A fascinating thread with many valid points of view. All very different for a myriad of reasons, it just goes to show how different we all are.
We are bound to France after many years holidays, visiting friends, even false starts and the like and that over simplifies the the story.
Our first serious thoughts about living in France came about 15 years ago following redundancy (sadly no payout). We researched before the ability the internet has brought us, our home had a value much higher than properties in the Languedoc at the time and we could see it's potential. To cut the story short enough we discussed widely & deeply eventually deciding to stay put because we had 2 young Grandchildren and one on the way. We wanted to build a solid relationship with them. Life move on and we now have 6 and we made the right decision for us at the time. We couldn't bury the dream though and 2 years ago we put our house on the market & started house hunting. We again decided to stay put for a number of reasons probably including many of those cited in this thread, the major one though because my dear wife doesn't drive, she has pretty severe arthritis in both ankles and she feared being left alone ie I die before her! We have gotten on with life but a couple of months ago she sat up bolt upright on the sofa and said "We're going to France, we must follow our dream". That's life, it can change in an instant sometimes for reasons we don't really understand. We're on our way for our reasons with our risks and our bridges to cross!
The biggest pit probably Shirley is that the French house market is so different from Britain. In the UK you buy a house for £x, spend £y improving it and sell it for x+y+z where z is a profit. In France you are lucky to get x+y. In the UK it is generally popular to live in the country, in France the young especially don't want beautiful stone houses that are expensive to heat and maintain. I am told there are three million empty houses in France.
Very often it is not possible to move back to anything like the same sort of property one left behind years ago - unless one has other funds or inheritances.
I remember arguments raging about the cost of living in France v UK and I tried to do a very detailed spreadsheet but comparing like with like (price, weight, quality, taste, special offers etc) is almost impossible and the whole equation is blown out of the water by fluctuating exchange rates. When France first went into the euro, we were getting 1.68 for our £pounds but this dropped to 1.04 (much weeping and gnashing of teeth). It has wobbled quite a bit over the last 18 months as you know. I will make a sweeping statement though that it seems a bit cheaper in France!
absolutely Nick - Time and Tide waits for no man - or woman.
Almost everyone has put it down to personal circumstances or wishes prevailing at the time, being the major influence on their decision to return or stay. Home usually is where the heart is!
we all get older, some get wiser, some don’t! My heart says one thing to me, my head says another! Sentimentality would take me back to Scotland, that has always been home to me, never England where I was born and lived, my family and roots were and are in Scotland. My own English children are in England.
I think either a miracle or fate will make the decision for me, so I try to take and make the best of each day I wake up, as it comes, some days are good, others are not so - but that applies to many for mAny different reasons!
The important thing is that everyone is happy with decisions they make and act on and the majority here appear to be, so as long we have the desire and ability to climb out of which ever English or French pit we fall in, unhindered by the respective Governments ever changing rules & Regulations!
I have tried to read all the comments on this which I posted nearly 18 months ago! Suddenly the whole topic took off again and I hardly remembered the original conversation!
Some react with incredulity that anyone should want to go back to England but of course it is all an individual decision based on very different ages, values, finances and circumstances. I felt that some were defending their decision to be in France in a way that 'he doth protest too much' i.e. perhaps trying to convince themselves!
We have now been back for over a year and are very happy with the decision. One rather silly person said, "I'm sorry your French dream did not work out". Well it did but unlike that person, we dream on with new dreams!
We love both countries. They are certainly different and the balance of what one likes changes. I am not in the business of proselyting about what anyone else should do.
Hi Ben we returned to the UK just over a year now - for the 2nd time. We are happy to be back but do miss the good times in France - so much so that we spent 5 weeks there in the summer and have just returned from another 4 weeks - different area. We are retired. Anyway it may be of interest to look on ’ Going back to the UK’ site on Facebook. It is a very interesting site with lots of useful help and information.
