Certainly interesting points of view which for a younger man like myself are worth considering going forward. Good at a lot of things except languages, maybe the forever place is the UK. Certainly as most EU places require 1/2 million for residency. I see us keeping the french house for another 5 years and then considering what to do. No children so if the house is taken to provide care for which ever one or both of us as required it won’t be an issue. Relatives of the in laws have already begun in fighting over their parents estate even though neither has died. I basically explained the inheritance tax in france (as I understand it) so they won’t be inheriting very much and will have to.then argue over the large tax bill.
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I’ve never lived anywhere full-time, I go to the UK from time to time and enjoy my visits to family in Scotland and friends in the south but I wouldn’t want to live there.
Live where, you kind of hopped around the UK in.that post.
Not THAT Woodstock. 
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I have a relative who lives near your Woodstock, AM, it’s a lovely area.
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Really? I love Northern Ireland. I have family there and an old Mum whom I pop over to visit at least 4 times a year. She lives in Crawfordsburn. It’s a 30 minute walk down a country lane and then the woods to the beach. Hardly a speck of litter in sight because the locals go round picking it up. And when you get to the beach you only have to plonk yourself on a bench for 5 minutes before someone will join you for a chat.
10 miles up the road Belfast is unrecognisable from the city I grew up in. In a good way. Almost everyone I encounter- whether it’s strangers in the street or the officials in the rates office- are a pleasure to talk to.
The health service is shite and so is the weather but I love the place to bits.
I’m very fond of Strasbourg too. And even Schiltigheim on a good day.
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I wouldn’t want to live anywhere in the UK permanently. But I love my visits.
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Small world indeed. I used to have a small cottage right by the Kissing Gate off Manor Road in Woodstock. (For those not in the know, this is the place where you can jump over a style and gain access to Blenheim at will…did that at nighttime to smoke a joint or two I recall).
..as for Kidlington - I’m not sure if still done but when that big Sainsbury’s opened, and 24hr shopping was introduced, and when my eldest when a baby could not sleep…I used to go to the supermarket at 3am or just to try to get her to sleep.
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No Stella, unfortunately her finances would make it impossible already checked & double checked so she said she has to ‘love’ France for life…… but she does buy a Lotto ticket occasionally 
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I would continue to live in London for the travel permit meaning barely using my car. What I want to see is the re building of our infrastructure and industries rather than the profits going abroad. That’s why admire France, it does at least try to control its infrastructure and you can see where the money gets spent.
? Think you’ve sent this to the wrong person 
Sorry the lovey bright French sunshine stopped me seeing my screen clearly 
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I did my get first emergency response exercise in the police station there, a proper baptism of fire.
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I’m not sure the kissing gate and style are there now, rather a wall and lockable access to the public footpath from Manor road.
I work on the north side of Kidlington on a site that was fields until 5 years ago. A key reason I want to move elsewhere is that the area is just increasingly built up, with green fields going under estates and warehouses, vast numbers of cars. The rural feeling has gone. Local councils appear to be taking bungs from the developers, because you couldn’t rationalise the lack of planning any other way, and out of town shopping has gutted town centres. Oxford council appear to be anti-car at any cost, and determined to sod up local transport systems.
When we drive up the Cherwell valley on the way home we’re reminded of why we have loved living here, but it’s getting really crowded, with thousands of cars daily through the village. Plans for Upper Heyford to become a new town like Milton Keynes have not yet been completely shelved, and we’re fighting to resist enormous developments (2 theme parks, industrial warehousing and transport hub with expected >1 million car journeys per year to the area).
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Oh so sorry to hear this!…and no kissing gate…boo.
Where do you think that you will go next?…I used to work in a small architectural practice in West Wycombe and that was lovely but think too that the motorcar and all the infrastructure needed to support it is destroying much that was once splendid hence my thoughts of living either (once again) in an isolated place (West Cost Scotland) or in a proper muckle City. London would suit.
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OMG my old stomping ground and where mum was born. Got family vaults up in the churchyard there along with loads of family interred. I visited WW back in 2017 to put flowers on the in-laws and grandparents graves, it had changed with the types of businesses there were but that traffic will never cease. Grandparents lived just by the pedestal
Ah, Crawfordsburn ! We would often take walks along the seafront at Carnalea and end up in Crawfordsburn of a Sunday. A welcome break from life in East Belfast!
My parents were pushed out of NI at gunpoint in the seventies…and all my brothers left or had left by that stage.
So my memories are mixed: idyllic childhood in the fifties, excellent public facilities and services …and then the Troubles and the ugliness of human nature fully exposed.
Maybe I would go back in other circumstances but my wife is of Spanish/Italian extraction and could/would not stand that wet Norn Iron weather!
Good luck with your adventure!
GITES à la française
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Saw an article on BBC this very morning about a Whistl logistics centre which appears to have devastated a community, who say they were not given enough information. It does look very dominating on the videos shown, plus flooding and ground movement claims.
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Perhaps my situation is different, but I’ve got another 30 odd years of work left before retirement, and I’d head on back to the UK for better job opportunities.
On top of that, I’m hearing impaired which is worsening. French is my 3rd / 4th-ish language and the impairment is noticeably making communication more tricky. It’s exhausting.
English, being my first language would open up a tremendous amount of experiences for me. Plus, BSL is going to help me more. I’ll hopefully become more fluent in BSL.
Other things, but to a lesser extent include better food and variety of. Greek food in the UK is, in my opinion, far superior to anything I’ve eaten here in France.
I actually prefer the climate of SE England to the Pay Basque.
I’ll get hated on for this, but my experience is still valid. I also can’t get on with the noise that people make here. Having been here near on 15 years, I still find that they talk at the top of their voices no matter where they are…. And I’m hard of hearing.. 
When I visit the UK, I go to a restaurant or cafe and it’s so pleasant, calm and peaceful. Better for my nervous system. OK, not all the time, pubs for example are noisy.
Having said that, living here has enriched parts of my life and I’m eternally grateful for that chance.
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For several years, I was a local councillor for a country village back in UK.
Not easy to stand firm when up against the Big Boys. Of course, we couldn’t win every battle, but we did win some important skirmishes, which guarded the community/our community just that little bit longer… 
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