At 50, 1996, 100 quid/wk, wasn’t a lot, but I left, and prospered, lot to do with positivity 
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Yes it is a lot to do with being positive.
But we can not throw caution to the wind!
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You can get more than 2% - though if that is the “official” figure used by the French authorities no amount of arguing that you can do so is likely to cut much mustard.
I’d agree with Jane though - if you have to show you have enough capital to generate income of ≥ 8126€ at 2% you are going to need £400-500k in the bank. Not impossible but that’s after house purchase and renovation - if you have thrown the house and pension into the pot and only come up with £200k you are going to have to get inventive.
Could you buy a property and use it as a holiday home, perhaps renting and saving the income until retirement?
Could you work in France? (paying tax in France will then get you into the heath system)
Could you come now and rent/work while you still are able to do so as an EU citizen?
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Much appreciated , all the comments , need to think long and hard ( maybe rob a bank, UK one of course!!)
Bill I don’t know you but I love your outlook / positivity👍
Bearing in mind MEN have to work till 67 now to get their state pension , probs be too old to be thinking a move then
There will always be a reason not to do it , if it meant living in a habitable wreck and hopefully enjoying the life we have left , I’d take that chance
Be interesting to find out why the folks on here decided to do it in the first place …
Thank you for the replies … food for thought
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Well I don’t get my state pension until 67, and last time I checked I was not a Man…
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Buying materials for building is more expensive than in UK.
There is no such thing as a sliding scale depending upon how much you buy.
It is only the artisans who receive discounts.
We wanted 250 square metres of oak flooring and were quoted the price shown in the showroom.
We went back to our supplier in UK and they very kindly gave us the name of their supplier in France, an Englishman and we did a deal and we had free transport too.
Bring as much stuff as possible, there is a strange idea of stocking in French shops, if it has gone you have to wait until the next season and it might not be exactly the same.
The idea that it was popular and they should re-order is non-existent.
Hi Michael
Your number 3 is a child i assume?
If so he or she will want to go on paid school trips, paid school dinners. ,insurance, a licence to join sports clubs, if he needs to go to senior school for specific subjects its often far from home and you have to pay the interna for accomodation. My sons passed his exams and got a job this week , but the financial cost of his education couldnt have happened on the figures your mentioning and there are only two of us.
Morning Anne , sorry , she is 23 and an accountant in the city , so she’s not dependent on us per say
Will just be the two of us
We visited northern Spain in March and the cost of living is much lower than France including petrol. I have no idea of health or housing costs but you maybe should consider living near the border. I joked to my husband that If I had realised I maybe would have looked around the Pyrenees.
Certainely do some research.
Good luck.
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Normally I’m leap and worry about the consequences later - but … even I think you’re “optimistic” at best on those numbers. Only you know what you can live on - and whilst the UK isn’t France try living on £100-£125 a week whilst you still have wages coming in and see how long you last - strip the mortgage out but after that … It can be done - UK dole is 125’ish a couple - but it gives you an idea of what you’ll have to sacrifice.
People live their entire lives on the “breadline” - but its much harder to step back - I had a few years bumming around in my youth - I survived on surprisingly little - I know people who stayed in that lifestyle and live happily - I could never go back to that level of income.
Factor in - you have no idea what age the pension will kick in - by 2025 it’ll be at least 70 years old - governments have treated NI like a pyramid scheme which doesn’t work when baby boomers retire - well unless someone remembers we were dependant on the Poles etc moving to the UK and keeping the pyramid working.
You’d be amazed how much the first year or two swallow in a new country
Secondly the “pot” shrinks every time you spend any money - everytime it shrinks you lose capital and thus interest. So starting from 150-200k you’d be lucky to be getting 7.5-10k a year - spend a bit more … By year 5 the numbers are scary.
No one can say how much someone needs to live - I worked out my minimum was 300k cash after buying a house.
Finally its emotionally more scary than you recognise - no income stream and watching savings shrink is emotionally harder than I expected - I carried on working part time to overcome that fear - but it’s not something you think about until its real.
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I still worry… even though everything is paid for… I look around and say to myself, if push comes to shove we can sell such-and-such… (but can we)… I suppose it is old-age that I worry about most. We will need more heating certainly… what else, I’m not sure… I worry too much, OH reckons.
OH leaves all the finances to me so he has no worries… 
I love my life here and could not live in UK on my income… without asking for handouts… which, although that might be my right, I would not want to do. Here it is easier to live with less… BUT Taxes, Health, etc etc all still have to be paid… after that you decide how you can make a pound of sausages last a week…
Perhaps life seems easier because it is exciting, so many new things to do, see, taste… etc etc… I’d rather be a little tight with the purse-strings here in France, than in England… 'nuff said.
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I looked at ways to move to France before retirement but the sums never added up. I was lucky, I already had a holiday home here so could visit quite often while working and earning money elsewhere. Moving here and taking up a minimum wage job was never going to be an option and my professional qualifications are pretty worthless here. I would never have considered taking a chunk out of my pension pot as my ‘private’ pension is only just enough to live off reasonably comfortably now, if I’d taken 25 or 50% a few years ago I’d be suffering today.
There are at least three things to take into account. The first is eligibility; without sufficient income and the ability to enter the health system it’s a non starter. There are already a number of people who are living in France under the radar who are worried about what will become of them after Brexit. Second is affording to live. Only you know what your must have items are. Once again I’m lucky, I can live comfortably on my income, heat my house in the winter and keep my car on the road. There’s nothing left over though, during the past few years I’ve eaten into my savings to buy capital goods but never saved any money. The fall in the exchange rate since early 2016 has hit me hard. The third and most important factor is are you sure that you are cut out to live in a foreign country, with a different language and customs. A lot of people I know have found it very hard indeed and strive to live in the Little England represented by the word Dordogneshire. In my opinion many of these people are living very shallow lives.
