| Australian expat Rochelle's original plan to live in Paris changed when she met her husband; now she is experiencing village life in Metz. Rochelle shares what she likes and dislikes about living in France and advises would-be expats to make an effort to learn the language and to form their impressions of France through personal experience - not just from books. |
 Rochelle |
-Where were you born?
Melbourne, Australia.
-In which country and city are you living now?
Metz, France.
-Are you living alone or with your family?
I live with my husband. We were married February 2008.
-How long have you been living in France?
10 months. I arrived here September 2007.
-What is your age?
24 years old, starsign Scorpio.
-When did you come up with the idea of living in France?
I never really had an interest in France until I happened to start watching French Nouvelle Vague films (a film movement from the late 50s to mid 60s) as part of my university course. The movement ended up becoming a small obsession with me and it planted the seed in my head that I wanted to go to Paris. Off I went, at that time jut for an extended holiday. At one point while I was there I decided to go on a small side trip to visit a record store I'd bought records from over the internet. I ended up meeting my husband in that store and so instead of moving to Paris I found myself in Lorraine. Luckily for me though the TGV runs between both cities, clocking in a very short commute of 1 hour and 20 minutes so the City of Lights is only a short trip away!
-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
Not really as I came over as a teaching assistant. I think if I hadn't come via the teaching assistant program it would have been a lot more difficult. I have recently requested that my carte de sejour be changed over from an assistant cds to a spouse cds. 2 months later I'm still waiting on news. I have my fingers crossed there won't be any hiccups with the application but you never know I guess.
-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
Yes. I was supposed to have my health insurance covered through my employer, but despite applying for it, nothing ever eventuated. Health insurance is still an area I need to look into; however, I believe I'm covered through my husband's once my cds is changed over.
-How do you make your living in France? Do you have any type of income generated?
I just finished my job as a teaching assistant and now I am teaching a few students privately. Working more would be nice but I came to a point where I really needed to stop altogether so that I could spend time working on learning the language.
-Do you speak French and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
Not very well. This has probably been one of the most difficult things about living in France for me. My French has improved a lot since I arrived but day to day living is still incredibly frustrating. Not being able to speak the language is a very isolating experience. But with some study each day and a bit of perseverence it gets easier and easier all the time. I feel as though I'm making slow progress but people are telling me all the time that I'm getting better. I think if you move to a country where you don't speak the language you need to be completely free to spend your time learning the language. Working as a teaching assistant really slowed me down as I didn't have a lot of time between lesson planning and teaching and on my days off I was just too exhausted by the previous day to be able to focus my mind on anything other than vegging out in front of the television.
-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
I miss my friends a lot and I miss the city of Melbourne. I can really appreciate now what an amazing city Melbourne is. Because I haven't really made many friends here yet the internet has been very important for me in terms of keeping up with people back home and also getting in touch with other expats in France.
-Do you have other plans for the future?
I would eventually like to continue my university studies here.
-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
We are in the process of searching for an apartment. We are looking for an apartment to rent while we look for something to buy! In the meantime we live in a house rent-free but its location makes it almost impossible to live in for me because I don't have a car and the bus service from the village to the city is really quite poor. In terms of renting we are looking at F2 apartments which seem to be priced around 450 euros a month.
-What is the cost of living in France?
At this point it's hard for me to tell. I think I will have a better idea once we move into the city and start paying for an apartment. Food seems quite cheap compared to Australia, as does renting. But things like clothes I think are very expensive and not very good quality. I think things like going to the cinema, eating out in restaurants and groceries are quite reasonably priced. In comparison to Paris though, Metz is a lot cheaper.
-What do you think about the French?
It's hard to generalise about an entire nation just like that! I will say...they are always surprising...
-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in France?
The usual cliche answer of great food and wine. I think though that the thing I love the most is always being surrounded by beautiful buildings dated from hundreds of years ago. Melbourne is largely a city of skyscrapers, its old buildings are entirely dwarfed by all the big modern buildings, so it's lovely to be surrounded by such beautiful historical buildings which are still being used. I like being surrounded by such a long history. Despite my frustrations learning French I still love the way the language sounds and I love that culture is so accessible here.
Negatives include that the employment situation is not very encouraging. Also in contradiction to Anglo culture I think people can be quite confrontational here and often I find myself shocked by people's public behavior or offended by remarks.
-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in France?
Spend your time trying to improve your French and whatever you do STAY AWAY from books about France or books that claim to unravel 'the mysteries' of the French. I finally realised that a lot of my problems actually stemmed from reading such books as Polly Platt's 'French or Foe'. Often these books are rehashing of stereotypes that are no longer true or pertain to a very small group of people and I found myself completely paranoid and insecure and very much too self-aware and 99 percent of the time these people's advice is totally incorrect. Yes, it is okay to cut lettuce with your knife! And yes you can ask to use the toilet at someone's home! Ignorance is bliss in a lot of ways. I would say be aware of the administrative things you are going to have to deal with, but really, truly please stay away from all such books that purport to discuss French life and culture! There are several good memoir-type books available though, the one I would recommend the most is 'Almost French' by Sarah Turnball.
-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about France?
Check out my blogroll for a great list of excellent blogs about France. You can find it at http://letigre.wordpress.com.
