vive la you know where

exciting news – we’re moving back to France!

I’m going to be working for Varicent, a software company based in my native Canada, but I’ll be working from France and managing projects in Europe as well as in the Asia/Pacific region. My last day as a program manager at Blackbaud is this Friday – it is certainly a bittersweet moment to leave the company, as I have had a great time working there, and have made many amazing friends at the company and here in Charleston.

the reasons for our moving back to France are probably self-explanatory for any who know us – we loved living in France the last time we were there; several years ago I completed a Masters of Science at Groupe ESC Clermont in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne. And it wasn’t just for the cheese (though I do so love the cheese) – as a Canadian, not to mention a Canadian born in Quebec, the French language is very important to me, and one of the alpha reasons for our wanting to move abroad is to get the kids – now 7, 5 and 3 – into a French school where they can undergo complete immersion and become fluent in the language. Some friends of ours decided to do a similar thing a few years ago, and their kids are now completely fluent in the language and loving attending a local school in Provence. Yvonne also plans to perfect her French, and my own could certainly use some improvement.

the when and the where of the relocation are a bit up in the air at this point – we’re currently thinking Paris, Lyon or Lille by the end of the month, but a lot depends on the logistics of my new job, for which I will be undertaking new employee orientation in Toronto starting next Monday. Whatever the case, it’s very exciting and a bit scary, but we’re really looking forward to the challenge of it all!

12 thoughts on “vive la you know where

  • January 5, 2011 at 12:29 am
    Permalink

    Best of luck to you and your family Brian. Lauren and I will miss you all. Keep up the violin – Calum has potential in it, as I’m sure many other things as well. We might even come visit you guys next year.

    Reply
    • January 5, 2011 at 1:29 am
      Permalink

      thanks Mike – it would be great if you and Lauren could come visit! And we definitely plan to continue with Callum’s violin lessons – I hope we can find a teacher as good as the two of you.

      Reply
  • January 5, 2011 at 12:50 am
    Permalink

    Best of luck! 🙂 Sounds quite exciting. Though Jax and P will miss your playdates.

    Reply
    • January 5, 2011 at 1:30 am
      Permalink

      thank you Diane! We still might be able to continue those, depending on the timing… it is certainly worth a try.

      Reply
  • January 5, 2011 at 1:29 am
    Permalink

    Brian, what an exciting opportunity — congratulations and best of luck to you and your family. You’ll be missed!

    Reply
  • January 5, 2011 at 8:36 am
    Permalink

    Hey Brian!
    Congratulations on the new adventures! We will certainly miss you, but I know that you will be successful wherever you go!
    Best of Luck to you and your family!
    Paige

    Reply
    • January 5, 2011 at 10:35 am
      Permalink

      thanks Paige, that is very kind of you to say! It certainly will be an adventure…

      Reply
  • January 5, 2011 at 10:00 am
    Permalink

    wow, cool. congrats on the new opportunities. glad we had a chance to meet. good luck with the new job and I’m sure France will be a great place for the kids

    Reply
    • January 5, 2011 at 10:37 am
      Permalink

      thank you Eugene, I appreciate it. I do hope that the kids enjoy going to a French school!

      it appears that you had a great Christmas vacation in Edmonton… I’m sure you got lots of snow! But I did notice via your Twitter feed that you didn’t let the blizzards stop you from eating some great food up there…

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Diane Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *