Due to the demise of the oil industry in Aberdeen, I have been commuting by plane on a weekly basis to Paris to pick up work. This has been going on for the last 8 months and is frankly destroying me and my family life. The possibility has come up to turn my current temporary position into something permanent.

Amongst a myriad of much more important factors (language/schools/the French) I am considering what my options would be for cycling in the west of Paris (St Germain or nearby). Road biking is likely to be the only regular option, but that’s fine. Although I am picking up a new Santa Cruz 5010 on Friday!

So does anyone here know of clubs or routes in this vicinity? And on a general level, do you have any experiences of living and working in France/Paris?

Sorry I can’t help with any local knowledge 😳

I just called to say I love you I say go for it.

There’s pockets of good mtbing all over France soon sure there us something and obviously you have some big mountains not too far away for bigger trips. Reckon it’ll be fun for a bit. That said a friend of mine did it for a bit and found the cultural differences just a bit too much after a while. Iirc supermarket etiquette was high up the list.

I saw a big road ride finish in Paris last July. Not sure if it was a club or a charity ride.
I think they do it most years, see if you can join in.

France or Aberdeen? Hmmmmm, tough choice. 😆

Do it. Make the decision and work out all the nuances later, you won’t regret it. Closer to the alps, nicer weather, better food, better women (possibly).

I am always in favour of taking on adventure when it presents itself, but only you will know how well you do with cultural differences and language, etc.

I have a number of German friends who seems to move happily between Germany (which they still love), and France, and Britain, and the Benelux countries. Their adaptability is admirable.

If you think you and your family can handle the change, I would definitely go for it. The cycling will follow.

I love the idea of moving to France. Do it quick before we put up the barricades in June.

I guess what troubles me is that I do honestly love living in Aberdeen(shire). The kids (age 5, 7 & 9) are settled and attending a great school/nursery. We have a good social circle. And most importantly, I have amazing cycling from my doorstep.

But the last year has been a real stress. I’m sure there’s plenty on here who can sympathize with how it feels to have that constant weight of worrying about job security.

Would I normally consider taking this job, if it weren’t for this? Probably not. It’s not that I would not take an adventure when it presents itself (I moved to Aberdeen from Surrey, and have also lived in Houston). I just worry whether Paris is the place for me.

Foolish not to take a ‘safe’ job in the current climate?
Foolish to pass up an opportunity for an adventure?
Foolish to move to a city I know I am unlikely to enjoy living in?
Foolish to unsettle my family, when they are happy where they are?

I suppose I can only answer these questions. But your wise words above are very much appreciated. If any have first-hand experiences of doing something similar – then I would appreciate the feedback.

Oh – and I did hear about a little bike ride in Paris held each year. But I believe I need to work a bit hard on my fitness before they’d let me join in 🙂

forest of Fountainbleau to the south: also known for climbing (bouldering i think).

when searching to check the location: i also found Triel Sur Seine which i have never heard of.

NB: i’ve not ridden either.

http://forums.mtbr.com/europe/moving-paris-where-can-i-ride-693089.html

EDIT:

I am unlikely to enjoy living in?

why? i’d love to live there..

why? i’d love to live there..

I’m not a city person to be honest. I prefer open spaces. And the working atmosphere/culture is pretty aggressive – too much arguing for my stress levels.

To the west of Paris, just below Versailles, you’ve got the Vallée de la Chevreuse And Rambouillet. It’s the parisian equivalent of the Surrey hills.

I guess it depends on you as a person and whats important in your life. However, if my choice was to live in Aberdeen(shire) or to one side of Paris for all of my own reasons I would stay put. However, I dont have children and their education to consider and therefore that doesnt impact on my work balance consideration. I’d much rather work in tesco etc. and live somewhere that my ‘life’ enjoys more so than a big higher paid job. Its for that reason that when my current job is suggesting I increase my commute from 7 miles to 24 miles and two hours extra out of my day because it means getting to north Brum that im telling them to stuff off. Do you love what you do? Can you not change career and stay put? I like France and enjoy holidaying there and was considering moving to the centre of France but that was because I was at an extremely low point and needed to get out of the whole of life, when I’d had my head sorted out i would of moved back to the UK.

I just worry whether Paris is the place for me.

I would normally get quite aggressive at this stage and say ‘just DO it, FFS!’. But it seems to me you’re being pretty reasonable and discerning. I know that doesn’t help yo umuch, but at least it might reassure you that you are not being either rash or fearful – both of which are not very good.

