Could you explain this please, I’m not sure what exactly you are getting at.
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I think he mean loads of money and or a government pension.
Who’s he?
A replay to two posts above
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So actually retired teachers then, I did wonder. Ollie (aka Barbara) seems to think teachers are some sort of plutocrats but in fact teachers in France earn very little compared to eg Germany or the UK. And I won’t be getting a full pension unless I keep going until I’m in my mid eighties.
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My son and DIL in same boat Véro. People also think teachers get paid for being on holiday, in fact, their salary is stretched out to cover the months they don’t work in the summer. Its not unusual for them to work until the early hours at home either to prepare lessons or paperwork for associations, parents evenings, ERASMUS etc, a lot goes on as you know after school hours and they don’t get paid for it either.
Ray, I think most of us on this forum came to France slightly blind and not sure of anything to be honest. When I think back, beg of the 90’s we literally just upped sticks and left the UK, granted we already had a holiday house over here and OH was in the building game so knew he would always find work somewhere. It was hard, back then you had to have a Carte de Séjour for each member of the family and for us, a min income of approx €500/month to live on to obtain those CDS cards, five years to start and then evry ten although pre-brexit it became less of a necessity to obtain. It was bloody hard I can tell you, neither of us spoke fluent french, we both had to attend a week’s course at the Chambre de Métiers for OH to obtain his papers and SIRET registration and it was like teaching us to suck eggs as we already had a sucessful business in the UK soknew all about accountancy etc but France became a nightmare, so many caisses, charges, rules, regulations,insurances we were left with very little end of the month after taking on employees and paying all their charges etc, the UK did not have such a system and what you earned over there you kept!. Anyhow long story short, we persevered, the kids blossomed and embraced the different lifestyle and culture and loved the freedom they would not have had in the UK. None of us have ever regretted leaving the UK no matter how hard it got and then OH suddenly died leaving me high and dry with no income and the french authorities took over and assisted me no end providing an income and other things. Now I have moved, have french grandchildren and a french family of inlaws on my son’s side and could not be happier, just wish OH could have shared it with us and seen his grandkids. Follow your heart, you only get one chance, too late when you are gone and there are no pockets in a shroud either regarding making pots of money. Good luck
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Sorry about your OH, hard to begin again. And glad that the French State has stepped in - which is why we pay all these charges and cotisations! So the administrative spaghetti at the start is worth it in the end.
I think sometimes a leap of faith is needed (but planning can help soften the landing). I got ill, knew I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing, so left my absorbing and well paid job in the middle of London to move here - even tho’ I had to sacrifice 10 years of pension. In hindsight would have done things a bit differently, but we made it work.
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A very important question to be able to answer.
Here is a good indication from an official website
Sufficient means of subsistence with resources at least equal to the minimum wage, i.e. €20,511.40 (Gross) as of January 1, 2023.
This requires a further explanation, specifically applicable to newly arriving UK retirees or early retirees, who although no longer eligible for pre-Brexit status, are still able to apply as are Australians, Canadians, Americans etc. The oft quoted “sufficient funds” required for a visa are based on the French minimum wage or SMIC.
UK and other non-EU nationals (retirees and early-retirees) applying for long-stay visitor visas and residency need only show an income equivalent to the ‘net’ SMIC minimum wage, not the brut* (gross).
This equates to annual Net figure of €16,236, around €1,353 per month , after income tax and social contributions.
If your pension income amounts to less than this and you have no savings or assets, it’s unlikely that your visa application will be accepted. However, each application is considered on an individual basis, and the combined pensions of a married couple, owning a home in France, and other savings and investments will also be taken into account.
In addition, you will also need to cover healthcare.
Application to the French healthcare system is possible but will require ‘top up’ mutuelle insurance. If refused entry into the French healthcare, or while application is pending, private healthcare insurance will be needed. Costs vary.
Whether or not someone feels the minimum application level income is ‘subsistent’ may be a matter of personal choice but it is the minimum legal requirement to apply as resident.
Early retirement then:grinning:
Nice post Shiba
However much research you do it is a leap of faith.
I always said the when I am in my dotage and dribbling, I might say I wish I had not done that, but never I wish I had done that.
Carpe Dieum
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And here’s an indication of the reality (as declared in tax returns) from another website. Dark blue is below these figures, and there is a lot of dark blue in rural France.
(If one has a bright red income, you might want to think about buying somewhere that is dark blue. You may find that the commerce and services are adapted to dark blue incomes so eg restaurants and cafés are basic. And you will be out os step with your neighbours. Or vice-versa)
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We have supported ourselves her for 15 years and intend to carry on in the same manner.
Whizz kids and teachers…academic people.
That is not me at all.Accept it or not that is it…
That’s fine. However perhaps you could also accept others more generously? There is nothing wrong with being a banker, accountant, teacher, or even whizz kid and your comments are verging on the derogatory.
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I don’t think anyone is criticising you for being neither, or have I missed something?
Bin the chip 
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I’m no wizz kid, academic or wealthy. I have cleaned houses and worked in a depot preparing chocolates for shops etc and helped OH in building. If you need to survive, you can providing you don’t think you are beneath others and can get your hands dirty. I’ve had to live on the RSA for the past 11 years, that really teaches you how to manage your money and you are forever in the sights of the authorities on your lifestyle but now I am retired officially with a UK part pension and a french one next year I will never look down on anyone struggling. We can all be millionaires one minute and paupers the next, only takes a hand of fate to intervene! I could never live in the UK again and the “keeping up with the neighbours” they all seem to do now whilst racking up huge credit debts to do so. No, make do and mend and don’t live above your means is far more satisfying and going without thelatest gadget or car means nothing now, I prefer to buy a bottle of good wine and few nibbles and enjoy life chewing the fat with the family and friends.
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@ollie Why the name change when you were Barbara before?
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I’m fascinated by this perception Shiba. While there are undoubtedly some who live this way, I seem to know and have known very few of them. It makes me wonder what the media and advertising say about things and how they paint expectations. Quite seriously, from some of the things others have said on SF, the picture painted of the UK - presumably by the media - comes over very differently from the experience of actually living here.
I would certainly agree that it’s easier to live among people that don’t display wealth if one is also not wealthy.
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