I agree John. Moving home involves challenges, let alone between countries or in my case continents. I came to France from Australia to work but am not sure I want to settle here and certainly not where I am, which is near Paris - too much light and air pollution. Housing away from IDF seems cheap but I don't know the areas, apart from le pays de Gex, where I lived for 2.5 years, 30 odd years ago. I've an aging parent and other family in the UK, property and business interests in Australia, honorary family in Germany, plus half an eye on South America, so I am learning Spanish. I may become a grey nomad, whilst I whittle down the choices.
Why should anyone think of it as defeat. I moved regularly while I lived in the UK and also since I moved abroad in 1986. I always moved on, I only once ended up back where I’d been before and that was not actually my choice. Over the years I looked for my ‘forever’ location and decided on France. It suits me fine. I’m not sure that I could go back to the UK, that’s over half a lifetime away and somewhere that has no ties for me other than as a nice place to visit. What annoys me are the people who have been in France then returned to the UK who then preach to others that they have made the only right decision, that they are ahead of the game… The truth is we are all different in our hopes, needs and aspirations. I do feel sorry for the people who claim that they are ‘trapped’ in a particular location but are they any different from so many of my Primary School peers who have never moved away from our home town? If the grass is greener elsewhere, move on. It’s as simple as that in theory.
Good luck in your move Ben. I am sure there is a feeling amongst expatriots in France that going back to the UK is a sign of defeat but I can see that you dont see it as that. We have recently come to the same decision for more or less the same reasons as you have. I dont think I ever made the decision to stop here forever it has always been open ended circumstances change, the wife I started out with buying the house has since died, my new wife loves it here but struggles with the language and dreads being left here alone. I have aquired grandchildren, Karen a few more, all of our children are far from wealthy so their ability to visit here is limited, us traveling back ther twice a year or so is becoming a chore. We have kept a property in Scotland, bank accounts etc so thats where we will eventually end up. We are thankfully both in good health so feel the time to start planning it is now. So I dont see it as a defeat either a new challange.
Just moved back in july it was nightmare with the money. We had bought a forward contract with HIFX but the notaire was not happy with sending the money to an an account not in our name. We had to have it paid into our french account stay overnight at our neighbour, go to the bank the following day and transfer the money to HIFX. It took 6hrs to reach London by which time we were nearly at Calais. We heaved a sigh of relief and boarded the shuttle.
Hope it goes well for you we are much happier back in UK.
In my neck of the woods (the Var) only January and February are cold. We even had snow a couple of years ago but the rest of the winter is at least warm in the middle of the day. Lunching outside in shirtsleeves in December. Super.
In my experience, a number of UK power retailers are bizarrely incompetent. This is, I believe, because they are overly dependant on their computer systems without concerns about data quality.
The CEO of nPower sent a letter to all customers apologising for glitches caused by intro of new computer system - but "we have 5 million customers", so be understanding or similar turn of phrase. He more or less said that nPower has more customers than it can cope with.
You're fortunate in having a property in the UK. Selling in France, with the exchange rate better than it's been for years, doesn't make it easier for anyone having to buy in the UK.
It sounds like you're totally up for the challenge, Martin. Good for you. Chopping wood for a few months helps to keep you warm anyway - well, it does me. I spend 90% of my time attached to a computer for work and I love getting outside for a break to do "chores" like chopping and mowing. I'm not sure how I'll cope after a few more years but I'll leap across that hurdle when it comes. Get practising your French and take the plunge.
Except Martin ...you don't actually 'live' in South West France do you? You simply spend most weekends there which is quite different.......it's a shame you can't try a full-time stint from November to March.
Of course I understand, we live in South West France and it is freezing in winter, like living in a fridge. I love it and it has 4seasons and we are near mountains and not far from the sea. I will have to learn a new language which is a challenge, which I enjoy.
Martin - beware of rose tinted glasses ! The weather in France very much depends where you are and Winters can quite easily be colder and longer than those in the UK. Choose carefully before you lay your hat!