pas de nouvelle, bonne nouvelle

I have yet to have a conversation with someone here without them asking if I have news from my family. It's very considerate, but I never know what to say. My sister got a new job this week, so I've told half the population of Marseille, but if you don't know her is it really that interesting?

To me, news about someone you don't know is something big. If my family moved to Kazakhstan to become bat farmers that would be news. Since they haven't I usually say, "No news." to which people respond "Well, no news is good news!" And it's true. Because I don't think my family would do well in an arid climate like Kazakhstan's, and those bat bites are a nightmare.