It’s great that people like Bill think that it’s fine to take risks but my nearest British (ex) neighbours sold their house in a Cotswolds village to fund their life in France and after many years struggling to live in France have returned to live in a mobile home on a residential site in the UK. My idea of a nightmare. France is a first world country in the Twenty First Century, it is not a haven for those seeking the good life isolated from the real world.
I certainly don’t regret working a few more years to be able to afford to move to France with no financial risk but I’m not a gambler. Another huge advantage of waiting is that you will be able to see what exactly Brexit means for British citizens hoping to move abroad.
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I’m not a risk taker like Dominic so endorse everything he says, I can give many examples of couples who’ve returned to the UK in a far worse financial state than when they arrived.
Income is the key for me, if you use your savings to fund a life here from day one then it will all end in tears (or worse). Even though we effectively work fulltime we breath a sigh of relief when it gets to the end of August and we know we have earned enough to last the rest of the year and into next year.
Yes Tim income!
Makes you feel secure.
As an eternal optimist I’ll add my two cents worth but I’ve only been in Brittany just over 2 years…my arrival here was not at all thought out and a week before I came to see my house I had never even considered living in Brittany and had only ever driven through France on my way to Germany…
I signed to buy on that first visit knowing very little about France and spent the next 3 months in a whirlwind of uncertainty and excitement and wondering what on Earth I had just let my self in for…
Like Bill I think you’re a long time dead and like Bill I am in Brittany…the people here are lovely…
I bought my house for less than €17,000 in habitable condition…front garden and driveway and half an acre all told…from a French lady…the house was dark inaccessible areas piled up with furniture and my initial impression was that I would need to budget at the very least for a fitted kitchen and a new bathroom…turns out I needed neither…Yes I could have spent 1000s here already but I am quite happy with a second hand 6 seater country style kitchen table in my kitchen that provides ample space for preparing/office/main hub space for visits from my adult kids…and various free standing non matching items around the edge of my kitchen…I could have spent 1000s but glad I didn’t…likewise my bathroom…perfectly adequate…basic but high water pressure shower…only cost has been painting throughout…it’s surprising the stuff that you don’t actually need when you really think about it…
I have considered starting a business here but having been self employed all my life bar a couple of years in the “civil service” on the benefits section then for now at least I’m not prepared to set up as self employed here…I’m in the system as an “inactif” and my income is from my partner in uk…he’s older than me and sends me his state pension…I’m in your age group and my youngest son is the same age as your daughter but remains in uk…
I was fortunate only by pure good luck in that my taxe fonciere and taxe d’habitation are really low…I think this is definitely something to be cautious of…when I see what some people are paying annually then I count my lucky stars…!
I can do a weekly shop for €50…I’m vegetarian but my two border collies are raw fed…€75 is the most I spend for me and them…If my partner from uk comes to visit or my kids from uk then they always bring enough to cover their expenses including travel…
Like everyone I could think of a million things I could spend money on and a million what ifs…I’ve identified where I could make savings of €100 per week if push really came to shove…and at the end of the day if push really came to shove then I have My mom and my 3 kids in uk who would put me up for a bit until I got back on my feet again…
Although I’ve totally ruled out starting a business here I’ve not ruled out working part time here but I think My schoolgirl French isn’t quite adequate yet…I should probably mention that I have nothing in uk…not even a bank account and only my family…the plan was that my uk partner would be here too in 2 years…2 years later and with his elderly mom suffering Alzheimer’s we’re not there yet…My 23 year old son would love to live here…he hates the chaos of uk and is actively looking at transferring his Hgv skills to here once he’s bought a base in uk…
So many what ifs and so many variables but I do think that sometimes the universe gives you so many nudges that you just have to follow the path opening up before you and see where it leads…I wish you both bonne chance and hope my ramblings haven’t bored you to death…lol…! x 
Edited to add: Income…! …just under €11,000 per annum…me plus two raw fed border collies permanently here and all bills paid …keeping one car on the road…identified potential savings of €100 per week if necessary…It’s doable…widen your search to areas where you don’t have to spend too much on a habitable property…refine your own definition of habitable…don’t buy too far away from services…(I’m purely by a guardian angel watching over me…3 km away from a supermarket a vet a hospital a doctor a local store a bricolage a tourist centre…a wonderful local garage…and a regional bank…and yet in a tiny hamlet for all intents and purposes in the middle of nowhere…)
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Thanks for agreeing with me Barbara!!!
I’d just like to add that how much you spend is often more crucial than what you earn.
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Brilliant, realistic post Helen, you could be talking about us two 
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Wow !! You are amazing , what profound words , nor boring in the slightest , thank you so much .
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Hi
We moved here in January and continue to be slightly shocked by the prices. High! Eg large box of Ariel wash powder is €23 or more. Food is more expensI’ve. French Govt has minimum amonuts you are to have if you apply for a carte de séjour which the Ambassador has recommended. I think it’s €550 per month. Check on the uk Govt living-in-france website. Good luck
Sally T
Hi Sally… do you get the Publicité which the postman delivers each week. In that you will find what is on special-offer…and where…
Well worth reading through these various pamphlets… keeping an eye open for the normal household stuff, as well as meat, fish, groceries, clothes, tools, toiletries etc etc… huge savings can be made.
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