Hi there,
I really hope that somebody can help me, the more replies the merrier, we're so stuck on what to do: We have two daughters aged 4 and 1. This country (UK) is grey, dull, full of crime, obsessed with reality tv and the respect has gone here. When we grew up here we played in fields, climbed trees - now you can't let them go anywhere.
So, what to do? We considered Cornwall, but it's expensive and culturally lacking, not a great deal of opportunity for the kids. Spain looks nice but it's rammed full of Brits! France we thought. My French is of a very basic level (I did not pay attention at school !), my partners' is non existent but the kids would be fluent within a year. Do we sell up and chance everything? Or do we rent the house in the UK and have a mortgage in France? Are schools ok? Are there any parts of France that provide better education in a rural area? Are there any parts of France near the coast that bargains can still be found? Is education better inland?, better near Switzerland or Spain?
All of your experiences, advice, thoughts and opinions will be very gratefully recieved.
Look foward to hearing from you,
Kind Regards,
Vicki, Bristol.

Don't bother with Spain - if you want your kids to experience similar childhood fun, go to France - especially a rural area. Trees and fields galore.

We have bought property in the Limousin to get as far away from the Britain you describe as we possibly can. We actually move at the end of this month. Not without some trepidation - we appreciate we are leaving our current way of life and home comforts behind, and it's all a little scary. However, we are determined to make a new life in France - it won't necessarily be cheaper, and it certainly won't be easy at first, but the quality of life will be so much better. It's a joy to hear wildlife again, and see bats at night as well as be able to move around freely.
We hardly speak any French at all yet, but it hasn't put us off at all - we intend to learn what we can and realise that it is essential if we wish to integrate with the local people (which we do).

Make the commitment and move - you won't regret it, at least do it for the children. Things will certainly not improve in the UK in the short term.

Although we have grandchildren in the UK, they are not a million miles away and we will exchange visits - and their parents are seriously considering emigrating, too.

Hi Vicky,
We came to Brittany, France 9 years ago now and our children were 1 and 4, it was a decision we didn't take lightly but soooooooooo glad we came. We sold everything in the UK and rented for 6 months until we found the right location it paid off not to buy the first house we found on a house hunting trip. Really do your homework on the area, from a business point of view we knew we had to be within 30 mins of the south brittany coast and all the homework we did paid off, we bought and renovated 2 gite complexes and have been very successful. Schooling has been fantastic here, no problems at all and my eldest even came first in French last year in her 2nd year at college! My advice would be not to buy too rural and within easy distance of a town or village with supermarket, boulangerie etc.
You will pick up the french, we came with hardly any but get along fine now although red tape will always be a nightmare.
You won't regret your decision for coming here I'm sure. Although we love our life here, we are now ready to move on but not back to the UK, we are seriously considering Oz, but will never regret the decision or the time we have spent here.
Good luck
JR56

Hi Vicki,

My circumstances are a little different, as no kids involved, but the reasons for leaving the UK are the same. My girlfriend and I have been over to Limousin several times and decided that was the place for us, but it is rural and you'd have to ask what you'll do for a living?

My girlfriend is a nurse and i'm a builder, and our research shows that we'd both be ok for an income as this was our only concern.

We've spoken to quite a few brits with kids who have said the schooling and health care was very good and they could allow their children the freedom we enjoyed as youngsters without the fear of something awful happening.

I think that coastal properties will be more expensive and rural inland are far cheaper, but its down to what you want. its really worth a few weekends away just checking out the areas. we did, and as we were getting Ryanair flights from Liverpool to Limouges for 1p plus taxes it was very cheap research!!!!

If at all possible, keep your UK house and either fund the French property with a remortgage in UK or a Euro mortgage.

Anyway, I'd just go for it, much better way of life!!!

Good luck,

Stewart.

Thank you Stewart;
It seems that you don't need kids to realise the extent this country has gone downhill; I suppose we've always wanted to do it, kids aren't an excuse but it sure helps motivate the whole process! Thanks for mentioning a 'Euro Mortgage', I haven't heard of this before and also the advice on keeping the house in the UK, advice I've seen on this forum a few times; if so many advise it, we're not going to sell immediately! A safeguard in the UK is a good plan I'd say!
You say the Limosin region, is it not touristy and strictly monitored there?
Are they open to now businessess starting up there?
Look foward to hearing from you,
Best Wishes,
Vicki.

Chris and Julie,
Thanks for your advice; you too mention the Limosin region - now if that were my grandparents, they'd be doing it because they wanted pure relaxation! - Is there anything there other than peace and tranquility? Are there good facilities in a town nearby? I could look on a map for the nearest town, but that doesn't tell me if it's a great town or not! I have been told that there is a good local school that is way above the state system in the UK- have your children investigated schools there? If so, what did they think?
Sorry to bombard you with questions - there's nothing like good, old fashioned advice straight from the horses' mouth, all these TV programmes are well and good but they can't offer what this amazing forum does! Thank you!
Look foward to hearing back,
Best Wishes,
Vicki.

