Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi all,

Wanted to say hello as I hope I'll be here loads! I'm looking at the possibility to move to Grenoble or Chambery/Annecy area with perhaps the intention of buying an investment apartment. I work at sea and love to ski so it seems like an ideal place to spend my free time but I don't speak much (any!) French and haven't spend more than a holiday there. So hopefully I can share the experiences of others to help me along the way!
I look forward to getting in touch with everyone, especially those in Grenoble as I think I will be looking for a flatshare there in the coming months.

CSki :)

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Welcome to the forum. Sun, sea and ski eh?:D

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Thought it was about time I came out of lurkdom to say hello, so 'Hello'.
I'm Vic (almost 30! from Lancashire), I'm married to Laurent (37 - from Calvados), we live in Finistere with our children, Eva (5.5) and Elsa (almost 3).
We met in 1998 when I was working in Deauville, we then moved back to the UK together when my contract finished.
As soon as we became a family we decided France suited us better and moved back in 2004 and have been in Finistere since Jan 2005.
I am a ft mum and Laurent works for La Poste *gasp* ;)
We've just about finished building our new home between Audierne and Quimper and can't wait to move in!
Don't want to bore you to sleep so will stop there.
Vic.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

hi there
Im Michele, i live with my husband and two children a girl of eleven and a boy of 9 near to the airport at toulouse SW france. The oh came over here nearly 5 yrs ago now as a contractor for airbus. i joined him nearly 2 yrs ago and we are now well and truly settled here.
We had a house built on a plot of land on an estate which we adore; very peaceful ; our son is at the village school and our daughter is at a bilingual state secondary nearby.
I work as a TEFL teacher
It was interesting to see about the reimboursements for a new home; I thougth they only applied if you were building to let ; however you do get two years where you do not have to pay for taxe foncier. There are also sizeable reimbursements for eco heating/energy from the tax offices

We love it here in france and will not be returing to blighty:thumbsup:

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Last year was the Final Year to claim for Eco Heating rebates from the Tax Off (Impots).

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

oh
we were given the form to take to the impots in october by our builder (which we did) they told us to add it to our form in may and it would be processed then; maybe it is because the work was commenced in november 2007?

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Thats standard, You get the rebate After you have completed and returned your end of year assessment. There is no way for you to get it prior to then. Im not sure what the claim cut off time was. But any work now being done would not qualify for the rebate. Something we did find that was most Impots employees did not understand the rules claiming that the work and parts purchased needed to be carried out by an Artisan with a siret number, Every time I was told this I left the Office just a wee bit hot under the collar. I turned around to the Oh and said fine when the end of year form comes in we will include it so at least then we can take it to an Independent assessment if they say no, Guess what they Paid. A lot of fuss because I had purchased the wood central heating system and installed it myself. So I had invoices for the Purchasing of New Equipment but no Installation Invoice.

When you visit the Impots all they ever do is get a big Book out with the rules in, every employee interprets them in a different fashion so you san see three people in a week and get different answers from all of them.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

thx for clarifying that kia ora:) - I was beginning to worry a bit there
michele

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Ka Ora, im not named after a drink. If I was it would be an Alcoholic beverage of the finest quality not a watered down Orange Drink.:lol:

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

It's catching ;)

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

I feel a random outburst coming on.....
































Nah I farted......Moments gone.:lol:

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Er sorry Val's memory just PM'd me to say stop hijacking threads and I PM'd her memory saying - Hee Hee you're not a mod any more and then she PM'd me again and I apologised and yet I'm still here. Bettergonow.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Yep, people have called me Jack for years ..............:D

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

oops a daisy
never was good with names sorry for that - did seem like a strange choice of name :D

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hello from me as well!
Happy to have found you.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi everyone,
Im thinking of moving over to France to live for a while, whats the best place? I speak no french at all but hoping to learn while over there.

sheila :)

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi Minouette and Sheila!
Nice to have you aboard! There's some spooks/loonies/straight men here, but most of us are OK (ducks)
Blackie

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Thank you, Blackie! Good to know there are good, honest guys around here. As my own finances are no longer sufficient (thanks, Mr Brown & Co!), question is do they also have money? :D

