Time for Angloinfo to close down?

For a long time now I have heard ex pats giving out advice on how to do things here & quoting Angloinfo as their source. In most cases this is fine but sometimes the advice or information given is incorrect, out of date or possibly dangerous. Much information is given by “experts” who are actually just scaremongering to further their business in a particular field. Recently, though, the moderators seem to have adopted a draconian approach to editing the forums which now borders on the suppression of freedom of speech!

Today I joined a discussion about uninsured drivers & described them as mean irrisponsible morons. I went on to suggest that if one saw a uk reg car with nothing at all in the windscreen, get a chalk pen, highlight the areas where the insurance & CT vignettes go & write “assurance?” & “Control Technique?” across the screen for all to see. No swear words, no names but within a few minutes my reply had been edited to a meaningless " why not ask the driver…"

I have had things removed before - a reply to someone asking if anybody knew where a replacement Sky remote could be bought. My reply was “My friend Bob sells new ones” & was removed for promoting a commercial enterprise. With no contact details? However, an advert telling of a good deal to be had on lap tops from a company www.cheap computers.net was allowed to stay although also posted by a private individual.

I think Angloinfo is not as good as a site posing as the font of all knowledge should be, its moderators over zealous & inconsistant. Does anyone else share my view?

Hi Annette

Love the languedoc, have a little house near Pézenas for weekends away but also have to be honest and say that there are certain elements that I detest and that don't exist in the Aveyron. I'm talking from a non expat point of view - the view point of my other half and the dozens of aveyronnais I have as friends or have worked with - they all pop down to to the hérault for the sea, a lot have an apartment or house there but pretty much all of them are of the same opinion... once you pass the pas de l'escallette it's not only the climat that changes, mentalities can be so different and crime rates go from almost the lowest in France to pretty much top of the table! I'm not "slagging it off" I love it down there but am being realistic for others ;-)

Hi John

I'm envious - I'm working late on a translation and will be working most of the weekend with my kids getting in my hair. Someone I worked with a while ago said he spent 5 years just watching TV trying to understand while his girlfriend was at work. He ended up doing all sorts of odd jobs and in the end found teaching work but only once his French was good enough. I did some odd jobs in France too when I started but I opted for the easy option and went to evening classes in the uk, then uni, then uni here in france, all as a "mature" student so I didn't have to go through the early stages - I take my hat off to all those who do: I had a German girlfriend for a while, I ws already learning French and Italian so trying to learn some german too was a nightmare - I didn't bother as she spoke good english but it was a nightmare when I went to meet her once , caught the wrong bus, ended up in the middle of the german countryside and had to thumb a lift to the nearest town... I got there in the end with some very basic poor german, a humbling experience.

Glad the secu looked after you and obviously sorted you out ok.

as for being a "house-husband" I agree with you if it's that or a job you don't want to do for the smic and then having childcare costs... not really worth it especially considering family life. we're lucky down here in the aveyron, there are plenty of brilliant nounou and the local village schools are great. It'd be a different story if we were in Toulouse and another world in Paris!

Quite agree with you on what you say about ex-pats who come here thinking they'll get work without speaking French, and they expect good jobs and pay too! It took me quite a while and no CDI anywhere even though I'm tri-lingual and a qualified teacher! (+ done a whole host of other things, artistic blacksmith, estate agent... to name just a few)

Gracious me I've only just caught up with this thread and am fairly startled at some of these Languedoc remarks. Not a happy camper.

They cover most fields that we find interesting and it is good to have such corroboration that they are a trustworthy source of information.

Take note evderyone of you need some help!

I have up to date training with Century 21 and I always find that FP is always on the ball and correct.

My feeling too John but only once you leave the coast well behind you :wink:

Quite! and add to that the thousands of French who move south to the Hérault each month, yes each month and the well known farniente attitude of the south - easier to live off benefits than work - and the situation can often become rather heated! Friends (French) born in the Hérault moved up to the Aveyron and don't ever want to go back as they can't stand the "attitude" there (just quoting what they say)

All that said I still have a soft spot for the climat, vegetation, scenery, sea... it's only the next département from us but it's another country/world!

Yes - we don't normally bite!

The problem is - this is an area of high unemployment and more Brits looking for work hardly makes it easier.

