Can someone give me a realistic idea of what life would be like in Paris......

[SauerKraut]

...with four English/German-speaking children aged 12,11,10 and 7? Please?
What is the French school system like for those age groups? Is it possible to avoid the pollution? Is it easy for mothers to work? And anything else you can think of!

[slim22]

Do you mean you want to transfer your children to the mainstream french system?

I guess private schools for 4 kids is not an option?

Pollution: easy no. You'll have to walk children to school/take public transport and Paris is quite congested.

Most women work. One of the highest rates of mothers returning to work in Europe.
The idea underlying the 35 hour week was a better work/life balance (but reducing unemployment figures really).
You get many tax/cash rebate incentives for "familles nombreuses". But not quite sure how that applies to non nationals ( ie, discounts for transport, lunch vouchers for school etc....)

You need ANNA888

[slim22]

Whereabouts in Paris?

[BriocheDoree]

Would you actually be in Paris with 4 kids, or in the suburbs? (You might have to live out a bit to get enough space for 4 kids). You are eligible for famille nombreuse discounts if you are EU national. You also get right to canteen at school which is not a given if you don't work.
Western suburbs are full of expats so loads of English / German speaking contacts if you want them (e.g. Wednesday programs for English speakers). Less of that on the East side of Paris.
Work, yes it's perfectly possible. I don't, but my DD has SN so makes it a bit more complicated for me. The only problem is that the French day tends to go on quite late, but most public schools offer a garderie service or you have to find a nanny to look after kids from 4.30 to 7 ish. There's no school on Weds so you have to find a nanny or get the kids into a Centre de Loisirs. Again, plenty of mums do work so the stuff is there, you just have to be quite organised and the places can be a bit of a lottery. School holidays are frequent and long so you also need to bear that in mind when considering working.
If you're coming from Germany you'll find Paris expensive, but it's less expensive than London.
I live about 25 mins from central Paris on the train and it's practically out in the country here, we're surrounded by forest, and if you drive out five mins you're in farmland. I love living here, love the French way of life (most of the time!) and my DD loves her school. I have the advantage of speaking French, admittedly. Paris is beautiful and there's load to do with kids (and without!). On the downside, customer service is non-existent and French TV is pretty terrible.
HTH

[frannikin]

Agreed on the French TV. There are a fair few international schools in Paris, including the franco-german school which is apparently very good, but with 4 children that would end up costing a LOT.

Finding a baby-sitter is fairly easy for after school etc. The FUSAC magazine has lots of positions offered/wanted - in fact it's a pretty good place to check anyway.

Pollution is, unfortunately, a fact of life, but if you're out of the centre it'll be less bad.

Paris is wonderful, I love it here

[teafortwo]

LOL at French tv!!!! Arte is not bad... but then again it is half German AND my French is at the nod and smile stage of development!!! So I mainly just look at the pictures! So... In conclusion the pictures on arte are good!

Sauerkraut - I live two metro stops outside the Paris 'walls'.... I suppose living in Paris it is like living in any city really plus it is so so beautiful! We spend lots of our spare time going for walks. Besides walking, as in any capital city - There's lots to do! Eating out is much cheaper than the UK but you have to pay to go into most museums which I hate. Londoners are so lucky!

Wednesday is 'childrens day' which I think is so good for children's personal development. At my husband's work, and I think it isn't unusual, many woman have work hours not including Wednesday so they can be around to take their children to their clubs and spend time with them.

I think we could all talk a bit more if you tell us...

Which area of Paris or outskirts are you thinking of living in?

Without telling us anything you don't want to - what is your life like now? So we can tell you what will feel familiar here and what will feel new and exciting and new and scary (not that Paris is ever scary tbh).

What do you value in a place for living? Peace and quiet? Vibrant and funky? Chic and glamourous? Friendly and relaxed? Lively and exciting? Cute and nostalgic? - There is an arrondissement for all types of lifestyles. I suppose after that it is just matching your ideal lifestyle choice to budget and where you and your husband work!

Anna8888 lives within the city walls (much cooler status than me) so lets give her a shout....
Errrmmmmm..... ANNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAA8888??????

Come and help us out please!!!!

[teafortwo]

frannikin - sorry - I forgot about you living in Paris as well - you are v cool too!!!

[SauerKraut]

The dcs would be thrown into the French school system. They're pretty used to hard study as that's what's expected of them here anyway, but I wonder how traumatised they would be by having to learn to speak, think and write in yet another language- and how difficult it would be for them to catch up with their various age groups.

[teafortwo]

Levallois-Perret ... so you would be the other side to La Defense from me! And slightly cooler because you will be closer to Paris!

I think you will enjoy the change and can alway pop back to Switzerland for all or at least some of the long long holidays - if you are missing the clean air of the mountains!

Can't comment on schools as my dd is a toddler - sorry!

