Ok, so how do you survive in France?

The 'bûches de ramonage' work, however there are cheapo brico own brands that are little more than useless. Better is poudre ramonage chimique which needs to be used every 10 to 14 days without fail and one that includes ' pour suie, la destruction du goudron, des bistres et du calcin' on the label.

The French government offers financial assistance to people wanting to set up a business in remote areas

http://www.limoges.cci.fr/tl_files/cci-limoges/PDF/Guides/tome1%20guide%20aides1optimise.pdf

I apologize for the play on words 'flue' and 'flou'.

It won't happen again.

I only ever have one sweep a year done for my houses.

The site being a sweeps' site it's 'natural' for them to frighten little old ladies into having the job done twice. Google Translate calls that 'pushing at the consumption' ha ha

Trovit emplois anglophones

http://emploi.trovit.fr/index.php/cod.search_jobs/what_d.entreprise%20anglophones/where_d.51/

(replace 51 with the number of the Département wher you wish to work)

Which our now 'redundant' ex-sweep will tell people is not actually accurate. It depends on which wood, those who burn predominantly oak or hornbeam need only one and even then there should be loose soot rather than tar build up. All pine wood and maples, also poplar and to an extent chestnut make a lot of tar and cleaning difficult, the first particularly. Therefore, in an area where oak is the main wood and cut wood rests two years before burning, there is only relatively little fine, powdery ash. We followed advice after our sweep using something like an oxyacetylene burner to remove tar build up and now by using third year oak have more or less only ash and little of that. I cleaned the flue for our wood burner and the stack of the open fire two weeks ago and had almost no soot and certainly found little tar. I lowered a little webcam down the flue to have a look before and after and was much impressed. So, would we need two sweeps when one already seems too many? As for flue, conduit de cheminée or just conduit if you are talking about the fire/stove is sufficient and very clear if it is a proper qualified sweep as ours was.

OK, a small proportion of a fairly small sports stadium live in this department, hardly making it some kind of 'colony' Nick as the old quip implies.

OK Bob, here goes: Janet Daniels has provided by far the most sensible and balanced advice. I do agree, however, with those who state that haute Vienne is remote, lacking employment opportunities and very cold in winter. If you are determined to live in France, here are several suggestions to consider:

1. Keep working in UK where you know your strengths and your marketability; change to part-time if you can afford it so that you have more time for France. That's more or less what I did. I was a financioal adviser and thought of qualifying in France, but the qualification process was TERRIFYING so I kept working in UK but with fewer clients and spending increasing amounts of time here [southern Tarn] until I could retire. The whole process took about 10 years but when we finally made the full move we already had a good network of friends here [French mainly with a few British].

2. Don't buy ANYWHERE until you've been EVERYWHERE! How about buying or renting a camper van and travelling around, spending several weeks in each area and "pretending" you live there to get a feel for it. Obviously not in deep winter but certainly off-season. [Everywhere looks attractive in July and August!]

3. Don't even think about moving until you've learned some French. Use evening classes, audio courses and when youi've achieved a basic level of competence, go to France for one of those total immersion courses for a fortnight. We have several English friends here who never did that and ten years on, they still can't string a sentence together in French and as a result are isolated from their local community.

4. If you absolutely MUST move now and work, live near a large city where there will be a demand for English-speakers [you'll still need a reasonable level of French]. For example, our local Mr Bricolage is advertising for native British sales advisers because they so many anglophone customers who don't know how to choose their products!

5. Think about climate. South of Massif Central is significantly warmer than north of. Rhone Valley is beautiful and prosperous but freezing when the Mistral blows. In fact, I'd never live there because of the constant wind! Provence nice and warm but expensive. South-West, particularly around Bordeaux, Toulouse and Pau has better employment opprtunities and a much kinder climate than Haute-Vienne!

Enough for now: bonne chance et bon courage.

I've just learned that 2 sweeps a year are necessary if you burn wood, coal or domestic fuel.

Here's some good reading-material. It's a national phone-book devoted to chimney-sweeps :

http://www.ramoneur.fr/

If you mention 'flue' to a Frenchman he may find it a bit hazy, unclear

Of the 130,000 UK-expats in France, 10% have chosen the Poitou-Charente region, and mainly the Charente-Maritime Département. (l'INSEE)

About 15,000 live in Aquitaine. La dordogne is a part of l'Aquitaine and has 7,200 Uk expats, and Paris has 8,200)

Most British expatriates live in the Île-de-France region. (source : L'INSEE)

In rural areas people of working-age have more difficulty than those receiving a retirement-pension.

Region specific!

Brittany has a lot of domestic chimneys that work (almost) year round. And the commercial work seems plentiful; - think of all those flue pipes on the industrial estates; a buche de ramonage just ain't going to cut it!.... an acquaintance, former office manager in IT has cold-started and reports good results.

But the idea wasn't to specifically suggest sweeping - to illustrate a need to think outside the box, or flue if you prefer..... adapt and survive.

p.s I know nothing about the market for sweeps - its taken two months to get someone to come and sweep our stove....just to keep the insurers happy. A keen waggy-tailed sweep could have picked-up our work easily....and we're not alone: thus we identify a possible need for better / work-hungry sweeps in central Brittany.

Bob, the Haute Vienne is extremely cold in winter, are you aware of that?
It is not highly populated so not as many business opportunities as other area which cost ly in property terms.
Swings and roundabouts.

I live in Dordogneshire and with the exception of little concentrations in and around a number of places, the myth is anything but true. Being an English speaker is as much a disadvantage here as anywhere else, that is unless one also speaks French.

