Hi Andrew & Sam ! Listening to your experience and all the bureaucratic difficulties involved was fascinating. But now to see how happy you seem to be to be living together in my “Nice France” and in this beautiful city of Bordeaux was well worth all the effort ! I wish you continued happiness in your superb apartment and enjoy all the fabulous things that surround you, both to see... and to taste ! (Videos of "RFC" are always a pleasure to watch because your interviews are always done with respect, humor, warmth and kindness for these new arrivals in my country... 👍❤)
Fun to see, as I am also in TX and moving to Southern France in September 2025. Going on my locale scouting trip Jan 28 - Feb 12. Focusing on my French in the interim.
Bonjour les Texans, Je suis bordelaise et je me permets de vous expliquer “la belle endormie”. Ce surnom remonte environ aux années C’est un terme qu’on employait à la fin du mandat de Jacques Chaban-Delmas. Il est resté maire pendant 48 ans (de 1947 à 1995)Au début, il a fait plein de choses. Puis, au fur et à mesure, il ne se passait plus rien. Il a laissé Bordeaux s’endormir. La ville de Bordeaux a souffert de la comparaison avec la Ville rose, Toulouse l’autre grande voisine de la Garonne. Pendant que Toulouse se développait, Bordeaux s’endormait. Le fossé se creusait entre les deux capitales du sud-ouest. À la fin de Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux était devenue la ville la moins chère de France. Elle était toute noire. À 19 heures, il n’y avait plus personne dans les rues. Le port n’existait plus, il n’y avait plus d’industrie. Tout s’était endormi comme la Belle au bois dormant. Et sous Alain Juppé élu maire en 1995, elle s’est réveillée. Il a des projets de modernisation, de réaménagement, de nettoyage, de restructuration de la ville. La réputation du Port de la Lune, (autre nom de BX, dû à sa forme) réputation à l’internationale, elle la doit aussi à l’aménagement des quais. Alain Juppé fait de la place pour le tramway, les piétons et toutes les mobilités douces avec la création d’une promenade. Écrit grâce à Actu Bordeaux. Á vous Google translate !
Hello from NL... fell into your story and what can I say , you both have embraced a new outlook and have left it all behind.... I must say , being Dutch , EU citizen , as easy as it would be for me and my partner in comparable starting position as both of you , knowing so endlessly much more from Europe through our lives here , that it might be the candid , by which I dont mean naive , approach to it all that made this work for you , while we keep mulling and probing and reasoning and weighing , bearing in mind I am fluent in French , nevertheless , a big plus for you is your FOCUS on Bordeaux , so that is where your arrows touch . Because France may be smaller than Texas but as you may be finding out it is a COSMOS in its historical cultural realms IMpossible to ever fully grasp ..which makes it a challenge to pursue... not even speaking about roaming deeper into Europe . It looks as if this put you on a nurturing and fulfilling track , meanwhile we keep crossing France over the Pyrenees to Spain probably into eternity. Stay young , best wishes from NL.
Loved this video. So good to see fellow Texans living their dream in France. My wife and I very much want to move to France but we are hampered by one of our pets. It's possible they may regard one of our dogs as possibly one of the breeds that are banned in the country. If we try to enter the country with her, they could decide to confiscate her. We can get rid of our pup. That would be horrible to consider re-homing her before we leave Texas or losing her at the border. It is, though, equally horrible to think we are missing out on this dream. A very frustrating situation for us. If you've read this far, thanks for letting me vent my frustration. Good luck to all those persuing this dream.
Did you get the dog from a rescue? Oftentimes, they'll list any partial "issue" dogs as simply the color, or "Labrador". That is how AZ Humane labeled my dear (now departed) Daphne. She probably had some pitty or GSD, but Labrador was the noted brred on her official paperwork.
To answer your question, stay with your beloved dogs no matter what breed they belong to. It's important for you to know that life (any kind of life : human, animal) is far more important than anything else. To be fair with you, France has become a living hell and not a heavenly place like this kind of video tries to convey. From the North to the South and from the West to the East, even retirees are forced to work again to support themselves. By the way, while a lot of British and American people settle down in France, a lot of French people leave France to live abroad (Quebec, Portugal, Spain and the list goes on)...
