What 'Simply Annecy' can mean for you...

You're an expat and you've decided to move to Annecy. This is fab! There's nothing like a bit of adventure to get the adrenaline going. However we all know that with this comes all kinds of worries and stress. This short post is just going to explain to you what Simply Annecy is and how I can help you.

2023 Annecy triathlon is about to start.

I did it, I moved from the UK to Annecy! I therefore understand the kind of stress that goes with such a move. To be fair, my family and I were totally unprepared. We muddled our way through and let things happen rather than being in a position where we could action or influence processes. Then there were the French idiosyncrasies of how things actually work, which at times can appear to be completely illogical. Sometimes we felt we were literally going around in circles and the smallest of things, like posting a letter, seemed like a very complicated process. Compounding all of this was our poor level of French.

Unlike other touristic areas in France, workers in administrative offices, schools, even housing agencies here in Annecy, don't like to speak English so you will just have to take the bull by the horns as it were and do your best with whatever level of French you have. Only when the other person either rolls their eyes or gives you a very vacant look, will they try and help you in what turns out to be quite good English, grrrr.

Of course we each have our own way of dealing with difficult times so moving abroad won't feel the same for everyone. What we can do however is look at the shared and common causes of our worries.

There is the actual physical process of having to sort through 'stuff' and packing it up. There are the logistics of working out how we get to where we need to be by a certain time. There is the sense of the unknown; taking up roots and realising that we have nothing to ground ourselves for a while. Are we worried about the fact that we don't speak very good French and that maybe we won't be able to make ourselves understood? Then there is the endless to-do list and the what ifs...what if we don't like it, what if our son hates it, what if, what if........ the doubts always seem to outnumber and be bigger than the positives. Even just writing this I can feel the stress levels going up.

So what do we do? We can take a step back and consider the bigger picture, and as Marc Jacobs said:

“Change is a great and horrible thing, and people love it or hate it at the same time. Without change, however, you just don’t move.”

Sunset with coloured floating spheres on lake Annecy 2019 by Elsa Tomkowiak.

Simply Annecy provides knowledge, knowledge, knowledge....

In hindsight, many of the problems that I faced when moving to Annecy were not just due to my very poor French but also because of my lack of knowledge of how things work, where to go or who to speak to.

I learnt very quickly that unless you want to be going back to the town hall on a daily basis, you need to know what questions to ask and to whom. This may all sound very logical but when you're in the dark, you'd be surprised at how tricky it can be.

Giant breathing lotus flower by Choi Jeong Hwa (KR).

My posts will cover all kinds of topics from key issues such as finding accommodation and schools, to the daily mundane things which can often cause unnecessary stress. I will also share with you information about local activities and events, and French culture in general.

Paddle boarding on lake Annecy.

This concludes this rather short post. I hope it is reassuring to you that whatever the problem it is that you're dealing with, you are not alone. I'm not an agency or lawyer, I'm the person on the ground who can help you prepare for your move or organise your new life once here. Believe me, I wish I knew what I know now, it would have saved me a lot of stress and I've come to realise that other expats who I've helped, have felt the same way.

So, if you need some extra help, please get in touch. We can discuss the problem and work out a solution. If on the other hand, you're only thinking of moving, take a look at my other posts.

À bientôt......

Contact Me

Email: info@simplyannecy.com

Tel: 06 28 13 82 60