The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
Apr 2nd 2019, 10:45 pm
#31
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
Just felt I had to come back on this.
Yes of course you can learn, but you need to have at least some idea of what is involved before you can make an informed decision on whether you want to do it or not. Making the decision first and finding out after you've committed yourself that the rules aren't what you expected, is horribly reminiscent of the UK voting to leave the EU with no proper understanding of what leaving the EU actually entailed, and look what happened there.
There's plenty of info on google, so no reason at all to go into this blind.
Last edited by EuroTrash; Apr 2nd 2019 at 10:47 pm.
Apr 3rd 2019, 4:50 am
#32
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
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Of course you can! Save yourself a lot of hassle and move to a little cottage in Co. Fermanagh. Or get yourself a goat farm like the English family who have set up the Broughgammon Farm near Ballycastle on the North Antrim coast.
If you think life running a château in France is going to be less stressful, you’ve clearly been watching too much Dick Strawbridge so at least you’ll already have a handle on the accent.
If you think life running a château in France is going to be less stressful, you’ve clearly been watching too much Dick Strawbridge so at least you’ll already have a handle on the accent.
Apr 3rd 2019, 5:07 am
#33
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
I'm sure it will be hard on your children, but it can only benefit them in the future - our education system used to be envied but, sadly, that's no longer the case. I know several teachers (including one in my family) who have got out of teaching because of the red-tape and inability to just do the job they love, and having been close to a nervous breakdown!
Another option might be to stay put and help make it a less materialistic and violent place. Can’t do much about the sun, unfortunately.
Last edited by Rosemary; Apr 3rd 2019 at 7:11 am. Reason: corrected the quotes
Apr 3rd 2019, 7:00 am
#34
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
Hi James,
When you buy the right property you can earn quite some money in the tourism sector. France is a wonderful country to live. We bought 22 years ago when I was 37 years. We never regretted it. We are still in the rental business and we love that.
When you have a dream, go for it. Your children will have a difficult first year, but after that they will feel at home. Your children will pick up the language quickly. This will help them in their future carreer!
I worked with expats and they were sent every 5 years to another country. Most of their children made wonderful carreers.
When you buy the right property you can earn quite some money in the tourism sector. France is a wonderful country to live. We bought 22 years ago when I was 37 years. We never regretted it. We are still in the rental business and we love that.
When you have a dream, go for it. Your children will have a difficult first year, but after that they will feel at home. Your children will pick up the language quickly. This will help them in their future carreer!
I worked with expats and they were sent every 5 years to another country. Most of their children made wonderful carreers.
Apr 3rd 2019, 8:00 am
#35
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Location: Bouches du Rhone (13)
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
have developed a simple test which works for me, 'What's the worst that can possibly happen?' I don't mean a tragwedy or anything else unpredictable, but for every plan for the best, what is the plan for the worst? If you can face the consequences of the worst happening then I would normally say go for it.
Saying that, each of my moves involved arranging a adequate job ahead of time (and not just a seasonal minimum wage type) so I wouldn't have money worries, moving when my kids were young enough to learn the language and culture without affecting their educational progression and renting a house before buying to allow a painless escape if required (though we have always stayed long enough to eventually buy and subsequently sell without taking an age or being wiped out financially). Then we have found other things fall into place, including setting up a business which is entirely feasible ion France once you understand the rules and how to navigate through them.
So don't give up on the dream, but planning and having a back up are key.
Apr 3rd 2019, 8:12 am
#36
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
Sounds like great advice Alianco...I have done several international moves with the last one to France, and always made sure that there was a way back if the worst case outcome happened and I decided it was a mistake. At the same time I took the view that I there is a higher chance that I regret NOT doing something more than regret doing it and it not working out - there will always be some positive experiences coming out of such moves.
Saying that, each of my moves involved arranging a adequate job ahead of time (and not just a seasonal minimum wage type) so I wouldn't have money worries, moving when my kids were young enough to learn the language and culture without affecting their educational progression and renting a house before buying to allow a painless escape if required (though we have always stayed long enough to eventually buy and subsequently sell without taking an age or being wiped out financially). Then we have found other things fall into place, including setting up a business which is entirely feasible ion France once you understand the rules and how to navigate through them.
So don't give up on the dream, but planning and having a back up are key.
Saying that, each of my moves involved arranging a adequate job ahead of time (and not just a seasonal minimum wage type) so I wouldn't have money worries, moving when my kids were young enough to learn the language and culture without affecting their educational progression and renting a house before buying to allow a painless escape if required (though we have always stayed long enough to eventually buy and subsequently sell without taking an age or being wiped out financially). Then we have found other things fall into place, including setting up a business which is entirely feasible ion France once you understand the rules and how to navigate through them.
So don't give up on the dream, but planning and having a back up are key.
Good post
Apr 3rd 2019, 9:33 am
#37
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
I'm sure some will disagree with me from personal experience, but I believe age can play a great part in these choices. In our thirties I gave up my partnership in what is now a multi-million pound company and my wife left her career path in a solicitor's offices, we rented out the house when the mortgage rate was 14% so barely covered the outgoings, sold the cars and bought 2 one-way tickets to Hong Kong. One contact there from UK, everyone thought we were mad, no jobs to go to and only enough savings to last 2 months. If it all failed we had enough left to backpack home slowly via India. Best thing we ever did for every reason I can think of.
Fast forward to today. We have bought a house in Carcassonne, we are inactif with our income from two flats in London, savings here and in UK, the finances seem add up even allowing for a drop in income due to the Brexit economy and we are more fearful of the consequences of what we have done than when we buggered off to Asia. The only difference for us is age.
