Xenophile

Hello, I'm new on here. I am a a Brit - a couple of years off state retirement. My wife is younger and has dual nationalites - Britain and another EU member country.
The plan is to visit Occitanie in May and make a decision on whether to move to France. We have little direct experience of the country, but that we have had has been very positive. Plan is to rent a place initially >3months to kick off the process for health care etc. We intend to live on my private pension.
I am still far from certain of what benefits there will be for us in beating the Brexit deadline of December this year. We can still go after December with me as the spouse of an EU national if Covid19 makes a hash of plans for this year as I fear it might.
If we go early and secure our PUMa, will we in any case be entitled to an S1 when I reach retirement age. Or will Brexit ruin that, forcing us to pay cotisations indefinitely? Is this another unknown that will only become clear during the transition?
What other benefits are gained by going this year? I appreciate that the process may be more straightforward and minimum income requirements could change. We would much rather go this year if we are able.

Thanks

notgrampa

This page and others on the site may be of help.

https://www.francerights.org/not-yet...in-france.html

cyrian

Hi
Welcome to the forum.
Why have you chosen France rather than any other country?
Do you speak French?
IMO France is a less friendly to foreigners than several other EU countries.
While French people can be friendly and welcoming their culture being family orientated can make to more difficult to include strangers (not necessarily foreign).
If you are not working or at school/university, then interacting in French can be limited and therefore the opportunity to improve your language skills is restricted.
It is possible for several days to pass without needing to converse in French. e.g. self-service checkouts in the supermarkets and cash machines that offer English language.
Not many French people speak to me in English which could make life difficult when interacting with banks; energy providers; council and tax offices.
I think that you are approaching your possible move wisely.
I suggest that you consider renting for longer - perhaps a year and visit several areas of France at different times of the year.
You might want to consider simply renting permanently (which is quite common in France) and keep any existing property in the UK for rental income.
If after a period, you decide that life in France is not for you then you have not burnt your bridges.
Owning property in France is not an investment as it is in the UK.
Property can be cheaper in France because its value doesn't increase greatly even after upgrades.
Have a look at this site:
Notaires de france
HTH

Xenophile

We want to live somewhere with much better weather, somewhere near to the sea and the mountains ideally. For many years I imagined a move to Catalonia - the only part of Spain that really interests us as a place to live. I know the Costa Brava and love it there but property seems much more expensive than France. One of the attractions of France is being able to afford a better house with more space between us and immediate neighbours. We would prefer to live somewhere populated predominently by natives. We stay well away from ex-pat dominated areas often seen in Spain for instance.
We think rural France is very beautiful. I have considered the difficulties in becoming fluent in French. We are learning now but I am the only one with past knowledge and I dropped French at school. I did do a GCSE in Spanish as an adult. We do intend to rent in the medium term - maybe a year to be assured not only that France is for us but also the area is right. Renting our home in the UK is problematic as we have no relatives living nearby to keep an eye on things or handle repairs. Will look at the website - thanks

Moses2013

Costa Brava can be cheap if you look in the right areas and I actually find it cheaper than areas around Perpignan etc.. We have a small holiday house there. Of course you have the luxury areas around the coast but go 10 mins inland and you can find a lot of cheaper houses.

Xenophile

That's interesting. Could you suggest any area/s I could check prices?
Thanks

Moses2013

We love places like Roses but property was too expensive and weather can be a lot windier up that way during winter. The cheapest and best areas for good weather are around La Selva between Vidreres and Lloret. Don't be put off by Lloret as the area is very large and there are some excellent Urbanizations with detached houses + you are very close to places like Tossa etc. Many locals also live there and it's closer to the PGA Catalunya than the actual town.
https://www.idealista.com/en/venta-v.../la-selva/mapa.
Maçanet de la Selva
Urbanitzacions, Lloret de Mar
Caldes de Malavella
Maçanet de la Selva

scrubbedexpat056

Xenophile, you may already be aware of it, but one of the reasons we gave up on the rural dream in France was public transport. Even in a place the size of Carcassonne where we live the buses stop around 8-9 in the evening so staying out late and drinking alcohol wouldn't work if we lived only a few km outside. We originally planned to live without a car, but this proved difficult doing up an old house. Just be aware that in rural France you will be very car dependent including any medical needs. We are extremely impressed with the healthcare system here, but then we live ten minutes drive from a major hospital. There is a good train service, but again, the local trains are not very frequent and stop early like the buses. If you are considering places to try out in France I would suggest you check out all the public transport options available in case you need them. Taxis are eye-wateringly expensive in our experience.

