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Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary The Triangle Area
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Old 09-23-2008, 09:38 AM
 
37 posts, read 72,620 times
Reputation: 21

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Quote:
Originally Posted by cunparis View Post
Unfortunately living here is totally different than vacationing here. My first couple years were like an extended vacation and I loved it. But after the vacation-ness wears off, life here is difficult and in my opinion the quality of life in Paris is not good for families. It's great for kids / young adults though. When people start families, the ones who can work outside of Paris usually move out and that leaves the ones who have no choice but to stay in Paris. Which contributes to the unpleasantness. I can't tell you how many of my friends want to leave Paris, but they don't because there are few jobs outside of Paris (I work in IT).

Anyway, for vacation Paris is one of the best cities in the world.
I concur. Even though I love Paris very much, the only city I would live with my family in Europe would be Vienna. There is a slower pace of life there.
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Old 09-24-2008, 10:39 AM
 
106 posts, read 319,088 times
Reputation: 64
The Atlas Intl School is fairly new but has great goals. You should just email them. There are other immersion schools in Raleigh though my mind is going blank. We did extensive schools research before moving here a few mos ago with 4 kids. Spanish sadly much more widespread than French in schools these days. Ravenscroft offers languages begiinning in lower school. Our 3 rd grader is taking spanish first half of year then french second half. She is taking Mandarin after school. Charlotte a bit more urban than Raleigh but both offer a lot. You just have to be creative about seeking it out. Don't know of any French community initiatives but my husband and teen daughter would likely be interested if there were.

Good luck-
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Old 10-29-2009, 08:28 AM
 
3 posts, read 32,153 times
Reputation: 10
I think the big shock you will receive here in America is the poor food quality - no matter where you go. Most Americans aren't even aware that the food they are eating is mostly fake, but all the kids here have allergies, asthma, ADD, weight problems, recurrent ear infections, learning problems, or serious dental problems. I lived in Europe for ten years (mostly France) and for the first time in my adult life, I did not have a weight problem (with no effort at all). I recommend you find a village in France to live in, at least until your kids are grown. While they are young, their organs are growing, their brain is developing, etc. They need good food all of the time, not just some of the time. You may say that you will shop at Whole Foods and make only home made food, but it's hard to stick to that, and even if you do, the base ingredients in America (butter, eggs) are fake or made from grain fed cows and chickens which were raised in confinement (read Omnivore's Dilemma and see the movie Food, Inc, to learn more). I would love to go back to France, for the sake of our two children, ages 10 and 13, but we would choose a small town.

Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 10-29-2009 at 08:49 AM.. Reason: No advertising/soliciting/offering of services
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Old 10-29-2009, 10:28 AM
 
6,297 posts, read 16,069,777 times
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The "fake food" reply was a response to a one-year-old post.

I wonder if the OP ever moved here.
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Old 10-29-2009, 10:47 AM
 
Location: NC
4,532 posts, read 8,853,958 times
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Interesting thread, and one particularly hilarous comment from CH, even though i agree with some of what the natural food proponent said, but I digress.

It sounds to me like you have no reason to be concerned over moving here as your wife has a degree from a US school - she knows what it's like over here. It's natural to want to feel comfortable by having your native foods and products. Posters have already given you lots of good info so i won't go there but will say, that after a while she will get acclimated and yearn for those less and less as she discovers American products. Coming from the UK, I was like that years ago, it didn't take me long to get over that as i got used to the food & ways here.

My suggestion - have her open up to new experiences of the American kind and DON'T compare everything to what she left in France. That is the worst thing a newcomer can do to themselves and everyone they voice this to. And, when she feels this coming on she should remember that France, like England, is not what it used to be, it won't ever be the same again because of the immigration issues - I'm being PC as this post is unrelated to that issue. I am beyond grateful for being here in America, I never forget it, and remind my family and Brit friends how fortunate we all are. I hope your wife will look at it this way too. Otherwise, it's so much harder. Since 74 I've seen foreigners come and go from the triangle area. The ones who had the hardest time fitting in were the ones who wouldn't let go of where they came from. This place isn't for everyone, you won't know that until you move here. I will say, there are too many +'s to living here for me to mention. But the biggest is that is it so family friendly, we have camps for kids, all kinds of classes such as ice skating, ballet, acting, etc.. Whatever you need is within driving distance.

