Hi Melissa?!!!!! I think this was directed to Avril..........
Hi Melissa,
Please take a look at what Airbnb offers......You place looks ready to roll and you can earn really good money for a one or two night stay or short break.....You could schedule viewings in the in-between periods when you had no bookings (the Airbnb calender is easily accessable/workable to set periods of availability and when you are not).....Prospective visitors pay Airbnb upfront....and check them out to some degree.....It's about the easiest thing that you could do in your circumstances and It wont tie you down (you can still operate you other business during the day, you don't have to entertain them, they will be off and out by 10am most days and not back until about 8pm at the earliest, the breakfast part can be a help yourself easy buffet arrangement.
To begin with I had doubts before having regular lodgers, but most people are really OK (you wont, I'm sure, end up harbouring an ex-convict, rapist axe murderer)...and just wont somewhere pleasant safe & restful to sleep...
This could be the thing that 'saves your bacon'....
Surely you dont want to return to the UK weather, soaring house prices and the 'rat race' as you put it ?
3 months after I sold up in Surrey, my modest terraced house with conservatory, shot up in value by 50 grand...and they are still going up....meaning that if I wanted to go back to the UK (which I dont).....I could only afford a small hovel somewhere in an economically depressed area up North, probably with little chance of work.....horrid idea...
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for the comments on my website, I have had some really positive feedback on the site.
I suppose in answer to your question, the Interior & Exterior Painting is what brings in the best revenue, so I'd be a fool to stop marketing that side of the business. However... what I'm also trying to do is get my husband more regular clients for the garden maintenance side of the business.
When I had the website designed, I had to write a list describing everything that we offer, i.e interior & exterior decorating, painting, gardening, cleaning, soft furnishings, furniture up-cycling, poitou-charente etc etc. So even without my name, it should bring my business up. Maybe not at the top of the list, but shouldn't be too far from the top. The more people look at the site !!!! hint hint ..the more likely it will rise up the list.
Also trying to contact more Immobilliers to offer his House, Garage, Barn and Garden clearance services. As we are all aware, a lot of the properties that we buy, are often full of rubbish, especially the older properties. My husband goes in, empties and cleans out all the rubbish, and then the tradesmen have a blank canvas to work on. We have two regular immobilliers and have had a reasonable amount of work from them, but we still need something more regular as these are one off jobs.
Hi Suzy,
Thanks for your reply too. Have a look at my website, where it will tell you more about what services my husband and I offer. www.avriljones.com
But basically, from the time of purchase of a new property until you move in we can help. We then offer key holding, continued garden maintenance and security of your holiday homes etc + furniture up-cycling, soft furnishings made to measure and more.
If, and it's a big 'IF' we can get more work here, then we would not have to even consider moving, but without more work, we do not have an option. We can not afford to stay here. We would have to return to the UK, and I can't say that fills me with any joy, far from it. But we both feel pretty sure that we'd be able to find some paid work, even if it's a couple of part time jobs each.
I am actually looking at work with accommodation at the moment back in the UK, but I really would prefer to stay here in France.
Hello Hilary,
Thanks for the feedback about the website, and for your suggestions. It's difficult to give prices for the up-cycling of furniture as each piece is different, some may just need a little sanding before painting, others may need a lot more work. Also some clients may prefer a wax finish, where others may want something more durable, and want a varnish finish instead. Then there's the size of the piece, transportation to and from my workshop, then I also have clients who don't mind the work being completed at their home.
I used to have a few pieces of finished stock, but that means that money is tied up until they are sold, and perhaps what I would choose, may not be what other would like. But yes, it is something I would like to do.
As for the Airbnb suggestion, I'm not sure we would want to do that, as we are trying to sell the house, and wouldn't feel comfortable with strangers in the house if we had viewers!
Incidentally, you mentioned looking in this area, we are only 10 KM from a larger town, but this village has all what you'd need for day to day living. I also know of several different sized properties that are For Sale locally that I could send you the info on should you wish.
