Moving to Toulouse
 

Hi everyone

I've just joined the forum and was looking for a little bit of advice. My partner and I are moving to Toulouse in January and were looking for some information.

Firstly,where to live. We want somewhere with a pool but not too far from the city. My partner will be based at the airport so must be close to that. We were thinking Tournefueille and quite liked that area when we visited? Any advice?

Also, we both want to bring our UK cars over, how difficult is that process? Lastly, what type of bank account do people have that still allows you to transfer money to the uk?

Thanks for your help everyone.

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

Coucou Louisec317

Can't help much since I don't know Toulouse and have never imported a UK car - I believe the process is quite simple but if it's a gas guzzler you might get stung with the registration fee so that's something to check first if you haven't already, there are websites where you can find out how much a vehicle will cost to register.

Re transferring money between France and the UK, I'm a great fan of Transferwise, very user friendly and you can use it with any bank account. When I transfer FR>UK the money appears in my UK account in less than a minute, and they charge peanuts. Best of all, it takes several days for the money to be debited to my French account so for a few days I can pretend I'm mega-rich!

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

Hi
Welcome to the forum.
Can't help with Toulouse but for the banking have a look at this website:

https://www.britline.com/create-account-6-steps.html

I am not suggesting that you use Credit Agricole but it will give you an idea of what documents you require.
I would also suggest an FX company to transfer money to the UK.
French banks are very different to UK ones with more restrictions than you are used to.
You said "my partner" and you should check if you will be covered for healthcare.
You may need to be married or PACSd to qualify.
Do a forum search about registering a car in France.
The search button is towards the top on the right.

HTH

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

This is the French government website tool for calculating the registration costs
https://www.service-public.fr/simula...mmatriculation

One thing you'll need to know is the fiscal horsepower, and the easiest way to find this is by checking the tech spec of your exact model on a French website because the French fiche téchnique will always include this - it's an important part of the spec here!
eg https://www.lacentrale.fr/fiche-technique-auto.php has tech specs for most makes and models.

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

Hi and welcome to the forum!
Can't help on the Toulouse/car/banking fronts, but take a look at the Read-Me: Moving to France FAQs above, particularly in the "Partner Status" and other pertinent threads. If you buy property, for example, you should ask the Notaire to advise the best way of protecting your respective interests. Make sure that both names are on the Utility bills, as you'll both need Proof of Domicile for so many Administrations in France...
Some one more in the know will come along, but I wonder whether you'd be covered by your partner's Social Security. If not and you aren't working yourself (salaried or self-employed), you'd have to take out private healthcare insurance until you're eligible for the PUMA (google or do a forum search).
France isn't very "partner-friendly" in many respects, and life will be simpler if you're "legally bound"!
P.S. Sorry, I've quoted Cyrian's post while addressing Louisec317:o

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

There have been a number of previous posts on the subject.
Suggest you have a read through these first, and come back with any further questions you may have:-
Here
And HERE.
I know Toulouse pretty well, and lived in Colomiers, and afterwards in both Blagnac (stone's-throw from the airport and Airbus HQ) and Tournefeuille. Both expensive areas to rent, especially the latter - which I personally preferred.
Regarding cars, I did bring one from UK and registered here, but years ago. Personally I wouldn't do it now, even if I owned something Italian & exotic - many will disagree though.

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

Hi Everyone

Thanks very much for the advice. I joined the forum yesterday and got carried away and posted, have only now caught site of the "search" button now so will have a read on what has been said before.

Partner owns a new Ford Mustang and is refusing to part with it, so no doubt we will be charged a fortune as it is a bit of a fuel guzzler. Thanks again and I'll come back if there'[s any info I can't get hold of.

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

He should bring some spare wing mirrors if he plans to drive it around Toulouse:lol:

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

And perhaps a spare set of front & rear Mustang badges.
Over a few years here I had one set of MG and two sets of Alfa Romeo badges lifted by a light-fingered 'collector' - which almost made me cry. :cry_smile:

That's just one of the problems with a car that stands out from the crowd. The other (with a Mustang) is that SP95 fuel ranges from approx 1,27€/lt to 1,4€/lt. One of the good reasons I'm no longer running a 3lt vehicle.

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

Not to mention the Mustang is 1911mm wide it will collect lot's of paint chips from folk opening their doors into it. It doesn't matter how far you park away from cars here.

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

A good comment.
I've always loved my cars, and made a point of parking as far away as possible from other vehicles (much to the annoyance of MmeTP who always wants me to park within several cms. of the entrance to wherever we're going) - needless to say I never do, but even so over a few years I've had 2 rather unsightly door-opening scrapes put on my car. B#@!*rds!
Imho the only way here to maintain a vehicle in prestine condition esthetically is not to take it out on the road, or - make friends with a panel-beater specialist and expect to budget in the necessary retouches.

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

Tournefeuille - best bet but pricey. Depends on how close to the city you want - maybe Plaisance du Touch will be slighter cheaper and it's really all blended into one.

?Sept deniers? Close to the stadium and mostly small houses so pool might be a problem.


Blagnac's ok, parts of Colomiers. Pibrac is pretty but perhaps futher out than you wanted?

Pujuadran? either side of the the N124?

will you have a car?
Are you getting relocation assistance?

if you are brave enough -there's an FB English speaking group full of airbus wives which I have linked to in past posts.

for budget - look on leboncoin.fr for ads. Everyone posts properties there, even the agents.

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

I looked into importing a Mustang direct from the USA and the malus ecologique due in France is in the order of €8K to €10K depending on whether it is the 2.3L Ecoboost or the 5.0L GT. A fortune indeed!

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

A French guy near me owns a beautiful red Mustang. He spends a lot of time polishing it (or do they call it "detailing" ) but I very rarely see him drive it out of his gates, I suspect he only uses it on car rallies. It has US plates so I don't know whether that means it's still registered in the US or whether the plates are just for show and either he has French plates but he thinks they spoil the look, or whether in fact it's registered nowhere. I've never spoken to the owner, I would like to because I have a soft spot for Yank cars but he doesn't make eye contact even though we've lived within a few streets of each other for years. He wears a cowboy hat and everybody says he is "un original".

Re: Moving to Toulouse
 

A car with a carte grise de collection (ie over 30 years old) is allowed to have a retro-style number plate which I think some people abuse somewhat by using a plate in the retro-style of another country. The number, however, should be a valid French registration number.