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02/05/2008, 20:33 Bugbear Joined on 15/11/2006 Vienne (86) Posts 3,517 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France?  sara77 wrote: Anyway, for the person who said this was like a soap ... tune in next week when Sara turns up on Rons doorstep and offers him 1500 euros to take her cats and give them a better life! (or was it 1500 pounds) I'm not a 'person' Sara, I'm a living walking god, total master in my own universe (but it's only a small one , my universe that is !) My five penneth to you, lighten up a bit, sift through the comments, laugh at the stuff that gets to you, give as good as you get and most of all enjoy this 'virtual' world that we all spend time in. Gary.   "Life is Short - Forgive Quickly - Love Truly - Laugh Uncontrollably"    Report

02/05/2008, 23:10 blackcat Joined on 16/04/2008 Posts 30 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France?  Bugbear wrote:  sara77 wrote: Anyway, for the person who said this was like a soap ... tune in next week when Sara turns up on Rons doorstep and offers him 1500 euros to take her cats and give them a better life! (or was it 1500 pounds) My five penneth to you, lighten up a bit, sift through the comments, laugh at the stuff that gets to you, give as good as you get and most of all enjoy this 'virtual' world that we all spend time in. Gary.   I'll drink to that. cheers    Report

02/05/2008, 23:23 blackcat Joined on 16/04/2008 Posts 30 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France? Amanda, thanks for your reply, I really appreciate what you've said and it must have been hard for you being alone. So glad it all worked out for you. People I know that have made the move abroad have said similar things to you so Ive taken it all on board. Thanks to all of you for your replies, and for Benjamin who said he was off to lay in a darkened room, thats where Im off to now. My, this thread is long ...:D    Report

03/05/2008, 11:49 Grecian Joined on 24/01/2007 West Yorkshire Posts 87 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France? Although at the moment we still live in the UK, on our visits to France I regularly call into any Lidl supermarkets we come across in France, to compare prices with the UK. Bearing in mind that Lidl stock some of the same products in France as the UK, I would say that on the whole the products in the French Lidl stores are somewhere near 20% cheaper than the UK. This time last year they were 30% cheaper, due to the higher exchange rate.      Report

04/05/2008, 9:55 Val_2 Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 3,054 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France?  sara77 wrote:   . Another week I was on a parenthood forum and someone had a go at me because Im a Stay at Home mum and apparently its not right that my husband is out doing his bit and Im not!      Sara, I've been a stay at home Mum for the past 24 years and its only when I came to France that I was offered a job albeit part time,but still a job.  I've also run the business side of the family business for 32 years as well and help the OH with the work as well.I am not ashamed to be a housewife which is still pretty unusual here today in France.    Report

05/05/2008, 20:29 Rob Roy Joined on 11/03/2006 19 - Correze Posts 663 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France? Sara, I think you should be proud to be a stay at home mum - it's the most important job in the world. The only thing I would like to ask you is why you are thinking of moving to the Dordogne? It is quite an expensive area in which to buy property, and from what I understand (I might be wrong) the local taxes can be higher than some other rural areas of France. You mentioned about your husband needing to fly to the UK from Bergerac - where does he need to fly to, could you not use another local airport instead, that might have cheaper flights anyway ? (if it's Ryanair then Bergerac is always one of the most expensive). Re: your living costs, if you can grow a load of your own veg, keep some chickens, rabbits etc then you can cut down on your weekly shopping bills, and once you get to know your neighbours you'll find you'll be given all sort of produce in exchange for whatever you can offer (not necessarily foodstuffs). At least that is our experience. Good luck with your plans.    Report

06/05/2008, 12:19 blackcat Joined on 16/04/2008 Posts 30 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France? Yes, I am proud of being a stay at home mum and was astounded at the reaction of the lady on that forum and gave my reply as well as I could without being too rude! What she didnt know is that Id also been a working mum for 11 years prior to my present 4 years at home so had seen things from both view points. But I guess thats the trouble with forums, unless you post up your life story noone really knows the full picture. We are looking to move around that area because the children would like to be around some british families like us, at least for the first couple of years. I have had some lovely e-mails from mums living in the Bergerac/Eymet area who have been most encouraging and given me so much information. Some also have husbands that commute to the UK and have made it work for them so I found that very reassuring too.            Report

06/05/2008, 13:14 Belle Joined on 05/03/2008 Posts 108 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France? sara did you get my mail giving you a break down of our costs    Report

06/05/2008, 18:48 Sprogster Joined on 23/08/2004 Var & C.I. Posts 287 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France? sara77, It seems to me that the main issue is the practicality of maintaining the best of both worlds on a long term basis, where you and the children enjoy the perceived better quality of life in France, whilst your husband continues to work in the UK where you say his trade is paid three times as much as compared to what he could earn in France. The best way for you to find out would be to move to France for a year and rent a house, to see if the dream lives up to reality and experience what are the financial implications, which can be complicated if your husband continues to work and be resident in the UK. For example, your husband is obliged to continue to pay UK National Insurance if he works in the UK, so do you have to pay the equivalent French charges as well and what exactly would be your situation with regards to French health care under the new rules in this situation?      Report

06/05/2008, 19:15 Scooby Joined on 25/09/2007 Peak District Posts 244 Re: Cost of Living for familes in France?  Sprogster wrote: The best way for you to find out would be to move to France for a year and rent a house, to see if the dream lives up to reality and experience what are the financial implications, which can be complicated if your husband continues to work and be resident in the UK. Agree totally Sprogster    Report

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France Forum » Living » Earning a Livin... » Cost of Living for familes in France?

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