If the OP is young enough and has skills that are in need his ability to handle the worst case scenario is greatly enhanced. Whether age and experience trump youth and spirit is probably unanswerable.
Fast forward to today. We have bought a house in Carcassonne, we are inactif with our income from two flats in London, savings here and in UK, the finances seem add up even allowing for a drop in income due to the Brexit economy and we are more fearful of the consequences of what we have done than when we buggered off to Asia. The only difference for us is age.
If the OP is young enough and has skills that are in need his ability to handle the worst case scenario is greatly enhanced. Whether age and experience trump youth and spirit is probably unanswerable.
Apr 3rd 2019, 3:48 pm
#38
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
Thanks for the replies.
some great information and advice.
I agree with the idea of a back up plan and I can totally relate to the post mentioning regretting NOT doing it and always having a “worst case scenario” answer to problems that may arise.
it is certainly good for thought, and although it hasn’t put me off it has gave me a little eye opener. I am aware of the plentiful rules and regulations and of course, I would plan to meet them from the outstart.
I don’t think I was understood when I stated that by buying decent I would be more likely to benefit from a higher income than investing less. I never wanted to make profit from the property and I am aware that they don not appreciate in value like the UK, but surely it’s better to spend on a more desirable property than it is to go cheap and burn a hole in the savings..
Please keep chipping in any thoughts, especially any regarding the hospitality/tourism sector.
many thanks
some great information and advice.
I agree with the idea of a back up plan and I can totally relate to the post mentioning regretting NOT doing it and always having a “worst case scenario” answer to problems that may arise.
it is certainly good for thought, and although it hasn’t put me off it has gave me a little eye opener. I am aware of the plentiful rules and regulations and of course, I would plan to meet them from the outstart.
I don’t think I was understood when I stated that by buying decent I would be more likely to benefit from a higher income than investing less. I never wanted to make profit from the property and I am aware that they don not appreciate in value like the UK, but surely it’s better to spend on a more desirable property than it is to go cheap and burn a hole in the savings..
Please keep chipping in any thoughts, especially any regarding the hospitality/tourism sector.
many thanks
Apr 3rd 2019, 4:34 pm
#39
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2012
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
I don’t think I was understood when I stated that by buying decent I would be more likely to benefit from a higher income than investing less. I never wanted to make profit from the property and I am aware that they don not appreciate in value like the UK, but surely it’s better to spend on a more desirable property than it is to go cheap and burn a hole in the savings..
This:
We had in mind that we needed at least 6 bedrooms and several acres of land ... after looking at what we thought we wanted it was obvious to us that we just wouldn't make enough money to live on because with a large house and lots of land comes isolation (why would anyone come to us as opposed to the next person?), and with a large house and lots of land comes higher running costs (thousands in utility costs per annum/taxes/travel costs (trips to supermarket) etc. etc. ... We have now bought a 3 bed/3 storey house built into the 15th Century remparts of a lovely little village which is under 5 minutes drive from the nearest (lively) town and close to all major international transport links as well as the coast, and some pretty stunning landmarks. It has NO garden! It couldn't be further away from what we thought we wanted to buy However, it is already a very successful B&B because of the quirkiness of the house and it's location
Charging higher rates could mean a higher turnover but that doesn't necessarily mean more profit. Have you done market research and got an idea of how many bookings per year you can expect, worked out your running costs/rates/profit margins, and generally got together facts and figures that prove your theory, or is this simply an assumption?
How good are your marketing skills, have you thought how as a brand new business you will pull in the punters? As Mrs D has (in my opinion) correctly identified, that's the challenge (and she's buying an up and running business so she has a head start). Your chateau will be well beyond the budget of Mr and Mrs Average Holidaymaker, but not so exclusive that there's no competition.
But if you have set your heart on living in a chateau then fair enough, and be very sure to choose the location wisely.
Apr 3rd 2019, 6:39 pm
#40
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Re: The BIG move!! advice appreciated!
I mentioned this before on another thread about setting up a gite business. Friends of ours bought a going concern with 6 small cottages on the Lot. Unbeknown to them the seller was already planning to set up another business in the next village and he took a lot of the trade and good will with him. Our friends just about managed until they were contacted by a group of sub-aqua potholers. It turned out that where they are is a mecca for sub-aqua potholing and over the years they have developed a very healthy, season extending business by offering secure storage for the heavy equipment that the potholers no longer have to ferry back and forth from Germany and Sweden. They don't charge for this, but that is more than paid for in the repeat bookings.
If I were trying to set up a gite I wouldn't try to out spend, out glam or out highend anyone. I'd look for a going concern which, through research, I felt wasn't optimising an underrepresented part of the market. Through family concerns we once had the idea of a special needs gite with wheelchair access, back up genies for medical equipment in case of power cuts (we were thinking rural) lowered work surfaces in the kitchen etc. in an area with lots of family accessible interests and entertainments.
I imagine airbnb with it's share of the black economy has made a dent in the gite and hotel business. I think you have to come up with something that doesn't compete with the others.
If I were trying to set up a gite I wouldn't try to out spend, out glam or out highend anyone. I'd look for a going concern which, through research, I felt wasn't optimising an underrepresented part of the market. Through family concerns we once had the idea of a special needs gite with wheelchair access, back up genies for medical equipment in case of power cuts (we were thinking rural) lowered work surfaces in the kitchen etc. in an area with lots of family accessible interests and entertainments.
I imagine airbnb with it's share of the black economy has made a dent in the gite and hotel business. I think you have to come up with something that doesn't compete with the others.
