New arrival
May 20th 2020 | 8:07 pm
#16
On a grand tour
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 240
From: Somewhere dusty
Re: New arrival
So initially all your possessions were in the van, as a sort of travelling storage? Great idea!
May 20th 2020 | 8:25 pm
#17
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 35
From: Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64100)
Re: New arrival
No, the bulk of the house contents had gone into storage in the UK - we just had with us what we thought we'd need for as long as it would take to find a house. My wife thought we'd best plan on 12 months - so the van had a stack of summer and winter clothes, our PC and printer, the bottles (I didn't trust those going into storage!) and a few other odds and sods - and our cocker!
When the removals team came to pack up everything for UK storage, they packed up all our books save one.. (big mistake) and also our camera went into storage too.. (second big mistake!).
Little did we think we'd be signing for a house 10 days after arriving in France - someone must have been smiling down at us..
More here.
Mcn
When the removals team came to pack up everything for UK storage, they packed up all our books save one.. (big mistake) and also our camera went into storage too.. (second big mistake!).
Little did we think we'd be signing for a house 10 days after arriving in France - someone must have been smiling down at us..
More here.
Mcn
May 24th 2020 | 8:25 am
#18
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,549
From: Paris
Re: New arrival
You have to balance the financial aspects with your personal happiness. Obviously no-one wants to live in abject poverty, but if you have to make compromises and potentially be a little financially poorer for it, it's a small price to pay (no pun intended) for a better suited lifestyle. Even if it did potentially go belly up, what a great adventure.
I rarely return to the UK, the last time was probably about 3 years ago now. It's sad to see the country slowly drifting into decadence, and it's hard to envision things getting better.
I rarely return to the UK, the last time was probably about 3 years ago now. It's sad to see the country slowly drifting into decadence, and it's hard to envision things getting better.
May 24th 2020 | 8:33 pm
#19
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 5,254
From: Dépt 61
Re: New arrival
You have to balance the financial aspects with your personal happiness. Obviously no-one wants to live in abject poverty, but if you have to make compromises and potentially be a little financially poorer for it, it's a small price to pay (no pun intended) for a better suited lifestyle. Even if it did potentially go belly up, what a great adventure.
I rarely return to the UK, the last time was probably about 3 years ago now. It's sad to see the country slowly drifting into decadence, and it's hard to envision things getting better.
I rarely return to the UK, the last time was probably about 3 years ago now. It's sad to see the country slowly drifting into decadence, and it's hard to envision things getting better.
May 24th 2020 | 10:11 pm
#20
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 35
From: Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64100)
Re: New arrival
Prior to making the decision to move here, we kept a close eye on the money markets and my conclusion was that the £ was likely to slowly lose value against the € over time. On that basis, we decided to move here. Just prior to the move £1 would buy you 1.47€..
After we moved and signed for our house, the pound went into freefall and we just managed to exchange our capital to euros with the rate at 1.40..
All our pensions bar one were/are in £ sterling.. and even at 1.40 we were still happy. Events then took a sharp downturn as the pound nosedived to 1.04 (think that was the lowest I can remember). In real terms this meant a 30% reduction in our income. Fortunately, we'd left ourselves sufficient financial headroom so we were still able to manage without too much pain. It gave us confidence that we could wait out any violent changes regardless of what happened on the money markets.
I couldn't agree more G-J-B.. I left the UK in 2007 without a regret. It was no longer the country I'd grown up in. We've been back about 3 times in 12 years - and I'm always glad to return here.
After we moved and signed for our house, the pound went into freefall and we just managed to exchange our capital to euros with the rate at 1.40..
All our pensions bar one were/are in £ sterling.. and even at 1.40 we were still happy. Events then took a sharp downturn as the pound nosedived to 1.04 (think that was the lowest I can remember). In real terms this meant a 30% reduction in our income. Fortunately, we'd left ourselves sufficient financial headroom so we were still able to manage without too much pain. It gave us confidence that we could wait out any violent changes regardless of what happened on the money markets.
You have to balance the financial aspects with your personal happiness. Obviously no-one wants to live in abject poverty, but if you have to make compromises and potentially be a little financially poorer for it, it's a small price to pay (no pun intended) for a better suited lifestyle. Even if it did potentially go belly up, what a great adventure.
I rarely return to the UK, the last time was probably about 3 years ago now. It's sad to see the country slowly drifting into decadence, and it's hard to envision things getting better.
