I think I've thought of everything, but they seem like famous last words......
So would you tell me your thoughts on the above. The Pros and Cons of living in France, and what decided you in the end, to make the move?
What do you wish you had known before you made the move?
Its final decision time for me and my family, all thoughts gratefully received!
Thanks :)
Dear Rosemary,
I am new to the site as we're moving to France at the end of July with three boys (8, 7 and 3) and I found your post really helpful. Thank you
Kind regards,
John
Quite agree on the âjust do itâ philosophy and enjoying la belle vie but Iâd say to anyone whoâs coming here to work that they will need good language skills - they help so much getting through all the bureaucracy and other day to day situations and working/living in French all the time.
I also agree that renting first is a good idea - itâs very different living and working in a country compared to coming here on holiday (again not so much the case if youâre retiring here).
Bonne chance Ă Suzi
I transferred to the French headcount of the firm I work for and I traded a commute round the M25 for a wander down the corridor to my home office, so had a job over here, which was probably the main reason, but we also wanted our youngest to be bi lingual
So much iformation is proffered bt those that think we should know all about France before moving here, sorry people but thats balderdash
We moved here five years ago, our knowledge of France, two or three holidays, a short stay by me many years agowhilst serving in the R.A.f. and thatâs it.
The reason we moved here is because we WANTED to, you could write our knowledge of the language on the back of a postage stamp in block capitals, The Financial side was that we had a fair amount of money from the sale of our house in the U.k. In those days though the Euro stood at roughly 1:45 to th pound, so housing was cheaper than chips, we have a nice place, with a pool, an acre or so of garden, and we live in the best part of France, Iâm NOT telling you where in case you decide you want to move here â ( smiling to himself).
We were both retired, me 67, her 61, and we both love it here. Our language skills HAD to improve because the comune we live in is small and habitated by French people. We had a lot of invitations to join various Ex Pat groups but declined them all, the reason, most that belong to these groups rarely speak the national language, prefering to mix and socialise with their own kind,I donât have a problem with that, but I did NOT move here to listen to moans about this and that and all things French.
So to those thinking about coming here, well â just do it â donât listen to all these â experts â they are usually just after a fee anyway ----- langusage skills â PAHHHHHHHHH â youâll pick them up anyway ----------- Finances â well we have good medical care â a good " top up" health insurance â I have had to go into hospital twice, speaking to nurses etc that spoke little English, but i got by, they understood me and I understood them after a fashion.
The pleasures of living here is the âBon Vieâ --the good life ---- donât spoil that by worrying about that which others say is a MUST ------- mind you !!! I am talking as a retired person,???.
âAnyway reading through the posts there were a couple of points that should be cleared up. Firstly TVA, somebody said small artisans donât charge, this is true providing their turnover is less that 32,100 Euros per year. OK for a small âjobbingâ builder but way too low for a professional one. To only pay VAT of 5.5% (on renovations) it must be on your main place of residence and you must also be registered for income tax in France i.e. you are tax resident. You can find more on the French Impots website (www.impots.gouv.fr).â
Hi Chris,
With regards to the above I think it is only fair to clarify that it is not quite as clear cut as you seem to think. The turnover for an artisan to remain as a micro entreprise is slightly in excess of 80,000 not 32,000, that is the service only element and does not include materials. Therefore if you have a working wife and children to care for (i.e. only work 3/4 time as is common in France) it is quite reasonable to have an income of 32,000 per year, especially when the wife has a very decent income as well. It does not mean you are any less professional, it just means that you are not obliged to charge TVA. We manage quite well on that income as you have to remember that outside of the major cities most people manage on 2 x SMIC which is 2718 gross, making approximately 2000⏠net per month.
Please do not imply that artisans not charging TVA are not professional, we are, we are just here to make a decent living not to rip people off.
I didnât know that. Iâve paid many tradesmen for much more than that in cash. It seems to me that the French government gets far too involved in telling businesses and business people what they can and cannot do so they are actually strangling the economy. Sunday sales is an example. There is a Simply supermarket near us that opens on Sunday mornings for 4 hours and itâs wall-to-wall shoppers. This should show the government that there is a pent up demand for Sunday commerce. Why they restrict sales that would add taxes to the government revenues is beyond me.
