Q & AMoving/Living/WorkingStart a Hotel or Hostel in France

Question:

My wife and I have travelled from America twice for 1.5 months each time. We backpacked all around and got along very well with French culture. I am fluent in French, although my vocabulary wanes with time. My wife speaks Spanish and English, but understands French well. We do not have any personal belongings we need to bring, we can sell what we have here and bring our essentials there and buy what we need, as we need it. Both of us have a clean criminal record, contact with our parents, and passports. We are saving money for the move. We currently have around 10k, and plan to have 20k this time next year. In addition, we will have 30k in American credit if anything comes up. I have been working in the food industry for 6 years, and I would be willing to start out as a dishwasher, especially until my French kicks in. My wife also has food-service experience. Some jobs that would fit us well: Hotel or Hotel/Restaurant, Restaurant, or Food Distribution. Otherwise; we have been thinking about starting a hostel or hotel with the capital we bring. The benefit of this is we would only need to find a property to work out of, and not need proof of income for a rental. As far as where to live: we are not permanent people, we plan to move and we will move as our situation changes, the only exception being if we start a Hostel/Hotel. That pretty much wraps everything up...I look forward to hearing from you.

Answer:

Sounds like you things well planned out. The biggest problem I for see you having is finding a place to stay. When my French wife and I moved to France from Boston we had a difficult time finding a place to rent. Now I know you would like to buy but you still might have some of the same types of problems we did, mostly in relation to not having proof of income. In France it seems like proof of income is better than money in the bank. That was our experience in trying to get a place rented to us. Buying might be different but you will still need to get a French bank to lend you money and that might be tricky.
Another thing, what type of visa will you have in France. That is will you have the right to work or not? Either way work is not easy to find right now (2004) in France.
You could start a business in France regardless of your visa situation. But the paperwork could be a nightmare as the French really are into their paperwork. See for info on starting a business in France - http://www.apce.com/.

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