There was a whingeing bit in the Languedoc Pages the other day - point is - what do we expats have to offer?

Doctors, Dentists, nurses, electrians, plumbers and builders and people with skills can find work but many people come and expect to be able to work and yet have no qualifications. It is not easier than in the UK - so why would anyone think they can walk into a job especially if they don't speak French.

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We have just had a conference call with our financial advisors and when I mentioned French-Property Newsletter to them, they agreed that it is very well run and provides up to date financial information, in fact they help with some of the items themselves.

So for good advice on tax and money matters as well as other subjects, subscribe to the Nerwsletter.

Speaking of AI censorship, last week I had a comment removed. The thread was asking how to transfer ownership of a house without selling. Someone had replied that if they had bought the house using a tontine that would be easy, otherwise very costly. I posted that also using an SCI would have helped, then I added a comment to ask if anyone could explain how an SCI worked. My whole post was removed for being 'off topic'.

AngloInfo, your days are numbered!!

French-Property Newsletter will keep you up to date with any changes in French taxation, property law, health matters, education and anything else of interest to those of us english speaking ex-pats living in France. Its editor, David Yeates, actively encourages feedback and interaction if you have a problem. It does not provide a facility for advertisements, although you can advertise your property for sale with them on the French-Property website. You do not have to be a subscriber to receive their free newsletter.

I used AI to look for information when re-registering my car when we came to France, and guess what, it was out of date!

I have no interest in French-Property.com at all,other than finding them very useful and interesting.

I have not read all the posts, so sorry if its been mentioned before. I wonder at any site like AI etc that profess to be a fountain of knowledge, when that fountain is incorrect. I read the electrical section of how to do French electrics on the AI site and it seemed out right dangerous to me so I bought a French book on the rights and wrongs.

So what is the legal point, if I wired my house to AI guidelines, someone died as a result of this through electrocution, who is to blame AI for giving me incorrect information or me for following it? The same applying to the forum know it alls who state 'facts' !

You need to come back down to the south, having said that my OH sometimes gets treated as much as a foreigner as me because her accent's just a tiny bit different being from the other side of the Aveyron! Fortunately no problems at school picking the kids up, pretty much everyone says hello and I shake hands with most of the other Dads, and je fais la bise with the mums I know (not many unfortunately...!) but as with everywhere people are always wary at first, despite whether you were born in the next village or country and I am talking about a small village school where some of the other parents are in the same cycling club as I am so we see each other in another context. having said all that we were just a few km up the road for a while in the Cantal - different département, different région, different people, apart from workmates it was and still is very hard to get anywhere and even when people do say hello and acknowledge you it often doesn't go any further than that until there's a "reason" to talk to you - sport or club or something :-O

Hear hear! Very well put John.

What a sane and interesting post from John. And of course he is right - the opening up of these sorts of media is bound to result is all sorts of friction. There is a group for Dutch Barge owners - a pretty placid lot you might think with a top speed of 10 mph - but they squabble the whole time. It is fun to watch in a nasty voyeuristic way!
I agree SFN does a fine job - often pick up useful info and ideas. But as a sort of webmaster I prefer to run a factual site - aimed at local people and above all factual in a third person sort of way. Not better not worse but hoping to address the local issues. www.heraultwhatson.info
We don’t get sparky really - the odd nasty posts but facts and facts seems a good commodity to work in - dull even but…
For all that it is good to have such a well argued and well written piece - thanks John

Mark - interesting and just such a silly bit of editing on their part. My view is local is probably best - there will probably be a local website with all the important details of people who can actually visit your dead boiler, listless cat etc etc
In Languedoc Roussillon we have a host of local sites = close to the readers in the area. I run one for Herault - www.heraultwhatson.info.
Small is best they say - local is better too

Hi Joanna - If you really want me to I will call you a pedant but it seems a little hard!

Truth is I suspect they are run out of offices in Buxton Derbyshire - or Leamington Spa and have a slim grasp of France but do run a worldwide franchise. A sort of www equivalent of a Big Mac. I suspect that at board meetings they use that attractive phrase “it’s the bottom line - stupid”

I stopped looking at Anglo Info on the grounds of accuraacy when the name of our local site was changed from Aquitaine to Dordogne - last time I looked the Gironde was not in the Dordogne. OK, call me a pedant…

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Can i have a say please