I was very proud to write this for FrencEntree.com on the launching of the Pays de Loire's website, so here is the article! Don't miss the very useful and full of substatial information.See link at the end of the page!
OkeyDOC, the French Answer !
Settling down in a foreign country is an everyday challenge from the moment you make the decision to leave your habits, environment and language, and start afresh. France has always looked like an Eldorado to many people from all over the world but even if the French way of life and traditions still attract new generations of immigrants every year, every single one of them will experience that uncomfortable feeling of “not belonging”, until they have grabbed the keys that open the doors to France from within. The sooner, the better!
Who am I to lecture people this way? Well, I am a French woman who once became an expatriate for a couple of years, someone who has tried to integrate in a country where I did not speak the language and knew very little about the culture or everyday life there.
So, tell me about that feeling of not belonging! I’ve been there!
Now, when I came back home, I had such a different opinion and vision about France! But what struck me was the number of English speakers who had made investments in the Vendee, my home département. After a few months, I decided to put together my experience abroad and my knowledge of the English language to help them cope with the everyday mysteries that gradually make living in France a little less idyllic than planned. This is how OkeyDOC , my business, was born, in July 2005. OkeyDOC is meant to build bridges between you and your life in France, and in this respect, it usually helps people go through the elementary steps that open the doors to France’s administration and businesses.
With France going private in many fields, it is getting a bit tricky to start an electricity, gas or phone contract. Now, you do not have to go for EDF, GDF or France Telecom for instance: you can choose among a list of electricity, gas, water and Internet providers, which makes the market more competitive, but more complicated too. Regarding foreigners, more and more companies make efforts to speak English, but do not count on French companies to expect anything but efforts on YOUR part to speak French! This is where I can help people by doing this for them, from my home. But this is only one aspect of OkeyDOC. I can also help people registering with a GP or the CPAM(Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie) to make sure they can benefit from the famous French National Health system. When you come and live in France, you might just as well want to bring your car over, and once again, you have to play the game of finding your way through this maze of the French administration. Those who have tried it know how zen you have to be to win! For the others, there’s Sandra from OkeyDOC!
Another aspect of OkeyDOC is the link with French tradespeople, for you may need a plumber, a handyman, an electrician or somebody to fix a satellite dish. I now have my “dream team” with me, which is very important for me: when someone tells me they need to renovate their property, I want to be sure I will not waste their time and money. I first contact the right professional, arrange an on-site meeting and then make sure that my clients pay the right price and get the service they have asked for. Yet, France has one problem: it suffers from a serious lack of artisans, and nearly all of them are overwhelmed with work, so most of the time, I have to prepare my clients to the art of being patient! Chasing artisans on the phone is one of my usual activities for OkeyDOC, and trust me, it is not a matter of being French or not, it is just like that: C’est la Vie en France!
What I like about OkeyDOC is that it helps me push doors that I would never have opened, and there is no routine in helping other people out, so if you intend to settle down in the Vendee, and if you need a helping hand, or a liaison agency as some have called it, you’re more than welcome!
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