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Bonjour Sheila,

Have you any idea which part of France you are interested in, the country is so vast, the weather temperatures can vary so much from one end of the country to the other and the culture is so varied as well. We are in south west France in the Gironde and we are enjoying spring-like temperatures already. The people are friendly and very helpful and English are fewer in numbers than say the Dordogne. France can be everything and anything you want it to be. Even with limited French, you can get by. We are by no means fluent, but we get what we want in shops and restaurants and even hold conversation with the natives. We love living here and will never return to England to live. :thumbsup:
Jenny and Charlie.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

:Hi Jennie and Charlie!
I've been looking at properties in 33 and around there, it seems they are a bit more pricey than Dordogne, have you got any good local agents down there? We have a budget of about 90,000 Euros at the mo'
Spring already! Here in southern Sweden we had a foot of snow last night and last week the temperature was measured at minus 18. Get me out of here!
Blackie

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi Welcome to BE

I hope you enjoy using the site. We have some wonderful members here.

We've got quite a few things going on within the site. There's the Photogallery, the free Classifieds, and we've also got a blog and wiki section. You will find lots of interesting info in the wiki.

If you every have any questions about how the site works, or you are stuck on something, swing on by the FAQ's or leave us a message in Site Feedback.


Sue

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hate to be a harbinger of doom, but we had minus 18 here in the Loire just after the Nouvelle An! In open countryside, it's quite normal to see winter temperatures dip well into minus double figures. That's part of the reason why the walls are so think and everyone ('cept the mad friggin' Brits) lives downstairs!

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi Sue, Jenny and Charlie,
Thank you for your welcome. Im planning on renting over there for a year,
My idea of france is a little 1 bedroomed apartment above a cobbled street with outside cafes lining the street (dont want much do i lol)
I work online so i need to have a good strong and reliable broadband service.
Im a single female so hopefully somewhere that there would a fair amount of english speaking folk. I done a year in Bulgaria in a small town with only one other english speaking person, needless to say, i found it a bit hard going so hoping to avoid that this time.

Does anyone know of any place that would fit my little dream?

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Bonjour Sheilae,
If you are going to rent, france is your oyster, you can have whatever your heart desires or your purse allows ! Your dream of a cosy little apartment in a pretty village looking out onto little narrow streets with possibly the bustle of a weekly market is the norm in rural france. The Dordogne has a high concentration of english people and somewhere like Montignac would give you the pretty village life with plenty of shops and restaurants and rolling hills countryside. Where we live in the Gironde at Auros there are only 3 english households in a village of 600ish people, but everybody is friendly and helpful and we never feel lonely. We have found it easy to integrate with the locals and now have quite a large social circle of friends that we see regularly. During the winter months (short and mild) the villages are very quiet in the evenings but during the summer (long, hot and sunny) everyone is out until late in the evening and there are always festivals and fetes to visit. The crime rate in this area is virtually zero and the youngsters are polite, well behaved and good mannered. There is no vandalism, you never see graffiti and the telephone boxes still have glass in them, but I can only speak for where we live.
If you are looking for good summer temperatures, anywhere south of Dijon across to Nantes seems to be hottest. South east you will get the Mistral and Provence can be expensive, south west in the sunflower fields and vineyards we found our perfect dream.
I hope this is of help, any questions - ask away !
Jenny and Charlie. :D :thumbsup:
We have excellent broadband here and never have any problems getting logged on.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi all,

Its so good to read some positive feelings for this country with so many people leaving to go back to uk.

We have been here since July 2005 and although its hard work we love it. Wild horses would not drag us back.

We too know Gloucester very well. I having lived there many years ago, but we lived in the Forest of Dean. My daughter was born in Cheltenham as was my husband and his two sons.

We are now living in the Charente Maritime on the edge of a town called Montendre. It is just under an hour from Bordeaux.

We are running a Chambre & Table d' Hote and a gardening business.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi BJO. Welcome to BE. You may know friends of ours who run a campsite just outside of Montendre? Sandra & Garry at Twinlakes?

We've been here in the Maine et Loire for a similar amount of time as you and agree it's hard graft, but you only get out of life what you put in.

:thumbup:

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi BJI and welcome,
We will be travelling down to the Poiteau-Charentes sometime in April/May to look at some properties we have been checking out on the internet. It would be great to have some spontaneous thoughts from you on living there!
Thanks
Blackie

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Pardon me, meant BJO!