Mail traveling north and south go by way of the TGV. La Poste has their own TGV trains. You can see them in the Gare de Lyon. The TGV network East-West is still under development.
I came because I got a job with the United Nations in Geneva and colleagues told me that it was less expensive to live in France so we found an apartment in Ferney-Voltaire just over the border and 5 minutes drive to my office. After I retired, we decided to stay in France because we loved the life here and we couldnât agree where else we would want to live in our home countries. We are here now 18 years and still love it especially for the travel opportunities in Europe. Overall the cost of living here is a bit more than in the US but somethings are actually less expensive. I think the French we know or have encountered are polite, friendly and good coversationalists. We had our house built and the company did a first class job. They will have to carry me out in a box.
For anyone who has frustrations with laposte - try the 'ma timbre en ligne â service on the âlaposteâ website. You can print your own stamps in a variety of designs - you simply have to sign up and give them a small advanced payment which you can draw from. Much better than the equivalent on the UK PO site (which for some daft reason makes you do an address label too). The only downside is that it doesnât cover the cheaper rate âecopliâ, which means I still have to go to the post office for my catalogue mailouts.
Hello, good luck with your move. Have read through a few of the replies posted here and my conclusion is that they are mostly if not all, personal opinions. Mine included! My wife and I are both senior citizens and retired here in 2004. We have never looked back. We have tried to learn French with very little success but the people we socialise with ( nearly all French nationals) understand that we try and that is sufficient for them to help us. We have never experienced the reported rudeness of the French people nor have we had difficulties with their burocracy (never could spell that word). Got my French driving licence within 24 hours of applying although an English friend in a neighbouring department took five months. Our medical treatment is near perfect. Monthly visits to the doctor to ensure that all is well. My wife is disabled and I have heart problems and we have both spent considerable time in hospitals. Canât praise their health service highly enough. I know that many people will disagree with me but as I said at the start of this note, they are all personal opinions. Come on over, respect the French way of life, donât give up your heritage but merge it thoughtfull into your new environment.
We've done exactly the same as you, Cathy, and although we are a little sad that we won't be able to get a lovely view of the Pyrenees with our budget, we have found a place which ticks all the boxes when it comes to ease of everyday life, and still gives us some space. With petrol/diesel and food prices up again and unrest in the ME, we think it's better to be close to where you have to be on a daily basis and only have one car, than to be in the middle of the countryside, lovely though it may be. No fermette and chickens for me, sorry. . . ;)
I consider myself to be a Parisian⌠And Iâm damned proud of itâŚ
hiya suzi -best thing we did was rent for a while and it has given us the freedom to really look around and âfeelâ the different areas -we soon realised that we didnât want acres in the middle of nowhere with loads of outbuildings! So glad we didnt rush into buying the first pretty place we came across on the internet!! good luckxx
Hello Suzi, i've been listening to ALL the pro's and con's in your discussion thread - most interesting and informative, and some - like people anywhere - who need to take a deep breath!
Like you we're moving from West Sussex to France - we have taken the plunge and rented a house near Revel, while we look for somewhere to buy. I've handed in my notice at work and the husband has (almost) finished renovating our cottage. I couldn't see if you'd said where abouts your new place is? Anyway - we'll be making the long drive south in April and it'd be great to compare notes - all people keep saying to me just now is "don't forget the paint"
I think I'll start a discussion - "10 Things I Wish I'd Put On The Removal Truck" - feel free to listen in!
best, Teresa
Fab news - panic will now set in but thatâs perfectly natural! Good luck.
WOO HOO!!
Congratulations Suzi! Virtual bottle of champers coming your way right now!
C&J x
Congratulations and happy planning 
Jayne
Hi All
Thanks to vereyone for their input. The decision has been made!
Our offer on the farm was accepted this morning!!!
We are moving to France!!!!
Now the real work begins.......
Suzi X
Having read all the fabulous posts here - Iâm coming to the conclusion that moving to France is probably a bit like falling in love. Sometimes it doesnât make any sense but if it happens and it works, then it is great. Other people might not âget itâ but hey, if youâre happyâŚ