tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852622575677869620.post6336767434988058181..comments2024-03-23T00:40:43.258+01:00Comments on Michele's life en franglais: The ugly side of the retour en FranceMichelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17460908569554684989noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852622575677869620.post-48231982349453805202013-01-11T18:35:14.964+01:002013-01-11T18:35:14.964+01:00Hey Crystal no worries on the less than positive p...Hey Crystal no worries on the less than positive post. Its good to make sure I've got my head on straight before making this move and then regretting it too. Luckily I do know what I'm getting myself into and this time in the US has helped me to better understand what I want, what I value and where I want to be. It will be good for me to be in France and not constantly wondering if things would be better in the US. I think that will make a big difference but I know things will still be difficult in France and less than perfect. But I appreciate your concern!<br /><br />Luckily those Ile de France specific issues wont be my problem any more because we are not returning to the Paris area, we are moving elsewhere...more on that in my next post.<br /><br />And I'm also very happy to be back to blogging regularly ...it feels good and I've finally caught up on all the blogs I've been behind on, yours included!<br /><br /><br />Alisa, thanks for the comment. I do plan to get nationality. Once I get all the other paperwork figured out just to be able to get over there this spring I plan to start looking into my nationality request. And I got pretty lucky on the driver's license. I'm from Ohio which is one of the states that does the exchange. If it weren't for that I wouldn't have it ;)Michelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17460908569554684989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852622575677869620.post-49143375684356644692013-01-10T12:23:37.199+01:002013-01-10T12:23:37.199+01:00Good luck with your move back. What part of France...Good luck with your move back. What part of France will you be in? Hope all goes smoothly for you. Will you get French nationality? I did, and don't have to deal with the nasty préfecture any more as a result, I LOVE that. I'm impressed you have your French driver's license... been here 14 years and haven't done that yet. :x Shhh! Alisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16726813616241170310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852622575677869620.post-79583877440355333292013-01-08T10:44:53.913+01:002013-01-08T10:44:53.913+01:00Well THIS list I can relate to! lol...no, seriousl...Well THIS list I can relate to! lol...no, seriously, I didn't mean to leave a debbie downer comment on your last post, but I know the problems with thinking the "grass is greener" and then finding out it's not. The fact is, no one country is perfect, and at least now you won't be asking yourself the "what ifs" about life in America. <br /><br />Also interestingly enough, many of the points you list are quite specific to Ile-de-France. I've lived there, too, and I can definitely relate, but life really IS a bit better when you live in other parts of France where the people are generally nicer, the Préf not so crazy, cheaper things, grèves not such a big deal...<br /><br />But I'm totally with you on the low salaries and job search nightmare!! I'm currently looking, and am dreading having to return to teaching or work as a "hôtesse d'accueil". There are definitely more job opportunities in Ile-de-France than in this tiny area of the Alps!<br /><br />(I'm also thrilled you are back to blogging regularly! It's so nice to have someone to comiserate with :)Crystalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18136483568967161966noreply@blogger.com