Possible move to Lille or Ashford Kent - Advice ladies please

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 11:55

Possible move for dh job to Lille but as a British citizen (not lived there for 10 years) I'm also looking at possibly living on Eurostar route near Ashford Kent as dh will be travelling around 50% of his time overseas. Have a 12 year old son so please any advice especially from people who've lived in Lille re positives & negatives of living in France

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232

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 16:17

Thanks dinks for info. It's certainly easier to find out lots of info on surrounding areas nr ashford. My husbands company will pay school fees so we in the uk we have a wide choice although grammar schools are for the very bright kids I believe? ........ and to be honest my boys bright but he struggles with math and his main aim at school is to go play soccer at break times but like his dad he's very mechanically minded so I don't wish to push him anymore than I already do here in Dubai. I'm not worried about UK side of things although I will go visit area as not been before. So my dilemma is whether I should take a risk and try to settle in Lille but any info on surrounding areas of Ashford with preferably boys school nr Eurostar station would be fab :)

kimball 6521395

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EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 16:07

Ashford is my hometown I was born and raised there and still have property there. It used to be a great market town attracting hundreds of people from all over the surrounding boroughs until the council decided to change the layout of the town centre and move the market out of the town. Since then the town centre as never been the same, the outlet centre attracts thousands of people from all over but as it's not in the town sadly the shops suffer from this. I love Ashford, and as katscamel said, yes it has some bad areas but also has some lovely ones to, the little villages on the outskirts are beautiful and you don't have to travel far to find beautiful countryside and coastline.

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EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 15:45

Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth-best place to live in the United Kingdom. The two grammar schools in Ashford are the Norton Knatchbull Grammar School for Boys and Highworth Grammar School for Girls. The town's main shopping centre, County Square, expanded in 2008 to include 50,000 sq ft of new retail space, and attracted many popular 'high street' retailers. Outside of the town centre is the Ashford Designer Outlet, which attracts around 3 million customers a year, <em>edited by dinks on 08/02/2014</em>

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 14:13

Don't let language be the main thing that puts you off........ depending on how long you have until you go you could always do a beginners course at Alliance Francaise and there are a million websites that can help you learn the basics. Once there it will be easier to pick up - like any language once you need it to survive it's amazing how quickly you'll learn. You should also be able to find courses being run to give you extra confidence. As flowerhead said - the French won't generally go out of their way to understand you but they will appreciate it if you at least try with the language. Doctors (at least in major hospitals) should have a basic knowledge I would think. Could you give either the UK/France a try on a temporary basis - 6 months for example and if it doesn't work then go to the alternative? As for finding work......... obviously it depends on what you do - have you considered training up as an EFL (English as a foreign language) teacher? Do the CELTA here and that at least would open up some possibilities, not only in terms of work but also for meeting new people.

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 13:49

Thank you for info and I have looked at that school whiteorchid and I know that should he manage to get a place they offer a shadow teacher at extra cost to enable him to bemfluent within a few months. The terms of dh contract has private healthcare, schooling etc and is actually taxed at australian tax levels which is our home country as he's covered by his companies tax equalisation. Love the idea of apartment living but my son is always out on bike playing soccer etc and we have an oldish cat who loves to roam in our garden and there's the fact that my dh has a passion for motorbikes so a house with storage is more practical. So I think honestly my biggest issue is the language for myself and to be honest I don't feel the need to just socialise with British expats I'm just wanting to be sociable with like minded people irrelevant of nationality but I'm guilty of being lazy and have never learnt another language :( Any other opinions or info on Lille would be appreciated.

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 13:27

Hi, I lived in North of France most all my life and I agree with WhiteOrchid, however there is one major element to living in France/Lille: the language! If you don't speak French, I would not recommend you live there. Despite the fact that now Lille is a popular destination for British tourist (with the Eurostar) and there is a growing community of British expats, you still need to speak French for your everyday needs as French people wont make the effort to understand you.

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EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 13:20

Hi there is actually a bilingual school which sounds nice: http://france.english-schools.org/ecole-internationale%20de%20lille-metropole.htm It's in Marcq-en-Baroeul which is a pleasant area (that's where both of my flatmates came from).

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EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 13:16

Hi Audreyfb, I'm slightly biased as I'm half French and lived in France as a teenager. I would say it's a good opportunity for your both you and your son to experience a different culture (and language), and spend more time with your dh. I haven't lived in Lille but had two flatmates from there so have a reasonable idea about the area. Pros of living in France: - Excellent educational system (your ds would have to learn French but there may be a bilingual school which could help him) - Great healthcare - Access to lovely food, wine etc - Good work-life balance - shorter hours and lots of bank holidays :-). Pros of living in Lille - Not far from UK and lots of other places (e.g. Benelux, Germany) - great for day trips and weekends away - Very friendly culture - locals rave about their city and are v proud of it. It's got a big student community, great nightlife etc. In fact they say that they have in their hearts what they lack outside (the sun)! I would say Lille's culture is similar to Newcastle in that sense. - Close to lovely countryside and sea - Manageable size - Reasonably low cost of living (need to double-check this though) - you could *probably* live in a nice house, cheaper than what you could get in Kent - Not sure about British expat community but I wouldn't be surprised if there were quite a few Brits there. Cons of living in France: - High taxes (but am guessing you would pay this anyway if you dh works there) - Some ppl are quite miserable (same as UK!) and complain a lot. Cons of living in Lille: - Same climate as in the UK - Less job opportunities for you (although you never know - depends on your profession). Personally I would go for it :-) Hth x

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 12:57

Thanks katscamel for info. Sorry yes I'm looking at surrounding areas to Ashford just as long as it's easy for my dh to commute from station although he'll be based in France when he's not travelling in the week and only returning home at weekends. So that's also my dilemma about being in Lille otherwise we won't see him too often but yes I would like to work and then there's the language issue as I don't speak any french and I'm also finding it difficult to get much info internet

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 February 2014 - 12:46

Hi Can't tell you much about Lille I'm afraid. Ashford is ok and there are some decent schools there which would make it easier for your son. it would probably be easier for you to find work as well if that is something you are considering. Double check the Eurostar routes though as they moved the main station to Ebbsfleet I think (towards Dartford way) which might have an impact on the husband's commute. Parts of Ashford are a bit of a dump with nothing much on the High Street but that's like most places in the UK now. If you don't fancy living in Ashford itself then the surrounding countryside is lovely - Wye has a pretty good bus/train service into Ashford and Canterbury. Sorry can't be of much help on the Lille front as have only been there on a day trip.

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