Search Sort Posts:  Oldest to newest Newest to oldest

06/02/2007, 20:44 Chrisb Joined on 23/08/2004 Manche (50) Posts 284 Re: 2 Families on the move Hi Mr Riff Don't worry, I'm sure no-one is upset!! I'm afraid one of the worst things you can do on a forum such as this is to post things like 'better quality of life for the children' 'the UK is going down hill' -,many people think that they shouldn't really be reasons for wanting to move to France and they usually get somebody's goat, although I must say, I think you have had some pretty decent replies, especially from Dick. Browse these forums, ask lots of questions (put on your flak jacket!), prepare yourself for all eventualities, try and have a contigency plan in place and enough money to get you going, then, if it's really what you want to do, just do it!! There will always be those who have had bad experiences in education, in business etc etc and, quite rightly, they will want to pass them on. Remember, the people who post on here are only a very small proportion of those who actually live and work in France................people do come over here and make a go of things, and there is no reason why you shouldn't do the same. Your children may, or may not get on well at school - I would say that they are all still of an age where they should manage pretty well. Good luck and keep posting those questions!! Regards Chris    Report

06/02/2007, 21:05 Teamedup Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 5,950 Re: 2 Families on the move If you read lots and lots of threads in the Health Section or the Education Section, and all the rest, you will see lots of advice and points of view. I just don't like comments about 'a better life'......... just like that. I don't see any of the kids I have seen grow up in France having 'a better life' than my friends kids in the UK. In fact my friends and families kids in the UK are generally far more successful. And maybe you will say, well, we are escaping the rat race, but the fact is that young people in France find themselves equally unable to afford to buy housing, not, might I add, aided by all the flush foreigners coming in pushing up prices in the regions so favoured by the brits............ and I won't even discuss unemployment amongst the young here. I just see a country good things, bad things and these jolly happy posts full of excitement about somewhere I just don't recognise, m'agace sometimes.   AND it is my view that to live in France one needs a pretty thick skin. The french, are absolutely wonderful at sharp, acid comments and insisting on 'their' point of view, valid or not, real experts they are and personally once I got the hang of it all, well, I think it is great.    Report

06/02/2007, 21:24 LanguedocGal2 Joined on 05/01/2007 Posts 158 Re: 2 Families on the move  riff_raff wrote: things but you can only ask the same questions so many times to each other and thats is why we have come on here. This is not targeted specifically at you but a lot of people who write into this forum, saying that they are moving to France for a ‘’better life’’. These same people then go on to ask the most BASIC questions about the country. When I read these questions, I always wonder how anyone can declare they will have a ‘better life’ in a foreign country when they know SOD ALL about the country and its systems? I’m sorry but I do not consider years of going somewhere on holiday as a good basis for deciding that that country and systems can offer you a ‘better’ way of life. A cheaper house, better weather, better beaches maybe, but not necessarily a better life for one’s family with all the variables that it entails. When you move here, you may have a great life and everything could work out for you but the whole experience could also be a disaster.  You will never know until you try it You should not only be asking these questions to each other (I’m assuming you are talking about your partners), France is a country with very complicaed systems. You should start by contacting national and local organisations that deal with your area of work, the French education authorites etc etc. Surely, that’s where any intelligent research should start and for it to be complemented by people’s experiences on forums or elsewhere.  What is the name of the organisation in France governing your sector? This is France so there are bound to be at least ten for starters How many official French organisations have you been in touch with since you decided to move here?  This question goes to you and anyone else planning to move to another country. If I decided to move to Sweden (it will never happen as too cold), my first point of contact would be the Swedish national and local (to my chosen area) authorities to advise me on taxation, schooling, health contributions etc etc. Surely, that’s only sensible? I simply wish that some of the thousands of people who return to the UK every year after their search for ‘better life’ abroad (not just France) would contribute to forums as they could offer invaluable advice. I personally know a few but sadly, none of them are interested in dwelling on ‘issues’ that made them return to the UK. I sincerely wish you lots of luck Riff-Raff and like others have done, I'd stress that you should have a very healthy bank balance after you have bought your home because even if you do not need to spend a fortune on renovations, you will need it to live on before your business starts making a profit. On a personal level, I enjoy myself here but I spent years researching everything and I am also fluent but none of these have prevented all pitfalls.  I chose to live in France of the 21st century and not the one that resembles the UK of the 1950s (whatever that was) as so many people seem to crave when they move to rural France. Whether you choose to live in time-warp or modern France, you will need to know all about the modern systems if you are to run any business. Otherwise, wait until you retire as the retired ‘’appear’’ to be the most successful UK immigrants here.      Report

