 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
||||||
|
Don’t Move to France ... until you’ve done your homework. |
||||||
|
General Comments About the Site and Moving to France to Live: I am getting so many emails form people that I can’t keep up and have decided to post some of them as a list in no particular order.
I think your site is exactly what the rose-tinted spec wannabee movers need to see. We have been in France 4 and a half years and were really cushioned by having proper jobs (CDI's) to go too. I didnt realise I was so lucky. When I started my job it felt like a backward step financially until I was informed my salary was in fact very good! We now have moved and kinda do the Gite thing. Recently a couple of english families have moved to our village and we only arrived 6 months ago- I have been mortified to discover their total lack of knowledge of how things work, not to mention the language issues. One family I think will succeed as they are open to a new way of life the other I feel will have ploughed their life savings, property investment into a dream which will become a nightmare!” Name withheld by request. I think it is very difficult if not impossible for people to do their homework properly, because there is so much misinformation around and because the French have not been in the habit of criticising their institutions as we have. Name withheld by request. To précis our story, my family moved to France in 1999. We thought that it would be a difficuly integration exercise but nevertheless surmountable. As your site indicates well, this is far from the truth. It has been a catalogue of discrimination, state instigated theft, controle fiscales (to which one is guilty until one proves one's innocence) and the arrogant disregard for human rights and European Law, and as a translator working in real estate, I have seen criminality performed by officials that will condemn any immigrant to eventual purgatory. People need to know and it is a pity that your site is dwarfed by thousands of self interested and dishonest sites. Despite still being here and living with Grand Frere watching everything we do, I feel that I must help people from falling innocently into the contrived trap that is French residency status as a foreigner. Regards Simon BONJOUR AMIS ANGLAIS, ECOSSAIS, GALLOIS et NORD IRLANDAIS!!!!
Anyway you are all welcome, French could be really nice people, plenty of humour, inviting you for a dinner (even if they don t know your really well (it is a good opportunity), they will offering you always with presents because French people like to make the others HAPPY!! Pat (a French Frog) Let me just start by saying that you should not have called your web site dontmovetofrance but dodontmovetofrance!!! I am of French nationality, I agree with most of the comments in your web site. It is thru that the French bureaucracy can be (ooops) is extremely anoying take it from me I have setup my own busyness!!!! I have been out of France for 16 years, then after a rudundancy run in my last company in the UK, we moved to Germany, but things did not go as well as expected (I won't go in to details, let say make another site dodontmovetogermany.org.uk), so we took the decision of moving to France. Although this pace of life is very good for my daughter who's 5½ years old, for us it is not what we had expected to find. For me it's been more of a reverse culture chock than anything else. So my conclusion is, before moving to France which can be a great place to leave, make sure you check every aspect of your move, don't leave anything out, as moving out will be tiresome!!!! Dear John, I love your site. I only came across it as I was asked by a client to add you to their links page on their site (which we designed for them). I wish I had more time to read all of the comments as it is a topic close to my heart and a fascinating argument - one I feel has raged for centuries and will continue to do so. My partner and I left the UK nearly 3 years ago now to start afresh in France. Lots of reasons to leave but we did not leave under a cloud, we both love London, the country, the culture and feel very proud to be British - an amazing little island race that have given so much to the world. However, we are both in our thirties - not retirement age - and wanted more from life. I suppose in a nutshell the reason we left the UK was that we were sick of being consumers. Caught in the trap of working very hard (and being well paid for it) to pay for the house we needed to be able to do the job we did - you know the hamsters wheel I am talking about. I was very aware of a growing sense of frustration and hostility in the people around me (Londoners). It seemed the joy of life had gone, no time to stop and enjoy it any more, get out of my way I'm late... Also we wanted to take charge of our life and that meant for us - to run our own business. Of course the weather was another huge factor! So anyway France it was - to be honest if the US or Australia had easier immigration that would have allowed us to move without having to do what we were doing in the UK, we may well have gone there - however France had and still has a huge appeal and being in the EU meant it was very easy for us to just cross the boarder and get started. So after nearly 3 exciting years we still love it - but it is VERY different to any other country either of us have ever lived in (again we have both lived extended periods in many countries). You know it is not about what is better or worse, at the end of the day the French social model and culture is very different to the British. It is extraordinary that two nations living so