Listen Very Carefully

If you are resident on French soil prior to 31 Dec 2020 then all your rights are preserved by the French in France If you are not in receipt of an S1 at present then as I understand it you will not be issued with one after the transistion period However you should note that if you are getting a pension OF ANY SORT whether it is state or private or occupational then you will not have to pay cotisations to PUMA although you would be advised to get top up insurance As you will be going to France as an inactif you will have to have private insurance to cover you whilst you apply for PUMA I suspect that you will still need to apply for a Carte de Séjour even if you are married to an EU citizen I do not think the minimum income requirement will apply to you as your wife will have an EU passport but be aware that for an inactif couple it is €639 per month
You may want to check out the Anglo French tax agreement as well

scrubbedexpat056

I have mentioned this on previous threads, but anyone planning on living in France whose spoken french may not be very good should ring the AMELI English speaking helpline 0 811 36 36 46 (Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.). You will get all the information you could possibly need and possibly bust the odd myth as happened to me. I can't recommend it strongly enough.

Xenophile

[QUOTE=Moses2013;12816884]We love places like Roses but property was too expensive and weather can be a lot windier up that way during winter. The cheapest and best areas for good weather are around La Selva between Vidreres and Lloret. Don't be put off by Lloret as the area is very large and there are some excellent Urbanizations with detached houses + you are very close to places like Tossa etc. Many locals also live there and it's closer to the PGA Catalunya than the actual town.
(Hyperlinks removed due to my nooby posting restrictions)

I like the look of some of these properties. It's nearly twenty years since since I was a regular visitor to this part of Spain. I travelled around with a girlfriend from Palafrugell. Of course the reception from people we bumped into or met in restaurants was very good. Nevertheless, I did wonder how easy it would be to get to know people there independently. I am interested to know whether we would find settling in appreciably easier in Spanish Catalunya, Pyrenees Oriental or other parts of Occitanie or indeed other parts of France. I know the people of Catalunya are are often less keen on their Spanish neighbours. I imagine having some Catalan would help.
if we were to choose a place to live purely on the friendliness of of our neighbours we would probably choose Portugal or Greece but of course other factors like health services are so important.
I visited the Palafrugell area with my wife some five years back and I was reminded how much I disliked much of the coastal development on the bus journey from Barcelona. i felt a sense of relief as we reached further into the Costa Brava toward Palafrugell though the town had grown greatly since earlier visits.

Moses2013

[QUOTE=Xenophile;12817321] Everyone will have a different opinion and we are only learning ourselves + don't live there permanently. My Catalan friends tell me not to bother and I'd be better off learning Spanish. As long as you greet in Catalan and try and make an effort people seem to not be bothered. Of course further inland you will find it different but along the coast they are so used to foreigners. There are fewer Brits than further South a lot of Dutch, Germans etc. and they all speak English. Lloret is well known for young people celebrating during summer, but the urbanizations 5 km away offer great quality of life and you have easy access to the exclusive parts at a fraction of the cost. The restaurants around the area be it Tossa, Platja, Palafrugell are well used to foreigners too and food is excellent. You're still close to the coast to enjoy off season but can easily escape the busy beaches during June, July, August. All building along the coast has been stopped, so it will hopefully never reach the levels of a Benidorm etc.
It's an alternative for those wanting the Côte d'Azur kind of scenery and climate.

Xenophile

I believe the figure for an inactif couple is €826.40 / month unless I am mistaken. I am interested in your assertion that I would will not have to pay cotisations to PUMA because I have a private pension. I will look into that. Thank you

scrubbedexpat056

As I said earlier, please call the English speaking helpline at AMELI.