....I could go on and on.
Murissa
Are you moving in Aug/Sept?
Tell me more about the giveaway and I'll try to help. :)
Diane
Great to hear! I always enjoy hearing about happy endings.
Emm
The last post on cost of living I did was August 2011 and after having a look I would say that in the last year and a half the price of food and fuel has gone up, our insurance costs have gone down (due to my new job) and taxes have gone up a bit.
TCH
Good advice!
I think it has a lot to do with how flexible, patient and curious one is. If you don't like to live outside of your comfort zone, don't move to a foreign country and expect to enjoy it! :)
Dear all,
I started reading this blog in Sept 2011. The blog happened to be the number one hit in Google in response to my search words 'cost of living in France'.
The Aug 2011 report in this blog is still very informative; I used it as a baseline to (i) keep a record on my own cost-of-living in France, (ii) compare my location (Cannes) to other parts of the country, and (iii) distill some trends on how costs develop over time.
Fuel got extremely expensive (if we'd compare to what used to be back in 2004-2010) but this is in most countries in Europe (in the Netherlands where I work, fuel prices soar to a new high record, nearing 1.9 euro).
Unlike the fuel prices, the other numbers in the Aug 2011 report have not changed significantly. I'm a fan of organic food; and what fascinates me in France is that you can easily find -- in any major hypermarket (grade surface)-- a huge variety of organic products at prices that are equal to or less-than-2% higher than their non-organic versions. Which makes France the budget-friendliest place for organic food I have ever seen in Europe. Believe it or not, this alone justifies my business case for staying 2 months each year, as there are three of us in the family - and we all are very enthusiastic about all things French Food, and also super conscious about what we eat:-)
Excellent advice. I will refer people to this post now when they ask me!;)
Thanks to everyone's comments!
La Torontoise
I'm so pleased that I was able to help you out a bit.
PreteMoi
Merci!
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