Finally moving in the New Year

General Discussion
41

Hi Mandy, thank you for taking the time to comment. Your points are invaluable. We're thinking of a December / January visit so we're under no illusion about the winter weather, as you say it's easy to holiday in the summer months are fall in love and have a blinkered vision of your new life in France.

British TV ... the only thing I watch is Bake Off and Apprentice - really not worth the license fee. So I guess satellite internet maybe the way to get decent download speeds?

I'm drawing up a big excel spreadsheet of everything that needs sorting and the date order.

Thank you again

42

Michelle - that is so much help. Thank you.

43

There is a bar/cafe in Alaigne, near Mirepoix, which is for sale with attached property, I believe. one of the owners < English> became too ill to continue, so has been closed all summer. Seems to have been the soul of the community, and popular by all accounts. No doubt the books would tell whether it was actually a going concern…

44

We are near Bergerac, about 15 minutes north. The roads are a big plus. From what I can see they are thumbs up, rather than down.

45

Health cover for the dog might not be worth buying. We looked into it but there aren't the same policies as in the UK. The French ones only tend to cover accidents, not illnesses. I never thought we would have uninsured dogs but we do, except for the third party liability cover under our home insurance. Vet prices here tend to be lower than the UK though, especially for out-of-hours appointments, blood analysis, scans etc which are all done on the premises straight away by our own vet - no sending off to labs and waiting days/weeks for results.

46

Gary, we moved to Charente in July renting to find the ideal place. We had a selection of properties to view and thus far the majority of houses inspected were e not what we saw on the packet (in the agents pics/description) might I suggest you look for a long term rental (as it takes 3 mos to purchase through the buying process anyway) to take time and look around. I am reminded of another note on this site from someone who bought after a few visits (all between 12-2pm) and then found when they moved in that outside these hours, the raod was busy and their new neighbours had 5 dogs that barked non stop.... It is essential to take your time, visit a property at different times of the day and evening, check the neighbours out etc.

We now think we have found our property but keeping options open until we are 100% sure. It is worth a visit to the local mayor to ask his thoughts too. If you want to contact us when you come to Charente, please respond to friend request sent. Will be happy to give you a few pointers other than take everything with a pinch of salt and getting a valuation done by a Notaire (expensive to have a full survey). France itself has lived up to everything, the people, the food, the weather and health services etc. cheers Liz

47

Hi Gary,

I moved here almost 2 years ago, after years of planning, and have no intention of moving back. It has been everything and more that I hoped it would be.

I knew the area I'm living in now as friends owned I house here and I visited frequently. It was my first introduction to France really.

I bought a bran and a complete ruin 10 years ago, renovated the barn first as a holiday home and completed the 'ruin' last year and now run that as a gite - very successfully through AirBnB. I had a three year plan to see how the gite went, with a back-up plan to sell my place in London if it didn't work out. Happy to say that I get a reasonable income from both, am in the French tax system, got my medical card (I didn't opt for top up, depends on your personal circumstances I guess).

First thing I did was get a rescue dog in week 2, that was a big part of my wanting to move here. The walks are amazing, beaches close by (I'm in dept 35 in between Fougeres and Mont Saint Michel), and walking the dog 3 times a day plus getting the gite set up takes me through to tea time. Faffing around in the garden and stacking logs for the winter just about fills in the rest of the week, and I love it.

Be brave, but not too reckless. Yes rent at first to make sure you like the area and pace of life. Rural life is very gentle, but there are always groups you can join, and people are very patient when your French is just finding its feet out of the classroom.

I haven't had any issues with registering for anything, other than my initial ignorance, so then I paid someone to walk me through things and that was money well spent.

It helps that Rennes is only 45 minutes away and a decent city, and Paris is 2 hours by TVG. That said I rarely feel the need for city life now after 27 years in London.

Check on line, there is loads of good relaible info out there, also have a read of 'France, on the move' by the Chambre de Commerce Francaise de Grand Bretagne, I think I got it off Amazon? It's a really useful starting guide.

I hope it goes to plan for you, let us know how you get on, or if you get stuck give me a shout, I'm sure I'll know someone who can help if I cant.

Paul

48

It is no fairytale living in France but it can certainly be enjoyed and appreciated as being completely different to living in the UK. If you can avoid it do not burn your bridges by retaining a property in the UK, however small, as there are a hundred and one reasons why you may need to return. Do not expect friends and family to be visiting and keeping you entertained as that narrow crossing across the Channel prevents a lot of visitors from coming too often.

It makes a lot of difference to a number of things e.g. health if you are retired and have a UK pension. Seek financial advice or do a lot of studying of the internet - pose as many questions about France in Google as you can think of and the answers will probably be there somewhere! As far as running a bar is concerned, if a bar was likely to be profitable a local would probably be running it already. You will be a resident once you are living in France for over 6 months of the year (but there are other criteria).

This is a great chat site so carry on posing the questions or look for answers on it. And remember France is far from Paradise, can drive us up the wall quite often e.g. between noon and 2pm, but eventually most of us relax into its way of life and stay for many years. We have French, English, Belgium, Dutch and Portuguese friends and neighbours (in a very small rural community) most of whom speak some English.

