France - Opinions Please :)

[kejago]

My wife and I want to go to France too, maybe somewhere like Annecy and we're thinking of renting for a year or two first to see if we stick. We'd like to go in the summer or autumn of 2015, but we're definitely going.

I am near Annecy. It is a nice area. Are you planning on working in Geneva?

[gbags]

Hi kejago,
Sorry for the late reply, I've just been talking about moving to France again and came back to find this thread.
No, we won't be working there. We're semi retired. We have a biz in England that is pretty hands off and which I can run from a laptop and phone when it needs me. The kids left home this year and we just want a change.
Having lived in the Far East for about 17 years we like a bit of change every so often.
What are you doing out there? Been there long? Is it very hard to integrate if you don't work?
G

[lancashirelad]

Well said, especially the last bit...... (thumbs)
btw, I'm in Angouleme 16[/quote]

We've been to the car racing round the town centre in Angouleme twice, will be back again love the town & the racing!!!

[Wapping]

My parents, both now in their 80's, returned last year after living for 22 years in the Luberon, Provence 13.

The best tips my father gave me were:

1. Learn at least basic French. If you can't call a plumber in mid-winter to explain over the phone that your hot water is not hot, you'll not be enjoying a warm shower for several weeks. He took local French lessons for a year and got it cracked.

2. Do not expect that a strong pound versus a weak local currency will last forever; it won't. Your buying power will diminish just as quickly as it rises. Imagine if you can the effect if the euro ever went back to 1:1 with the pound; could you manage with 25% to 33% wiped off your (maybe) fixed income?

3. France is not cheap per-se, it is more expensive than the UK and pricier than many of its neighbours. Can you realisticaly afford it, particularly if you have a mortgage? Do you have any sort of realistic escape plan if the wheels really came off, for example if you fell ill?

4. Get good at mending things yourself. As a retired aircraft engineer, able to turn his hand to most things (up to and including brick laying and carpentry) he had a head start.

5. Look at where you intend to live in the winter. Everywhere looks nice in the summer when you are on your holidays; they look very different in November and February. Across the valley from my father's place is the very picturesque village of Bonnieux, beautiful in summer. It's only fault? It faces north. It freezes in winter.

6. When looking at properties, take a compass (see above)

7. Do not try to turn your plot and life into a mini-version of UK home. It isn't.

8. Make sure your wife is happy. If she isn't you'll be divorced, facing a murder charge (those French lessons will come in handy) or be returning home licking your wounds.


You could add in that, unlike a quarter of a century ago, France is now in deep recession. You only need to look at any rural town to see that. If the locals cannot easily find work, why should you be able to? That is not to say that it's impossible of course, just don't assume that it's always easy.

I am considering buying a property in France, probably around Dijon sort of way. I'll also be looking what the alternatives are in Belgium and Germany. I'll try to remember the old man's advice when and if the day comes.

[Scott_rider]

I've heard that you also need an official SIRET or SIREN number if you intend to work self-employed over there which can be difficult to get if you're a foreigner because you also need insurance as well, hence a lot of form filling. No doubt someone on here will know more?

[-Ralph-]

I looked at it seriously a few years ago and my French is reasonably fluent, at least on a one to one basis, group conversations still get me in a bit of a pickle.

What stopped us doing it was my career. I have a good job in the UK, I'm paid at what would be Director level in most UK companies, but salaries in France at the same level are half of what they are in the UK. My language fluency is in personal conversations not business terminology, so I wouldn't have been able to work at the same level straight away anyway, I'd need to drop back down the ladder and start working my way up again. My wife is French so surviving wouldn't have been an issue, she'd find a job and cover the living expenses while I got on my feet.

In the end for us though staying in the UK, investing my earnings wisely, and then retiring to France in 15-20 years time (I'm 38) made a lot more sense. Once the mortgage is paid and money and work is no longer an issue, and my son has left home, then we can just put our feet up, enjoy the sunshine, spend 2 hours a day riding through the mountains and the rest gardening. If we want to get up one morning and say "feck it, lets lock the house for 3 months and ride the bike to Thailand", we can do it.

I think if you still have to worry about things such as mortgage, kids, and saving for retirement then you need to look carefully at what your job prospects realistically are in France, compared to what your situation is now.

It's all very well working and living in France, but if that means you're going to need to work until the day you drop dead because you haven't got enough to retire, then is it worth it?

[WillS]

We bought a house in the Haute Pyrenees, France 9 years ago, spent a year or so for holidays, then the holidays extended, and then started commuting, in the end 6 years ago took early retirement and moved over full time. Never regretted it.
I think working in France is hard, unless you can have your own small business / income.
We have a small business, that was transferable to the French market, but the bureaucracy and social charges in France are crazy, be warned.
Retirement or early retirement is the best way, and arriving without debt or mortgage, however some people have come over with the family and settled in, but most seem to be builders or tradesmen.
However it's a great place to live, and ride the bikes.
I would not go back to the UK.
Life has a totally different pace down here in the slow lane. Not just the climate, but that helps.
France is a big country, and choosing the location were to live is very difficult.
Good luck with your future plans.

[James1979]

Thanks for the advice. Its all food for thought an a difficult decision. We're taking as much time there as possible to try to figure out if its for us.

Sounds like quite a few on here have made it work though, which is encouraging

[PHILinFRANCE]

You don't know unless you try !!!!! and the UcK will always be there, good luck with what ever you choose mate (thumbs)

[misterlaffer]

Things that worry me are

That my friend is why you are sick of the UK. So, get another mind-set and move to France, take whatever comes your way (employment problems etc) in your stride (thumbs)