06/02/2007, 21:28 Russethouse Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 10,158 Re: 2 Families on the move One lady forum member was going to run a carp lake so you may find some relevant posts. www.quimperclub.org 99    Report

06/02/2007, 21:35 Russethouse Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 10,158 Re: 2 Families on the move One lady forum member was going to by a carp lake so you may find some relevant posts. Here is one : http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/711954/ShowPost.aspx www.quimperclub.org 99    Report

06/02/2007, 22:33 Coco Joined on 14/12/2005 Manche 50 Posts 699 Re: 2 Families on the move  KathyC wrote: Hi I often think that what many people are looking for is a move from the town/city to the country rather than from the UK to France . Personally, I feel  that it might be worthwhile asking yourselves the question "If we could buy the country property/lake/renovation project/guest house for the same price in the UK as we can in France, would we still want to move over?". If the answer is "no" then I would think very carefully about your plans. A move to the country is a difficult enough proposition without adding in the extra complications of a foreign country; unless you really love the idea of moving to France (and accept that your idea may well change with more knowledge) then I would think and think again. I think this is one of the most sensible statements I've seen on this forum in a long, long time.  And I'm sure that probably more than 50% of the people who ask themselves this question would answer "no"; certainly 95% of the house-hunters we have had staying at our B&B.  Most ask us why we moved and before we even have a chance to draw breath they always answer for us:  "I know, Britain's gone to the dogs hasn't it, don't blame you."  BUT NO that isn't why we moved here. We bought our house here in 1999, having had our first thoughts about moving to France back in 1983 and starting serious research in 1994 and serious house-hunting in 1997.  We moved here in 2003 and many friends suggested that if we really wanted to run a B&B why didn't we move to somewhere in the country in the UK instead.  But that wasn't the answer for us, but sooo many people say that they just couldn't afford the sort of property they wanted in the UK and that's why they've moved to France.  It's hard enough to adapt to life in a foreign country and that is not really an important enough reason for choosing to do so.  Life is hard here and there are things we miss about the UK, there are things that are done differently here and not always as well as in the UK but overall it still suits us better than our previous life in the UK. One thing I would say Mr Riff is that you need to do careful research on your potential carp business because you're going to have to earn a lot of money to support two families and you've got at least another 10-15 years of full-time education for those kids to think about. Support our democratic right to freedom of speech and correct a gross injustice - Free the St Malo One!    Report

07/02/2007, 8:00 pagnol Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 102 Re: 2 Families - Fishing Sometime ago there was a programme on Channel 4 about a young British family who moved to Brittany to start a carp fishing business. The chap (Kevin) was a builder and licked the house they bought into shape in no time at all! The children settled well and I believe the lady concerned had another child in France. The business is still going so they must be doing something right and coping with the French red tape. The site is www.clearwaterlakes.com They may be able to give you first hand advice. Bst wishes Vanessa      Report

