Returning back to the states was eye-opening for many reasons. For one, when you are abroad and away from everything familiar and comfortable, a bit of a psychological phenomena occurs where many things about back home trigger a sentimental nostalgia that you long for when you are away. Sometimes, however, reality sets in when you arrive and maybe you realize (as I did) that things really aren't as cool as you remembered them while you were longing for them abroad. Case and point; perhaps you enjoyed certain foods at a certain restaurant or perhaps you placed American restaurant service on a pedestal after a night of waiting for your check to come in France. Either way, something happens when you fall in love with a place abroad and none of these things that you once longed for can extinguish it.
Setting priorities is very important; just as important as the people/events/ideas that your priority list is composed of. Alex and I knew that France's work/life balance would be an asset not just to our health and marriage, but to being able to enjoy a good quality of life. No offense to the MBA's who live in NYC and work for the banks and stock markets, but you literally could not pay us enough to live that lifestyle. Alex needed to work in a business where he was passionate about the type of work he was doing, and for him it meant the world of motorsports.
After months of reaching out to his network, Alex was able to secure a consulting position with a motorsports consulting company from the UK. This position would allow us the flexibility to live anywhere in the EU, so long as it had accessible flights to London. Our dreams of returning to France, and not just "France" but BIARRITZ, the California of France, were coming true.
The next 3-4 months we struggled to obtain Visas from the French Consulate in Atlanta. We had first tried applying for the Talents et Competences card which would be based off of our education levels (both of us have Master's degrees) and with the intent of opening our own business which would encompass Alex's consulting and my online counseling/coaching. After a heavy interview with a consulate employee who was not too nice and weeks of waiting to hear, we got shut down. No reason, just a refusal letter. We immediately made another appointment and drove the 3 hours to try another way to get our Visas. This time, I think they could see how determined we were and how much of a pain in the ass we were going to be if they didn't try to get us through. After 3 more long weeks of waiting to hear back and multiple back and forths of the consulate losing some of our paperwork we had given them, we finally received our Long Stay Visitor Visas.
I know what you must be saying, "Visitor Visas?" Hear me out. Unless you have a salaried job with a contract from an employer in France, you cannot get a work permit. The Talents et Competences card would give you working rights or if you somehow secure a Foreign Trader's Card, but these two are VERY difficult to get. That being said, Alex travels to London to complete his work and I will be completing market research for opening our business here upon the approval of our local prefecture which may also involve having to return to the Atlanta consulate. However, what matters is that WE ARE HERE. We are also earning residence time which can then be applied towards the 2 years that we have before we can apply for citizenship (it's only 2 years as opposed to 5 because Alex earned his MBA in France) or at least a 10 year renewable residence.
Here are a few tips for Future Expats living in France
1.) COMMUNICATION: FREE is a cell company that sells chips with fairly cheap month-to-month plan. This can be purchased and managed online and makes it so that you can avoid those ridiculous cell phone plan contracts with the larger companies (especially the ones who like to charge you even after you have officially cancelled your plan after leaving the country!)
2.) A PLACE TO LIVE: If you are a foreigner living in France, unless you obtain a rental by direct agreement through the owner or you purchase your own home, you are required to provide a guarantee of 1 year's worth of rent which is held by your bank or the owner of the property until you leave! It does not matter how much you make, how solid your credit is, etc. This is something we did not anticipate, but can be very problematic in finding and successfully leasing a place. One way you can try to get around this other than the ideas above, would be to talk to the owner directly through the rental agency and negotiate with them (say you can pay upfront 6 months at a time, etc).
3.) BANK ACCOUNT: Opening up a bank account can take from weeks up to a month to complete. You will need to provide multiple documents including rental agreements, electricity bills, passport copies, etc. You may also want to think about opening an account with an international bank. We opened an account with a French bank but discovered through our first year of living here that if you travel a lot it can get quite expensive with having to transfer monies to and from and using your card abroad can accumulate many fees. The banking system here is also regional, so if you move you may have to change your bank to the local branch. We are now in the process of opening an account with HSBC (I know, we aren't very fond considering the scandals that have surrounded them). However, they would allow us to transfer monies for free between international accounts, such as the UK and US, which is very valuable.
4.) MEETING PEOPLE: A large part of successfully adjusting to a new country depends on your ability to make friends and assimilate into society. MEETUP.COM is a great site that you can join and search for english speaking (or any language for that matter) groups near you, wherever you may be in the world. Facebook also is a good place to check out events in your area, or also to write thoughtful reviews of restaurants, bars, etc in your new neighborhood so that you can start to build rapport.
***More expat tips to follow in future posts***
