About Us
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did”
Mark Twain
Starting a new life in a foreign country can be exhilarating, but planning and moving abroad can also be confusing and demanding. There is also a steep learning curve when you’re trying to get all the necessary government and legal paperwork completed, submitted on time and correct. Also, if you are not fluent in speaking, reading or writing French, it can make moving abroad and dealing with the French bureaucracy even more daunting.
OUR EXPAT JOURNEY
We can genuinely empathise with anyone trying to relocate to France. Although my parents are French, I was born in Germany and I grew up there and in Nice, my father’s hometown. After studying in Nice, I moved back to Germany, where I worked as a court translator. After a few years in Germany, I moved to Paris, Toulouse and the Pyrénées before deciding I needed to see other parts of the world, which is when I moved to Canada.
That’s where I met my husband Doug almost ten years ago. Doug was director of sales in telecommunications and travelled worldwide with his job. I managed restaurants, worked for restaurant head offices – managing up to 35 restaurants at a time – before inevitably owning one! At that time, most companies I worked with were U.S. based, and the restaurant I owned was in Ottawa, so I always worked with English speakers.
Planning our move to France
Doug and I came on holiday to France several times, and he fell in love with the French lifestyle. Even though he had never lived in Europe, his dream was to live in France. Before then, I was happy just to come back on holiday, but when he said he wanted to live here, I knew I was ready to return. I realised just how much I missed the lifestyle and my family and friends for over 30 years.
We started planning our move about a year ahead, but Covid made everything more complicated; we were supposed to arrive in March but arrived at the end of July. There were more problems in between though.
Dealing with French bureaucracy
Documentation-wise, our relocation could not have been more stressful. Doug applied for a visa as the spouse of a French citizen, but bureaucracy threw a few hurdles in the way.
Because we married in Jamaica (which made things more complicated!), we had to register our wedding at the French consulate. But we couldn’t do that in Montreal, which would have been much easier – it had to be at the consulate or embassy of the country where we got married. But, with Jamaica being so small, there is no consulate, so we had to deal with the French embassy in Panama.
We ended up being passed from pillar to post between the embassies in Panama and Montreal, calling the consulate in Montreal every day. Generally, you cannot speak to a human being, but because they knew me so well, as soon as I phoned, they transferred my call to the right person or rang me back within 15 minutes.
Extremely stressful time
Because Panama didn’t do their job, Montreal eventually involved the highest officials available in Paris. And Doug finally got his visa the day before we were supposed to fly to France. It was an extremely stressful time for both of us.
Although we had planned to live in my old family home, we sadly had to move out after two months. The house had no heating or insulation and, as no one had lived there for 30 years, it also needed renovating and modernising. There was too much work for us to do so that’s how we came to live in the very beautiful and picturesque Dordogne.
Learning to adapt
Even being French and having family and friends here, coming back to France was like an expat journey for me and I have had to learn to adapt in so many ways. Having lived outside of France for so long has also made me realise that, as much as I love my friends and family, we won’t always see eye-to-eye.
So that’s why I am happy to live in France, but I need to keep a foot in the expat community and have ‘expat’ friends to help maintain a happy work/life balance. Also, because of the stressful time we had relocating to France, we are dedicated to helping others and ensuring that no one else has to suffer a similar experience.
“For me, each case I take on is personal. That’s why I take time to get to know my clients, understand what needs doing and get it done – efficiently and effectively”. Nikki Lawson – Nikki’s Relocation Services in France