Good Luck and join us.

49

We are currently on a visit south of Narbonne.

It is a good area but we are living south of Charente not so far from

Libourne and St Foy la Grand.

A good area.....can tell you much about the area.....just get in touch if

you wish.

50

Definitely rent for at least a year...So many people buy the wrong property (dreams of log fires and far away secluded homes, only to find they freeze in winter and commuting to shops and services costs an arm and a leg with today's petrol prices).
I don't believe a bar would be a good idea as the French are mostly in bed by 9 'o' clock and it's not the social scene that it is in England.

If you don't have a firm idea of how to earn a living then don't come. We have been here for 12 years - me, husband and dogs - and it's VERY difficult to earn a buck..The only way to earn a small fortune in France is to arrive with a very large one!

Our house is currently on the market. Luckily we bought a second house soon after we arrived, so we have somewhere to move on to and by selling both the properties we'll be in much the same financial boat that we arrived in (we were 43 years old when we arrived, so no pension then or now). Being an auto-entrepreneur also prevents one from claiming any state assistance, so basically; you're on your own. Sorry to rain on your parade, but it is very hard here. 99% of our original friends and acquaintances have gone back and couldn't wait to 'escape'.

We love the weather,the quiet roads, the houses and the laid back way of life, but life is about more than that. Please consider your move carefully and definitely rent first.

51

Hi Gary, I've been in France for 8 years now and I love the slower pace of life, the lack of traffic and being surrounded by mountains and clean air. I work part-time but finding a job has been nearly impossible particularly as I don't live in an area where there are lots of other Brits. If you need to earn money you should consider very carefully where you are going to live and whether you will be relying on other Brits for work. It can be very difficult in rural areas to earn a living.

Someone else has already mentioned health cover. As a priority you need to research this further to make sure you understand what you need to do for your particular circumstances. If you have any ongoing health problems that require regular medication and GP visits it could be expensive until you sort this out.

I'm sure you realise this but remember France has winter too! So many people decide to move abroad based on summer holidays - big mistake. Winter can be long, cold, dark and boring, just like in the UK. Your idea to rent first is great as you will see what a French winter is like. Oh, and don't underestimate the cost of heating a house in winter. If you have just electric heating, which so many French houses have, it's going to cost a fortune.

You will need something to do in the long cold winter evenings so have you thought about TV. It may not be important to you but, if it is, you need to think about whether you will manage with just French TV or whether you want UK TV. If you chose to live as far south as you say then getting UK TV may not be as straightforward as you think.

Is internet speed important to you? If so, you need to investigate the speeds available in the areas you are considering living. It can be really slow and in some areas, non-existent.

Hope this brief list helps. There are lots of other things to think about as well such as opening a bank account, mobile phones, sorting out utilities when you arrive etc etc. If you go into it in the right frame of mind it will be a wonderful adventure. I wish you the best of luck.

52

I meant resident Brian - sorry. Not sorted out health cover yet for ourselves or the dog.

53

If you are selling your principal residence in the UK there will be no tax to pay. I also doubt that you will rushing into becoming French citizens but you will become residents. You will have plenty of time to sort out what that entails. Just a heads up, are you sorted for health cover? That’s a biggie.

54

Hi Michelle, that's so encouraging, thank you. Where did you move to? We will be throwing ourselves into local life and try and make friends as soon as we can. My French isn't too awful (I really try hard and it's appreciated) my partner doesn't speak a word and is a bit nervous. I have been self employed for many years but will be unemployed initially, I'm actually thinking of buying/running a bar as a way of getting to meet local people. Like you we plan on renting for about six months while we hunt for the perfect house to buy. The thought of better weather and roads you can actually drive on - rather the car parks in the UK - and a better quality of life is the biggest attraction for us. I doubt like you we will never return to the UK all our family and friends can come and stay. I love this site but I've already got two thumbs down for my post?? It wasn't that bad was it?

55

Hi Gary, my partner and I made the move here last September, so have just passed the one-year mark. For us, it has definitely been worth it. We have had a bit of a whirlwind year, arriving with the intention to rent for three years to see how we liked it and then ending up buying a house after just four months. No regrets though. Will you be working? I work full-time from home. I have been self-employed for many years but have persuaded one of my clients company to take me on as an employee from January which is a huge bonus as taxes for the self-employed over here are punishing. My French was pretty good before the move and is now much improved. My goal was to be able to join fully in dinner conversation and I can now do that. My partner had no French but has picked up lots and is getting there. We both go to language classes, for me more for the social side. Like anything in life, you get back what you put in and have to throw yourself into things. We both volunteer at our local SPA (dog rescue). Having arrived with three dogs, we now have five and currently a foster dog too! The walks round here are brilliant for dogs, lots of woods and not too much livestock. The weather is a big bonus, especially for us coming from the North of England. We love eating out and are big fans of the set lunch menus around here. Yes, we miss family and friends but we have had lots of visitors all year round. I can't see us ever moving back to the UK.