@@SueIsRetiringToFrance This is very helpful. Thank you. My dog is definitely a rescue...found at a gas station tied to a trash can. She's a wonderful dog but I'm concerned the border agents may think she has pit bull in her genetics. I have two vets who say she is more lab/border collie mix and have put this on her documentation. Is it your experience that the border agents use the vet document information about her breed more than their visual reference? This is what I fear...that they will use visual judgement.
Alors la France est belle et il y a de très belles villes. Mais attention l insécurité monte en France hélas à cause de l invasion migratoire c est un fait c est une constatation ! En UK c est pareil et dans toute l Europe de l ouest on doit 'stopper l immigration et renvoyer les indésirables. Ne vous installez pas tout de suite en France attendez qu il est un ménage de fait nous en avons assez des gens qui viennent du continent Africain.
Hi you must arrive in France with private medical insurance but after 90 days you can apply for a carte vitale but the processing time can massively vary from region to region and of course depending on how accurate your application is.
From a former Bordeaux citizen and French: "La belle endormie" is because Bordeaux, even if it was a beautiful city, it was 48 years (!!!) under the juridiction of the same city mayor (Jacques Chaban Delmas) who did almost nothing to rejuvenate the city after the WW2. I was a young adult in the 80's and all my friends and I was dreaming to leave the city and moving to other big cities in France because even if some efforts was done in the cultural field, it was nothing compare to other big cities. The week-end all the wealthy and middle class Bordelais (citizens of Bordeaux) was having secondary houses on the Atlantic coast or in the country-side and they was leaving Bordeaux, that's why there was barely nothing to do in the city because all the money was out. In the summer, the city was not so much touristic as it is now, most of the tourists was on the Atlantic coast and the Bordelais too, so in August the city was dead. But in 2006, the mayor have changed and he have bring huge changes in the city. The tram of course, but, prior to his election, it was also mandate to clean the facades of all the buildings that was black (due to the pollution of the cars) by sanding them, it have made appear the beauty of the stone (this process have taken years, and the ending result was under this new mayor) . The quays of the Garonne (more than 2 km walkable) was a horrific place, now it's a beautiful place to hang out. And so on, the list is long and my comment also! To summarize: it was a sleeping beauty and in a few years it have become the marvel it is now. (it was also the cheapest big city in France for the housing, but in a few years the prices have skyrocketed...)
@@helenemurard1215Pas que Paris toutes les capitales on leurs inconvénients, je trouve que Paris s'en sort plutôt bien pour avoir visité beaucoup capitales après faut aimer la densité ( locales, touristes, train de vie etc..
@@EnzoRossi-g4v oui, je parlais que d’autres belles villes en France, pas que Paris..et oui, Paris est la plus belle capitale du monde! La France a la chance d’avoir de très beaux coins dans tout le pays..
90% des 35 millions de touristes étrangers à Paris sont déjà venus avant, et sans surprise 90% ont adoré leur séjour. 80% voudraient revenir dans un futur proche. Il y a 20% d'immigrés qui vivent à Paris et ils représentent 40% de tous les immigrés qui vivent en France. Ou comment vous vivez dans un monde parallèle très très loin de la réalité.
Merci d'aider de si belles personnes à partager notre quotidien en France. Ils sont les bienvenue dans leur nouveaux pays
Hi Andrew & Sam ! Listening to your experience and all the bureaucratic difficulties involved was fascinating. But now to see how happy you seem to be to be living together in my “Nice France” and in this beautiful city of Bordeaux was well worth all the effort !
I wish you continued happiness in your superb apartment and enjoy all the fabulous things that surround you, both to see... and to taste ! (Videos of "RFC" are always a pleasure to watch because your interviews are always done with respect, humor, warmth and kindness for these new arrivals in my country... 👍❤)
Fun to see, as I am also in TX and moving to Southern France in September 2025. Going on my locale scouting trip Jan 28 - Feb 12. Focusing on my French in the interim.
