What's life like for an American family in Lyon

Hello all,

we live in the bay area in CA and will be moving to Lyon France. I would love to hear feedback from American families that have relocated to France- likes, dislikes and general ability to assimilate into french culture---I'm concerned about my son who is in 2nd grade and how it will affect him-I've heard of the sterotypes regarding French teachers and hope that someone can shed light on how their family is doing in France.
Thanks
M.

Welcome on Expat-blog zozojuju! :) I have moved the topic on the Lyon forum, enabling Lyon expat active members to communicate easily with you.

You might read some Expat.coms in Lyon. :)

All the best,
Christine

zozojuju,
There is a really big american community in Lyon so you would not be short of people to turn to for support and advice if you need it, every year the american society organises a day to welcome newcomers who are english speaking and you would get all answers to your questions there;
Specificaly regarding your children, if they go to a french speaking school I have no advice, but if you send them to an international school, you will find that the teachers are all nationalities themselves, american, english and french. In comparison to the english system which I know, the french system is tougher and there is a lot more work, but there is also a lot of support for kids and I think the system has a lot in common with the american system. My own kids have had no trouble settling in and after two years are almost bilingual, also if they follow the international baccalaureat they will switch from french to english anyway - in short this is a beatiful country and i would qsay it's worth the move. I understand completely your fears about your childrens education but if that is all that's holding you back - stop worrying and go for it!!!
Taffy

Hi, im new to the site! I feel like im snooping haha. So i read that the international schools are pretty good, and the Ombrosa school i read was one of the best in Lyon. My question is what age does Nursery still go to? My daughter will be 4 in June and they accept new applicants for review in Dec and hopefully enrollment in Sept. Thanks!