Cannes, France

Banking on the Internet

If you are planning on living abroad, you need to think seriously about how you are planning on dealing with banking matters. One bank that a number of expatriates have chosen is NetBank. The ease of use and the good interest rates (because they are not supporting large buildings and large staffs) have made them quite desireable. And, yes, deposits are FDIC insured up to $100,000 just like other U.S.-based accounts. Even better, they even try to show you the location of ATMs that don’t charge fees.

VisaJourney.com

If you are looking for information and a supportive community concerning visa applications for family members and potential family members, you would do well to take a look at VisaJourney.com. It offers forums (where helpful members will answer your questions) as well as an FAQ and informative articles.

 

Take a look.

Concierge.com Travel Video:

Yes, Paris is beautiful and this video hits all the highlights!

Long distance can be cheap!

Long distance can be cheap. No, not the usual through-the-phone-company service. Long distance can be as close as your Internet connection.

VOIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocal, technology is such that the calls are quite good and quite cheap. One company, Vonage, charges about $25 a month for unlimited calls. The nice thing about it is that you can be assigned a phone number in any U.S. area code you like.

So, if you are planning on having your own company while working abroad, business folks won't even need to know that you are not in the U.S. They dial a number for Fresno, California, and it gets them you in your overseas abode. How cool is that?

OneBag.com teaches you how to pack

If you are like us, you end up taking to much stuff with you when you travel. Can you imagine how much junk you would end up with if you decided to make the expat move? Way too much.

While you would certainly need more for a longer journey than for a short trip, packing well can greatly reduce the number of suitcases required. OneBag.com gives very detailed information on how to pack a suitcase for maximum effectiveness. It is worth reading the entire website. Yes, being an expatriate is certainly different than being a short-time visitor, but fewer things to carry is always a good thing.

Rick Steves on France

While Rick Steves, he of public television fame, is primarily about going on unique vacations to Europe, he focuses on cost and variety as well. It is well worth taking a look at his website.

Of particular interest to those considering living in Europe are these pages:

Plan Your Trip

Travel Store

Grafitti Wall

Search results for "France"

Trips to France

Paris France Travel

Two friends sharing Paris. What a great trip!

Learning the language

As with most places around the world, learning some of the language can get you huge "Brownie" points from the locals. Our recommendation is always that you begin the process of learning the language before you venture off to live in that country.

In many cities in the U.S., there are French courses available, both at colleges and at adult schools. However, another option is the quite good language learning software now available.One program (and you can see the link below) is Rocket French, but there are certainly others.

Click Here to go to Rocket French!

A Starting Point

An excellent starting point for deciding whether to move to France is this article from the incomparable magazine, Transitions Abroad.

Do's and Don'ts in France: Living Abroad Requires Tact and Cultural Insight by Finn Skovgaard details some of the things to watch out for including:

• Don't start a conversation with a French person by speaking English.
• Don't address anyone by using tu if you should have used vous.
• Do take your regular lunch and coffee breaks.
• Do take the holidays and vacations you're entitled to.

And there are many more. It's worth a read to discover why those above are important (and why the others are as well).

Living in France 101

This blog has been created to be a list of resources and links for expatriates thinking about moving to and living in France.

If you have a resource that you would like to see featured, send us email at ExpatFrance@gmail.com.