Part 2 (France)- Moving to Europe

So I've decided to keep record of my journey of moving abroad.  Apparently it's going to be a tough road to accomplish and will require a lot of research and patience.

Firstly, I brought the idea to my kids who surprised me by stating they would be all in.  They even brought up France as a place to live despite neither knowing a lick of the language.  Now I know they have no idea what to expect but just to know that they have no problem with making a move like this is enough for me to feel comfortable looking at our options.

Secondly, through my research so far I have found that the best way to make this move is to have enough cash saved up to live off of for perhaps a year and fill out an application for a long-stay visa (which is also a year).  Then I could fill out an auto entrepreneur form so I can start my own photography business there.  The problem arrises on two fronts with this.

1. I am not fluent in French.  I have taken several years of the language in school but have lost most of it due to non use.  I am positive I can pick it up again easily once I move there but don't know how fluent I can be with it or how long it would take to get there. 
2. My wife will not be able to work unless she finds an at home job and sponsored by an American company.  Visa's apparently have strict rules on not being able to work and to get a work visa is quite hard if you don't have a job lined up already.  With her not knowing the language at all I am sure it would be extremely difficult for her to find one in France.

With that stated, we would most likely have to live off our savings during our time there and see how the first year goes.  Ideally a home based business would be perfect for us so hopefully we can get that arranged.  Of course another option would be to just move to an English speaking country where work wouldn't be as tough to find (like in Ireland or the UK).  Ugghh decisions, decisions!

Thirdly, the good news is our kids would be able to attend public school for free (although they would have to learn quickly on the language).  A private English school is definitely out of the question and the only other option would be to home school them which I would prefer not to do.  The point is for them to learn the culture and make it our home for the time spent there.

Overall, there appears to be many obstacles that stand in the way but I feel it is very doable.  It's all a matter of making it happen.  I know we have the funds to live off of for a year but I don't want to come back to the States after that time with our tail between our legs with no money backed up.  I wonder if I've decided to take on more than I can chew at the moment.