close to each other, can be so totally different. In a way I feel very sorry for the French, as the world around them moves in a different direction, they fight harder to hold onto their way of life. Something will have to change, the more pressure that they (and their government) feel the more anger, frustration and confusion they feel. I liken the French to children - their every needs are attended to by the state and as such are sheltered from the harsh realities of life. But as the pressures of a changing world have forced the rest of us to grow up (with all the pains and difficulties that that brings) they remain like a sulking child, refusing to let go of the dream childhood. Things have to change and they are - slowly. They cannot continue hold back the rest of Europe by demanding that the rest of the EU basically fund the French way of life. Also for their own good things must change and that does not mean that all will be lost. Sorry I am rambling! I think my basic message is this - we can all learn from each-other, and should not be so arrogant to believe that our way is the only way. So by peoples moving to live in different countries we should be not only enriching our own lives, but also enriching those around us by the two way cultural exchange that should go on. However it is very important to point out that when ever you go to live in another country, you MUST respect the way of life around you. I always believe in leadership by example. Secondly - Life is about living. So for all those doubters or worriers - FACE YOUR FEARS! Go for it! Life is not a rehearsal... and all those clichés. I can't tell you how much happier we are since making the move. We are vital again - living. Of course some of us maybe more risk adverse than others, but you have to be flexible - don't move anywhere if you expect it to be the same as where you are now. That is true if you are moving to a new town, Scotland or France. But surely life is about new experiences, stretching oneself, growing as a person though those experiences (good or bad). We are human BEINGS not human DOINGS. Also you must read '60 million Frenchmen cannot be wrong' it is an excellent crash course on the cultural history that shaped modern France. Alex Charles I have read your website with some interest as someone who is seriously considering moving to France, more specifically the French Alps. I agree with some of your comments but not all! My son is educated in a French school in England and the bi plus for us was the idea that he would learn by rote which is how I was taught when I was young and not by using some of these fancy liberal ideas which seem to leave kids in a position when they leave school at 16 or 18 of having a poor grasp of English and being unable to spell or do even the most basic maths. I have a slight advantage over quite a few English people moving to France in that I have a good grasp of French and would not take very long to get this up to a level that the French would consider fluent. My disadvantage on this point is that my French is probably not good enough to work in France as I write. Another advantage I have is that around the environs of Chambery, most of my partner’s family live and we would live in that area. I would comment that food is cheaper in France. I brought 5 kilos of apricots back with me last week which were superb fruit, large, ripe and juicy at a cost of 1 Euro per kilo which is something like 30 pence per pound. This compares with my local supermarket where apricots retail for £2.99 per kilo or £1.00 per pound and are hard, yellow and dry! That is just one example! There are many more I could give you! The quality is infinitely superior in France too in many areas of the shopping list! Fuel is certainly cheaper as are cars and property, although property has risen sharply in the last 5 years. However, My cousin (inlaw) was horrified to find that his substantial house 1 kilometre from the centre of Chambery with three bedrooms (1 ensuite), vast lounge diner, decent kitchen, land all the way round with double garage, cave and three utility rooms spread over three floors was about £25,000 less in value than my tiny two bedroom flat in the suburbs of West London which would easily fit in to one floor of his house! I would like your input on two things. Firstly, we would consider buying a property with two properties in one. Quite a popular style in France. It would give us a house/maisonette for us and within the same building, another property we could let out which would provide an income. However, trying to find a decent website on this is tricky! Secondly, I would need a job. I am a financial adviser in this country but I wouldn’t be able to do that in France unless my French was significantly better. And to be honest, the French life insurance and mortgage market is a completely different animal to the English market! Nor would I be so disappointed if I was no longer in the industry. However, I could teach English and have been advised that there is a French Government website which gives help and advice on this. Have you any ideas? I am aware of at least one English teacher teaching English as a foreign language in Chambery and one of the cousins is a teacher! Kind regards, Andrew P.S. It took me two years to have all the tests required for my malady through the NHS. It could have been cancer but fortunately it wasn’t. I know for a fact that had I been in France, I would have had all the test and the diagnosis within a matter of weeks, although I do tend to agree with you that the French could be heading for problems with their State subsidies for health, retirement and education.
