My tips for cycling in France

[neil_merseyside]

I 've have looked into living and working in France.
How and what to do you do to get a working visa, a job etc
thanks

France is EU so no working visa needed. Doing what job?

Unless you speak perfect french you wont get a job that isn't in tourism (where it doesn't matter too much) or in blue chip industries where locals might not be qualified, most brits are traditional tradesmen working the same jobs as in UK, so Spark, Plumber or Builder.
Don't expect much money as the social costs paid by businesses even a 1 man band is huge. Evn on the entrepenuer scheme you'll work 8-1 for Taxes, 1-5 on your own business costs and only after 5 will YOU be potentially earning profit - so as long as you don't want lunch and can get work after 5 then you can earn a bit - but you can't really get any money out as profit is taxed massively so you'll have nice tools and van - or a big tax bill. Lots of cash work for ex-pats but you will be shopped by anyone you take work from or anyone you annoy.

Anywhere you'll want to live that isn't in the cities will be disproportionatly expensive, here in the Alps a tradesman would find loads of work and even though the prices on jobs are massive it's only a 5 month season (and most traders seem to pack up after a year or two). You'd live in the valley and work in the resorts and drive lots up and down. Trades that do well are Sparks and Plumbers (with gas and HP water) but getting a ticket is difficult. Can always do with satellite fitters if you're happy on a roof in the snow... Network/Wifi/cable guy also popular, but both jobs need liabilty insurance, so back to being a proper business.
You could try a ski season as a maintenance man for a ski company if you have a trade, only £80-£100 a week as beer money (all found, accomodation usually poor) but you'd get a feel for it. 60-80hr weeks are common from Mid Nov-Mid Dec, and you'd be on call 24/7. Not selling this well am I ?
IT professionals do well out here, BB/telephony is as good as UK (though expensive).

If you want to make a good living then think about importing light bulbs as they cost a mint here.

 

[itchybeard]

Hmm, thanks.
I am not tradesman.
I do French at college at the moment but at beginners, but i need to imerse myself in the culture to pick up the lingo quicker.
It would be nice to try to live abroad, i have emailed hostels to see if they want workers, i don't mind hospitality.

 

[itchybeard]

i'm also cycling around France in beginning of May for two weeks. Will propably be around Brittany, Lloire Vally and may cycling into Paris...

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Hmm, thanks.
I am not tradesman.
I do French at college at the moment but at beginners, but i need to imerse myself in the culture to pick up the lingo quicker.
It would be nice to try to live abroad, i have emailed hostels to see if they want workers, i don't mind hospitality.

Hi. Whereas I do not agree with everything that Neil has said, I do agree that making a living in France often feels like an uphill struggle. I cannot talk about working for yourself (and I know that's hard) but I do not feel that I, as an employee, pay excessive tax. What does annoy me about the country is how needlessly complicated things feel at times. For example, even in this day and age there is no PAYE: you have to declare your earnings once a year and actually write a cheque - and that can hurt if you don't save for it, especially as the amount you pay is based on the previous year's earnings. Other things annoy me too, but they've mostly been small gripes. That is about to change. Now the country seems set to vote the National Front in the regional elections and the threat of an FN victory in 2017 looms over the country like a whopping big storm cloud. Now, after 17 years' living here, I'm really starting to ask myself if I want to stay. But as I don't have the choice any more, I probably will ....
Anyway, none of this really effects you as a student looking to immerse yourself in the country. The problem is that I think you'll find it very difficult to get a job here. Very good French is a must (I wouldn't say perfect - even I can't claim to have perfect French!) and you'll have to have very precise qualifications in the thing you're applying for. Even if you want to work in a supermarket, you'll need the right qualifications. This isn't the UK - you cannot, unfortunately, hope to find the same flexibility towards employment that you're used to. It was a big shock for me, and it'll be a big shock for you too if you come here, like I did, expecting to find it as easy to get a temporary job. Give it a shot anyway! But if you do, your best bet is to actually come here and present yourself in person to the companies that you'd like to apply to. You never know what might turn up!

 

[neil_merseyside]

Summer and winter seasonal work in France is easy enough to find, seasonworkers.com and natives.co.uk will find most of the skiing and camping jobs that exist. Most of these jobs don't need French but it would be a huge advantage, and how much you immerse yourself once there is up to you. These jobs are all fiddles of employment law in that Brits are seconded UK staff (bypassing lots of regs). Pay is poor, and staff quarters are often decidely iffy, when we dropped out it was the first question we asked (having been warned) and some of the stuff on offer is just beyond stupid, like dormitories of 16-20? and one company used to have a garage with blankets as room dividers (and a porta potti).
Permanent jobs as an employee are hard to get as explained above, and foreign employees are treated really quite badly (GB/P/PL/LV/LT/RO whatever) in smaller companies as sadly the French are rather racist and xenophobic - sounds familiar doesn't it...
Bigger companies and those that are multi-national are way better, as indeed are the smaller companies that employ on actual merit rather than just out of necessity.