But Thank you for taking the time to suggest different options for me, Avril x
I'm afraid the trusty old Berlingo doesn't have such mod-cons, even the radio has packed in !!!
:-) Peter - I know! These wifi 'boom boxes' or 'sound bars' things are just brilliant - the sound is superb - you can spend loads on top notch ones but to be honest a 30€ one does it for me - amazing sound!
As far as apps go - I've tried a few but I stopped using Tunein radio a while ago (drains the battery on the smartphone) and now use UK Radio. I listen to UK radio stations in the car all the time (obsessed with LBC!) as I'm lucky enough to have a bluetooth compatible radio system in the car. I still pinch myself driving around the Pyrenees listening to UK stations!!
I use my newish toy, a smartphone for just that Simon. It's so easy, I can't imagine how I survived without one !!
Or - you could use your Smartphone (if you have one) and on of the many radio apps. I use mine when I'm mucking out and I link it via bluetooth to a wireless speaker - loads of them on line and very cheap.
Thanks Peter, what I thought I was suggesting was that people who wanted to meet up, more local to their area rather than a drive hours away…having said that, I am never afraid of getting into my car, that is how I have gotten to know my area, always a new road and area to explore, I learn something and I can pass this knowledge on to our guests…
The comments were helpful Lis but not always easy to implement. France is a big place and members are scattered far and wide. Maybe a more 'regionalised' membership option would make it easier for local groups to form and become interactive ? I personally have visited three members on my travels all of whom have been either four, six and seven hours from my home and each time it's been great to share a cuppa and have a look around their areas.
Hi Avril,
You have a very attractive website ....I wonder if giving some typical costings for updating furniture etc might help......and I also think that maybe including a bit of 'broccanterie' could be included.
I took a look at the property for sale (as I am thinking of relocating to the Vienne....from a charming,large & unrenovated house in the Dordogne - and I have been looking in that area but need to be on the edge of a larger town) and it occurred to me that in order to bring in more cash, you might take a look at the Airbnb site -really worth a look(as someone has already suggested this to Frances) - your accomodation is certainly up to a good standard.....Another option would to be a host family for English as a Foreign language students......I think I have a Linkedin contact that I could send you re this,,,(she made contact with me when I first moved to France, but I have never used her myself- see below). The advantage with this and the Airbnb options, is that you can do this as often or as infrequently as you like....
Best wishes and hang on in there, Hilary x
Dear me, it’s funny how often discussions go completely haywire…even a bit nasty here and there…I was one of the first (I think) suggesting that meeting up in our various area might just help us getting know a few new faces, and maybe people might find that a good thing, then someone mentioned that they had tried this, but near very busy Paris…that was all…not a word about the suggestion, which was supposed to be helpful, well, that was my intention! Have a nice weekend all! PS! Oh, and I love my dog, but don’t mind cats!
Had a quick look at your link, Cathy, looks interesting....
BUT, I have to take issue with your comment "we all get the life we deserve !".....
platitudinous and so wrong...almost as bad as "what goes around, comes around ".....
Wouldn't the world be a different place if that was the case ?
We don't need to be so 'thin skinned' tho', speaking as an animal lover.....the recent dog/rat 'banter' made me chuckle....
Yep !
I think there is a happy medium between hothousing & co-dependence on the one hand and negligence or abdication of responsibility on the other. Family dynamics are sometimes very weird and the more I hear about other people's families the more I think so.
To explain why I said what I said: I thought it ironic that while you suggest all sorts of help for Frances from all sorts of people (which is fine) you say that the daughter can lump it & get on with life much better with her mother on the other side of the world.
I am not sure why you feel that Veronique....I was/am not trying to offend.....
I suppose that I am speaking as someone who ended up feeling very trapped by family circumstances (without going into the gorey details)..so that I view the situation where one has active, lively parents who feel they have things to do places to go and people to meet, other than immediate family and or the only daughter.....Well I think that's good....
