Hi Heather
You can add Thea as a friend on this site and then you can send private messages to each other.
Cher Thea - I'm really a "newbie" to this group but we were here four years as of October 2nd and I have to say that other than having a panic attack the day we received our Visas I've never looked back and have never had a moment's fear. We've had friends tell us "You guys are SO brave to do what you did." However, we don't look at it as brave we just see it as following a dream. And although it might be difficult you can always go back home if it doesn't work out. At least you would have tried something different. Since all your plans are made my advice would be to "go for it" but that's a decision you and your husband will have to make. Look forward to seeing what you decide.
Bon courage et bon chance!
Lyn McIntosh-Sherwood
Brou, Centre Region, France
Hi Thea
Four years ago I left everything to join my (now) husband in France and have never looked back. What a fantastic country to live in.
Thoughts for you though...
1. When/if you eventually buy a house, make sure you are not too isolated.
2. You have put into the system to get health care etc. in France (a lesson UK could learn by) so if this is an issue try to get into work before you need to.
3. If you are not already, get yourself fluent in French asap. Your daughter WILL overtake you.
Good luck :o)
yeah we need a like button
@ Maria - where's the 'like' button when you need it!
maria. i am not scaremongering i am realistic and not seeing things through rose tinted glasses, something i was guilty of before moving to france. the reality is very different for working people to people on pensions and for people who dont bother to understand the french laws.
Hi Carolyn
we are moving to Pellegrue, near Duras. We come next month - probably around the 15th December. Here's hoping for a happy first French Christmas :)
Hi Thea...I'm not certain how you can get in touch with me privately...I can't see anywhere where you can pm..can you?
By the way I almost passed out from fear...when I had to sign the final papers in the solicitors office...I had to ask for a glass of water to put my Rescue Remedy in...LOL
ok thanks both, will bear all that in mind.... we have had people recommended so i'll give them a call. thanks again.
We are retired, but were not civil servants and had to fund our own pension.
It is tough for us because we did not get the price we had hoped for for our house, the exchange rate worked against us and our investments are not giving the return we again had hoped for. We now need to rent out our little house, but would not go back to UK.
Thea, if you take good professional advice re your taxation status, you will not make the mistakes that Wayne is frightening you with.
I really don't know why Wayne belongs to this network, it is for people who love France, but it is not our native country and we do have problems.
Wayne,perhaps you should start up a network Survive UK!
Hi
France isnt far away and change is always upsetting as things get out of the routine. So cheer up and think of all the lovely warm weather and t shirts and new friends you will make, especially as you have a daughter at school. Just get stuck in and offer to get involved and you will be fine. I wonder where you have chosen to live!
Bonne Chance
hi thea. firstly im not an expert so please dont rely on my figures but that also goes for anyone else here. secondly even french accountants get it wrong so make sure you check and double check until you find one that knows what he is doing. not an easy task. if you are self employed in france there are different schemes to register under depending on your turnover. as mentioned one scheme is the autoentrepeneur and is the most simple for most people. if this scheme is no good for you then there is the microscheme but from memory your social charges are 48%. on top of that you have normal income tax and then business taxes as well. please read up about all the schemes. most people make it pay by fiddling the system. they wont admit that here but i can assure you thats what most do. fine till your caught but you will lose your shirt if you are. please as said take your advice from professionals and not other expats. rarely are they correct.
Nothing to be too worried about but you absolutely must know how things work here before launching in. Don't sign anything until you really understand what is involved - easy to end up with 500 euros a month in social charges even if you don't earn a bean... make sure you get some good advice FROM PEOPLE WHO KNOW and don't expect the CCI or URSSAF to advise you IT ISN'T THEIR JOB, THEY'RE SIMPLY THERE TO COLLECT THE TAXES/SOCIAL CHARGES. if you say you want to be self employed they'll do all the paperwork for you, all smiles, but won't help at all when you say you didn't expect it to be like that etc - they'll simply say you're in france not the uk and that's the way it is (and quite rightly so) Having said all that, and I'm repeating myself, I wouldn't go back to the UK for all the tea in china!
hello there, i appreciate your concern and any advice on these matters is gratefully recieved. I know my husband is in talks with our accountants in the hope that we don't miss things that we should be doing, but i have to say, i haven't been too involved as i'm looking after housing/schooling etc (these appear to be my 'jobs')
I don't know what we should or shouldn't do regards taxes/social charges which i guess is naive but now you've worried me even more, i will be spending most of this evening reading on the internet!
yes that was my concern for thea. she mentions her husband going back to uk sometimes to work. that was a big red flag for me. the problem is that many uk people are living in cloud cuckoo land and all giving advice to each other normally incorrectally. my accountant in france has piles of papers for expats that he is trying to sort out nightmares that go back years. i have seen many of the cases it is pitiful the number of expats that were bumbling on for ten years or more and then suddenly have everything seized. and yes as you say it is easily possible to be taxed more than you earn in france and by a large margin. you are on auto entrepeneur sceme. make sure you dont break your limits. thats where i got in big problems as they suddenly wanted tva for a year on items i had not charged tva on.. as for normal regimes. 48% social charges. no thanks
thanks Heather, i'll be in touch! :)
@Wayne, yes we had a thread a while back on un taxed UK cars, insurance etc, someone not long ago didn't realise they had to pay their taxes here even though the company was in London. As for going self employed - i didn't until the auto entrepreneur scheme came along - it wouldn't have been worth it otherwise and there again a recent thread from someone who set up and has bills that are higher than their turnover - yes it's possible - it's France NOT the uk! What pisses me off is having to defend other expats when mates have a go about "encore un autre putain d'anglais qui a acheté... et qui fait/ne fait pas... I'm sure you know what I'm talking about! fortunately it dosn't happen too often as there aren't too many brits in this corner of the aveyron.
This site is the only anglophone contact i have and i find it interesting seeing what others are doing even if it is living in the expat bubble (see earlier thread on expats)
hi andrew nice to see some realism!! i would be interested to know for example how many people here are driving around in uk reg cars. how many have bank accounts the french dont know about, how many think they can pay taxes in uk, how many dont have the legallt required insurance cover etc etc etc etc. the list is horrendous and thats only the obvious things. the not so obvious is worse. for example i bought a van to run my business in france. quite sensibly i thought it would be tax deuctible as in uk. oh no not in france we had to pay extra tax on the van. cant remember what it was called now but it equated that i had to increase my turnover by 20k just for the van taxes. got rid of the van after that and used the car (illegally i might add) but no other way to do it
thanks again all for the encouraging words - all i really needed to hear to reassure me that it's 'normal'. I appreciate that there are many for whom the move has not worked out, however, i will make the move, and just hope i can make it work for my family. I personally would struggle to spend the rest of my days wondering 'what if' - it's a big world out there. If i hate it, i'll give the notice on the house, the notice to my UK tenants and get in the car and come back. thanks again guys!
Hi Thea...we moved to SW France five years ago on 1st November.
Like you I was terrified...leaving the UK at 65 was a huge step...however I can honestly say that I've loved it here from day one...and would never go back by choice....and neither would any of my many friends...in fact on the rare occasions that I do go back to see family and friends...I can't wait to return to this lovely country.
As for speaking French...we stumble along...however as long as you give it a try...even if it's not correct the French will meet you half way.
We live about a half hour's drive from Duras...so if you need help...feel free to get in touch.
Blessings to you.
PS like you I've been a lurker...my third reply :-)