shellbellgibbo

Hello all. I am a newbie who needs some advice please?!
My family and I have decided to make the move to France in the next couple of years and I have a million and 1 questions!!
My main concern is my 2 children aged 5 and 2, what do we do about schooling? Do they need to be fluent in French before they can start? Do the French have pre-schools for my youngest?
The next issue is what we will do for work. My husband is a mechanic/recovery driver atm so I would assume he can use those skills in France. From what we have seen, the French villages tend to have 1 small garage and everyone uses that. Is that right? Is there much call for the recovery business?

Any advice would be very helpful, no matter how small!!

Shellbell.

cjm

Hi Shellbell, welcome to the Forum, others will also welcome you and there is plenty of advice available here. Don't have small children, so for that aspect not able to help, but others will know.
Have you decided on an area as yet? Why the move to France?
I can only advise to research, research and again research. France is not the UK in many ways. The three areas I guess will be education, employment and health. There is lots on line and on this site.

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the Forum, There is Pre School for toddlers it is called Maternelle and can start from the age of 2 and a Half. Neither of our two children knew any French prior to Maternelle but both picked it up very quickly. I would not be inclined to say every village has one small garage that everyone there would use. Word of mouth will create work if it is cheaper than concession based garages which everywhere are pretty much a rip off.

Ask away, Each section of the forum has a search function lots of things may have been asked before but don't hesitate to ask.

Once again Welcome

shellbellgibbo

Thank you for that! As for area, we are not fixed on one place. We do not want to be in a large town or city, but not totally in the middle of no where. We spend every Christmas in different areas of France and we love the lifestyle.

We are very serious about this move but are in the early stages atm!

dmu

Hi, welcome to the forum!
No problem for your children's schooling - when you move here they will still be young enough to go to Maternelle and Primaire, where they'll pick up French in no time.
On the other hand, you should be aware that the unemployment rate in France is very high compared to the UK and it won't be easy for your OH to find work in his field. Does he speak French well enough to compete with the other French candidates for any jobs going? You should consider this very carefully...
The economic situation might have improved by the time you come over, but I personally think that la Crise is here for some time yet....
Hope I'm not sounding too pessimistic, but I'm realistic!

shellbellgibbo

Thanks Dmu. We plan to open our own garage. Hubby doesn't speak the lingo yet, but we are working on the Rosetta Stone and also have got a French tutor from Feb. My parents are opening a b&b/gites which i plan to help out with, providing we can find a house near enough.

dmu

All the best! Don't hesitate to come back with more questions about setting up a business, healthcare, etc...
Whereabouts are your parents?

Etoile de Berger

A word of caution. Be very aware of the tax and insurance situation in France when you own a business. It will also be nearly imperative that your OH knows French and mechanics French at that. He will be ordering parts, using the telephone and speaking to clients regularly because here you are taxes on the stock you hold, so many shops and businesses work on ordering what they need.

In addition do some serious homework on your health costs. At your age you won't get much help from the French govt.

Good luck!

cjm

dmu, just noticed the time you posted the above, 33 mnutes into the New Year. Respect for your dedication.

dmu

I hadn't noticed, in fact! Most of the family had gone to bed after midnight had struck and I wasn't tired!
BONNE ANNEE à TOUS!!!

loy loy

If they have a business and are paying social security and taxes then their health cover will be the same as everyone wont it? He'll get a carte vitale that covers him and his dependents, they will need the top up insurance though.

Our daughters have been in School since Sept, they are finding it difficult but don't realise how well they are doing. Our youngest is a bit frustrated, she understands her teacher but is unable to talk back yet. Our eldest had a good school report and although she doesn't speak it yet (lack of confidence) we have heard her when pushed, speaking ok.

For 3 months I think they are doing well.

dennerlymum

Sounds like they are doing just fine to me! Ours took around a year to become fully settled: four years on and they are very happy

dmu

It depends on what sort of company they set up. Does a garage come under the Auto-Entrepreneur system? In which case they wouldn't be under the same system (CPAM) as a boss of a limited liability company or an employee.
@ shellbellgibbo - you should consult a French Expert-Comptable who will best advise about all the pro's and con's of the different types of French businesses. Your parents must know a local one.
From the language point of view, Etoile de B is right in insisting that your OH master technical (= mechanical) and business French. Get your tutor to concentrate on these two aspects rather than holding conversations.
What sort of business structure have your parents got for their B&B/gîte? Be aware that, if it's the Auto-Entrepreneur system, you wouldn't be able to be (officially) paid for any help you give.
If your parents are already on the spot, then you can tell us which area you will be moving to, and members in the same Région will be able to give more precise advice.

EuroTrash

shellbellgibbo, please do lots of research! Making a living in France is hard if you are self-employed. First of all read up about the different business régimes and the costs involved in running a business in France, i.e. the charges you have to pay to the govt and also the accountancy fees. The only type of business that does not require an accountant is auto entrepreneur which would not be suitable for your hubby if he is intending to run a garage and recovery business. Then more specifically find out about the qualifications your hubby will need. Before he can operate a recovery truck he will need to get a CACES certificate to allow him to operate lifting machinery on a public highway, and he will also need a FIMO licence (like HGV) which is quite expensive to take, and for both these the training and the test will be in French. Not wishing to dampen your enthusiasm but I think you need to ask the questions and do the research and work out if it is possible before you make a firm decision. Also market research, as you probably know virtually all car insurance policies in France include breakdown insurance, when you break down you ring your insurance company and they send somebody out, so I guess he would need to get himself listed with the insurance companies. Running a business and making a profit in France just seems to much harder than in the UK, the charges are so much higher and there are more hoops to jump through in terms of red tape and registrations and proving your qualifications. There is also less of a safety net in that what you can claim from the system depends on what you have paid in, and what they expect you to pay in is sometimes out of all proportion with what you turn over. Good luck but think very carefully before you burn your bridges.

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the Forum