JR56: You should have kept a diary! What was it really like moving with kids 4/1 yrs? My eldest is quite good but she is very settled at nursery - did your eldest have many problems at first - did he/she hate you for sending them to a school where they couldn't understand anything? I know sometimes it's best to be cruel to be kind, but will it be a good upheaval? Are the french kids nice and welcoming or did yours have problems?
Why are you now wanting to move? Or do you just need a new adventure?!
As I said to the other members, sorry for all the questions, but yuou especially are a fountain of knowledge - someone who has done exactly as we want to do with kids at the same age!
Really look foward to hearing back from you,
Best Wishes,
Vicki

Hi Again,

We looked at the Correze region of Limousin, it's very beautiful, the countryside reminds me of a cross between Wales and Canada, lots of lakes and rivers with little villages dotted around. We were in the process of buying a barn to convert, but that fell through at the last min, so we're back hunting again. we are considering another barn, or a house for renovation, or half tempted on land and building my own, there are plenty of properties for the right money, and the French don't seem interested in them.

I can only comment on this area, as we fell in love with it on the first visit and never looked further. They have a tourist season, but its not hectic, its just slightly more busy in the shops, etc.

As I said before, my main concern would be how you earn a living, in the UK, I could close my business down on monday and have a job tuesday, but its more difficult in France. It's not a problem opening a business in France, if you can think of a good area to work in, I get the feeling that the red tape is worse than in UK, but thats a small price to pay to leave your doors unlocked, leave your car safe at night, and go out for an evening without the risk of getting filled in on your way home!!!

Anyway, on that happy note, if I can help just give me a shout!!!!

Stewart.

Hi Vicki,
We didn't have any problems with the girls in school really, the eldest daughter was only going for mornings at first just to ease her in but by the 2nd morning wanted to stay all day as she loved. Daughter no. 2 though did find it difficult, she was only 2 when she started a lot of tears but the school was great and within a few weeks she looked forward to school an we haven't looked back. None of the teachers in their school spoke English so very much put them in the deep end but they were fine.
We have just decided we need a new adventure that's why we are moving on I think we have achieved all we can here regarding our business with renovating the houses all from scratch installing swimming pools now all we need to do is changeovers - nice but we are just young enough to try something new.
If you have any questions, willing to help. There is a great website like this one that is also a huge information source www.angloinfo.com which covers loads of regions of france
Regards
Janet

Vicki

We chose the Limousin for the reasons already mentioned by Stewart - Correze is beautiful. Yes, it's tranquil, but that's not to say there are no facilities within reach, there are.

Our local town, Argentat, is 20 minutes away and has a leisure/aqua centre, good schools and just about everything else you would expect in a small town, and is on the beautiful river Dordogne (but not in the Dordogne area, I hasten to add...). The much larger towns of Tulle and Brive are also reasonably close (about 30 & 40 minutes respectively). You can park freely in all of them. Limoges is just under 2 hours away, and is served by Ryanair and Flybe. There is a new airport under construction at Brive - it should open next year and will encourage no-frills airlines, so we will only be 30 minutes from an airport.

Reported crime in our area during the 12 months Jan - Dec 2006 was zero. You don't necessarily need to live in the sticks - it was our choice. The peace and quiet is heaven, compared to the dull roar of the M25/M4 confluence that we've had to put up with in the UK for years.

As regards new businesses - don't know, but we never really took that into consideration as we've both just retired early. Burned our bridges, too, with no property to return to in the UK - again, our choice.

France is such a huge country in comparison - there's bound to be an area that would suit you. Just stay away from the cities.

Chris & Julie

We moved to Normandy with 3 teenagers, aged 13, 15 and 16. No regrets, best thing we ever did. We didn't have a choice in area as it was where my husband's company was based. Wouldn't change it though even though we now could. It is close enough to UK that you can get back easily if you want to. I pop across to Portsmouth, have lunch with friends there, do some shopping and get back that night, all for less than a train fare to London would be from Portsmouth. Brittany Ferries fast boat takes less than 3 hours from Cherbourg to Portsmouth in the summer. We have a few friends who have bought houses further south and find getting to them a big problem, and are usually tired when they get there. We bought a run down old farm close to the beach, but only 30 mins from larger towns. The schools were fantastic, arranged free extra french classes for the children (none of whom spoke french when we arrived). After 2 years our eldest got her french bac with honours and went on to do her first year at Caen university. They are now all bi-lingual and have great job opportunities. They are not narrow minded or scared of trying new things. The countryside in Normandy is beautiful, lots of sandy beaches that don't get too busy in summer. We used to get upset if another car went down our road! Weather is really not bad. Nice in summer (around 23 degs) and not too cold in winter, rarely below freezing. If you go further south though into Suisse Normandy, they do get snow.
We have found the local community to be fantastic, really helpful and welcoming. It still surprises me when I go into the bank that the lady behind the counter knows my name and comes round to give me 3 kisses on the cheek!
Nowhere is perfect, drugs are a problem in schools here, kids smoke, drive crazy, but overall I think the way of life here is much better for children, especially when I compare our 3 to friends children in UK. One important thing I think is that family is still very important in France, and there is still a lot of respect towards elders. Obviously inner cities have their own unique problems, and I am glad we didn't have to live in a big city here.
Never had any worries about the kids going out at night, our son cycled for miles with friends, went fishing without us worrying what would happen to him. They used to cycle to the beach and spend hours there with friends. We knew we didn't have to worry about them. I think the most important thing to remember when moving to another country is attitude. If it is something you really want to do, have money or a job which allows you to support yourself and family, make an effort to fit in and not hold on to how life was before, then you shouldn't have any problems.