Love these vlogs.
Really good interview!
Thanks so much for watching 👀
Bonjour les Texans, Je suis bordelaise et je me permets de vous expliquer “la belle endormie”. Ce surnom remonte environ aux années
C’est un terme qu’on employait à la fin du mandat de Jacques Chaban-Delmas. Il est resté maire pendant 48 ans (de 1947 à 1995)Au début, il a fait plein de choses. Puis, au fur et à mesure, il ne se passait plus rien. Il a laissé Bordeaux s’endormir. La ville de Bordeaux a souffert de la comparaison avec la Ville rose, Toulouse l’autre grande voisine de la Garonne. Pendant que Toulouse se développait, Bordeaux s’endormait. Le fossé se creusait entre les deux capitales du sud-ouest. À la fin de Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux était devenue la ville la moins chère de France. Elle était toute noire. À 19 heures, il n’y avait plus personne dans les rues. Le port n’existait plus, il n’y avait plus d’industrie. Tout s’était endormi comme la Belle au bois dormant. Et sous Alain Juppé élu maire en 1995, elle s’est réveillée. Il a des projets de modernisation, de réaménagement, de nettoyage, de restructuration de la ville. La réputation du Port de la Lune, (autre nom de BX, dû à sa forme) réputation à l’internationale, elle la doit aussi à l’aménagement des quais. Alain Juppé fait de la place pour le tramway, les piétons et toutes les mobilités douces avec la création d’une promenade. Écrit grâce à Actu Bordeaux. Á vous Google translate !
As a fellow Texan, I am so happy for them! And a wee bit jealous as well… great interview.
Hello from NL... fell into your story and what can I say , you both have embraced a new outlook and have left it all behind.... I must say , being Dutch , EU citizen , as easy as it would be for me and my partner in comparable starting position as both of you , knowing so endlessly much more from Europe through our lives here , that it might be the candid , by which I dont mean naive , approach to it all that made this work for you , while we keep mulling and probing and reasoning and weighing , bearing in mind I am fluent in French , nevertheless , a big plus for you is your FOCUS on Bordeaux , so that is where your arrows touch . Because France may be smaller than Texas but as you may be finding out it is a COSMOS in its historical cultural realms IMpossible to ever fully grasp ..which makes it a challenge to pursue... not even speaking about roaming deeper into Europe . It looks as if this put you on a nurturing and fulfilling track , meanwhile we keep crossing France over the Pyrenees to Spain probably into eternity. Stay young , best wishes from NL.
Love this video. And avocat means lawyer too. I understand that this guy is en retraite partielle. He does not look half dead to me.😊
Loved this video. So good to see fellow Texans living their dream in France. My wife and I very much want to move to France but we are hampered by one of our pets. It's possible they may regard one of our dogs as possibly one of the breeds that are banned in the country. If we try to enter the country with her, they could decide to confiscate her. We can get rid of our pup. That would be horrible to consider re-homing her before we leave Texas or losing her at the border. It is, though, equally horrible to think we are missing out on this dream. A very frustrating situation for us. If you've read this far, thanks for letting me vent my frustration. Good luck to all those persuing this dream.
Did you get the dog from a rescue? Oftentimes, they'll list any partial "issue" dogs as simply the color, or "Labrador". That is how AZ Humane labeled my dear (now departed) Daphne. She probably had some pitty or GSD, but Labrador was the noted brred on her official paperwork.
To answer your question, stay with your beloved dogs no matter what breed they belong to. It's important for you to know that life (any kind of life : human, animal) is far more important than anything else. To be fair with you, France has become a living hell and not a heavenly place like this kind of video tries to convey. From the North to the South and from the West to the East, even retirees are forced to work again to support themselves. By the way, while a lot of British and American people settle down in France, a lot of French people leave France to live abroad (Quebec, Portugal, Spain and the list goes on)...