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi Le Chant,

yes we do know of Garry & Sandra. My husband met Garry for the first time about two weeks ago but although we only live a stones throw from them and know plenty of people who have come accross them I have yet to catch up. Everyone speaks very highly of them and the site.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hiya,
My daughters and I are planning a possible move to Alsace - near Strasbourg - this summer, to live with my partner Oli who is French.
Any advice regarding schooling / employment / life in general would be gratefully received! And of course, would love to make new friends.
I have very basic french, and the girls are picking it up....Victoria is 10 and learning faster than Elizabeth, who is 14.
Looking forward to our adventure and to hearing from anyone!!!
:D

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi and welcome!
Remember to visit La Petite France in Strasbourg (really beautiful old town part)

Also remember the language there is nothing like French! Alsatian is distinct from German, but is related of course to German, and you won't understand much of it! Both Lorraine and Alsace are beautiful parts of France, but the people are careful to distance themselves from the 'real' French in the rest of the country. Great white wines, but the reds, not much cop. If I think of anything else I'll post it, but have a lovely time!
Blackie

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Hi and welcome to the Forum. The Education System is pretty good on the whole. We have a little boy (7) who has been going to school for 4 and a half years, He speak English French and Spanish and is enjoying it. I cant comment so much on the complementary therapies.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

If he's BSA qualified, he won't have a problem finding work in Biarritz, Lacanau, or many of the other western surf resorts. If he has a copy of the Stormrider Guide, tell him to 'scope that for addys where he may apply for work? He may not need much French at all, as there's plenty of English-speaking nationalities wanting to learn how to surf. Also, I do know that a surf school on Jersey was recruiting just a few short weeks ago.

Sorry, can't help with your other query though.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

There is plenty of interest in complementary therapies. The health service is much more open to them for a start - but you'd need a whole load of French qualifications to be able to work in that way. Then there are the local/traditional beliefs in healing which mean that many people from all social classes have both a sympathy and a willingness to try all sorts of therapies - however there are a whole set of people serving this, literally serving in many cases as people feel obliged to offer their help - their skill is a gift etc. So there are local French healers who are quite conventional in other ways but may practice various techniques on the side either for or without payment. Then the alternative lot crowd the scene with endless different services to meet all needs. They tend to serve each other really and remain closed in their own circuits. The Brits out here are interested too I'd say - lots of Reiki around where I've been and all sorts from Chair Massage to Laughter Therapy elsewhere. So, lots of interest from the conventional otherwise conservative population through the migrants to the zonked out Space Ship Seekers - ah yes, the Chinese medicine men too are here - my local village of 800 had a specialised Chinese doctor there. So, it's a crowded world of complementary therapy out here with people practising on the other side of the road so to speak, going different directions at the roundabout. Very hard to make money at it. Some do. It takes a big reputation and a very large hat will help I was reliably informed.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

As a complementary therapist please check that your qualifications and professional organisation are recognised by the European Parliament. It is also easier to get your professional insurance through your UK based professional organisation. Here is will cost about £3-600 for a very iffy level of cover but insurance is obligatory. You no longer need to register with the Chambre de Métiers or the Chambre de Commerce. You will come loosely under the heading of 'profession liberale' and need to check elsewhere on this site for setting up as an autoentrepreneur so that you only pay your taxes etc as and when you're earning. (about 23%) Please remember that it is illegal to work in France, even for nothing, without registering as you are consiered to be depriving other people of employment.
I run a support group for complementary healers and therapists in central France. We're pretty thinly spread. This is partly because until recently it was virtually impossible to set up within the law and partly because, whilst the French believe in complementary medicine many of them have not had any experience of some quite well known therapies e.g. Shiatsu. I have come across two fraudulent therapists since being here. Be on your guard. Do not pay excessive sums of money for treatment and check out people's qualifications. One guy claimed to have a PH D (and charged accordingly) from a place where I happened to know there is no university!

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

I'd just like to say re-HI to everyone. :D

It's been a looong time since I checked out the BE forums due to work commitments.

Still in France, the heart of the country in fact, Clermont Ferrand, with a lot more time on my hands :( so would be nice to catch up on all the expats out there!

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

What's the weather like. This time last year it was Easter and the plateau de Millevache was covered in snow.

Re: Introduction Thread (Somewhere to say Hi)
 

Weathers been good the last week or so, around 15-18 degrees during the day. :D Apparently they've forecast rain for this week and as I type, it's all grey and its starting. There's still a sprinkling of snow at the top of the Puy de Dome, but I reckon that'll be gone today or tomorrow. :(

Never been to Treignac, and just looked it up in Google, seems a lovely place and not too far from us. Will have to give it a try!!