Nadine Henass, originally from Brittany, moved to Belfast in January where she now works as a synthetic chemist. "I spent four years in Manchester and one year in Canada prior to coming to Belfast, so the language barrier was not a problem.

"I like travelling, so when I saw the advertisement for the job in a chemistry journal I applied.

"I was very pleasantly surprised by Belfast. Before going anywhere you always have a preconceived notion of what it will be like.

"I thought that Belfast was going to be a very grey city. From news reports I thought that the city would be more obviously war-torn and the people would be very oppressed".

Ms Henass enjoys Belfast and notes that the city has some major attractions.

"I love being near the sea and the mountains. In Northern Ireland you are never too far away from either. I also like travelling and find that it is easy to travel from Belfast to other cities such as Dublin.

"Belfast itself is a nice size, it is small enough to get to know people and large enough to be a city. "I feel safer here than in Manchester: in larger cities there is always an element of danger. The people here are very friendly, again this may be due to the size of the city".

Ms Henass had no difficulty settling in and finding accommodation. "I found an apartment within two days. In Canada it took me over three weeks to find a place. I settled into my job very quickly as well. I do not think that I am treated any differently because I am French.

"Everyone I have met has been so friendly. The nightlife here is also very good, there is a real buzz. There always seems to be a new place opening, although they are not as good as the clubs in Manchester, the pubs and clubs in Belfast are great fun". Ms Henass plans to stay in Belfast for a number of years. "I am not ready to go home to France and I think that I will enjoy living here."