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Welcome in France VR.
Very nice paints ! I love specially 2003 and 2005 series.
MTP is a good choice .

Merci! Thanks for checking out my paints. Yep Montpellier is fanatastic, we are very lucky indeed.

Welcome! I was a student in Montpellier for a year. Lovely town!

Hi VR
We visited Montpellier in September last year on our way to Provence and loved it!
We plan to live in France for 12 months and would love to take our dog with us....obviously we have to weigh up all the pros and cons of this,but could you tell me how long she would have to be in quarantine and anything else that we might need to know?
How exciting buying your own place in France!
Cheers Mel

Hi and how wonderful you are bringing your dog to France......are you coming directly from Australia??
Basically there is no quarantine coming into France BUT when you go back to Australia your dog will have to spend from 1 to 3 months in Australain quarantine :(
All you have to do is visit your vet 3 months before your departure to France, your dog will need all his vaccinations ect and most important a rabies test and vaccination. When you leave France you will need to have the same thing done before you leave.
As for transposrt contact a travel pet company asap so you can get all the info you need. I had really bad experiences with the pet travel companies, they were really unreliable and unorganised, dont trust them or expect them to follow up on things, make sure you are on their heels all the way.
My dog arrived safetly and happy, but it was really stressefull for me as with any dog owner would be :)
As for life for a dog here, we could never go back to Australia, firstly because we love it here and second I wouldnt put my dog through quarantine; he would also miss sitting on my lap in resturaunts and his wonderful French life of freedom and social liberty!
If you do decide to bring your dog here, I would be glad to help you further.....especially details for its arrival (finding the place where animals arrive in France is almost a public secret!!!!!!)

Good luck
VR

VRMorrison, it's good to see someone on here from Montpellier...I'm moving to Montpellier on September 1st and it would be nice to have a few Anglophones to chat with. I'm a little nervous about the move...wondering what the area will be like for the long term, whether there are things to do to keep my mind active.

Can you tell me what the weather is like, typically, during the winter months in Montpellier? Also, do you know if there is an Original Version cinema in Montpellier? What is shopping like in the area? I found a few yoga studios in Montpellier that I'm excited about visiting.

Also, what is the culture like there? My guyfriend says the people are generally kinder and warmer in the South of France than in Paris, for example. Have you found that this is the case in Montpellier?

Thank you (and sorry for all of the questions!),
Mlle

Hi

I live just outside Montpellier, and can help answer some questions.

Firstly, there are VO cinemas in most larger Languedoc towns. There are several in Montpellier, and Diagonal (http://www.cinediagonal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=7&Itemid=50)has quite a full programme. More information about VO films and other activities. (http://the-languedoc-page.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=11)

There is a small anglophone community in Montpellier. You can learn more from local blogs (http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/articles/languedoc-articles01d.htm) and anglophone announcements. (http://the-languedoc-page.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=14)

The centre of Montpellier has many small boutique type shops. Montpellier is the prefecture and capital city of the Languedoc-Rousillon region. It has shopping centres in the centre of the city as well as several large mall type developments on the outskirts.

The weather is hot dry summers and short winters. In fact winters are quite dry, too. Rainfall is rare, but very heavy - normally overnight. Expect 300+ days of sunshine each year.
Winters can be quite cold - even occasionally down to zero overnight. Coldest times are January/February but a nice day can still be 20C. A cold wind blows from the North a few times per year.

http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/languedoc/languedoc-weather-history.gif

Current weather (http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/languedoc/languedoc-weather-now.htm)
Montpellier webcam (http://www.montpellier.fr/150-voir-montpellier-en-direct-gr-ce-aux-webcams.htm)

You can pm me for more information.

Peter

Hi,

My wife and I are considering moving to Montpellier with our three <8 yr old kids. Thanks to the lively California real estate market we can afford a large house or apartment. If we want to be in the center (walkable to main destinations) but not too noisy where would we look? While my wife will be going this summer on a scouting trip I thought it would be good to get an idea if what we want could work. After about two years in an international school the kids would go to a French school. Basically we are sick of suburbia but don't want to have parties under the windows all night in the summer...

Anybody not like Monpellier and if so why?

thanks very much.

This might not be any of my business, but you mentioned you have enough to buy a home or an apartment in Montpellier, but what are you planning on doing for income afterwards? The job market is almost impossible here, and I'm assuming that if you have three kids under 8 that you are not yet retired.... Many Americans do not realize how difficult it is for a (non-EU) foreigner to get a job over here.

As for the kids, this has been discussed before on this forum but have you considered putting them directly into French schools? At that age, they learn SO quickly, and waiting until they are older will just make it harder for them to adapt and learn French. And on second thought, do international schools even exist for children that young? They might, I've just never heard of any.

Good points!

