I'm thinking about moving to France, but can't speak french

To put it into context, think about non EU citizens currently wanting to live in the UK, for whom the minimum income requirement went up to £35,000 pa

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Let’s face it… you must be wealthy to live in UK these days :wink:

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But who would want to?

Mark…

I do sometimes miss being able to (spontaneously) hug my daughter and grandson. But this is not something that nags at me…and we Skype regularly (wonderful invention).

I have very many happy memories of my previous life in UK… but, sadly, most of my old haunts seem to have changed almost beyond recognition.

France is my home, certainly, but my “remains” will be interred with my father and his grand-parents in the family plot in a tiny UK churchyard… that small part of England is unchanged (so far) :innocent:

I understand completely, Stella. But be careful! Admitting that you are slightly less than 100% a francophile in this discussion could attract derision & sarcasm from some quarters!
My move here 17 years ago was not really planned but when my life turned upside down I had little choice but run to mother. My parents had retired down here as the weather was better for Dad’s health, though ironically within 6 months he was gone.
With very little to my name & parential help I started again, struggling at first. However, with the help of other brits & my french neighbours things returned to normal. Ex-pats came in many flavours from those that seem determined to treat France as another part of England to those who looked down on others who retained any britishness at all.
I’m middle of the road - I arrived here with very little of the language as it was not my plan to live here & I still watch british TV, enjoy Marmite, baked beans et al & savour the odd pint of Sheperd Neame bitter. But I also like to eat snails, drink wine & enjoy my time spent at french organised events, which in the rural areas are frequent & well supported, unlike my time in the UK where similar events were few & far between.
At the moment I am recovering from a Moules Frites night, organised by the local vintage tractor club (of which I am a member). I went with another brit & we were sat together. The seats next to us were empty, not for any other reason except that my friend had been vague about the number of his guests. When it was clear that no one else was coming these seats were filled by the local postmaster & his wife who know us & moved from another table especially.
I do rember introducing the village to the joys of HP sauce a few years back! It was at an annual fete de voisins & I had a surplus of the stuff so decided to introduce a bit of britishness. The left side of the long table were a little reluctant to try it (one in three) but by the time I went down the right side the others had tried their bit & discovered how well it went with pate & cold meat. A surprise hit!
France is not perfect but for me it suits my life & is preferable to the UK which seems hell bent on its own destruction.
You CAN live abroard & still retain your individuality No need to adopt EVERYTHING from your new country. The french are, after all, a sociable bunch!

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+1, my feelings exactly.

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Some reasons to stay in France…

I love the space…the countryside which just goes on and on…and the flora and fauna that abound…

I love the friendliness of French folk … and, indeed, all nationalities

I love the food… and of course the alcohol (always in moderation):wink:

I love the fact that there are so many different/new things to do…

I love the fact that I am always learning…

The majority of my family are in Uk and want my “remains” to be there, near to them…I can live with that. :innocent:

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I too have wonderful memories from my time in the UK - people and places. That said, I have wonderful memories from most places I’ve lived in or visited - not all, but most! :slight_smile:

My life in France is so far removed from my life in the UK that it’s impossible to compare. I’m a very lucky guy and like to think I make the most of my days in a truly stunning part of the world with the people I love - again, not perfect but pretty damn near to it. I love to mix it all up but prefer to adapt and not adopt!

One thing though, like Stella, I’ll be scattered in the UK. The thought of being laid to rest in France fills me with dread and I’ve promised to haunt anyone who allows that to happen! It’s just a personal thing - I’m a realist and not religious at all :slight_smile:

The brexit vote is a vote againgst free movement. That will work two ways. I have lived in France for the past 11 years having fulfilled a life long dream of retiring here. However, that is now all at risk. Come Brexit I will no longer have the ‘right’ to be here. To counter this I am going to apply for dual nationality. I suggest a visit to the website Expatica where there is a wealth of information. AngloInfo Midi Pyrenees also has considerable information on Carte Sejour and Nationality applications.

I can’t imagine what it is like coming from just one place, having just one nationality and the allegiances it entails, speaking just one language from the time one learns to speak, because I haven’t ever had that experience.

I don’t know whether that is a good or a bad thing though, I can see all sorts of disadvantages as well as advantages…

Carol…

Please can you point me to a French Government site that stipulates you would not be allowed to stay after 11 years of stable living here in France?

I ask in all sincerity… because I have not been able to locate such info…

It’s possible you will no longer have that right - but nothing is set in stone yet.
There are practical reasons why it would be easier all round to work out a compromise. If every British expat in Europe either has to apply for nationality or be deported, that’s a massive administrative burden for the EU to shoulder… Plus, the EU is making a lot of noise about how sympathetic it is to our plight, so it could get brownier points at the same time.

There isn’t any as yet, it rather depends on what the UK’s position on EU citizens resident in the UK may be post brexit being implemented. At the moment there’s just a load of sabre-rattling from the May government and nothing really from EU governments. Measures are likely to be reciprocal at least as a starting point for negotiation but it is all speculation at the moment. Tedious.
Wait And See.

I think more to the point, there is nothing that says that we would.
We would be non EU citizens but we wouldn’t be on a level playing field because we wouldn’t have the documents that non EU citizens who have lived here for 10 years would have. In fact when you look at the application proceess for a long-stay carte de sejour it would probably be easier to obtain nationality
Carte de résident de longue durée-UE (étranger en France depuis 5 ans) | Service-Public.fr (click on Démarches)

The fact is that residents who change from being EU citizens to being non EU citizens will be an unprecedented situation so there is no template for dealing with it…

It works the other way round. As an EU citizen we can live and work anywhere in the 28. Outside the EU that right does not exist. You have to apply for the right to live and work under the rules of each particlar country. In France its a carte sejour you will have to research that. Also am not sure about work permits as they don’t apply to us. But whichever route you take there are qualifying rules and I understand its not a foregone conclusion.

I prefer not to wait and see! Theresa May’s negotiating skiils appear to be rather lacking.

I have a somewhat loose strategy of applying for German Duel Nationality, I have been in Germany 8 years and that is enough to give me a right to apply for Citizenship, I sit the test in May (8 week waiting time), maybe France has something similar?. Failing that I would not buy before getting immigration approval from the french.
I notice that my UK passport has “European Union” stamped on it, but that might be no longer be valid after Brexit. I suspect that after Brexit the two countries will revert back to their pre EU conditions, as a default position until a new treaty is agreed, which could take up to a decade, but suspect commonsense will prevail. I would say to anyone thinking about French nationality get the paperwork started asap as it could take a lot longer than one might imagine

A lot of countries e.g. Switzerland, Canada, Australia, USA. all require immigrants to bring a certain amount of money with then on entry.
The question in my case would be, how much would the french want a pensioner to bring or would the UK state pension suffice. How much is wealthy?
H.P. sauce, yes I introduced it to my new German family and they loved it.

Stella, What part of France are you in?

I think i would prefer to buried in the warm dry soil of France, than the cold damp soil of of Scotland. People have loyalty to all sorts of things; places, other people, ideas, religion, animals, machines and even the sun.

How’s it going?
More common to use = “Ca va?” = equivalent of How are you?

Thanks Shirley, also I have started Duolingo.

John, I don’t feel that you should have to explain yourself every time you post.
Try the French Entrée site as I personally haven’t seen anyone experience the disgusting onslaught that you received on this site. Best of Luck (-:

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