[SauerKraut]

Thank you, tea for two! I know I would. It just doesn't seem fair to take the dcs away from such an idyllic lifestyle though. They walk to school, they have a relaxing day and they have an awful lot of independence, which,I presume, wouldn't be possible in Paris.

[BriocheDoree]

The great thing about Paris is that you in some ways you can have it all here. You can live outside (both TeaforTwo and I do, although I'm further out than her) but the distances are much less than in most big cities (Paris is small!) so you can have a sort of small town / village feel about the place you live and still be on the metro or RER line to Paris. Most French kids go school where they live, so most will walk to school...My kids go to school on the other side of the residence, max 5 mins walk (4 year old pace!) and when they go to secondary it will be 20 mins walk or a short bus ride. French school is known for being quite rigid and old-fashioned, but kids are expected to be independent and able to work well on their own. It's a long day (usu. 8.30 to 4.30) so might not be as relaxing as your kids are used to! Some schools offer remedial tuition for kids whose first language is not French - worth finding out about before you go. Wednesdays are free (long-standing arrangement with the Catholic church: the 1905 law makes all schools secular, so kids get Weds off theoretically to go to catechism) so there are loads of sporting, musical, artistic or whatever you want activities for kids on a Wednesday. My town also offers after school clubs for primary school and upwards doing pony riding, football, etc etc...
One thing to bear in mind if you don't work is that your younger kids might not get the right to be in the canteen for lunch every day, pos. just 1 or 2 days. My 4 year old currently comes home for lunch every day, but that suits her as she doesn't speak French yet (doesn't really speak, actually, but that's another story!)
Also, for holidays France is a great place to live as kids get lots of time off and there's a bit of everything in France: beaches, mountains, skiing, countryside, history...And Paris has loads of good museums and parks, not to mention cafés!
Tfor2, anything I've missed...we need Anna8888 to come along and do the real Paris sell!

[Anna8888]

Hi

What kind of school would you be looking at: French, English, German, French-English bilingual or French-German bilingual? All these options are available. French state school is free, French Catholic school is almost free, English school is very expensive, there is a German school I have no idea about and bilingual schools are cheapish (say 5,000 euros per year per child and there may be sibling discounts). The school you choose will determine where you live (hence rent) but with a lot of children you might not be able to afford to house them comfortably in central Paris.

Schools are quite acceptable here - on average they are better than state schools in England and Germany.

It is easy for mothers to work providing they are prepared to use childcare. You will get lots of tax breaks for having a large family - they all apply to residents who are tax payers in France. But if you have a high income, some will be limited (eg crèches).

What skills do you have (so that I have some idea of where you might be working)?

[Anna8888]

Not too far away from Levallois-Perret means Neuilly-sur-Seine, Asnières, Clichy or the 17th arrondissement.

In Neuilly the state schools are very good (my stepsons are at school there) but accommodation is expensive and there aren't bilingual education options for English and German.

In the 17th (where I live) the French state schools are mostly atrocious but there are lots of private Catholic schools and the French-English bilingual school on the border with the 8th arrondissement (my daughter goes there). People travel to this school from Levallois and Asnières and Neuilly.

[Anna8888]

It would (IMVHO) be extremely difficult and cruel to put your English-German speaking children into a French school "cold". In a bilingual school they could do adaptation classes for a year (by which time they will be expected to be fluent in French). If you couldn't afford more private school than this, you could then transfer them to a state school.

[BriocheDoree]

Forgot to add...there's a German Lycee in St Cloud, and the German section of the Lycee International in Saint Germain en Laye is free (unlike the British) but I don't know much about them...

[poppy34]

I have one thing to say to those of you complaining re french tv...intervilles - only in France....

[Anna8888]

A friend of mine has her elder child in the Lycée Franco-Allemand at Buc (beyond Versailles) and is very happy with it for her extremely academic son...

[teafortwo]

Anna8888 - At a party I met a teenage girl (friend of the hosts daughter) who had done an adaption class - she spent a year in it, then after felt very well in a French classroom, has lots of friends and was getting good grades at school! That adaption year is a really good idea! I want one too - he he he!!!

BriocheDoree - those schools with German classes sound particularly interesting for Sauerkraut too!

[Anna8888]

I agree, the parents of children who have done adaptation usually rave about it.

See you later

[Anna8888]

There is a state bilingual school in the 17th - Lycée Honoré de Balzac. It doesn't have a great overall reputation, but it might be worth investigating for the bilingual bit (British section I think).

[frannikin]

The International school at St-Germain-en-Laye is really nice. My OH's cousins go there (but not the German bit). If you lived in Neuilly it's definitely commutable - they do it from Le Vesinet.

One thing about Paris though - a decent cleanser is an absolute must. To be used twice a day. And bags and bags of cotton wool. I'm always surprised at just how much grime I pick up over the course of a single day.