I have a portable job (at least one of them is) and I have French citizenship in case I need 2 jobs. I certainly am not assuming that I can get a job in Montpellier that would support a family of five! With my current free lance job and investments I should be OK. How much is a six pack of beer there? That is my new international cost of living indicator, a six pack of heinecken is $6.99 in Los Angeles. It might not be the best way to figure out cost of living but doing the research is painless.

There is an international school and we just want to possibly put them in for one or two years so they can get acclimated and then switch them to the public system. I think we could probably just put them straight away to the public school but my wife is not so sure, we will have to see. Thanks for the response. I'll buy you a six pack if we make it there!

Oo

Hi

50cl tins run out between Euro0.40 and Euro1 per can.

Go for the special offers.

Peter

Can you tell me if, as an Australian, you had any visa restrictions?

Can you tell me if, as an Australian, you had any visa restrictions?

I am pretty sure an Australian citizens require a Visa to stay in France longer than 3 months. My Wife did not need one as I have an Italian passport.

It always best to check with the French Consulate responsible for your state/district.

...But from what you say, he can stay through my sister UK passport?

...But from what you say, he can stay through my sister UK passport?

Since UK is part of the EU the only requirement is a 1 or 10 year carte de séjour. The local préfecture will list the documents her husband needs to obtain the carte de séjour. Penny needed to visit the préfecture wthin approx 1 week of arrival.

I would not recommend rocking up expecting to stay over 3 months without some sort of document from your French Consulate confirming that no Visa is required :-) I am pretty sure this must be done in the UK before leaving.

Ny wife penny dropped by her Consulate to get an official looking stamp on the email she was sent regarding the no visa requirement. Remember that the French love their official documents :-)

ps
Silly me I started to edit your post above instead of posting a new one... I deleted the first part of your question, please retype it if you want, sorry.

No problem - thanks for your help.

Hi
I'm from Sydney and wanting to move to Montpellier in early September. I'm not sure how permanent my stay there will be and was wondering if anyone knew how easy it is to pick up a casual job (say cafe or bar work) as a temporary position?

Thanks

Hi,

My wife and I are considering moving to Montpellier with our three <8 yr old kids. Thanks to the lively California real estate market we can afford a large house or apartment. If we want to be in the center (walkable to main destinations) but not too noisy where would we look? While my wife will be going this summer on a scouting trip I thought it would be good to get an idea if what we want could work. After about two years in an international school the kids would go to a French school. Basically we are sick of suburbia but don't want to have parties under the windows all night in the summer...

Anybody not like Monpellier and if so why?

thanks very much.

there is nowhere family friendly in the centre of montpellier

Hi
I'm from Sydney and wanting to move to Montpellier in early September. I'm not sure how permanent my stay there will be and was wondering if anyone knew how easy it is to pick up a casual job (say cafe or bar work) as a temporary position?

Thanks

it's very hard to find casual work in any french towns that i know of. unemployment is between 25% and 60% in southern french towns.

you could head out to the campsites (eurocamp etc) around the coast if you have a work visa

We're planning to move to the Montpellier area in a couple of months moving from Sydney and are wondering what appliances we have here will work in France?

Hi VR,
as an artist you may be able to help us or know someone who can. We are experienced musicians interested in performing/teaching/setting up a music business around Alsace. We want to know how hard it is to break in to the local arts scene, with limited French, but with a whole lot to give artistically! Do the French generally accept you for your art, or is it a matter of being accepted as part of the community first? What are the main hurdles to overcome in setting up a business? Do we need working visas before we arrive in France? Will the bureacracy let me teach singing/drama and run choral workshops with my Australian credentials (as I have done in Abu Dhabi)?
Thanks in advance for your advice.

We're planning to move to the Montpellier area in a couple of months moving from Sydney and are wondering what appliances we have here will work in France?

Hi Charlie.

My husband and I have been in Montpellier since January. Its a great ville with lots of university students. As for appliances, all you would need is a few european apadtors and you should be fine. The problem might be with DVD players as the DVDs here are in a different format..but there is always amazon.com to purchase aussie format.

Good luck with move!

Hello - Yay for Aussies in France. I think it's like the European sister country or something. Perfect climate, right sort of people. It's just so easy to love it here.

We're planning to move to the Montpellier area in a couple of months moving from Sydney and are wondering what appliances we have here will work in France?
I just saw your question on appliances. If you have a crockpot (and like using it) then bring it!! The French have never heard of them. Flat sandwich presses and jaffle-makers are impossible to find too. Rice-cookers and most other things can be found, but they will cost you up to five times as much as you paid originally to replace. Australians get electronic stuff very cheap.

My advice - If you can spare the space then bring it. :)

Also, we brought lots of 4-point electrical plugs then bought French fittings for them from a hardware shop (wired by us). It's a cheap and easy way (still safe) to easily keep using Australian appliances.

Hi there,

I'm french living in sydney and getting married to a Perth boy in Montpellier in June2010.
We'd love to have music band able to play australians bush songs and old song. Any chance that someone can help?????

Thank you in advance for your help