The one with the tightest curds is the best.
We arrived back in France yesterday and are convinced food prices have gone up considerably in the last 2 years. Quite surprised actually.
Funnily enough we said the same thing towards the end of last year.
If you get the bumf that comes via the post, you can shop more carefully
I look to buy chickens, label rouge, when there is a special offer and
then freeze them.
You can do the same for whatever you choose to buy.
.
Yes, Jane… the Publicité is very helpful.
We used to take delivery… and I would use it to improve my French…
but I found that all the bumpf started cluttering the letterbox, so now we read it next door, (their letter box is bigger) over a coffee and a chat… 
When we first arrived in France our elderly neighbour wrote Non Pub on our letterbox. At first we thought it was a reference to ‘party animal brits’ 
Gooness knows where she got her ideas 
Good idea.
Unfortunately, we have second homes as our neighbours.
Oh dear… it really did help our written and spoken French… and cemented the friendship.
Sadly, we have more 2nd homes/inheritances than Residences in the village. But, thankfully, those properties are bunched-up on the far side…
We have Les Dames de Lundi.
French and English Ladies who come together in each others hones every Monday morning.
We chat and then read from a bi-lingual book, which helps our pronunciation.
We are on our second Jack London book.
Thanks I’ve taken a look and I am covered as one of the 30 listed I’ll looking in to that further but looks like potentially I’d get 100% back we still need insurance for David though so I’ll look in to both more just so we know
As has been suggested… contact @fabien.
Even with ALD 100%… you will need to ensure that you do not incur bills for health situations which are NOT covered under the ALD umbrella.
Fabien will give you info on costs, which will help you plan your budget.
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Thanks Stella I will contact Fabien, but I’ll wait for a couple of weeks to hopefully see where Brexit is taking us first as things are so volatile right now. Things could change. I was planning on still having additional insurance also as there are never any certainties in life.
Having had a good long talk with David over the weekend I think we are now sticking to our original plan of 4 possibly even 5 years now before making a permanent move. A lot could change in that time both here and in France so it’s all about a watchful eye, for the time being and planning hard doing what we can when we can etc. Thanks for the advice though it’s been extremely useful.
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Think that is a very wise decision guys 
Wetherspoons, and the Wetherspoons culture is one reason we’re looking to leave England. 
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I like to suppport our local markets which have good reliable vendors, especially the local eleveurs who sell duck products, poultry, pork, lamb. There are local fruit and veg growers and good cheese too. The melon man comes very soon, and the cherry man has been and gone but will be back in autumn with his chasselas grapes.
The delay in your reply is about the same length of time as it takes to get served in Wetherspoons! 
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That is a hard question, but I think it is fair to say that it is much easier to be poor in France.
You can buy an old house in need of restoration for very little money in areas where there isn’t much work. Food is cheap if you buy supermarket own brands and market produce.
If you have to pay tradesmen to do work for you it can seem expensive, but it costs a lot to run a business and workers get a decent minimum wage.
Learning to live in a new country can be costly until you get to know the best places to go for stuff. But lots of tips to be found on SF.
It is very much a one way ticket. Houses here are much easier to buy than sell and many Brits go home poorer but wiser. That’s why I always suggest renting for a year before making a commitment.
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It often seems to me that people who think France is more expensive than the UK are comparing the familiar international brands - and they’re right about these - but forgetting the much cheaper housing, travel, wine - and other essentials!
I know its an old thread, but I thought this was relevant
Being the suspicious sort of chap I am I think this may be subtle propaganda. Way back in 1982 when we lived in Grenoble we noticed that prices in our local Carrefour in “posh” Melan were higher than ones in a more disadvantaged area (the name of whch I forget 
) on the other side of the city. The selection of products were different too, more geared to North African tastes. Different items were discounted differently in each location too.
So, I suspect the basket of goods in this comparison are cheaper ‘up North” than South Ken and more expensive in Nice than Lille (for want of another name) Therefore a comparison between baskets purchased in Nice vs Bradford would flatter the UK prices.
Maybe I’m overthinking this 
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