@@SueIsRetiringToFrance This is very helpful. Thank you. My dog is definitely a rescue...found at a gas station tied to a trash can. She's a wonderful dog but I'm concerned the border agents may think she has pit bull in her genetics. I have two vets who say she is more lab/border collie mix and have put this on her documentation. Is it your experience that the border agents use the vet document information about her breed more than their visual reference? This is what I fear...that they will use visual judgement.
Alors la France est belle et il y a de très belles villes. Mais attention l insécurité monte en France hélas à cause de l invasion migratoire c est un fait c est une constatation ! En UK c est pareil et dans toute l Europe de l ouest on doit 'stopper l immigration et renvoyer les indésirables. Ne vous installez pas tout de suite en France attendez qu il est un ménage de fait nous en avons assez des gens qui viennent du continent Africain.
@@christianterraes8334 Et malheureusement pour le pays, vous, vous resterez…
I didn't know when you are settled in France, after few weeks you can obtain so quickly a carte vitale for going to the doctor
Hi you must arrive in France with private medical insurance but after 90 days you can apply for a carte vitale but the processing time can massively vary from region to region and of course depending on how accurate your application is.
Anyone who has lived in France for at least 3 months is entitled to healthcare. Whether it will be free or not depends on your personal situation.
Allez vous apprendre à parler français ??
From a former Bordeaux citizen and French: "La belle endormie" is because Bordeaux, even if it was a beautiful city, it was 48 years (!!!) under the juridiction of the same city mayor (Jacques Chaban Delmas) who did almost nothing to rejuvenate the city after the WW2. I was a young adult in the 80's and all my friends and I was dreaming to leave the city and moving to other big cities in France because even if some efforts was done in the cultural field, it was nothing compare to other big cities.
The week-end all the wealthy and middle class Bordelais (citizens of Bordeaux) was having secondary houses on the Atlantic coast or in the country-side and they was leaving Bordeaux, that's why there was barely nothing to do in the city because all the money was out.
In the summer, the city was not so much touristic as it is now, most of the tourists was on the Atlantic coast and the Bordelais too, so in August the city was dead. But in 2006, the mayor have changed and he have bring huge changes in the city. The tram of course, but, prior to his election, it was also mandate to clean the facades of all the buildings that was black (due to the pollution of the cars) by sanding them, it have made appear the beauty of the stone (this process have taken years, and the ending result was under this new mayor) . The quays of the Garonne (more than 2 km walkable) was a horrific place, now it's a beautiful place to hang out. And so on, the list is long and my comment also!
To summarize: it was a sleeping beauty and in a few years it have become the marvel it is now. (it was also the cheapest big city in France for the housing, but in a few years the prices have skyrocketed...)
Thank you so much for adding all this wonderful detail to the story!
@@TheMocconaTeam It's my pleasure! By the way I've forgot to thank you for this video. Bravo!
Vous avez aimé parce que vous avez pas commencé avec Paris 😆
Paris.est une belle ville à visiter, mais bcp de belles villes loin du chaos et pollution de la capitale et bien plus plaisant pour y vivre.
@@helenemurard1215Pas que Paris toutes les capitales on leurs inconvénients, je trouve que Paris s'en sort plutôt bien pour avoir visité beaucoup capitales après faut aimer la densité ( locales, touristes, train de vie etc..
Après je trouve que Paris fait bon de vivre avec ses musées, restaurant, café, parc, l'architecture etc..comparer à d'autres capitales
@@EnzoRossi-g4v oui, je parlais que d’autres belles villes en France, pas que Paris..et oui, Paris est la plus belle capitale du monde! La France a la chance d’avoir de très beaux coins dans tout le pays..
90% des 35 millions de touristes étrangers à Paris sont déjà venus avant, et sans surprise 90% ont adoré leur séjour. 80% voudraient revenir dans un futur proche. Il y a 20% d'immigrés qui vivent à Paris et ils représentent 40% de tous les immigrés qui vivent en France. Ou comment vous vivez dans un monde parallèle très très loin de la réalité.