Could you possibly get a job of a different sort and stay in Aberdeen? If unlikely, then it could well be that Paris is a decent second-best option. At least your kids, when at some point you all return to the UK, will be bilingual and so enjoy all the social benefits that come with that!

and is frankly destroying me and my family life

Screw the riding, if it remedies this then I say go for it. You can bike anywhere but a little googling shows this up

http://www.mtbfrance.fr/region-around-paris.html

http://forums.mtbr.com/europe/moving-paris-where-can-i-ride-693089.html

And a little check show’s the Ardennes is only a two and a half hour drive from central Paris and there is likely to be some good riding in that region.

If like where you live it will be hard to leave, it’s Scotland after all which is beautiful but if it means more family time and it will be a great experience for you all. As for living in a city you could always commute in and then live further out. I work in London but spend an hour and bit on the train to get here, it means I live in the countryside and get away from it all. Tough choice though, I grant you that.

I would say, go for it personally.. try it for awhile and keep your options open but family life is first and foremost.

We are looking at taking the plunge with a possible move to Canada in the next 12 months either in BC or Alberta, with the wifes job we could relocate anywhere in the world but Canada comes up for our lifestyle with the wife who loves ice skating and me loving the mountain biking and Canada has it all.

Its a big gamble but we are not getting any younger and if we back out now I think we will end up regretting it

Good luck with whatever you decide bud

Dear Fanatic278,

I’ve been living and working in France since late 2007. I live just outside of Versailles, which as someone has mentioned above, has great cycling (road and VTT) in the Vallée de Chevreuse and all around really. It might look densely settled from GoogleEarth but nearly every town has a VTT club and we spend the weekends swooping around the woods; near houses but only rarely seeing them. There are also some seriously good English language or bi-lingual schools in the area. You’ve mentioned St Germain but that one’s fairly pricey and hard to get into (for my kids not me!). There is also one entirely free state school with a British section. Please PM me as I don’t want to give away my exact address on t’internet! I’d be happy to meet up for a ride if you’re in the area anyway. It really is very nice though having never been to Aberdeen I can’t make the comparison.

p.s. we lived 7 years in central Paris and that sucked @ass with kids, unless you’re loaded I suppose (tiny flats, no space to play, noisy, covered in dogsh1t).

I’d probably do it.

These cycle paths look pretty popular with the locals…

Hi Gaidong,

I’m not sure how to PM you – nothing showing up in your profile. Can you drop me an email at ‘bradshaw_chris at hotmail dot com’ please?

For info, I’ve been lodging near St Germain (Foret de Marley/Saint-Nom-la-Breteche). It’s convenient to work, and I can escape the hubbub of La Defense. The British School is nearby, as is the Lycee International. So I have got to like this particular area – but admittedly have not explored. I suspect that the new employer would pick up the bill for private school fees.

If you do have time to drop me an email I’d appreciate it.

By the way – what is VTT riding? Google suggests freeride, but surely not in Paris….? Shall I swap my Santa Cruz 5010 with a Bronson before it is too late 😉

Chris

VTT I thought was the same as MTB over here, so any form of off-roading.
All Terrain Biking never had the romance that MTB had in the early days in the UK when they were marketing these new-fangled bikes

VTT= velo tout terrain = MTB

Emailing now!

And for general reference, VTT is just MTB. I forgot what language I was writing in halfway…

You’d be surprised at the variability of riding in the Île-de-France (Parisian) area. Plenty of rolling valley stuff, sandy, loamy, muddy, foresty, open field but also areas for more technical riding. I’m still working on my latter so will be doing a course with the local “Bospot” club, with a 40min drive over to Fontainebleu to change the terrain.

My local VTT club is the core of my non-work social life and they mostly seem to be well run, actuve and ranging from ‘for a laugh’ to high-level competition in character. In my area each club normally organises an event one weekend each summer, often with the local running club, with all sorts of different distances and skill requirements. They only cost €6-10 to join and for that you get all the organisation (flagging, security etc) plus 2-3 pitstops (depending on distance) with pretty decent food and drink (even baguette, rillette [pork paste] and red wine type fodder if you’re up for that). Amazingly the clubs make a sufficient profit on these events to underwrite much of their yearly activities.

I just regret not having ridden much MTB in the UK as it looks like you’re all having great fun too.

I’ll add another vote to the “do it” count, just for this:

At least your kids, when at some point you all return to the UK, will be bilingual and so enjoy all the social benefits that come with that!

My kids speak Spanish and English fluently – definitely an advantage in the future.

The Croissant is an inferior foreign imitation of the Buttery. I don’t see how you can possibly make this sacrifice 🙂