Doing business

So far, everyone I have spoken or written to in France has been helpful and friendly. On my list this week is banking, insurance and wi-fi and I am satisfied with the level of response I am getting to this point.

I asked Rosalind to recommend the bank and she sent me to Credit Agricole, which has a branch in Duras (actually just a short walk away from the house) and the branch manager Madame Feytout cheerfully welcomed me to her bank in a nice email. She said she would forward my information to one of their English customer specialists so we can start an account. I hope to hear from him tomorrow as I would like the account set up before I leave the states so I can wire myself some money to be used on projects and purchases while I am in Duras.

Madame Mitteau from the Agence Generali-Duras, sent me a quote for homeowner's insurance. I am delighted to report that the yearly premium will be about 400€ per year and I have the option of paying in cash or cheque, or I can pay monthly by bank account debit. I think I will go with the cash as the amount is too small to warrant dividing it up in installments. I will meet her to finalize the policy when I arrive in Duras.

I called the English help line at Orange this morning and was on hold for several minutes listening to a terrible, brooding song which I can't get out of my head now. Orange is the new name for France Telecom, the largest telephone provider in France. It is government operated and they are the only ones who control the phone lines into homes. I don't want a land-line phone, but I still must have the line in order to get ADSL and wi-fi service. Orange also provides television, but I don't know if I want that yet. So the guy on the help line was very pleasant and checked my address to see if there was already phone service to the house. He said it appeared that there was not a line in existence and asked if I had a telephone pole nearby. I laughed and told him I had no idea. He gave me the email and phone number for the English-speaking department that installs phone lines. I sent them a note this morning, but have not heard back yet.

So, banking, insurance and phone service are not exactly the fun parts of this process, yet it is giving me great satisfaction to know that things are chugging along.