Competition :

- bûches de ramonage (sold in shops)

- chauffagiste conventionné reconnu par les assureurs

The best time to sweep is in springtime. If you wait till autumn, as many do, humidity has crept in and makes sweeping harder.

The price-range is from 50 to 75 €uro. If you're freelance you'd need to work a lot.

You say you love France - but I wonder - have you rented for a period of time and got to know the French characteristics or do you love the idea of living in France. If you have to work, you must speak the language and involve yourself in the local French community - otherwise you may as well live in Bournemouth or Dordogneshire.

Great idea! Our fully qualified, better than all other sweeps in the area gave up because there is far too much competition and is now seeking other employment. Sure, think laterally, then do thorough research before thinking again (perhaps several times).

Hi Bob,

It pares down to the basic economics of supply and demand: what skills can you offer for which there is adequate demand.

It may seem (at first glance) to be totally out of field; but English chimney sweeps make quite good money after they have taken a French accredited training course.....for example. Think laterally. As it is said "go where the money is".

You have the basic empathy of loving France and its culture (the good as well as the bad) so you're half way there.

True. I am very unsure where I actually belong, therefore being here is a 'neutral' place I happen to like is a safety blanket of a kind.

Other definitions of home are available.

An article about health-insurance for UK expats in France :

British expats left in lurch by NHS clampdown

Published: 21 Apr 2015 08:15 GMT+02:00

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British people living in France and other European countries could be forced to take out private health insurance, due to the latest clampdown on expats using the UK's National Health Service.

Many British people in other EU countries return to the UK for routine doctors’ visits, and many fail to register with a local doctor in their new country, particularly in the early stages following a move abroad.

In some countries, bureaucracy means registering with local health authorities can take years.

But under new rules that come into force this month, people who make use of the NHS in the UK will be asked to declare that they are ‘ordinarily resident’ in the country. Those who live elsewhere in the EU, Norway or Switzerland, and who want planned treatment could find themselves forced to pay up-front.

Even expats seeking emergency treatment during short visits home could also face steep charges if they don’t have their paperwork from their new country in order, as the NHS seeks to claw back £500 million a year ($746 million, €695 million) in lost revenue.

In an email to The Local, the UK Department of Health confirmed that there is no ‘grace period' following a move during which they can use the NHS - the moment they have left the country they lose their right to NHS treatment.

The new declaration could make it harder for expats to bypass the system, and new rules could leave expats with no option but to go private.

Joe Coaker of ALC Healthcare, a private insurer focused on expats

“We often hear from expatriates who question the need for international health insurance as they imagine they can return to the UK and fall back on the NHS or the State healthcare in whichever country they come from,” he said

Long-standing European arrangements state that EU citizens should seek healthcare in the country they live in, regardless of their citizenship. They can seek healthcare in other EU countries, but this must generally be authorised and billed back to their country of residence.

But in a change to UK rules, expats who want treatment in the UK have to show a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by their new country. Until this month, former UK residents were automatically entitled to use the NHS for free if they fell ill during a visit. In practice, many expats use the NHS for planned treatment too. But now this right is being removed.

With France being renowned for the quality of its healthcare most British expats are only too happy to access the French system.

One France-based expat Ray Vaysey told The Local: "I can't imagine why you would go to UK, in the last 8 years we have had no problems at all, at any stage, and unfortunately we have given them plenty of opportunities."

While those who work in France and pay social security contributions are covered by the French system the problem arises for those who are either new to France, have early retirement or cannot find enough work to allow them access.

Some are forced to return to the UK for treatment but as the crackdown against expats continues, many will have to rethink their options.

Claire*, from London, has lived in Italy for two years, but still isn’t registered with an Italian doctor. When she needed a smear test recently, she opted to have it with her old doctor in London.

“I wanted to speak to an English doctor who I could speak with, felt comfortable with and I knew. And I knew it would be swift.”

“I haven’t registered with an Italian doctor yet as I haven’t got a residence permit in Italy yet, due to the kinds of bureaucratic delays that are typical in Italy. Without residency, I can’t register with the health service.”

The charges faced by patients without a EHIC card or proper insurance can be significant. Intensive care beds are charged at a rate of £1,800 a day ($2683, €2495) plus the cost of procedures and drugs. Even hospital outpatient visits can be costly, at £248 per visit ($369, €348).

The Royal Berkshire NHS Trust, one of 59 NHS Hospital Trusts in England, says on its website that patients who leave a debt could find their details registered with the UK Border Agency, meaning they could be stopped next time they try to enter or leave the country.

There was better news for British retirees in Europe.

Anyone living in the EU and receiving a British state pension will be entitled to free healthcare in the UK, as long as they hold a valid S1 form, which is obtained from British authorities before moving abroad.

The move comes after the British government decided last year that it would stop paying the healthcare costs of UK pensioners who lived in other EU countries, leaving many facing big bills.

Figures revealed to the Guardian newspaper earlier this month suggested the cost to France of treating British tourists was far greater than the other way round.

The detailed DoH figures show that Spain and France, the most popular European holiday destinations for British tourists, had the largest bills, nearly £40m each, for their medical treatment. French tourists cost the NHS almost £5m, while those from Spain incurred costs of only £3m, the Guardian writes.

*The name has been changed

http://www.thelocal.fr/20150421/british-expats-left-in-lurch-by-nhs-reforms

You'd need to think carefully about healthcare. If you have not retired and so qualify for state treatment in France, this could prove expensive.

You cannot guarantee that work will be available to pay the social charges to cover this.