Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

Making the Move From Outside the EU

Considering a move from Australia to France

Daniel5791 19/07/2007, 4:40
Hi,

After purchasing my Citroen, I have become enamored with all things French, and my fiance and I are considering seriously the prospect of leaving Australia and moving to France, probably the south of France, but we are open to anything really. I am 31 and she is 39, we both work in the casino industry, but I also have a marketing degree, and also coach tennis. I am a UK passport holder and she is an Australian citizen. Realistically, we would expect to take about 420k Euro with us, maybe a little more.

We would be looking for a basic house with a good deal of land, enough to grow some vegetables, fruit, herbs, and keep some chickens! Basically we are looking for a very simple way of life. The only real drama logistically with the move is that our two dogs would have to come with us. Has anyone experienced taking their dogs such a long distance into France, and is it a major hassle? Also we would probably want to take some furniture with us, but we are not sure how cost inhibitive that would be, does anyone know about the cost of containers or the like?

Obviously our investigating is in it's infancy at this stage, but I am wondering about the employment prospects for younger people such as us in France. Is it even possible to find work of any sort in rural type areas of the country? I realise the language is crucial to success there, and we would do our best to learn as much as poss before we departed.

Any ideas or hints are most welcome, thanks for reading!

Daniel

Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

cooperlola 19/07/2007, 9:33

Have a look at this

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/2/925165/ShowPost.aspx#925165

Some experiences of people in your very situation.

Healthcare Issues Site

Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

Daniel5791 20/07/2007, 3:00
Thanks for that, I will read with interest!

Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

Jura 25/07/2007, 19:20
Stay where you are. A Citroen is not a good indicator of how life here will be.

Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

Gardian 25/07/2007, 23:05

wen wrote:
Stay where you are. A Citroen is not a good indicator of how life here will be.

Not perhaps the most helpful of contributions.

From that distance, it's very hard to suggest any income-generating solutions, which in reality is what you need for the foreseeable future. If you want to live rurally, then you might as well forget whatever it is that you've done professionally hitherto.

This is such a life-changing situation for the two of you, that I can't see any alternative to a serious & lengthy recce over here to try to settle on an area and a possible means of income. Whether that's CdH / Gites is a matter for you.

Put the dogs issue out of your minds for the moment - all that is capable of being sorted out.

Area
Income
Affordability
Details (incl pets!)

Best wishes !!

Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

Daniel5791 26/07/2007, 2:05
Hi and thanks for your replies. (although Wen's was a little silly-I wouldn't base an international move on the qualities of a car! )

I may not have conveyed in my message that this will not happen for at least three years anyway, so there is certainly time to get loads of info together and make an informed decision on which way to proceed. I would also plan on heading over to France for a few weeks holiday first before making a final decision. One question I do have however, is regarding property price trends in France generally. Is the market fairly stagnant, especially in rural areas? If this is so, is there any forecast of which way property prices generally may move in the next 3-5 years. I would hate to get to a point where we can move only to find it is now unaffordable.

Obviously the employment side of things is the major consideration. Our savings wouldn't last long without a job. Probably becoming self employed in some area of business would be a necessity. Does anybody have any ideas on how the French accept foreigners running businesses in villages?

Anyway, that's it for now. Again thanks for reading

Daniel

Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

LyndaandRichard 26/07/2007, 5:05
Compared to Australia, house prices in France rise very slowly. However, France has a new president in who says he is going to bring France into the 21st century (by-passing the 20th century on the way), so who knows what this means.

Living rurally (I guess we are rural, there isn't a major town for 20 minutes where we live), we have found that cost of living to be a lot cheaper in France compared to Australia. However when you start working, that's when they seem to screw you into the ground especially if you are a small business (also known as the milk cow). The charges are quite horrendus at the moment. But again, the new Pressy might have changed this by the time you come out. But personally, I doubt it, he is a politician after all, but on the other hand he could surprise me.

The French seem to like Australians, and I don't think they'd have a problem if we ran a business.

Your Property in France

Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

Jura 27/07/2007, 18:46

Yeah, they like 'proper' Australians L and R. Brits living in Oz and still holding UK passports are not 'proper' Australians. And yes, they can tell the difference!.

Re: Considering a move from Australia to France

LyndaandRichard 28/07/2007, 15:14

wen wrote:
Yeah, they like 'proper' Australians L and R. Brits living in Oz and still holding UK passports are not 'proper' Australians. And yes, they can tell the difference!.

<yawns. scratches derrière.>

Your Property in France

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