So, you have made the big move to France and a whole new life awaits you.  These are exciting times and you will doubtless be extremely busy for some time to come, adjusting to your new life, taking care of practicalities and making sure your family are all in good shape. It is important to embrace your new surroundings and integrate into your community straightaway. How do you go about this? Here are my top 10 tips to an easy adjustment to your new life in France.

1. From day one, accept that this IS your new life and that although much of it will be unfamiliar at the start, it will be far better for both you and your family if you stick with reality and take an optimistic view about your future.

2. Concentrate on making your new house as familiar and homely as you can.  Find pictures of family and friends, dust off the ornaments and items which you loved in your home in the UK and put them on display, get your kitchen up and running and if you are a keen cook, make some familiar meals for the family. In short, the sooner your house becomes a home, the easier you will find it to settle in generally.

3. Take a drive around your local area and stock up on products that are familiar to you. Many supermarkets in France now have an English section so you should easily be able to find your favourite brand of tea or jam. You will soon find, however, that you are enjoying experimenting with typically French food items but just at the start, stick with what you know. This will ease your transition into the French way of life.

4. Whatever your hobbies or interests were in the UK, stick with those too.  You should easily be able to find a gym, sports club or music society for example in France. Chances are you will meet like-minded people this way as well as feeling that you have come from home to home.

5. If you like to eat out, try to find a good local restaurant which you can frequent a few times a month. This way you will find you are warmly welcomed, that the staff will get to know you and again, you will meet people with whom you have something in common. The same applies to a local bar. Support your community and you will be rewarded by being made to feel like one of the locals in no time.

6. Practise your French wherever and whenever you can. No-one minds if you make mistakes. In fact, the French love to hear their language spoken with an English accent. Listen carefully when people speak to you and make a mental note of any phrase or word which you did not know before but which is obvious from the context. 

7. Communication and therefore language is so important that this subject merits a second tip! If your French is a little scratchy, take evening classes or find a teacher locally. You will see adverts in local shops and newspapers for French classes. Again, not only will you be able to converse more easily with your new found French friends but you will meet other English people who may have moved to your area.

8. Following on from that, check out the expat community where you live.  Much of France is now home to many British people and even some of the markets now have stalls selling English books and items – they are used to us Brits falling in love with their country! 

9. Invite your neighbours in for an “apero” as soon as you get there and don’t be afraid to ask questions. People are always interested in what other folk are up to and love to give advice. Starting off on a friendly note will stand you in good stead later on. 

10. Finally, embrace fully this new experience. Don’t worry about missing the UK too much. Human beings are by nature adaptable and after a while you will find a new familiarity. Enjoy your new environment and accept the way the French do things. There is a huge amount to enjoy in this lovely big country and after not too long, you will find that whenever you return to the UK for a visit, you simply cannot wait to get back to France again!

Start your hunt for a home in France here…
If you’re searching for a French property, a good place to start is the France Buying Guide’s new property search facility. To start your search now visit http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com/content/portugal-properties