 

[Cyclespeed]

Agree with replies above - working in France is fraught with issues - rules, tax, etc. We've been here 10 years running our own business and it's not been easy. People often assume that as France is so close to the UK and in the EU, the rules must be pretty much the same. They're NOT!! Almost any UK qualification will not be accepted by the French.

Cycling and living here however, is excellent!

 

[itchybeard]

Thanks for the replies.
As i am cycling around France next week for a couple of weeks holiday, i may look, as around for work, if not, well, i tried.

 

[Vertego]

Cycled in France on regular visits, either on my own or with a mate. Never cycled in the north, only the Lot, Herault & Pyrenees-Orientales. Always found the roads either good, or not so good but rarely potholed as they are in the UK (south). Also ridden in Belgium (only south of Brussels) and found the roads variable. Pave is 'interesting'.

My preference, by far, is France (and clearly I don't ride 'north' anywhere).

Attitudes towards cyclists always seems considerate, although drivers always seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere. Even 'white van man' seems considerate.

When we ride, it's often on back roads but not always. We will always find a café to stop mid-ride and always pass pleasantries with the proprietor and other customers. This really does seem to be appreciated no matter how rudimentary our French might be. We even got asked to participate in a karaoke evening at a local restaurant, where the waitress kindly bought us an Armagnac at the end of the evening. We declined the karaoke - our French is not good but our singing is much worse, no matter how much we had had to drink!

Back there later this year, hopefully.

 

[Scarlo]

Hi All, I hope you don't mind me 'hijacking' this thread, but myself and a mate are planning on cycling from Paris to St Tropez in August. Has anyone got any advice on suggested routes and/or budget accommodation? We are on road bikes and plan do cycle around 70miles per day. Cheers in advance for your advice!

 

[briantrumpet]

Hi All, I hope you don't mind me 'hijacking' this thread, but myself and a mate are planning on cycling from Paris to St Tropez in August. Has anyone got any advice on suggested routes and/or budget accommodation? We are on road bikes and plan do cycle around 70miles per day. Cheers in advance for your advice!

Perhaps better if you start a new thread, and I'll comment on there with a thought.

 

[yello]

Fascinating reading (the stuff re jobs/working in France).

I've heard similar from the expats I know here. Some give up and end up going back to the UK because, despite the enjoyable lifestyle, they are working for next to nothing - if they do it all legally. It's why working on the black is such an accepted thing to do here (not your entire income, just a portion of it). There's pretty much always a job price for cash.

 

[briantrumpet]

I've got a friend who's recently moved there (they've had a place for 20 years) and has set up as an entrepreneur (shame the French haven't got a word for that), and doing the "how many days do I have to work before the money's mine" calculation is only too aware how much more France extracts out of its taxpayers. IThey and I do still love the place and the people, but there are some undercurrents in French organisation and practices that aren't very comfortable, and have never really been faced head on.

 

[yello]

It's a common complaint I hear that it's very hard for a small business to grow. The govt seemingly takes so much in taxes that it has a significant impact on cash flow for start-ups. Shops close down within months of opening.

The moral seems to be that if you want to start a business here, make sure of your business plan (good advice anywhere!) AND have cash behind you.

 

[itchybeard]

My cycling in France went well.
Two weeks from st malo and headed from there.
Went towards Rennes and back up again to Dol de Bretagne over to LE mond.
Stopped at various places then finally to Caen.
I carried my own tent, sleeping bag, stove etc.
This was fine but i will aim to skim on the weight by better clothing.
I randomly found camp site where ever really, follow a sign to a site but hopefully municipal.
these were a generally good price and clean.
i did not wild camp, i would off and that was my intention by randomly pitching up.
This is difficult on occasions because most fields are taken up by agriculture.
I went solo, met other cyclist same as me with standard bikes, gear only.
I did not have panniers, i used two rucksacks on either side with bungee cords to hold up and my one man tent on top strapped down with a cord.
This work though a clip on panniers would of been easier but it worked effectively and comments where positives (makeshift ideas).
My plan was to cycle the coast of Brittany but its quite far so adjust route as also i wanted to walk around towns and villages.
But i camped for the two weeks, my first cycle/camp tour.
Im a brown skin indian and the French were hospitable, offered a coffee and meal that i accepted at a guys house, passed email to another to converse learning over skype...
drivers were fine, better than in the UK i felt because they always stopped for me cycling even on the zebra crossing whether i knew it was a zebra crossing or not they did any ways.
So, post summer, i will plan to head of again.
I would post a picture if i knew how...

 

[yello]

Something I thought of earlier today, about eating places that is: don't ignore Flunch.

Flunch is a chain of self-service restaurants, nothing brilliant but perfectly acceptable. On the down side, they're probably not going to be in a cyclist friendly place. Usually they're in malls, large towns or ringroads.

But, they do have fair portion sizes, good choice and are cheaper than your standard 'menu a midi' (so long as you don't go adding too many extras). It's entirely possible to have a meal for €6 or €7.

I wouldn't aim for a Flunch but neither would I dismiss it.