I rarely return to the UK, the last time was probably about 3 years ago now. It's sad to see the country slowly drifting into decadence, and it's hard to envision things getting better.
May 30th 2020 | 4:01 am
#21
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,420
From: Halfway between Ricard & Absynthe
Re: New arrival
Thought I'd say allo allo here..
Madame and I first visited this part of France in 1991 and it hit me like a train.. It wasn't long (ie, as we were driving away) before we were making plans to revisit the area. And from then on, we quickly progressed to dreaming about living here. We would return to the same small village every summer and it became the highlight of our year. English winters never seemed so long!
We both retired in 2006 and sold up in the UK in 2007, putting the bulk of our household effects into storage. We then drove a rental van down to Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) where we rented a gîte at Villefranque while we searched for a house. (called "burning our bridges")
We started looking in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, then Biarritz and finally Bayonne. I'd made a list of all the features we wanted and I passed it across to the lady in the first immo we visited in Bayonne.
She said, "I have just the place for you..". The property she showed us fitted our wish list to a 'T'. We returned the following day for a second visit and, taking a deep breath, we decided there and then that we'd have it.
Ten days after arriving, we found ourselves signing the compromis de vente.. We moved into the house about 5 months later after the initial work we wanted doing (kitchen, bathroom, decoration, electrics etc) had been carried out.
Yes, we were lucky and it all worked out perfectly for us.
We've since become really embedded here to the point where we think of Dax as the North! We've yet to have a day where we felt we had nothing to do.
I applied for French citizenship in 2017 and it was granted last year.
Contrary to popular belief, we've made good friends with people in the local community - they've been so kind to us.
If I had to do it all over again, what would I do differently? Very little - except perhaps I'd put more effort into working on my French.
I have still to meet the mythical "surly French waiter" beloved of the UK tabloids. In reality, our experience of them has been the exact opposite.
Mcn
Madame and I first visited this part of France in 1991 and it hit me like a train.. It wasn't long (ie, as we were driving away) before we were making plans to revisit the area. And from then on, we quickly progressed to dreaming about living here. We would return to the same small village every summer and it became the highlight of our year. English winters never seemed so long!
We both retired in 2006 and sold up in the UK in 2007, putting the bulk of our household effects into storage. We then drove a rental van down to Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) where we rented a gîte at Villefranque while we searched for a house. (called "burning our bridges")
We started looking in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, then Biarritz and finally Bayonne. I'd made a list of all the features we wanted and I passed it across to the lady in the first immo we visited in Bayonne.
She said, "I have just the place for you..". The property she showed us fitted our wish list to a 'T'. We returned the following day for a second visit and, taking a deep breath, we decided there and then that we'd have it.
Ten days after arriving, we found ourselves signing the compromis de vente.. We moved into the house about 5 months later after the initial work we wanted doing (kitchen, bathroom, decoration, electrics etc) had been carried out.
Yes, we were lucky and it all worked out perfectly for us.
We've since become really embedded here to the point where we think of Dax as the North! We've yet to have a day where we felt we had nothing to do.
I applied for French citizenship in 2017 and it was granted last year.
Contrary to popular belief, we've made good friends with people in the local community - they've been so kind to us.
If I had to do it all over again, what would I do differently? Very little - except perhaps I'd put more effort into working on my French.
I have still to meet the mythical "surly French waiter" beloved of the UK tabloids. In reality, our experience of them has been the exact opposite.
Mcn
Many times I've been tempted to put together a blog since my arrival here, but would have difficulty to know exactly where to start. Must confess though it's been a wonderfully rich experience especially as our son was born here. Weird isn't it, that even at 40+ years old they still remain the 'baby'.
Many have been complaining at the 100klms travel restriction and not being able to see their loved ones, which I understand. Ours is over 3000klms away and we can only look forward once a year to our family reunion, currently postponed until further notice. Sad......
Cheers, and keep safe everyone!
May 30th 2020 | 6:59 am
#22
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 35
From: Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64100)
Re: New arrival
I've just been getting up to date with a number of posts on this forum, and found yours especially interesting. Had a quick read through your blog too.
Many times I've been tempted to put together a blog since my arrival here, but would have difficulty to know exactly where to start.
Many times I've been tempted to put together a blog since my arrival here, but would have difficulty to know exactly where to start.
I don't identify anyone by their names (altho' I think I may have done once or twice) and I resisted the temptation to include photos of ourselves. It's not really about us - it's about the Pays Basque and how we've been accepted here.
Thanks again!
Mcn
