wannado

I have only just discovered this forum and have found it very interesting reading. We are English, went to Sydney (same multi national company as in UK) 25 years ago but have been on assignement to vaious places in Asia and we are now in Portugal. We have a married daughter and grandchildren in Paris and a daughter in Sydney. I have always been a little homesick for the UK and as our daughter in Sydney may decide to work in New York etc ( who knows, she is single) we have decided when my husband retires next year that we will sell the house in Sydney and relocate. Therein lies the problem! My husband is not a fan of the Uk and would love to move to France ( perhaps Normandy as it is not too far from Paris) but I am a little concerned about the practicalites of growing old in France . We speak a little french but would obviously try to improve it . It seems to me that a lot of Brits in the UK have two homes and will in fact eventually return to the UK. That will not be the case for us as we will buy a house and presumably that will be it.Sorry if it is a bit of a ramble but I would love to hear from people who are there for good! We are 60.

G-J-B

I hope to be here for good, and wish I did have two houses, but I've never in my life been the owner of even one. I guess my predicament is a different one as retirement age (short of winning the lottery) is several decades away. The one aspect you may find alienating is integrating with the language, but it sounds like you still have many many years to get there. Normandy's a beautiful area, and it wouldn't take too long to get into Paris now and again. Aspects like inheritance can be more problematic in France, but it sounds like you have time to explore your options with all the in's and out's. Bonne chance!

val50

Hi there and welcome to the forum
there are a few of us in Normandy - Novocastrian and his wife recently bought a house there with a view to retiring. My OH is now based in Canada but we have kept a house in Normandy that we intend using when we retire. I love the area we are in (Manche), easy acess to Paris, UK, Channel Islands etc. We have never felt so safe and at home as we do there. I think you do need to narrow it down though, as Normandy is a very large area, and differs greatly from department to department, especially regarding the weather. We are close to Utah Beach so have much milder winters than they do further south or towards Caen.

Novocastrian

Let me add my welcome to the forum. val50 already told my tale, but let me just add that although my french is definitely in need of improvement, I view the challenge of becoming fluent as a project that may help stave off encroaching senility. I'm 58 and doubt that I can afford to retire until 2015 or so, but you never know.

Andrea50

Well, last time I was in France (2004-2006) I fully intended that to "be it" and thought I was settled for life, but it didn't turn out that way.

This world we live in now is, I think, vastly different. My family were "English". We were born in England, we grew up in England, we married in England, we grew old in England and (those who are gone already) died in England.

But times change, and I felt I could find a better life elsewhere, so I tried it. I did find a better life, as the things that I felt might prevent me actually growing old at all, (stress, rushing about, worry, flat-out days involving very little sleep etc etc) I could only escape from by moving to a country where one does not need quite so much money to afford even the simple pleasures in life.

There are things to think about when one considers retirement in other countries and it will always seem the safe option to stay where one was born and get on with it. Pensions, health care, being away from family members and having to travel back and forth etc all come into it. And some people who retired to France a few years ago are now finding that it isn't so cheap/easy to live there and that they are now feeling it might be wise to move back home or move on and are doing that. As times and circumstances change, the wise person evaluates their situation at the time and makes decisions based on what they want and whether they can have it where they are or do they need to move on somewhere else.

Sorry this is not much practical help, but a decision about where to end one's days is very personal and can only be made by you and your family according to your circumstances.

All I do know is that the friends I have that have moved to France for a better life have found it there, and, despite having to tighten their belts a bit financially have no intention whatsoever to return here. They have adapted slightly to having less income available but when they consider what they would actually have to do without if they came back to England, it is a small sacrifice in comparison.

One consideration that can and often does make a difference is the actual place within the chosen country where you end up. Living "in the sticks with a huge field" seems rather romantic and fun when one is a bit younger but a high maintenance property that is isolated becomes a lot less fun as one ages, so it's worth considering whatever you look at through "older eyes" and think about how it would be living there in one's 60's, 70's and 80's. Some French houses have huge concrete outside steps to climb for example, and also a woodburner, romantic when one is young, can be a pain to clean out each morning if one's knees are gone!!! Also, isolation is ok when one can drive, but if you can't drive anymore, will you be cut off?

Can only end with the saying "never say never" really, but good luck with your decision.

