Well we most certainly hit the ground running, and it is a good thing because the red tape in France is abundant! For example, Tuesday went something like this:
We went to a cell phone store to purchase cell phones, as we feel quite inept without a modern mode of communication. We were told (very kindly) by the store manager that it would be quite impossible for us to purchase phone without first having a French banking account, as we would need to sign up for a service plan, and that requires a bank account.
No problem (we thought to ourselves) and we took out 500 Euro from the ATM and went to the bank to open an account. We were told (very kindly) by the banker that it would be quite impossible to for us to open a bank account without an address. He gave us an application form of sorts, and also a list of required documentation. We meet with him again on Friday.
In the meantime, we went to look at houses, only to find that (of course!) we will need to have a bank account before we will be able to rent a house. Do you see our vicious circle????
Ahhh, but there is hope. Next we went to our language school, who patiently helps foreigners move to France every year. They gave us a letter to give to our bank that testifies that the SCHOOL address is a valid address for us to use. Hopefully, the banker will find this sufficient enough to grant us the supreme honor of storing our cash with him for safe keeping.
On the house front...we did find one that we would like to rent. We meet with the realtor on Friday afternoon to make an application, but she also gave us a list of about 25 pieces of documentation that she needs from us. We have some of it. Some of it is documentation that simply does not exist in in the United States. Some of it we HAVE, but not WITH us...like the past three years' tax returns. So if the house is to be ours, we will need some help from above. Thankfully, He IS our ever-present help, so I think that things just might work out!
And if/when things do work out, we will be settled in Massy and ready for language school. Here is a picture of the shopping center close to the house we want to rent...where I will buy groceries, etc. Isn't is wonderful?
ME TOO!
I do! I do! I do want to visit you! :)
ReplyDeleteAccording to Google.maps, we are 4 hours 39 minutes from our house in Spangdahlem, Germany to your house. Will you be up for a visit from us around the end of August?
ReplyDeleteLove you!! Sooo EXCITED for you!! Praying for you!!!