La retraite?

Grace a ma femme Cath, on a decouvert que l’appartement ou nous allons habiter est dans une residence pour les gens plus ages. 👴👵

J’espere que les voisins seront tres tranquils.

https://www.cogedim-club.fr/residences/promenade-lafayette-residence-services-seniors-lyon6/#la-rsidence

Only Lyon

I asked Euronews if they had any pictures of the flat we are moving to. Here they are:

It’s in the 6th arrondisement.

They also sent me this publicity video for the city of Lyon. Not too shabby.

Another great reason to get to France

Here is baby Alma – born today, 23 December in Marseilles. She is Cath’s great niece and she can’t wait to see her. With travel to France restrictions currently in place that is difficult to do from the UK. But once we are in France, it becomes much easier. Cath can’t wait to meet little Alma.

A t-winning idea?

I hit on a great idea. Look up where Lyon is twinned with in the UK and then visit it before I leave.

So I looked it up and…..

On reflection, I’m not sure I’ve got enough time left to make the trip before we leave. Maybe later.

Omicr-on, France off?

Today’s news from Euronews: France is to heavily tighten entry conditions for people travelling both to and from the United Kingdom in order to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, the government said on Thursday.

Travel for tourism and business will not be allowed.

Errr, hang on. Travel for business will not be allowed? What does this mean for my pending move to Lyon. Maybe it will all be all right by the end of January. Maybe? I’d better drop Euronews a quick email.

Trabouler

The Duolingo podcast I have been listening to today featured a story from Lyon!! I learnt a new word – trabouler. It means to walk in a traboule – an old passageway that connects the buildings of Lyon. Out of sight from the main streets. The oldest ones date back to the fourth century and were used to give residents quick access to the river. Silk merchants then used them to transport their goods safe from thieves.

I also learn that the la Basilique de Fourvière is known locally as l’éléphant renversé – the upside down elephant.

Brexit complications

Now that I have a start date I need to sort out a visa. Since we left the EU I cannot just go to France and start a job as I did when I was 21 and went to work in a Paris supermarket (Franprix, Rue de l’eglise, 15th arrondisement, if you are interested). This time I need a visa.

Euronews’ international HR department talked me through the process – complete an online form and then book an appointment at the embassy – or the service that visa applications are outsourced to.

I was warned that I would need my original birth certificate, my university degree certificate, original marriage certificate – and that my wife Cath would need all of these things too. Oh yes, and we would need to get them translated into French!

Translate a birth certificate into French! Really? How much translating does that involve? Well actually – it turns out you don’t need to translate an English birth certificate. Phew. That’s one less thing.

Online forms filled in, it’s then time to book our appointment at the visa office. First available appointment is 19 January – only a week-and-a-half before I need to go! Hope I haven’t made any mistakes on those forms!

The deal is done

Having returned to the UK and discussed the offer from Euronews – along with a free flat to live in while we work out what do we our house and where to live in Lyon – today I accepted the offer. I told the headhunter when she rang me to check in with how the trip to Lyon had gone.

The next day I spoke to the HR director and told him the decision had been quite easy in the end – they made me feel very wanted.

I was then sent my contract to sign. It has to be in French, because of French law – but fortunately they included an English translation.

The deal is done and I have a start date – 1 February 2022.

My first trip to Lyon

My first view of the green box that is Euronews’ Lyon offices

On Monday 15 November, my wife Cath and I flew out to Lyon to see what we thought of the city – and whether we would be happy to relocate there.

I had been through a remote interview process and this was the final stage of the recruitment process – meet Euronews’ management team and experience Lyon for real. Could it become our new home?

The trip started with a lovely meal at L’Institution and then a day of meetings while Cath toured Lyon.

We met up for lunch and Cath’s first impressions of Lyon were positive. We walked around the beautiful old town before I had to head back for more meetings.

At the end of a long day, the CEO treated us to dinner at another restaurant – Selsius. It was delicious and I think our minds were made up about the move.

The one sour note were my attempts to speak French. I found it difficult but when the taxi driver asked me if I had heard a noise I was able to dig into my recent Duolingo lessons to say: Je n’ai rien entendu. I was happy with that.

About

On 1 February 2022, I am moving to Lyon, France to take up a role at Euronews. I will be trying to learn French, immerse myself in a new city and way of life and adapt to a new multi-cultural workplace after many years working at the BBC. I will try to document the sucesses and failures here.