We are planning to go to Normandy. We want to go for the reasons you stated. All our children have flown the nest so no problem there. We got a plot and are having a small colombage house built by a friend, big enough for us and a guest room. We can't get there soon enough. If you don't have a bank account, I recommend Britline (britline.com), you can open it by post. Our relatives live in France, they moved out 3 or 4 years ago so we have some family there.
I would really, really do your home work first. The French way is totally different. An appointment with, say, a French plumber is a statement of intention rather than fact and the family always comes first and you come last. The French also love committees - that is their way - when putting in, for example, planning permission, don't cover all the bases, leave something out for them to find otherwise they won't have anything to have a committee about and will look for something - and find it!. In short, do you homework, be really sure it is what you want, make your decision and stick to it and be resolved to integrate - you will never make it if you become a 'Little Englander'. Good luck! Oh, and brace yourself for family and friends pulling at your heart strings to stay and from what I saw on the TV the other day we really have got hearts strings for them to pull. One other thing if you hear 'Rost beef' they mean you.

Dear Vicki
I live in France at the moment and have done since May 2005. We live in the Charente. It is beautiful here. My girls are aged 6 and 8 and they both go to local village schools and are picked up on the bus in the morning and dropped off in the evening. They are both really happy at school and their french is now great - it took a while though! Living, I think is cheaper here, as I don't spend nearly as much on shopping each week, petrol/diesel is cheaper, council tax is practically non-existent compared with UK (we pay 360 EUROS for the year!), electric is more expensive, we aren't on town gas because we live rurally but that is cheaper but maybe a hassle having to make sure you have enough bottles so that you don't run out of gas whilst running your bath! Water rates are about the same. Now for the downside. The language can be a very big problem. I have A Level french and even I find it difficult. My husband has got better over the years but if you ever have to deal with a problem or something official, then it is a real headache. Another problem with living rurally is that there are ALOT of Brits whereever you go, and they all seem to be rather jealous, two-faced people. We have had quite a lot of trouble and whereas last year we had a big circle of friends, we now only have 2 sets of friends that we trust. As we live in the country, my neighbours are all quite old, so no-one that I feel like popping in on and having a cup of tea. Shopping for clothes and presents is a bit of a nightmare too. They don't really go into the card business here so if you have to send a birthday card back to the UK it will cost you. No cheap 60p ones in France! Be prepared for the amount of paperwork that you will have to deal with, even to start a contract for a mobile phone! Having said that, we do not regret leaving the UK at all, but we are thinking of moving on somewhere else as we are still young and not quite ready to take it as slow as we are. It all seems idyllic in the beginning, and it is, but the reality soon begins to show. I don't mean to sound negative because our last 2 years here have been lovely, we have been happy - just looking for a bit more now I suppose. You have to consider what is THE main reason for leaving the UK, if it is for the kids and financial aspects then it is great.
I hope that has helped and if you have any more questions you would like to ask me then please, don't hesitate to get in touch.
Carla X

Thanks Val,
It seems you enjoy it there; I am dubious about all the tax problems and french forms, my french is probably much less than GCSE standard and my other half, David does not speak french. He is also concerened about moving to a 'communist type country.' There are a lot of horror stories of people having their life savings lost to the French governement.
Is this scaremongering do you think or is it really that bad?
Yes, our main reson for moving is for the kids - another toddler abused and murdered on the news yesterday here in the UK, only months after a six year old girl was taken out of her bath, raped and dumped in a lane. I can't bring my children up here!
Any advice greatly received!
Thanks,
Vicki
xx

[QUOTE=victorialee;4382669]Hi there,
I really hope that somebody can help me, the more replies the merrier, we're so stuck on what to do: We have two daughters aged 4 and 1. This country (UK) is grey, dull, full of crime, obsessed with reality tv and the respect has gone here. When we grew up here we played in fields, climbed trees - now you can't let them go anywhere.
.....Hope U make the right choice Victoria!.....I have to say though I've been for many wonderful walks in The West Sussex Countryside lately:The Downs etc...and its been marvellous,Very civilised,polite People and I saw a Blonde 5-Year-Old Girl Cycling on her own in a 2 mile Country Lane with no-one else around apart from me and my friend!..Others we met en route later were friendly(like the good old days!)..So thats one area that is very safe I would say....and very traditionally English,,,,saying this so U might widen your choice!
Regards,Tony.