How does one go about moving to Paris?

dripdripdrop: pmv has EU citizenship. They can work in France for the rest of their life if they want.

Genuinely curious to know what kind of paperwork France requires for employers of EU citizens who, by treaty, have the right to http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/justice_freedom_security/free_movement_of_persons_asylum_immigration/l33152_en.htm, that it does not require of Canadian citizens on one year working visitor visas. Do you have a reference for this? It's my understanding that to require any immigration/visa related paperwork from an EU citizen would contravene the treaties to which France and all other member states are a signatories. The whole point of Freedom of Movement for EU citizens is that no additional burdens can be placed on the employer or employee. As far as I know, France (like Germany) requires a new arrival with the right to work to register for the tax system/social security, etc., but this is equally true wherever the person comes from.

I don't think this is a terrible idea at all. Go for it! It's a cliche, but you only really regret the things you didn't do... You should look into Couchsurfing. Not necessarily as a travel thing, but rather as a way to meet people. Every major city has regular Couchsurfing meetings, where hosts get together over drinks or fun activities. These are the kinds of people that are all about making new foreign friends. You'll definitely meet locals this way. Once you get your own place, you could even consider hosting other travelers, but you don't have to. And find French classes now. Even if it's just an intro course. It'll get things flowing sooner when you get there, and it's something concrete you can do to commit to this plan, even though the actually move may be months away. My best advice is to try to make this concrete as soon as you can. Do things now that will lead to this becoming a reality. Set up a specific savings account, for instance, and commit all you can to it. Good luck!

caek: The France work visa may put him ahead of EU citizens for employers as I believe there is less paperwork for them. You also get the assistance of an office in France.

There are tons of resources online, and _through_ the web (podcasts, conversation/pen pals), to help augment a French class. Have fun.

My best friend is doing this now. He is an American, and had considerably more hoops to jump through than you will to get a year long visa, but he is having a *wonderful* time there. I think you should go for it.

You have an advantage in speaking Portuguese, though you do need to get your French up to snuff pretty quickly. The French (IMHO) don't look unkindly on people who do not speak French at all - they themselves don't take up languages as readily as e.g. the Dutch - but they don't suffer fools and that is why (again IMHO) loud people have problems there. By far the majority of French people I have met will do their level best to understand you; and they will help you as a matter of course. Grammatical help is intended as a "who wouldn't like to know this better?" instead of a "stupid foreigner, THIS is how you say it". Some French companies - Alcatel was one when I worked there - have English as their 'official' language which seemed strange to me. Just as an example of where you might have an advantage with spoken Portuguese: http://www.embraer.com/english/content/empresa/facilities.asp?tela=regional_offices&section=europe.

With regards to learning French, are you still registered in school? If so, and if you are also a Canadian citizen, sign up for the http://www.myexplore.ca/en/page/?program_description next year. Tuition, room and board are covered by the Canadian government. You just need to get yourself to wherever you are going. I did it twice after I moved to Montreal about 12 years ago and I learned more in 5 weeks than I ever would have thought possible. If you do sign up for it the spring program will have older students (university students), the summer younger (mostly high school students in their last year). Also, try and get placed somewhere that is very francophone. Montreal is no good - most people can communicate in English. I did the program in Chicoutimi the first time around and boarded with a francophone family. When I arrived I couldn't do much more than ask where the bathroom was. By the time I left I could hold a conversation reasonably well.

Some French companies - Alcatel was one when I worked there - have English as their 'official' language which seemed strange to me. I've worked for quite a few of them. Big ones. In the 10 years I've been doing that, I've never once spoken a word of English, except when giving English courses. And I'm American and was hired in large part because of my bilingual skills. Aside from that though, Paris is a different beast; it's easier to get by on English than elsewhere in France. Not that the French look down on non-French speakers, but they have a hard time with foreign languages, and outside of Paris, they have fewer opportunities to speak them. Listen to caek, s/he knows what s/he's talking about. It's EU citizens who are ahead of anyone who needs a visa of any kind. Again, I speak as a non-EU citizen (American) who's lived in Europe for 13 years now (11 in France, of which 1 was as a student). It sounds like you have a good plan — do take some French courses as soon as you can, it will really help. Oh and, also keep in mind... housing in Paris has never been more expensive than it is now. An unholy combination of changing tax and rental laws has caused housing costs to spike this year (rentals included).