info on moving to ceret

Lisa Kirstein · Post by **Lisa Kirstein** » Thu 13 Mar 2014 17:54

Hi - I am a single woman wanting to move to Ceret this year -2014. I was born in South Africa but currently live in the UK. I am a qualified English teacher and am wondering f anyone can point in the right direction for looking for teaching jobs as a second language in the area - either in language schools or privately? Is this a possible option?
I do not speak French and realise I may have to be practical about the kind of work available to me - is there a chance of cleaning work for example?
I really would like to make this work for me - but I do have to work to make ends meet and know that times are tough at the moment.....however I am resilient and prepared to work!!
Can anyone point me in the right direction? Are there any agencies who employ cleaners or teachers? Would it be beneficial for me to come out on a visit to establish contact?

Hope to hear from some of you already out there!!
Lisa

tia · Post by **tia** » Thu 13 Mar 2014 19:06

Hi, i don't want to sound too negative but if you do not speak french then your work opportunities are going to be very limited. In this area work is hard to find for french speakers , even as cleaners , you might beable to find for the summer months but would not beable to live on your earnings in the winter. I don't know about the teaching , in a school i would think you need to contact the académie to see if there are any offers but again i would think that you need to speak french. There is a private maternelle that teaches english in perpignan but that is about it until the college. In primary it is pretty basic learning and usually taught by the class teacher. You might beable to teach english as an autoentrepreneur, you give after school lessons.
Good luck in your search and hope it works out for you, you could always give yourself a certain period of time and have a back up plan just in case it doesn't work out. If you have somewhere to live here then why not.

Pearsonb · Post by **Pearsonb** » Thu 13 Mar 2014 19:53

I ran a language school in Lyon for 25 years. Now I teach English on the Internet.

If you look at this from the supply side, there are loads of English speakers in the region looking for work. I know one lady who has been gradually building up her teaching business by word of mouth for the last three years. She is still far from earning a full-time income.

If you look at this from the demand side, you can see the reason. This is a very poor region. There is not the strong industrial base that provided most of my clients in Lyon. You will be much more likely to find work in the large cities near here, Montpellier, Toulouse or Barcelona.

Also, if you are from South Africa, do you have the right to work here? I tried on a few occasions to get work permits for Australians and New Zealanders. A long and frustrating process.

Lisa Kirstein · Post by **Lisa Kirstein** » Fri 14 Mar 2014 10:25

It sounds like there is not much out there -times must be tough-Iwill have to re-think... But thank you for your replies

Post by **Kate** » Fri 14 Mar 2014 14:23

I'm afraid I would have to agree with all the above, although it is a fabulous region to live in......as long as you don't have to make a living! People do of course, and in some cases very good livings I imagine, but in general there is more supply than demand. Shops and restaurants are pretty empty out of season unless they have a particularly good or consistent reputation, private English teachers are two a penny (not saying good ones or qualified ones. Just English speakers who offer lessons), there is demand for cleaners but. You would be unlikely to make enough to live on...sorry to be so negative As it really is a great place to live. Good luck in the future with whatever you decide.

blackduff · Post by **blackduff** » Fri 14 Mar 2014 16:42

Lisa
How old are you (about???). If you're old enough to go to the University, you might get a job at that place too. But, if you do sign-up for the university, you might have the right to work in this area.

I agree which everybody has says but don't stay within the envelope. Try anything possible/legal. If you're young enough, maybe you could work as Au Pair. I know somebody who does this here too. Not a lot of money but it pays the bills.

Remember the University thoughts. It's almost a certain that you'll be able to work, while you're a student.

Good luck,

Blackduff

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