Andy

DCS

i cant speak for france but my gramd pearants lived in spain for many years until there health begain to lets say not be what it used to. this in its self made themhome sick so they have returned keeping there tiny villa in spain renting it out to a spanard. they cant aford to buy again in the uk as prices have sored do there for are on the councle. there quality of life is poor as they are almost classed as 2nd class citizans because there not intitled to any surport as they own a house in spain but cant buy again coz they have no money.

morral is once your off the uk peoperty ladder its a challange to get back on if your younge let alone when your gettin on a bit.

Novocastrian

Excellent advice there Andy and I agree with you completely. Doddery-old-git-compatibilty was a prime consideration in our buying decision. Our next reno project is installing a salle d'eau and a bedroom on the ground floor in anticipation of the inevitable time when one or both of us can't handle the stairs. We are in the centre of a small town (pop. ~3500) and staggering distance from three boulangers, four bars, a Champion, two doctors and for a final flourish, we are next door to the Church for the funerals.

Hmmm. Where did I put the Jack Daniel's?

Andrea50

You can't be that doddery if you are going to put in your own downstairs master en-suite!!

We recently saw a fab property in Brittany - it looked wonderful on the main pic, nice garden, pretty trees, neo-breton style, fell hook line and stinker we did - then the final picture emerged on the slide-show and the view was of the graveyard. P'raps not (yet).

At least you are still imbibing the "young person's drink" - best way to tell when you are over the hill is when you reach for the sweet sherry .....

Chris'nJulie

Oh dear. We've done it completely wrong, then.

Large, stone building (with concrete steps), out in the wilds of the Correze, top of a hill, 15 minutes from the nearest shop and civilisation, probably won't sell in this climate (oh, and a woodburner as well)... The plan was (when the exchange rate meant something, and the house was worth something), to sell up as we got doddery, release our savings and move further south.

Perhaps we should build a family tomb in the garden (with easy access, of course), go and lie down in it and expect the worst!

Woe is me.

Chris

wannado

Thank you all for your responses.

G-J-B

Ouch, would you like a pint of bitter to wash down the sarcasm?
I think all Andrea was trying to say is that if you do take retirement and your health isn't great, then such places are less than ideal. There's plenty of retired people of an advance age (take my partner's gran who's pushing 90 and is as fit as a fiddle mentally and physically), doing just fine in remote places. Really no need to take it too personally.

Andrea50

Actually, to me (early 50's and quite sprightly!) that sound like bliss. And to be fair, quite a few people DO do it this way - and I'm one of 'em! Of course when one is younger things such as distance from shops/doctor etc are not so relevant, because they don't need to be. Priorities change as one ages. Once you are in your 60's the set of priorities that enabled you to buy a property in the sticks with land on top of a hill may need to change. Also, losing a partner changes things as well, and that possibility becomes more likely as one gets older. Being isolated is often a major worry for older people, but if they have near neighbours and friends around and a manageable property they can sometimes stay in a much-loved home without the added pain of having to move to something more "appropriate".

However, when I offer advice to others, I think "like a normal person" and that was what I was doing in the post (just to prove I can think like a "normal" person!).

Correze is wonderful and is on our list - I loved Beaulieu, Puy Brun and Bretenoux, you live in a lovely area. And one can always sell property - even in a downward market - it just has to be at the right price which can sometimes not be what one was hoping for. If the current market conditions are an adjustment rather than a blip, it just makes more sense (for some people) to evaluate the "when we get older" factor slightly differently is all.

Also, in France, the higher agency fees and tax situation does often mean it is not quite so economic to buy/sell, buy/sell so getting it right first time becomes more important.

Hope you have a great weekend in your lovely part of France

Andy

Chris'nJulie

Erm, don't know where you thought the sarcasm lay - it was a genuine reply from the heart - we've done everything that could possiby be thought of as not conducive to our impending old age! Bit of dark humour, perhaps, but certainly no sarcasm. And we love it here, just in case anyone got the wrong end of the stick

Chris

G-J-B

My apologies than Chris - I guess the problem with the Internet is that it does nothing to suggest body language and is therefore open to misinterpretation. I just thought you were being really sarcastic! An emoticon wink or smile might have changed the tone.
Anyhow, hope you'll accept my apology.

rugbymatt

Ka ora already is old.....