getmeoutofhere1

anybody help us .. thinking of moving to france,we have 4 kids ages from 21 months to 15 years.can anybody point me in the right direction.. ie. wheres the best bargains are in france we know the prices have gone through the roof since we last looked 5 years ago..want to live near the sea...dont speak french but i would love to mix with the locals

treaclepuss

Hello - just a few thoughts to get you going!

Do try to learn some French, start now - though it will come on in leaps and bounds when you do mix with the locals. And the wine....

Expect to pay much more for your property on or near the coast. The cheapest places are generally where the French are not as keen to live, i.e. rural and inland. The Limousin seems to be cheapest at present and has the lowest population density in France - and the French verb "limoger" means to be forcibly retired.... Peace and quiet is one thing but would you choose to live in the middle of nowhere in England (and would your kids?)

Wherever you decide, it's a great experience. Good luck!

Halifax harpie

parts of Normandy are also still very reasonable but you are not so isolated and it is fairly easy to get back to UK from there. If you look from Cherbourg down to Carentan, quite a lot of choice close to the sea. We have also found schools, shopping etc good in this area and the local population very friendly and not at all anti foreigners.

bilbong

Hi just starting the ball rolling , we have been thinking about France for last 4 years.We visit vendee often and have decided to settle there. We also have a couple of friends who live there and really love it but im not saying it is cup of tea. I think you should do your research and visit different areas before you decide where you want to live, hope some use.

getmeoutofhere1

thanks very much for that....i looked years ago (over the net)but never got round to it !

bilbong

We have got 2 children aged 8 aand 12 the youngest one is quite scared about school but we have reaassured him it will be ok. If we dont do it now we will i think regret it. Ifeeel scared about going but you can always come back hope not and we speak very little french but hoping to learn. If you try the french will try back been lots of times and loved it ,hope we love it as much when we live there.

getmeoutofhere1

whats the property prices like in vendee?

bilbong

We think quite reasonable ie farmhouse in region of £130.000 upwards. Does depend what you want town houses rreallycheap and you are about an hour away from coast.
We are looking for property to renovate because my husband is in to any building work so most of it he can renovate himself.
Friends who live out there say weather is good to summer very warm.

getmeoutofhere1

i myself went back to college to learn plastering.past city and guilds level thinking of signing up for level 2 which i think is a more advanced level..if you start a business in renovateing count me in..... !!!

bilbong

yOU DO KNOW taaxes are high in france ie if you work for yourself you pay about 41 per cant in tax ,you also haveto have a seret number which enables you to work.
Sometimes people say that you are betteer working for someone but like my husband who as has his own buisness for years it can be hard working for someone else.

getmeoutofhere1

same here i own a private taxi business been selfemployed since i left school !!!

getmeoutofhere1

where in the uk are you?

Rue Pasteur

My wife and I sold up in the UK in the summer of 2005, arrived in Provence October and we love it. Coming up for 18 months now, we wish we had learnt more french before we came but its coming on. Have had to pay extra occasionally as a result ie high accountancy fees, banking is expensive but other than this ( and a few other challenges) we enjoy the french way of life and wonderfull climate. Don't delay - you will never look back and you only live once!

bilbong

We live in Derbyshire.

bilbong

I agree you only live once, you just hope you are making right decision for all the family.
Do you have children?
We are actually going to have lessons before we move mainly to bring the kids on.