Moving to France and searching for purpose
August 6th, 2021
Ann Collins
After a couple of years of being a "trailing spouse" in France, we decided as a family to make the shift from expat to immigrant and to fully embrace our lives in Belfort.
We bought a flat, we had already started to participate in local activities and as our French improved, we were able to join Parents' Associations and take on small positions of responsibility in local clubs. I started my own business, the Belfort School of English, which has become a well known local business and we've taught English to 500+ adults from the area and also from Switzerland. We recently applied for our French nationality...
On the surface, this looks like a fairytale: living the dream in a beautiful part of France, skiing in the winter, walking in the mountains in the summer, spending evenings with friends and doing lots of activities (pre-Covid).
However, what is underneath this transformation of our lives was a lot of soul searching on my part! Whilst my husband's job continued when we decided to live more permanently, for me, my career was looking pretty rockbottom!
My career as a successful senior leader in education had been forged primarily in the UK. My qualifications were recognised, but my experience was not. The advice was to just start at the bottom of the ladder. Again. 20 years of work wasn't going to be seen as interesting, relevant or valuable.
I was then offered a teaching English job with an agency that operated out of Paris and I was excited! Small classes, English lessons where I could have some autonomy over the content were promised. And they offered me 18€/hour for a lunchtime class. I did the sums: after paying tax and the cantine for my 2 children, I'd be paying out to do the work!
I had to go back to the drawing board again and this time, I decided to ask a bigger question: what did I want to do with my life?
I realised that I'd been making that mistake that I see so often in my clients: looking for work and opportunities rather than searching for purpose.
The answer for me was simple: helping people to achieve their potential has always been guiding purpose, my mission, ever since I first went to Zimbabwe at the age of 18 to teach in a Children's Home on Makumbi Mission.
What else could I do with this guiding purpose?
The answer came slowly. People asked for lessons. I noticed where that I could live out my purpose in a different way AND use my experience AND love what I was doing.
I hadn't planned on being an entrepreneur in France; I hadn't planned on impacting so many adults and now with my coaching that same mission holds true.
To find the solution, I had to come back to purpose. The answer is always there and often in surprising and exciting avenues, as I see regularly in my work with clients!man connection, but it needs to be balanced and for each of us, that might look very different....