CarlM

Really? I bought through them and apart from some serious haggling (i am an ex-estate agent myself!) i did very well.

Guess i got lucky!

Michael E

I have read this tread with interest - bit of advertising going on, in parts, for services you do not need. Moving to France is not brain surgery but maybe spending a few months here in a rented property/flat might let you find out if it is really for you.......

Buying is fairly straight forward, sign a contract and pay a deposit - one week to change your mind then you are committed. Many/most estate agents have english speaking sales people - Probably better to try to find English speaking Notair - if only because of the inheritance tax - you just ask the notair to exclude the situation where the property goes partly to the children if one of you dies - it costs nothing and is a simple clause in the contract to have the property pass entirely to the surviving partner.

To make a permanent home here you need eventually to learn some French but it is fairly easy to muddle through whilst that happens - Provided your income is generated in the UK you will not pay any French income Tax. You will pay social security contributions for medical care etc which for a couple will be around £1200 a year. Opening a bank account is a breeze - they want your custom - avoid Credit Lyonnaise - try to sell you things you do not want but The PNB Parisbas I found excellent... As posted, electrical goods, you just go down the supermarket and buy a load of plugs and cut off the english ones. Only thing to be aware of is that you can use 2 pin french on table lights etc but you should use 2pin + earth hole on power hungry products like fridges, wash machines, TV etc... which should have an earth - if there are 3 wires put a 3 wire plug on if there are 2 put a 2 wire plug

Plants and shrubs may be a bit of a no no for some items - I think so do a Google search or call the french consulate in London.

Support group??? Whats that? Of course it is a learning curve and we all make mistakes moving to a foreign/different culture but if you want live in France then you need to live with the French and mainly they are charming, helpful and very polite. The English are popular and our accent sounds charming. If you feel you cannot do it alone then possibly the transition is not for you.

regards

MIchael

simonk

Hello all.

Great forum with loads of good advice and info.

Just thought I'd add my experiences with removals companies.

I moved from London to the Languedoc region of France in 2001 and used a UK firm called Bishops Move. They were great. Not the chepest, not the most expensive, but they knew the area, travelled here regularly and I had no problems. My stuff arrived on time and in good condition.

My parents used them seven years ago to move here and my cousin used them a couple of months ago. All positive feedback and no problems.

Hope this helps.

Simon.

Languedoc Property Finders
Languedoc Holiday Guide

volldamm

Very interesting thread. I moved to France 4 months ago and speak fluent French already. However when I started to sort out my legal matters and social security it became a nightmare as the French civil servants were generally very unhelpful. There was a lot of terminology I was unfamiliar with and when I asked them to explain they just had no time for me. Luckily I found a company in my area, frenchassistance.com who are sorting out all my problems. There is a woman called Marie-Laure who is extremely helpful and efficient. Good luck.

Holly210392

hello everyone

My family and I are very interested in moving to the northern part of france, we have hired a motorhome and are planning to go on a road trip there next week to explore and get to now the area, we hope to see some properties and land while we go aswell.
If we decide that we love the place, we will definitely move there within the next 2 years.
My question is ...
If you don't know much of the language, is it easier to learn while you are there by talking and socilizing with locals or should we take some lessons before hand.
sometimes we will walk down the local nature reserve and take a phrase book to test each other on the basics but thats about it.

can anyone help me on this ? thanks.

Holly

Uriah

If you are handy with the plumbing, it would be worth making a special twin feed off the cold for washing machines with the hot and cold input. I have used the 'Y' adapters and every time it has sprung a leak between the V of the Y. This is because when the flow stops it flexes the V and gradually weakens it. Water pressure does the rest. Just an idea. Or you could install a hot feed, I suppose.

philcasey

Hi, i'm moving to France in 6 weeks time with my wife and 2 young children, i've never been there before but plan on going to Brittany in search of a house on the 25th Feb. We were initially planning on Australia and are in the final stages of a visa application (we get a decision at the end of March). the BBC took us over there in Sept last year for the "wanted down under " series and we loved it, but we think we could have a better life in France.
This is a last minite decision as we have to be out of our house on the 2nd Feb, and so we're a little panicky about the legistics of a move to Europe. My wife works in sales and can continue to work for the same company from home, all she needs is a broadband connection. I was wondering if it is as easy as we believe it to be? We haven't come across any problems as yet and it's begginig to feel a bit too easy. As far as we can tell we just move over, buy a property, get the kids in a school, get broadband and away we go! (by the way we don't speak a word of French) . ARE WE MAD or is it quite easy to make the move? any info would be much appreciated, thanks.

nickcarol

Get "Buying a House in France" and read it cover to cover. Then go on holiday in as many differnet regions as you can, based on what you want to do with your life. If you ski look at Haut Savoie, Pyrennees and Alps. If you swim look at Med coast; if you like the countryside look at Central France; and so on. Decide on the area first before you start looking at immobilier's web-sites which may seduce into an area that may not suit you.