An Expat Talks about Living in Orleans, France

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Orleans

How long have you lived there?

6 years

What activities, clubs and organizations would you recommend to newcomers to help them meet others?

There is a club for English speaking women which welcomes all nationalities of woman who speak English or want to improve their English. It's called the International Women's Club. They organize coffees, book reviews, activities for children and outings for the women members like visits to other cities.

In terms of religious, racial, economic and cultural diversity, are the people of this city or town diverse? Are they accepting of differences? Describe.

Religion is never a topic of discussion so I don't know what religious beliefs our friends have. I see many Muslims here and there are many Catholic and Protestant churches and I'm sure there are Jewish temples as well. No one seems to express any opinion on one group of the other so there seems to be a lot of religious tolerance.

What are the main industries in this city? What types of career opportunities commonly exist? How do most people find new jobs?

We are in what is called the Cosmetic Valley where many French and foreign cosmetic companies are located. This is also a big center for distribution companies where because we are close to A-10 that goes from Paris to the SW of France and A-6 that goes from Paris to the SE of France. However, there is a wide variety of companies that are located here and the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in France.

In general, what are peoples' priorities in this city? For example, do lives revolve around work, family, socializing, sports, etc.?

Since we are retired, our lives do not revolve around a job or company. We socialize with our neighbors and have developed some very close friends among them. Of course, it helps if you speak French. We socialize with families with children although we don't have children ourselves. There isn't any problem with that.

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If a friend of yours was thinking of moving to this city or town from far away, what other advice would you give them.

If he has a family it is a good place to live. If he or she is single, I can't advise them since I don't know the single scene here. There is a big university here so they may be able to connect with the students there but I don't know anything about the clubs or other diversions for single people.