07/02/2007, 8:17 Will Joined on 22/09/2004 Sussex & 50 (Mortainais) Posts 5,107 Re: 2 Families - Fishing Yes, it proves that those who come to France can do well with the right approach. The initial problem is the two family thing which, though far from impossible, does not fit into the French ways and is likely to put obstacles in the way before the project can even start to be implemented. Once it has been solved though, anything else will probably look simple given the positive attitude that the original poster has. It's only right that the difficulties should be identified and sorted out in the beginning. Will intentionally blank signature http://www.vienormande.com    Report

08/02/2007, 12:29 riff_raff Joined on 06/02/2007 Posts 32 Re: 2 Families - Fishing Hi everyone, thank you for all your replies...this is Mrs Riff here now " src="/cs/images/emotions/biggrin.gif"> As my husband doesn't explain himself very well I thought I would write a few lines" src="/cs/images/emotions/smile.gif">  With regards to 'A better life'....what we mean by that is away from the built up towns, which is where we live now, more than 10 minute walk away from the airport!!" src="/cs/images/emotions/sick.gif"> Which is where we live now, more fresh air, with less cars as it will be a rural area we plan to move to. We all intend to learn the language and my 11year old son is prepared to redo year 7 when we move so he can concerntrate on learning the French language.  We will be without a doubt hiring a tutor or two to teach us all. We all love France and the French people, hopefully they will like us too!!  (we are not really riff raff)" src="/cs/images/emotions/tongue.gif"> A fishing lake has always been our dream, we are not expecting to end up mega rich or anything and will be happy with enough business to feed and cloth ourselves.  Basically 'A better life' to us means, peace and quiet, countryside, nature, being happy and enjoying our lives.  The children are all very excited about moving and talk about it non stop.  Both our properties are now on the market and we are currently seeking advice on the whole moving process with a legal expert that specialises in french law.  We have to do this exactly right and strictly by the book as we want no unexpected nasty surprises that could have been avoided.  We do intend to make this our permanent home and do not intend to move back to the UK.  We will also be seeking legal advice on the subject already mentioned on the board of what is one of us dies or wants to move back or whatever.  Also the inheritance issue will have to be sorted out properly too, we are also currently seeking advice on these issues too.  Thank you all so much for raising points for us to discuss and get rectified before any problems begin.    Report

Page 5 of 16 (144 items) « First ... < 3 4 5 6 7 > ... Last »

France Forum » Moving » Finding/Owning ... » 2 Families on the move

(Quick links) Forums Home |- Search Forums |- Active Topics |- Unanswered Posts User Options |- Sign In |- Join this community |- Forgot Password About This Forum (READ ONLY) |- About This Forum Moving |- Finding/Owning French Property |- Making the Move From Outside the EU |- Long-Term Letting |- Employment Vacancies in France Legal and Finance |- French Legal Issues |- French Finance Building and Renovation |- House Renovations |-- Working with Wood Living |- Earning a Living |- Driving |- French Education |- Disabled in France |- Pets |- Animal Welfare, Rescue & Protection |- French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone |- Health |-- Changes to Healthcare Entitlement, CPAM, CMU and Cartes Vitales |- Swimming Pools in France Owning/Running a Business |- French Artisans |- Gite Owners |- Hotel and Restaurant Owners |- B&B/Chambres d'Hôtes Owners Leisure and Pastimes |- Gardening |- Sport, Leisure and Pastimes |- Shopping |- French Antiques, Arts & Crafts |- Photography |- Motorcycling in France |- Books and Literature |- Getting Married in France |- Pregnancy and Birth French Culture |- French Food and Wine |- French Culture |- French Language |-- French Language FAQs and Useful Links |- Wildlife/Nature/Environment |- French History Travelling to/from France |- Travelling to/from France |- Latest Good Value Deals to/from France Holidays |- Holidays General Discussion |- The Complete France Post Bag |- Other Topics |- The Lighter Side |- Forum Technical Support |- Useful Links About France/French Living Regions |- HOTEL SEARCH |- Central |- North East |- North West |- Paris Ile de France |- South East |- South West |- East |- West |- Corsica and DOM-TOMs