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Are you suggesting Raleigh is more like Paris than Ithaca? Surely you jest. How about NYC, Boston, DC or Toronto. This guy's wife is going to be in for the shock of her life in NC.
Besides, other New Yorkers don't need me to make them look arrogant and pompous.... they do that on their own.
"Back in New York, we can get......."
"On Long Island we can get a decent...."
"They sure don't make ..... like they do in Queens."
I'm from London, UK. I lived in NY for 8 years and then NJ for about 8 more years. We moved down here in 2005.
My neighbor is from France. She came over as an au pair and met an American. They lived in NJ for a bunch of years and came down here in 05 too. She's happy here although of course she misses much of France. But she is from a small town in France so she enjoys the small town living here.
Your wife could teach at Atlas International - they hire "non certified" teachers.
Thanks to the several people who gave ideas for career opportunities for my wife, especially regarding teaching. I didn't mean to give the impression that she didn't have a degree, she has an MBA from UConn. She just doesn't have typical MBA experience and now she finds it difficult to find work outside of her experience (sales administration) because everything requires experience. I'm not sure how it is in the US right now but in France companies are less willing to pay for an MBA. She's been told several times that she's overqualified.
I think teaching is great. She's timid so we'd have to work on that. She doesn't like to speak in public. I'm trying to get her to sign up for toastmasters. I haven't been in it but I've heard good things about it.
I agree with the people who say my wife will be in for a shock, but only for a little while. After all she spent a year at UConn which is in the middle of nowhere. We're talking in the fields. We also visit my family in the US every year, so she knows the US well. I think the bottom line is that having kids has totally changed us. We're home by 9:30 latest and usually in bed by 11. So our thinking is why "suffer" all the disadvantages of living in a big city if we can't take advantage of it. Since we spend so much time at home, why stuff ourselves into 800 sq foot (75m2) apartment when we could have a 2000 sq ft home in the US?
I also agree that it's not just Paris, that one could substitute any big city name in for Paris in my post. I'm a KY boy married to a Paris girl. Something's got to give!!!
I spent 9 years in Arizona and I love AZ but I don't want to go back. I want a new adventure. Same for Paris. It's time for a change. If we had a million dollars that change would most likely be San Diego but we don't so our new adventure will start in a smaller city in North Carolina for the moment. If things go well in 5 years maybe we'd be ready to go some place else. I look at it like that. It's not a change for the rest of our lives, just a new chapter.
Last night there was a TV show about "le cote d'azur". My wife asked if we could retire there. I said "sure". I don't know where exactly it is but it sounds nice and if she wants to live there some day it's ok by me. So we're not anti-france and this won't be adieu but rather au revoir.
I'm a small town American girl who married a Berliner. (BTW: I lived in France for 2 1/2 years-- Paris, Grenoble, Angers). It's funny, because I like the vibrant life of cities and my husband likes the quiet life! I think he spent too many years in the Berlin underground scene and has had enough! :-) We find that Durham is a nice mix of the two.
Will your wife be in for a shock? Most likely, but if you've already lived in the US, then it shouldn't be such a difficult transition. I think you'll find that there are quite a few Europeans in the area. You also seem to have the right outlook in that it's just the start of a new chapter in your life. If it doesn't work out, you can always move on. My only concern for you is that Cary is very suburban. Perhaps you might consider something that would be a little bit less of an extreme? (Chapel Hill, Raleigh, even Durham?)
As for us...
Things we miss about Europe: Public transportation; quaint, unique boutiques; a true, walkable city center; that passionate "joie de vivre" and interest in international affairs; good bread and cheese
Things we don't miss about Europe: small apartment living; unfriendly or poor customer service; not knowing your neighbors
Otherwise, life is what you make of it. If you are both open to change, you'll thrive anywhere.
BTW: My husband and I dream of retiring in Corsica!
IMO, Charlotte would be better than RDU area for your requirements. If you choose Cary, perhaps your wife could look into Cary Academy - they offer several international languages including French. My daughter goes to school there and its a great community. Best wishes for successful move.
We moved to Cary last year after living in Miami for 13 years and have not regret our move even 1 day. I am Dutch and my wife is from Spain. We wanted to give our 2 little children a better place to grow up which is why we made this move to Cary.
We also own a large on-line dating business with customers all over the world. Besides the USA, a big part of our business is concentrated around European countries like Holland, Belgium, UK, Spain, Ireland, Turkey and Portugal. We would like to expand into other countries and France and Italy are on the top of our list. If your wife is still looking for a job, feel free to contact me at [EMAIL="vdwouw@hotmail.com"]vdwouw@hotmail.com[/EMAIL] and I will be happy to discuss any openings within our company. Our office is located in Cary.
maybe we can switch, you come to Cary and I'll go to Paris. I was there a month ago, and love it more and more each time... :-)
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Spanish / Dutch couple
