Moving to France. Can't speak French. Advice?

Hey guys,

So I've just been offered a year's internship in Montpellier, Southern France and I'm due to move there in just a month! The job's in English so I won't need French for it but I'm worried about life outside work! Has anyone had experience with something similar to this? I have so much to sort out in a short space of time! Finding accommodation with fellow students is my main concern.

Cheers

I don't speak a lick of French (you'd think speaking 4 languages would be enough, but noooo).
Went to Paris, where I found one restaurant where I could order in English (I had to point at a thing in the menu in others, I felt so stupid haha), but most people were rude and mean when I tried to communicate with them in English.
Then I went to Toulouse, which is in Catalonia and the second official language, Catalan, is kinda like Spanish. I tried speaking Spanish in restaurants and shops, but they didn't understand at all. But once I switched to English, they automatically stopped even trying to listen to me.

My overall experience is - you have to say at least something in French, as the French people seem allergic to English and do not like using it.

Toulouse is not in Catalonia. This explains that.
The French education system is a disaster and it's impossible to learn foreign languages there. Consequently, we stand proudly as the worst English speakers in Europe.

It's not? Wait, so why do they have a Catalan translation under every public sign (aka the street names etc)?

It's Occitan, the old dialect spoken in Southern France, which is indeed close to Catalan, but few people can speak it nowadays.

I don't speak a lick of French (you'd think speaking 4 languages would be enough, but noooo).
Went to Paris, where I found one restaurant where I could order in English (I had to point at a thing in the menu in others, I felt so stupid haha), but most people were rude and mean when I tried to communicate with them in English.
Then I went to Toulouse, which is in Catalonia and the second official language, Catalan, is kinda like Spanish. I tried speaking Spanish in restaurants and shops, but they didn't understand at all. But once I switched to English, they automatically stopped even trying to listen to me.

My overall experience is - you have to say at least something in French, as the French people seem allergic to English and do not like using it.

Hey guys,

So I've just been offered a year's internship in Montpellier, Southern France and I'm due to move there in just a month! The job's in English so I won't need French for it but I'm worried about life outside work! Has anyone had experience with something similar to this? I have so much to sort out in a short space of time! Finding accommodation with fellow students is my main concern.

Cheers