Q & A

Subject: Would like to live in France for 6 months.

Question: I am interested in living and working in France for at least 6 months to a year. I am honestly just beginning my research to determine if this is possible and what my next steps need to be. Any information you have regarding these first steps would be extremely helpful. Thank you!

Answer:

I would start by asking your nearest French consulate (look here for a list, http://www.ambafrance-us.org/intheus/consulates.asp) how you can go about getting a long term visa and work permit. I don't know if you will be able to work in France if you are not a French citizen or married to one. Also right now the French job market is very tight, I am having a very hard time finding employment. Next, of course you need figure out where you would like to live. The heart and cultural center of France is the Ill de France, the region around Paris. That would be the easiest place to find work but it will not be easy finding a place to live. The cost of living is also very high.

I am not sure what else to tell you, just remember that living in a foreign country, were it sounds adventuress, is not easy. This is my second time live in France. The first was very hard, I arrived in France speaking very little French and it was very tiring learning French and trying to understand how things happen in France. The French love American culture but they still have their own culture that is very different from ours