Job wise, you could contact the local Chambers of Commerce and the NC Dept of Commerce to find out which French co's have offices in either city. I used to know of 2-3, one being in Wake Forest on US1, I cannot remember the name of it. The others are in Cary and RTP. If I can remember the names I'll add a new post.
Good luck!
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Old 10-29-2009, 10:52 AM
 
Location: NC
4,532 posts, read 8,853,958 times
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Funny how different we all are. My daughter who has grown up in Raleigh and visits family in Vienna for 2-3 months at a time, wouldn't live there for anything. She said it's too quiet and boring.
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Old 10-29-2009, 11:16 AM
 
Location: Efland
1,877 posts, read 5,334,317 times
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Looks like the OP is still in Paris, yet still yearning for the U.S. based on his last posting.
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Old 10-29-2009, 11:54 AM
 
4 posts, read 6,516 times
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Default Consider Raleigh over Cary

I love European cities with their quaint streets and interesting architecture. What I find in Cary is a homogenized environment - one cul-de-sac after another all with grey, grey-green or grey-blue houses. I find it bery boring. Some have called Cary the land of the golden-slippered women, so prim and proper.

I've lived in Charlotte, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary and Raleigh. I would choose Raleigh over Cary any day. An important consideration is where you will be working which of course you don't know yet. If you live in Cary and work in Raleigh, be prepared for frequent traffic slowdowns during rush hour. However if you live in Raleigh and work in Cary, most of the traffic is going in the other direction.
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Old 10-29-2009, 01:13 PM
Status: "Made the Retirement Run in under 12 parsecs!!!" (set 21 days ago)
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,176 posts, read 76,815,786 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RosieRaspberry View Post
I love European cities with their quaint streets and interesting architecture. What I find in Cary is a homogenized environment - one cul-de-sac after another all with grey, grey-green or grey-blue houses. I find it bery boring. Some have called Cary the land of the golden-slippered women, so prim and proper. .

Seems to me that sometimes it may pay to even actually MEET people and get to know people rather than judging an entire town on architecture and color. A great many quiet and proper people have enduring personal stories of trial, tribulation and triumph, and acts of honor born of character in their lives.
I find it difficult to whine about boredom when sitting with a concentration camp survivor.
Or when talking with an executive with stories from around the world.
Even if they live in common housing.

I know that seeing people living in tract housing permits us the ease of pre-judging the character, taste, intellect, and gravitas of the inhabitants. Lets us label them as "boring." Lets us dismiss them as superficial.
I just think that all too often by taking the shortcut we miss the best part of the journey.


Quote:
Originally Posted by RosieRaspberry View Post
I've lived in Charlotte, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary and Raleigh. I would choose Raleigh over Cary any day. An important consideration is where you will be working which of course you don't know yet. If you live in Cary and work in Raleigh, be prepared for frequent traffic slowdowns during rush hour. However if you live in Raleigh and work in Cary, most of the traffic is going in the other direction.
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Old 10-30-2009, 07:22 AM
 
119 posts, read 390,359 times
Reputation: 81
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovebrentwood View Post
The "fake food" reply was a response to a one-year-old post.

I wonder if the OP ever moved here.
I totally agree about the food in the US. Americans who haven't lived abroad have no idea just how bad it is. But food enough isn't enough to keep me here in France.

We're still in France. The current economic conditions aren't very good for relocating to a new home, especially in another country. I have a great job here so that's hard to give up. Won't last forever though as I'm a consultant and not an employee.

We're also considering adding another member to the family so best to stay put for that. But we still dream of moving to the US, just might take another year.

Every day when I get to work I have to check the bottom of my shoes. I like to cross one leg under while sitting at my desk and the thought of smearing dog poop all over my chair and pants is a little frightening. I really long to live where people care about each other and don't poop all over them (literally).

The more we talk about destinations the more we realized that my wife wasn't really that keen on NC. She lived in Conneticut and would really like to go back there. That's a bit on the expensive side, at least right now, so we're kind of coming to an agreement on a compromise. When we move to the US we plan to live in KY where I'm originally from and where I have family. That would help get established especially if there is a baby involved. After a year or so we'd be adjusted and could move out on our own.
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