Looking to meet French people in Charlotte (considering moving to Charlotte from Paris) (Washington: best cities, insurance)

[cunparis]

Still dreaming of Charlotte and getting closer to making a decision, so I came back here to reread the thread. I missed this reply, sorry but better late than never!

Originally Posted by sophie5

cunparis, My husband and I and our 5 children are moving from Houston to the Fort Mill area this summer. My mother is french, and though I was born in Connecticut I lived in France for a little over 3 years as a child and even attended fench elementary school (CP-CM1). I lived in Chevreuse in the Yvelines (78) and most of my extended family is in France. My Grandparents live in La Celle Saint Cloud, which is also very near Versailles. I have an aunt in Vaucresson, one in Carriere-sur-Seine and an Uncle in Faucherolle (spelling?). My mother has a very thick french accent, even though she has lived in the US for over 3 decades - and most people find it delightful! I am a stay at home mom as well, and my two youngest are 3.5 (boy and girl). My french isn't as good as it used to be, but I would definitely have no problems understanding your wife .

What area of Fort Mill are you considering?

Hi Sophie we live close to Yvelines and Cell de St. Cloud. Those are nice areas.

I'm not sure what area of Fort Mill, I just learned about Fort Mill in this forum. When we were in Charlotte we were just passing by and didn't really look into neighborhoods. At the end of our trip we decided that Charlotte was more interesting to us than Raleigh. So I'm not even sure what areas there are in Fort Mill.

I'm also interested in living near Lake Wylie. Would love to have a house on the lake but those are more expensive and you seem to give up the house to have the lake (houses are not as nice or are much more expensive).

I feel like I've already "met" people in Charlotte already. If we end up in Charlotte I'll update the thread and hopefully meet some of you.

[sophie5]

cunparis,

We moved to our home in Tega Cay, right next to Fort Mill about 3 weeks ago. While our home is not on Lake Wylie, some lots in our neighborhood are waterfront, and some have waterview. We are in the annexed part of Tega Cay, so while we are not directly on the penninsula there is still easy access to the lake. Also, I should mention that 2 weeks ago I met a very sweet French woman in the fruit section of the Walmart (I couldn't believe it). She is also from the Paris area, and has introduced me to a French Canadian friend of hers. They told me of a few other French ladies in the area, so your wife definitely wouldn't be the only native around here. I would recommend looking for a house in Lakeshore if you want an existing home. Please feel free to send me a direct message if you'd like.

[Ninor]

I haven't perused all the threads (so pardon me if this was mentioned) but there is a French business alliance here in Charlotte that meet on a regular basis. I lived in France and Afrique when I was in the Foreign Legion so I went to the meeting one night and there were beaucoup Francais there. Pretty sure you could google them and find them but, if not, PM me and I'll get you there number.

N

[florida_pilot]

Hello everyone - I found this forum pretty much by accident. Wow, cunparis, I thought it was me writing when I read your contributions. Get this:

- I'm American
- My fiance is French
- We're currently in Paris and going to be moving to Charlotte
- My name is Michael
- I'm an independent IT consultant

That's just spooky. Anyway, my fiance is hoping to land a job with Dassault Systemes there in Charlotte and well, I can work anywhere, so hopefully we'll be able to meet up with a few more Francophones in the area. Anyway, just thought I'd make my introduction...

Regards,
Mike Thompson

[bandibadji]

Originally Posted by cunparis

We seem to have the same concerns. We love the international aspect of Paris. I've met people from countries I didn't even know existed. My 8 years here have been an amazing cultural experience. That will be very much missed if we move to Charlotte. But living in a big international city with small kids just won't work out for us right now, not to mention it's usually not affordable.

For the moment I too am thinking of South Carolina, Fort Mill area. I haven't heard of the area you mentioned, I will google it. I grew up in a rural area in northern kentucky, about 20-30 minutes from cincinnati. I like having a "big" city nearby yet living in a more remote area.

I haven't heard of the Smith school, I will look that up. If we stay here for another year, then our youngest daughter (8 months) will have French as her mother tongue. We'd like a bilingual school but there isn't anything in the south side so I hope speaking both languages at home will be enough. It should be, my oldest daughter (2 years) is already bilingual.

Still crossing my fingers for a universal healthcare plan (Obama and/or Hillary!!!)..

We live in Sèvres, which you probably know but if you don't it's in between Paris & Versaille in 92. I really like Sèvres because we have forests and le parc de st. cloud. It's very "green" despite being so close to Paris.

Oh goody! another bloody world health, tree hugging liberal? Gee, can't get enough of them.

[johne482]

[quote=cunparis;3

Still crossing my fingers for a universal healthcare plan (Obama and/or Hillary!!!)..

[/QUOTE]

Didn't see this post when you made it. Miss Hillary was riding her surf board on the cresting, albeit spiraling wave but thought I would suggest an alternative:

Section 8 program is available to just about ANY person that enters this country, Might want to look into their program...heck everybody else does.

Hope this is helpful,we don't mind, it's our placer.

JE

[cunparis]

Originally Posted by florida_pilot

That's just spooky. Anyway, my fiance is hoping to land a job with Dassault Systemes there in Charlotte and well, I can work anywhere, so hopefully we'll be able to meet up with a few more Francophones in the area. Anyway, just thought I'd make my introduction...

Spooky? It's crazy! You could be my twin. My wife also dreams of working at Dassault. She had an interview here in Paris (hoping to get hired here and then transfer after a year) but that didn't work out. So we will just go and hope to find something there.

So far we've narrowed it down to Charlotte and San Diego and I'm researching both. We hope to go visit both on our next vacation.

[GoingBackEast]

Hi, got PM from cunparis at handle I do not use anymore. I stated back in 2007 that I own a house in San Diego and was searching in the triangle/triad area. Chose Mebane for a number of reasons, having always lived in big cities (NYC, Chicago, LA etc). Prices here are ...much less than half or a third of San Diego, quality of life is for real here, not hype (San Diego is really hype in my humble opinion, having spent 23 years there). We have trees, air, culture in 4 directions. Just got home from trip to Wilmington area beaches (OMG the best). We still own the SD home. You can PM me at this handle if I haven't answered your question.

[cunparis]

Originally Posted by GoingBackEast

Hi, got PM from cunparis at handle I do not use anymore. I stated back in 2007 that I own a house in San Diego and was searching in the triangle/triad area. Chose Mebane for a number of reasons, having always lived in big cities (NYC, Chicago, LA etc). Prices here are ...much less than half or a third of San Diego, quality of life is for real here, not hype (San Diego is really hype in my humble opinion, having spent 23 years there). We have trees, air, culture in 4 directions. Just got home from trip to Wilmington area beaches (OMG the best). We still own the SD home. You can PM me at this handle if I haven't answered your question.

I'm not familiar with the Mebane area. What made you choose that area over say Cary?

The main attraction for us in San Diego is the international culture. They have two bilingual (French) schools. In Charlotte I find a saturday morning school. I have no idea if that would be enough for our daughters. Speaking is not a problem but learning grammar, literature, history, etc. I think my wife will have to do a bit of home schooling for the French stuff if we go to North Carolina.

I'm still interested in Cary. We really need to go back and spend a week in Charlotte and Raleigh to get a better feel for it.

[GoingBackEast]

My guess is that Cary would be perfect. Pretty bustling, lots of international culture. Good luck!