Relocating to Languedoc - A way to start again?

Fancy starting over, in your personal or professional life? We’re all for it – we’ve done it ourselves (quite successfully, we like to think). So we’d hardly be here encouraging you to do the same if it wasn’t possible.

The great thing about moving to France is that you can reinvent yourself. No-one need know about your disastrous past, your failed relationships, lousy social life or second-rate job.

Say hello to romance, French friends, and a bright new future. Why not carve out a new career as a writer, a website designer or an aromatherapist?

The key thing is to be realistic. Job-wise, if you were always shy of sales, you’re unlikely to flourish flogging houses. If grammar and spelling were never your strong suit, don’t dream of being a freelance journalist. Is being nice to people all the time a pain in the backside? Then don’t even think of running a B&B.

And if you cannot speak French like a well-educated adult, rather than a faltering schoolchild, how will you form new friendships, find a partner or earn a living?

We don’t want to sound negative, so here are some things you can do to help yourself.

KICK-START YOUR NEW LIFE IN FRANCE

• Learn (or improve) your French.
• Read Dick Bolle’s ? to fire up your thinking about new career avenues.
• Take a training course to acquire a new skill. Website design, Swedish massage, book-keeping, bee-keeping - there has to be something you could learn that would enhance your job prospects.
• If you plan on leaving something behind – be it an unpaid tax bill or a broken heart – be aware that “baggage” has a nasty habit of catching up with you. Best deal with the unfinished business before it comes back to haunt you.

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