Sorry, had this pointed out to me a couple of years back by former SFer Graeme ‘tech wizard’ or whatever
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Horses for courses, but that’s all a bit too romantic for me - had years of trying to cook and bake on my previous partner’s Aga when there wasn’t any wind, or it was in the wrong direction and even with elm logs, the thing wouldn’t get hot enough. Whereas induction is simple, cheap and very responsive (unless there’s a heart problem)
A piano is just the name for a stove with at least two ovens and 5 hobs. Our is electric and gas. No trees necessary.
(An Aga would be a lot more than €2000 I think)
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Sometimes, in an older house it’s just not possible to get enough power available for an induction hob without a total rewire. I have frequently used induction hobs, but in all honesty I prefer gas (and we have a 5 burner hob)
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I’m sure it would, but this was an elderly farmhouse one.
However, my fundamental point remains sound, today induction is simpler, cheaper and all-round better than gas. Cleaner, safer and healthier too. If you move, and hearts are sound, it’s worth checking out.
Ya, Inductions are great. My wife said No we are getting gas until we stayed at a friends and she got to try it. Was sold after the first meal.
I still find gas easier to control - more responsive in that there’s no guesswork if you need to switch instantly to a precise lower heat. It reacts instantly and you can see the flame also instantly. Without wondering whether for today’s heat/moisture for the food being cooked, in whichever of your pans/material you’re cooking it, in today’s version of the recipe, is it going to switch to the burn size and heat level you want.
Can’t get that instant accuracy of the new setting with induction in the same way.
Plus particularly newer inductions are a huge draw on a power supply that rarely needs to do more than a short run on a toaster or a kettle.
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You can turn gas down, but whatever’s supporting the pan remains hot, whereas with induction the cooling is instant, so I’d argue induction is more responsive…
But in any case you don’t have all the gas cylinder hassle and associated problems
Yes but you can"t see it Mark. Cooking with gas gives you that instant feedback.
Why do professional kitchens still use gas?
btw I"ve mostly cooked on town gas and miss it. Canisters might be ok for camping, but I agree about the hassle of hauling boules which I don"t do.
Where I grew up homesteads still use those tall gas cyliinders as they work out far more economical. But they are delivered and exchanged on vehicles no one is hauling anything up staircases.
Induction hobs may appeal more once there are enoigh domestic solar systems about that can store and deliver enough the high wattage inductions need. Then the lower usage cost of solar gained electricity would probably push towards induction
Induction costs are already lower than gas even without your own solar cells and has been for awhile. It has a lot less energy loss than gas. Maybe if you are making a stew on really low it might cost similar.
As for chefs a lot are shifting over. One of the main issues is durability in commecial kitchens. A dropped pan does nothing to a gas hob but can be very pricey on an induction.
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Bonjour John!
I just received my long-stay visa and used an Airbnb as proof of permanent residence (minimum duration of 3 months is the requirement for the visa). I’m moving to Lille.
Airbnb has an option to download the residency document in French, so keep that in mind as well.
Bon chance!
darlene
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You probably know this already but in Alsace 80% of your healthcare costs are covered by the Sécu. Not 70% as elsewhere in France.
I literally applied yesterday to register my husband with the local CPAM (until now he’s had full private health insurance) so I will let you know how long it takes to get his “attestation de droits”.
Top of your shopping list when you arrive will be a printer with scanning & copying features. Be prepared for lots of paperwork. And not everything here has gone digital. The form for registering with the CPAM had to be posted by snail mail, along with copies of various supporting documents.
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We are all so very different in what we like and why… 
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When we moved into our previous house (during the Covid lockdown era) the kitchen was horribly bare so we had to buy an oven and fit it ourselves. There was just a sink, a gas hob and a few cupboards. Compared to houses I’d previously rented both in the UK and in France, this was a bit of a shock.
Ovens can be had pretty cheap though. A quick look at Darty shows they start at about €250. We went for one that has the pyrolytic self-cleaning thing… think we spent just about €500 on it. Fitting it was a piece of cake (and I’m useless at DIY) as there was already a space for it to go. Youtube has plenty of videos showing just how easy it is. If you don’t fancy doing it yourself, places like Darty include fitting as an option when it’s delivered.
Otherwise, you can pick up a 2nd hand one for about €100 - €200 on leboncoin, although you’ll usually need to collect it yourself.
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Thanks Helen, please keep is posted on the progress ect for the hubby. And if I may ask did you go through this yourself? If so how’d it go?
Good advice on the printer/ scanner. I hadn’t considered it and was thinking of just using a local print copy shop.
“Alsace 80% of your healthcare costs are covered by the Sécu. Not 70% as elsewhere in France.” Not aware but another good thing about Alsace!
And the stovetop, oven/ piano/ convection conversation is really fun to read and actually useful to get all the perspectives and especially the cost differences.
Thanks again all.
Hi fogggin,
Thanks for the information. Lille was my other choice for first year for several good reasons so please let me know how it goes. I’m going with Strasbourg, I love it there it’s small ish yet highly international. I’ve read they have a higher English speaking percentage ~40%(?) . While I doubt it’s that high overall I know from experience the younger you are the more likely you will speak English regularly or are willing to use it. And this has been similar here in Mexico. However I do need to speak Spanish everyday and it’s not great but I get by fine. My french sucks really bad, also I have the pets, and Strasbourg has a slight better reputation for a slightly better bureaucracy in general and am told some folks actually will be helpful even if they don’t speak English. Hence the saying “colder the weather the warmer the people.”. But brrrr I am seeing the weather and it will be colder but I lived in Erie Pennsylvania. Its all about being properly prepared and dressed for the outside (oh and socks on the toilet seat…)
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Strasbourg is wonderful, it is full of lovely places to see and eat and walk and sit and all sorts of niceness, and as a bonus you can take the tram and do some shopping in Germany as well as your normal French shopping, marvellous.
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Plus it’s very multicultural due to it being the (shared) home of the European parliament.
I’ve not been since the 90s but I have very fond memories of Strasbourg.
Best of luck with your relocation.
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Can you elaborate please, I’ve heard of this and use Airbnb for years but never for this visa stuff. I’ve looked around the site but maybe it’s something that is available only after I’ve booked. Which makes sense.
