Retire , move to france

Hey , newbies , so be gentle
Both 52 at the moment , planning on getting to 55 taking some pension pot , sell the house and move to France .
We think ( fingers crossed) we should have 200k
That’s to buy a house and live .
Fancy Brittany , although a relative has a house in Limoges , which would be close to the airport.
Is that sum doable?
Mick and Sue kellett

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Buy a house and live?
Could you do that in UK?
Do not think so?
So cost of living is similar here I think.
What do you spend a week or month in UK…on every thing?

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We would be mortgage free , obvs there will be taxes etc , at the moment we probs spend £80 week on shopping , would need a car ( small) so more expense , would like a bit of land to grow own veg etc …
So much to think about , we were looking at spending 70 to 80k on a house and the rest to live of till 60 then take some more pension

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I bought our stone ‘cowshed’ and converted it for 50k, into what we think is a pretty comfortable place Mike, so depending on the lifestyle you expect, I would say yes, doable, 'til the beer tokens ‘click in’.
We are in S Brittany, the climate is mild, only really seen snow once in 10yrs, problem at the mo, we lack rain, been really dry here this year and last.
Not that I have been to the UK for years, but easy access to airports and ferries, Good Luck.

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I am not sure that you can buy a house at that price!
It would need a lot of work done to it.
Yes I know that you are looking for a small house.
Cars are dearer her than UK.
Maybe others will say something different to this I do not know.

Cars can be bought reasonably priced too.

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80 pounds a week on shopping!

yes if you grow most of your veg and you remain vegetarian.
You will have other things to buy at the shops apart from food.
Cleaning materials, personal soaps and stuff…socks and tights and
underwear…petrol.

Hi Bill , yours sounds amazing , we think we can do it ?
We just want to get of the tread mill , so busy here , everyone in a rush …
I’m fairly capable at diy just not electrics and gas , have done a few houses over the years , just after something that’s got the basics but it has to be old , not near a road etc

I know never ending list ,
Initially there will be a lot of expense , travelling to view properties etc
The actual move as well
4 to 5k a year for everything ? In France that is ??

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That’s for 3 of us at the moment , the fourth had just finished uni and is sharing a place in Sheffield
I think we could do it for 50 ??

Will you ever take a short holiday or visit UK,
Buy Christmas cards or gifts?
Sadly there will be no financial support here.
If you had jobs then it would be different.
Would you work?

I did the lot, except roof (to high at my age :wink:)and leccy, 3rd place I’ve done, last was in Portugal.
We are in a small hamlet Mike, 2 full time neighbours, quiet all year but only 30mins from the sea (where it’s crazy now, hol’ time).
If you are ‘handy’, it’ amazing how cheaply a conversion can be done. We arn’t into lots of gardening, and to be honest produce is not so expensive, we try to grow the stuff that is easy, onions, garlic, squash, beans, tatties etc but it has been so dry the last couple of years, they have been disappointing.

People have asked this question before on here Michael and the answer very much depends on the sort of lifestyle you will want. If you are going to be mostly at home, rarely eating out, not taking holidays etc then you can probably manage on about 1,200€ per month. EDIT- I assumed you were talking about just the 2 of you. You will need to increase that amount then as a bare minimum.

There is a lot more than food to consider. Don’t forget, gas, electricity, water, insurances (house and car), car running costs including petrol, internet/phone, local taxes etc etc. Whatever you spend in the UK it will be at least as much as that here.

You also need to think about how you are going to access the health service here. That can be very costly for early retirees with no access to an S1.

If you want to eat out regularly, buy lots of clothes, take day trips, go on holidays etc etc then it’s going to be a lot more than that.

What about TV? There is still winter here in France and when it gets dark at 5pm what will you do in the evenings? Depending on where you chose to live winters can be long, cold and wet.

You can get a nice house for the price you are thinking of but it’s likely to need a fair amount of work. Don’t forget there will be lots of fees including purchase tax and legal fees. This is available in a nearby village to us. Pretty eh?!

https://www.leboncoin.fr/ventes_immobilieres/1460595401.htm/

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Health care is a big factor Mike!

Don’t do it unless you can work or have an income of at least £20k per year.

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Building materials are exspensive here and so is labour?
You may next some help with the renervation and you will need
ceritified electricians to sign off jobs.
Yes very min 300 a week without ANY trimmings.

We like trimmings…sorry to be honest but even though I do not buy exspensive gowns

we spoil the cats rotten and we like to treat ourselves.
we have worked all our lives to have this dream come true…and things got in the way…

But it really has come together but if you came here expecting something which was impossible

it would be a total nightmare.

Insurance policies come to over 2.000 euros with a tiny car.

Also Mike, whatever you buy, do remember, if it’s easy to buy, it may be hard to sell, if you have to!

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That by the way is for health cover and a tiny house…not our place with special Liability cover.

That is well below the poverty level here in France, with no help from anybody.

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