No rest...

Continuing the theme of public holidays, since the May Day celebrations and demonstrations (on the first of the month), we have had VE Day last Thursday (Victory in Europe 1945) and the coming Monday is another holiday, being Pentecost. Now none of these are UK holidays but during this month the Brits enjoy their Early May holiday (5th) and Spring bank holiday (26th).

What is the point of listing all these holidays? Well, as usual, it is a matter of the expat's perspective and what is the most appropriate course given a choice about holidays. For example, in the day job we have British clients and some expect us to be working on French holidays, as we specialise in services for English speakers. So, should we observe the British holidays instead? Well, our French associates certainly expect us to be working when they are, so that does not work either.

Of course, many expats who are employed in their host countries have no say in the matter and have to observe the local practices. Personally I am not too worried about these holidays but there is a danger in our situation that we end up taking no days at all! Having tried to compromise between the two we have found that is no solution, so perhaps the best approach as an expat should be to observe the traditions and holidays of our hosts, in the interests of goodwill and integration - and ask our British clients to understand that.

OK, that seems like a good decision... apart from Boxing Day, of course - now, even if our French friends and colleagues are back to work that day, the Christmas period would not be the same if we did not enjoy that extra holiday, of uniquely British origin! Well, I wonder if we can do it this year...

Expat resources...

Following the last post about expats needing to get it right when they move to their host country, one can of course find a lot of information sources on the web for expats, particularly for specific countries. However, a great point of reference must be the expat section of the web site of The Telegraph newspaper - as well as providing a wealth of resources for specific information, the extensive pages here give a broader view of living and working abroad including feature articles and a "Useful Links and Contacts" section - all presented in an easy-to-use magazine format...

Expat - Telegraph

May protest too much...

May is a popular month in France with a few public holidays to enjoy. However, most holidays have a meaning and this week we had May Day, on the first day of the month, with a double significance - as mentioned before, it was both Labour Day and Ascension Day.

There are many holidays with religious origins but here we saw some May Day demonstrations linked to the work and employment theme - how unusual for France! One side of the protests involved an on-going battle between the government and unions on pension rights; another might have appeared a little ironic, but we saw illegal workers protesting for the first time about how they are exploited - apparently a major problem throughout Europe, where in fact the growing illegal work forces actually make a significant contribution to the economies.

Of course, one can see that one being hotly debated but it brought to mind the personal experience of registering fully in France to work legally, register to pay contributions, and have the associated rights in terms of healthcare, etc. However, as an expat it is very easy to make incorrect assumptions about how things might work in your host country, especially when only moving within European countries, and to get things drastically wrong.

So, it is important that all expats should take advice from official sources, or professional advisers, to ensure that they do not accidentally end up working illegally - otherwise, when the authorities point the finger, you may not find a handy May Day protest to join...

Europe bound...

We are delighted to announce our new sister blog which gives very practical pointers for those considering property in Europe - primarily a directory of estate agents, property portals and related services, it will also provide sources of information on living and working in Europe...

Europe Property Directory

...hopefully a useful resource for potential expats considering Europe!

Bubbling over...

After an unexpected absence, many apologies to regular readers. However, a blogging break perhaps gives the opportunity to reflect and take a fresh look - and hopefully the lack of recent quantity may be compensated for by future quality!

In fact, it is thinking of quality that has been at the forefront just recently, particularly following the last post and reflecting on France being rated again as number one country in terms of quality of life. In thinking about expat life much of our thoughts are about the practical challenges presented in terms of a foreign culture, language, administration, etc., but perhaps we should be thinking more about the positives that contribute to the enjoyment of being somewhere else - so, for another mini-theme in coming posts, we should take some time to discuss the pure pleasures of being an expat.

On that note, what better starting point than a recent announcement in France - seemingly untouched by worldwide economic events, it has been announced that the official Champagne area is to be expanded, taking in another 40 villages (and the related vine growing capacity) to cope with international demand for the finest fizz! Now that is taking the pleasures of life seriously...

Photo: Chance Agrella

And the winner is...

If you are a prospective expat, considering a particular country or even various options, then a bit of research will not go amiss if only to confirm your own thoughts and experiences. So, where do you begin? Of course this blog is a good stopping-off point for some general discussion of life as an expat - you can also trawl the web with specific country searches - or even try the "I'm Feeling Lucky" option of a certain well-known search engine!

However, there is an interesting starting point, just recently up-dated, which could give you the inspiration for on-going research - the Quality of Life Index 2008, published by International Living magazine. This rates different countries according to an impressive range of criteria, including cultural, social, environmental, climatic and economic factors, to arrive at comparative rankings - you can see the published chart here...

Quality of Life Index 2008

If you have already made your move, you may be interested to see how your country ranks - and if you agree! You could probably offer many suggestions as to why a country should rank differently and, of course, our decisions about moving country often arise from more than the very pragmatic considerations and can include sentimental and emotional factors that are hard to measure by any scale - so this kind of assessment can only ever be a helpful guide, to give us pointers to some key aspects of life in different countries.

That said, this seems to be a quite detailed survey and assessment and we are delighted to see that the number one spot is again retained by France...

Vive les Gallois...

Nothing raises friendly nationalistic fervour quite like an international sporting event and it can be on such occasions that the expat's position can be a little uncomfortable. Usually for us, as Brits in France, we have no problem showing support for local teams in big matches, or for a French national team against most other countries - that seems the most appropriate thing to do in our host country.

Even when France is playing England at soccer or rugby, where there is a long history of intense rivalry (which probably reflects the two countries' relationship for many centuries!), there is not really a problem. It is generally assumed we are English but at times like this we can stress that we are actually Welsh (Gallois) and adopt a certain impartiality about the match!

Well, yesterday saw the Welsh succeed in winning the annual Six Nations rugby competition and on top of that achieving the "grand slam" - not losing a match to any of the other countries. A superb feat which will have have been celebrated throughout Wales! With there being five other nations, yesterday's deciding match could have turned out to be against England, Ireland, Italy, or Scotland, but in fact this final struggle for the championship was between Wales... and France.

So, forgetting about the outcome yesterday, what is the appropriate stance when your home country is playing your host country? Some carefully phrased diplomatic comments about the strengths of both teams? Some might think that would be a typically British approach. I'm not so sure how French people living in the UK would generally play it but I have a feeling that most would be more likely just to be openly patriotic. Perhaps that is the most honest approach and would actually be the most respected. For us, other things kept us away from sharing the match with anyone local, so we were not put to the test - however, maybe one might think twice about cheering on another nation in the middle of a packed French bar...