THE BASICS: HOW – Factor 2: What are the practical, nitty-gritty, France-specific life skills I’ll need

There are a bunch of things that you don’t yet know quite how to do, because you haven’t lived in France yet.   Perfectly normal Many of the tasks for the next phase are
  • concrete,
  • unavoidable
  • specific to moving and adjusting to France and its systems

 

Here are a few:

 

  • Scouting Trip: If you haven’t figured out where you want to live, that is job #1.  Being in this course will help you hugely (to avoid the years of endlessly scrolling FB group posts, mostly) but research alone will not do it.  You are going to need to go there, and not just go there as a tourist.  You need to go on a scouting trip, which is almost entirely a different animal from a vacation.  Do not think you can skip this.  You can’t. You can research till the cows come home, but often, within minutes of boots on the ground, you may have a definite thumbs up or thumbs down for a place you were considering living.  Places often have the same dynamic for a person as does a romantic partner.  There’s no exact science to what clicks.  Is it important to have a checklist and a (short, as in less than 5 towns) list of places to scout?  YES.  Is it a good idea to just let research on the internet guide your choices for you, foregoing the expenditure of time and money on a scouting trip?  ABSOLUTELY NOT. That’s a bit like agreeing to an arranged marriage that looks good on paper.  It might not always go wrong, but there are a lot of unpredictable variables in a blind choice. Better the surprises rear their heads on your scouting trip than after you sign the one-year lease and are stuck.  You also need to spend some time understanding how to plan a scouting trip.  It’s not the same as a vacation. 
  • Longer-term housing if you go: You will need to start thinking about housing for the longer term (also partly handled in this course)   The other part needs to wait till you are further along, and in France. 
  • Finances: Part of the decision to move to France means you have to think about money.   (We begin to handle these questions here, and again  in Part II.)  All of these subjects are worthy of books and professional relationships in and of themselves. Our goal is to give you a view of them from 30,000 feet and highlight the biggest questions.  This will not replace a careful conversation with a financial professional, but it will touch on the likely biggest issues concerning your particular situation.  We can’t cover it all, but we can flag the most likely trouble spots you may face and help you avoid them.  
  • Budgets: Can you afford this move?  We can provide you with a carefully calibrated spreadsheet that helps you get a firm grip on the costs of living in France vs. where you currently live. 
  • Financial advice: How is this likely to impact your finances?  What do you need to know BEFORE you move?  (Some impacts — like selling a house in the US — must be handled before you begin French residency.) 
  • Tax & will issues: Like financial advice, several aspects of these two are best dealt with BEFORE you move.  
  • French Admin: You will probably need this skill for the rest of your life in France.  It certainly wins the prize hands down (among newcomers and the French) as one of the least favorite parts of life in France. We have two modest goals.
    • Help you ask the most important first questions about making your stay in France a fully legal one. 
    • Help you make the choice on whether you would like to use a professional to help with this task.  There are many good reasons to use a professional, and some good reasons to try the do-it-yourself route.  We help you with that choice and have good solid professionals who we can recommend (in a profession that includes some less-than-solid types.)   
  1. Managing the Move:
    • Beginning to understand the nature of the physical move and to parse it out into manageable steps, with, as appropriate, a schedule and a budget attached.
    • Recommendations of the most reputable professionals you will want to confer with.  
  1. Other stuff: Phones, health/medical transition, other small, easy to overlook,  but important stuff etc.
  2. Language: Not just language but the learning plan that goes with it.  Experienced voices will tell you that language is the key aspect of a successful move.  We’ve handled it under resiliency skills but it belongs both in the resilience AND the nitty-gritty, unavoidable, French-specific skills too.   You can make the move without significan language skills but it will, without a doubt, be much harder. And likely more expensive as you’ll need to hire skilled professionals to assist you in time-consuming tasks.