Etakmc78

Hi, my partner works in France and has a long contract. We are looking to rent for a while as we can't bear to live apart❤! I am trying to contact estate agents and the like, however it's pretty difficult as I speak limited French!! We need a little advice about renting and also if anyone knows of English estate agents in chateauroux!! Many thanks

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
I can't help personally re estate agents, but there are several aspects of your plan that should be gone into, and our advice will depend on your answers.
Firstly, how long is the "long" contract, all things being relative. Has your partner got a CDD for a year? or longer? Has he already started work and has he got accommodation? and where are you at the present time?
Be aware that you have to sign a lease for 3 years, although on the tenants' side it can be terminated earlier. You have to provide payslips(or work contract) to prove that you earn more than 3-4 times the rent, otherwise you must have a Guarantor. If as "partners" you aren't married or pacséd (civil partnership), you would have to be "colocataires" and both provide payslips....
Which brings us to the question of how you intend to earn your living, bearing in mind your 'limited French' and that the unemployment rate in France is much higher than in the UK. If there's no legal bond between you, you wouldn't be covered by his French Social Security côtisations if you don't find work. This wouldn't be too much of a problem if his contract is for a year, as the reciprocal S.S. arrangement between France and UK would cover you (remember to bring over the pertinent document), but if it's for a longer period, you'd either have to find work or take out private health insurance. If you're married and/or you've a job to come to, then ignore the above...
Sorry to go off-topic, when you're only asking about English estate agents in Chateauroux, but you may not realise that France isn't a country where even EU citizens can simply come and live with their partners! Bureaucracy reigns!
Don't hesitate to ask further questions and if no one can help on the estate agent front, you may do well to ask on a dedicated regional forum.

Etakmc78

Hi ya , wow lots of info!! Thankyou!! The contract is 7 years of which he has done a few months, we will be going for a month to look around at schools and such! However, I have been Informed the rental will now go through the company so it seems we have not got to go through all the red tape ourselves � ����!! I don't have a job to go to and it sounds to me that after 15 years together he will have to pop the question. I have researched schools a little, and found not a lot that I could understand! If u have any advice about moving to France I'd really appreciate it . � ����

dmu

How old are your children? No problem for schooling if they are of Maternelle/Primaire Age, they'll go to your local school designated by the Mairie (where you initially enrol them) and they'll have time to get used to the French Education System (and French language and culture) before Collège. Adolescents thrown in at the deep end in Collège or Lycée will find it difficult if not impossible to follow lessons in French and might do better to go to an International School (or even finish their schooling in the UK if they are in their mid-/late-teens.)
Start another thread re schooling and other questions, and others will come along to advise on moving to France. Mention that your OH has a job, you aren't married (yet) and must organise healthcare for yourself (I believe your children will be covered by his S.S. côtisations).
Good luck!