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03/09/2009Expat Voices: Delorys Welch-Tyson on living in France

Delorys first arrived in Nice airport to a balmy 20° Celsius and has never looked back. Like many others though, she is frustrated by France's ever-evolving bureaucracy.

Name: Delorys Welch-Tyson

Nationality: American

City of residence: Villefranche Sur Mer

Date of birth: I’m not telling

Civil status: Married

Occupation: Author and Artist

Reason for moving to France: I fell in love with the South of France the first time I visited many years ago.  I returned every year for longer and longer stretches of time until my husband was able to retire here and I was able to comfortably pursue my career as a writer from Europe and jump start my career as a painter.

How long have you lived in France? We arrived in France in 1999 on an incredibly gorgeous February day prepared to make the South of France our new home.

When we left JFK for Nice, it was one of the coldest nights of the year…-1° Farenheit with an added wind chill factor.  When we arrived at  Nice Côte d’Azur airport it was a golden and balmy  20° Celsius.  We arrived at our new home in a Cabriolet with the top down.


What was your first impression of France? As a Native New Yorker growing up in Manhattan and a student of Fine Arts, it was encouraged and expected that I would spend some time in my life in France.  My first time in France was in Paris, the summer before my junior year at New York University.  As a struggling student I found Paris to be curiously dreary, defensively arrogant, it seemed  - and expensive. Despite the magnificent gardens and architecture, I had this nagging feeling that Paris was the kind of place where the citizens surreptitiously swept debris under the flowers…so to speak.   After a while I came to realize that my first impression was partially colored by the impact of the policies at that time of the Nixon administration on Europe in general.  


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3 reactions to this article

kristina posted: 09-09-2009 | 3:52 PM

very interesting story - would love to communicate with the author

Delorys Welch-Tyson posted: 10-09-2009 | 2:31 PM

Please don't hesisitate to visit my website , www.deloryswelchtyson.com then you can reach me through the contact page.
Take care

jeudi posted: 19-10-2009 | 7:04 PM

Bravo Delores! Well put.. I love France as well, so read my ex=pat experience... we are kindred spirits! Best wishes for a wonderful life there! Judi Dunn

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