Yes, I’ve been looking into that - I need to do some research on the investments that are allowed - also I’ve noticed transaction fees vary quite a bit.
Yogesh
Lovely first post,After these last two years I am all for people making the most of their time
Thank you.
You may well already have this on your list! But request your medical records from NHS before you leave. So much more complicated to do it later. And French doctors often like know things like your vaccination record.
Why?
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I wish you well in achieving your Dream… perhaps it won’t be easy… perhaps there will be hiccups… but it will be fun and well worth the hassle !!
and, of course, you do realize that being retired means you will be busier than ever… 
I know everyone says that Stella, but in my case it is not true! I do not miss working 60 hours a week, and hugely appreciate the time I have to not be busy - drink a cup of tea and watch the birds, go for a couple of hours wallk with the dog, read a book, do my wordless, and waste 20 minutes on SF before heading out to weed
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I can’t wait to retire. I like my job but I’m starting to think I have had enough of it.
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After a certain length of time… 'tis true… one can step back and relax… 
But for the first few years in a “new country” it can be hectic beyond belief.
Apart from all the Officialdom of getting into the System…
Especially if one is doing building works etc etc…
Unless one comes to France with a good language skill and (perhaps) already knowing how France “works”… one can go round and round the houses, to find out how to do something (eg DIY) which might be easy-peasy in one’s “old country”… which one could do “blindfold” knowing exactly what one needed, where to shop for it, how to fit it… etc etc and…
For the Newcomer, often one doesn’t even know what it is, let alone how to discuss with a salesperson.
That sort of thing takes time… and more time… and is, in a way, quite outside our control… 
and, just when one has achieved one’s dream… one is in the System… one’s home is “finished”… one can relax… zzzzzzzz
One can find oneself drawn into the local-life, be it voluntary work or whatever… and one gets back on the go again… (but it is a choice)
That’s the best part of Retirement that one can (in the main) choose what to do… one is “The Boss”… hurrah.
Of course, I am speaking of my own experiences… others’ experiences will differ enormously one way or another I would imagine…
EDIT: “Thanks” to covid, I’ve had much of my free-time back again during these past 2 years… and am seriously wondering if I really want to be quite so available, quite so willing… but only time will tell.
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Sure, we were well occupied with renovation etc and administration - happily our French is good so no problems on that side. But I still wouldn’t say I was as busy as when I was working - phone glued to my ear, calls at all hours, living on lists and coffee, having to do the ironing at 1am as no other time, etc. There have been odd days and weeks were I have operated at a fast pace - we finished the gîte on 22nd December and first clients arrived on 23rd - so that week was busy! But otherwise no where near as hectic.
I guess it depends what one’s life was like before retirement.
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A PEA has less charges than an Assurance Vie if you use an online broker like Bourse Direct, and you can make tax-free withdrawals after 5 years (with an AV it’s 7 years). Don’t worry about the restriction to French companies - you can get ETFs, e.g. tracking MSCI world, etc. An AV is more advantageous for inheritance tax.
Totally agree with Jane. We obtained the VLS-TS from sunny Wandsworth in January (N.B.-they ask you to bring 1 passport photo per person with you- but you need to bring 2!), which we validated online (which now seems the only way) within 4 days of arrival as I dont like hanging about. A few weeks later we were duly summoned for our Controle medicale at the regional immigration office or OFII, and as we passed muster, our visas officially became visiteurs permits for the remaining 11 months. Now we must wait until we can apply to the prefecture (again online) to renew our permits which, we hope will become cartes de séjour for at least 5 years, but apparently no guarantees on duration… In the meantime I am not allowed to work, which is fine as we have lots to keep us busy, but I am twitchy and will feel more settled once we transition, but it can’t be rushed and one has to learn to go with the flow. OH is retired.
I will be applying for our carte vitales soon, as our 3 month wait is almost over.
Thats our recent experience, which may help you.
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