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by Mark of TheLocoMono Yesterday, I received an e-mail requesting an interview from Mark at TheLocoMono. Mark had read my article, The Exchange Rate - The Euro vs The Dollar - The Declining Dollar which facilitated his initial contact. Mark's approach really made it easy on me. The questions were already enclosed in the e-mail. No additional e-mails were necessary. If I agreed to the interview all I had to do was reply with my responses. I was more than happy to accommodate Mark's request. He kept it short and interesting. I've reposted Mark's three questions below. You can visit TheLocoMono for his entire article. Q: I think it is terrific that you pursued your dream to move to France. What was the defining moment that made you decide to move in 2006? A: Several factors ultimately came into play catapulting our decision to move to France. My daughter had spent the previous year at Interlochen Arts Academy, the top Fine Arts Boarding School in the States. I had decided not to re-enroll her and was looking for an equally vibrant and academically challenging learning opportunity for her. At the same time, I was not content with my current living situation. It was not a place where I wanted my teenage daughter to be, nor a place I ever really felt at home. These two dynamics gave me the chance to ask myself, 'If I could live anywhere, where would I most want to be.' Both Sophie and I felt France was a place we wanted to be at that point in our lives, as individuals and as a family. Q: They say hindsight is 20/20. Now that you have experienced the move with your daughter, what would be the three most important thing to do financially in preparation for a move to France? A: It had been my intention - before deciding to move to France - to create a source of income that would allow me to live anywhere in the world. Having an online business allowed me to move to France without ever losing my daily source of income. In fact, it was busy season for my business when we moved which gave me a nice cushion and allowed large expenses to be easily managed. Before moving from the States, I sold off my business's physical inventory and had my first garage sale ever. I was surprised by how lucrative the garage sale ended up being, again increasing my financial safety net once in France. The funds received from the business was also helpful for the move. These three dynamics made our move financially flawless. In hindsight, I would probably repeat the same actions as I listed above. 
Q: You mentioned expanding your business beyond America to the UK and the EU countries. How easy was it for you as an American to do that while being based in France? I ask because I am curious whether if an American and a French person would be on even footing when starting/expanding a business in Europe. A: It was easy to expand in France. All I needed was a French bank account that I obtained soon after arriving. (That being said, a French bank account is no longer an easy thing to obtain as a foreigner. It is a long drawn out process that takes quite a while -particularly since my Carte de Sejour (Residency Card) was still in the works. The French love paperwork. As long as you know this upfront and expect to encounter the unexpected then you'll be fine. I was actually allowed to use my bank account for at least a month or so before it was technically my account. It's a French thing. You just gotta go with it. ) I had wanted to expand into the UK market but really didn't know how to go about it. I would have needed a UK bank account and that didn't seem terribly feasible without a UK address. One day, the UK branch of a company I work with in the States contacted me asking if I would be interested in branching out into the UK and told me they would help me open a bank account. I've been doing business in the UK for a couple months now. Opening a bank account is simply a long, drawn out, tedious process that takes much longer than you ever think it might. That being said, I'm quite please with the UK business. My pleasure is most likely derived entirely from the rate of exchange and the increase of profit I receive as a direct result of the low Dollar versus the strong Pound. I am most certainly on even footing doing business in the UK and EU. I sell American products and most people I deal with speak English. If they don't I do my best with French (obviously, there is not language barrier in the UK) and I've had no problems thus far. The economy is becoming more and more of a global economy. This allows people from all over the world to do business with each other on an even playing field whereas even 10 years ago, this opportunity would not have been available to most of us. The difference is the Internet. The Internet has brought opportunity where barriers used to be. Mark bring up the point that the article addressing the US dollar's purchasing power vs the Euro's purchasing power. I'm glad that point came across. Understanding how much one's currency is really worth is crucial when traveling abroad. On Nov 22, 2007 I wrote another article on this topic, The Dollar Drops Again! How the Exchange Rate Affects European Travel. Mark's questions allowed me to think about something I've lived but I don't usually put too much thought into. I'm glad I had the opportunity to express my views on this topic. When you have an minute, check out Mark's site TheLocoMono and his Common Sense Wealth Carnival Blog. | Home *My Articles* *My Blog* *My Blogspot* Family Film Stuff European Travel France Antibes, France Nice, France Cannes, France Disneyland Paris, France Strasbourg, France Basel, Switzerland Berlin, Germany Kreuzberg, Germany Kehl, Germany Civitavecchia, Italy Edinburgh, Scotland Stirling, Scotland Barcelona, Spain Healthy Recipes Frugal Living Living Green Make Money Online Jobs for Teens Sophie's Space Dreadlocks About Me Contact Us 
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