I friend of mine (who was not just the only daughter but an only child), her mother passed away recently in the Uk and they always (despite best efforts), used to have a somewhat 'rocky' relationship .....and this friend used to return from the UK and complain about the latest visit....I reminded her that at least her mother had, after the death of her husband made plans for her own independent living, by the seaside (so she could walk her dog on the beach), in sheltered accomodation, with people of her own age. She was not assuming or expecting that my friend would take her in and become a full-time carer...
Because of that, my friend and her husband, felt free to follow their dream and come to France.....Even after a visit, the mother was asked if she would like to stay on but she politely declined....
Families are difficult animals to manage..you might care about them, but living with them and compromising what you can do or experience in your own life doesn't work, I think, in a lot of cases...and it's wrong to expect it of people as an unwritten right.
"She should be thankful that she has a mother who has given her the 'space' to go her own way, by doing so herself." I'm sorry to have to say I think that is an absolutely appalling things to say, in the circumstances.
Hi again,
Life can be so b*******y difficult !...and yes, I do very much question the existence of a benevolent God !.........this sounds like a really tortuous 'catch 22'....
You mention problems with 'naturalisation demand'....I'm sorry but I don't have knowledge of how this works but in the UK people with problems like this often approach their members of parliament for help and try to get as much publicity on the case (so that things just don't 'fester in a drawer' somewhere)......I am betting there are others here with the same or similar problems and maybe there is/should be, a support group that should be petitioning the EU parliament via an MEP....If your situation is really so insecure, then this has to be the way forward Perhaps the local newspaper could run a story highlighting the problem (horrible if you are shy by nature but it may help).....I also wonder if there is an MEP designated to deal with EX-pat community and maybe getting the Mairie on your side might help...maybe there is a good , charitable French lawyer prepared to work for peanuts to sort this out ? ....................................................PERHAPS, sharing all this with you, SFN could do something and petition the powers that be ? James , Catherine ?
The other thought that has occurred to me, is would/does your status allow you to start some sort of online business ?...Working for yourself can be stressful but no more so I would have thought than being at the merci of employers and the crazy inflexible system.....You mentioned that your partner does some 'Broccante'....working together on this might bring you together too, as well as getting you out and about ...?
If you living accomodation is up to it (having an ensuite etc)and your partner goes for the idea the airbnb route is a really good idea...I registered with them in the UK, in case my regular supply of lodgers dried up and it's well run organisation (with good safety features) and deals with all kinds of accomodation all over the world, so it's a good bet for a holiday for yourself too.
As far as your daughter's situation is concerned you can't do much. If she is an alcoholic, then you being there might even make any kind of recovery worse by trying to 'prop her up'......I think t is generally accepted( but hard to do so), that an alcoholic has to reach their own 'rock bottom' to really be able to start to deal with the problem. Hopefully, by going to rehab she will have made contact with people who know about and understand the problem and can deal with it better than you...Ultimately, only time and her own concerted effort will sort this out......you can't live her life for her and. she has to want to do it. She should be thankful that she has a mother who has given her the 'space' to go her own way, by doing so herself.
We all have our own frustrating problems...good luck with yours....
Thanks for your comments Hilary. I would have liked pets but since I may have to leave France at any given time I have never been able to do that. As it stands, I will have to leave France in September if my contract is not renewed; too bad about my naturalisation demand. It costs money to move and I no longer have any furniture or appliances, having lost all that when I had to move in with my boyfriend. Renting accommodation (which I can no longer afford to do) is very difficult if you don't have a decent income - foreigners are discriminated against.
You make valid points about my daughter. Unfortunately I do worry about her because she has become obese since I left (she was a small girl and I can hardly now hardly recognise her), plus she told me a few months ago she was an alcoholic and had to go to rehab. It's not the sort of thing a mum wants to hear from 18,000kms away.
Though it all sounds a bit negative, and I suppose the situation is that, I keep trying, pushing and hoping. Mostly I am getting enough sleep but I'm tired, tired to my soul of all the struggle for years in NZ and now France. I have no direction to go in. Having a couple of friends would certainly have helped my spirit but it seems from this post I am not the only one experiencing difficulties in making friends.