Money, money, money

Progress report - Project Buy in France (BIF) 5) Save money   Saving money is very much like losing weight – both are painful, slow and require supreme willpower. Unfortunately, my pain threshold is pitifully low; I’m impatient and I was definitely

Une étudiante à Londres

  Progress report - Project Buy In France (BIF) Step one: Become fluent in French   My failure to get anywhere with this specific step may well be a case of once burnt, twice shy. Last time I moved abroad (to Italy), I was convinced that

Resolve

So, having promptly decided upon six-step programme to help me along the way to buying a house in France (hereby referred to as the BIF programme), I am proud to report that, like every resolution I have ever made (and probably, based on a less-than-scientific-survey

A tall order?

  To do:   1) Become fluent in French 2) Learn to drive 3) Persuade recalcitrant boyfriend of six years to marry me 4) Learn essential building skills 5) Save money 6) Buy house in France   That is my current, and quite frankly

Call off the search…

  Two days ago, I once again found myself in the rather unfortunate position of having to board the Eurostar in Paris’ Gare du Nord, which whisked me back to London and reality far too quickly. Unfortunate, I might add, because I had absolutely

Health of the nation

Did anyone see this http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6149246.ece in the Sunday Times this week?   If you’re constantly put off moving lock, stock and barrel to France by scare stories in the press,

On a budget?

Budget build up   I’m sure you’re all waiting on tenterhooks for the budget announcement tomorrow. With Darling set to announce a series of measures aimed at helping hard-pressed homeowners in the UK and boosting mortgage availability, perhaps

French Property News lands on Twitter

http://twitter.com/BuyinFrance  ...Yes, we've succumbed and are now officially members of the Twitterati. Follow us by following the link above  

Country living

Had you asked me last week, I would have described myself as one of those rare breeds that is equally comfortable in the country or in the city, having spent the first half of my life in various rural outposts and the latter half living slap, bang in

The prodigal pounds

  Well my intrepid, prodigal pounds have returned from their little trip to India but, thanks to the world’s economy, they are worth considerably less now than they were when they were stolen two weeks ago.   I’m currently hoping that the

Why are we waiting?

It’s been a strange week indeed. The clocks have gone back meaning that, by the time I leave FPN HQ, it’s already pitch black; we’ve had our first snowfall and the pound has taken a nosedive. What’s more, my personal pounds (all three of them) have disappeared

Restoring hope?

It's easy to get caught up in all this doom and gloom, which is why, for the last month I’ve been busy reminding myself (and hopefully readers too) of just why France is such a magical place.   The first reminder came in an email from my mother