Your site is a great help to a lot of people. It certainly helps to evaluate the pros and cons of moving over there. I suppose in the end though, you have to take a risk in life.If you don’t sometimes look over the precipice and take that step, you will never know that you are always caught. Every experience is a learning curve, I undoubtedly have lost money but I have gained self knowledge and strength. I have just read your site about moving to France. Its great. I agree with your thoughts etc. I moved there about two and half years ago. Northern France, not the posh bit. I spent a year there trying to accustom myself to the change in pace, language culture etc. I have consequently bought a house in the Pas de Calais area but I work in England commuting each week to Braintree in Essex. I would be lying if I said it was a bed of roses, its different. I love the countryside, hills, forests, lakes, rivers etc. The people have been kind and helpful, health service good. The bureaucracy is absolutely awful, makes England seem almost efficicient! There is good and bad to both countries, France isn”t Eden but its ok for the moment. Take care, be strong. Best regards Nina Hello John I have been reading ding your web site which is informative even if biased against the French system of taxation. As a permanent resident of France for the last 4 years and therefore liable to declare my worldwide income and pay tax to the French government I have found the French system to be very straightforward. The people are also extremely friendly and helpful in all respects that I have had contact with. Please could you amend your article to point out that when capital gains tax is due the amount payable by British residents (i.e. those who have a second home which is in France) only have to pay 16% tax not the full 26% which includes the social charges. This is not mentioned in your article and may give a false impression of the tax due. It is only when the seller is a French resident and sells a second property or land the the full 26 % is payable. I have bought and sold a total of ten properties since moving to France and as 5 of them have been my permanent residence have not had to pay any capital gain at all. The remaining properties have had the tax deducted at source and do not require to be noted on the tax return. Thank you Regards David Lewendon Dear Mr. Bradley I believe that my site (www.france-property-and-information.com) would be of interest to your visitors. It provides a fair bit of information on the legal and tax side, which I think are of particular interest to people considering the pros and cons. It also provides information on a range of topics from wine to weather. On this basis, would you be interested in adding a link to my site (www.france-property-and-information.com)? My site is relatively new (although I've been working on it day and night for the past couple of months), so if you have any suggestions on it I would be very interested. Thank you for your consideration. Regards, Doug Stewart Dear John, Also, since writing at the end of October I have read a book that so accurately describes why some people shouldn't even consider moving to France - or anywhere else for that matter. It's called "Two Steps Backward" by Susie Kelly and the portraits of most of her English fellow-emigrants are straight out of Gilbert & Sullivan. Perhaps you should modify the name of the website - "Some people shouldn't move to France." I've always been fond of jokes that (kindly) demonstrate national characteristics and I pass on the one below. A retired English Colonel arrives at the station booking office in Rome and asks the clerk `A ticket to Rome please.` The clerk replies ` E comme Signor?` The Colonel then says something in a loud voice that sounds like a firework going off: the clerk recoils in horror so the Colonel turns to the crowd and exclaims: `My God, the poor fellow doesn't speak Swahili either!` ... from an earlier email ... I have earmarked the points in your submission that I want to comment on, from A to I. I first went to France in the late summer of 1980 and rode a bicycle 600 miles through Brittany and Normandy. It left a lasting impression. Food. Wine. Scenery. People. Weather. A. In the early ‘90’s, although I was based in London, I spent time in Paris working for an American multinational. I soon realised that the French business fraternity does things differently. My job was to assess the viability of opening an office in France with a view to introduce some leading-edge technology into the French market by establishing a partnership with a French company. Ultimately, I recommended not doing so as I got the impression that the French just wanted to steal our ideas and use them independently from us. Naive as this may sound, I thought this was not cricket. B. On the other hand, my generally xenophobic octogenarian English father surprised me a couple of years ago when, primed with some fine brandy, he waxed lyrical about how he admired the French. In his words they got things done regardless of what the rest of the world thought and damn the consequences. They did things their own way. In my humble opinion, the French do do things their own way and this underpins the good and the bad in the French. C. I am worried about moving to France, because we are now seeing the walking wounded struggling to get back to the UK. Those who moved there allured by cheap houses and a good life ... and lost their shirts. Bureaucracy, the language, a lack of preparation, and high taxes being their undoing. And, of course, having left the UK, they are now finding it difficult to get back onto the property ladder (not to mention that it can be very difficult to sell your French house and if you do, you may get hit with capital gains tax). D. I am worried by France’s claim to liberty in the face of mind numbing bureaucracy and (when it suits them) an obsequious attitude to authority. E. I am worried by the view held in France that Napoleon was some form of lesser god, when in other countries he is viewed as the Hitler of his time. F. I am worried by the idea of a European Community with France and Germany at its head. G. I am worried that France is the only country in the world except for Zimbabwe, Cuba, North Korea and China where educated intelligent people look you in the eye and tell you they are committed communists and that communism is the only way forward. H. I am worried by The Emperor’s Clothes. I think France is in for a nasty shock in terms of its national finances. It is yet to go through the pain and grief that Britain went through in the 1980’s. I don’t see how it can carry on with its culture of massive subsidies to its large corporations. Its reliance on the state coffers to prop-up its uncompetitive big industries and its enormous public sector. The argument goes that when the party is over, the hangover is going to lead to some unpalatable changes within the country and many of the things that the French have taken for granted for so long, the things that many consider make it such a good place to live, will be a thing of the past (first class medicine, well funded state education, welfare and the 35 hour week). I. On the other hand, France has survived major crises before and, no matter what happens, the French countryside will still be beautiful, the wine bountiful, the food delicious, and the sun will still shine. A. If you think business is cricket I suggest you return to academia! I, too, worked for US multinationals (in Hong Kong) and US companies as well as UK companies will steal others ideas if they can. It's Business! B. Your father was right, even if for the wrong reasons. He sounds like Major Thompson in the well known (french-written) books. C. Of course there are walking wounded. These are the folk who move to France without a word of the language and don't bother to find out about the most basic things that are different. I lived and worked in the US for many years but I would not think of moving permanently to the US without finding out the basics of their system, which is very different. D. The bureaucracy in France can be awesome: but by and large the French ignore a lot of it as it suits them. Also, the key to overcoming bureaucracy in France is eye-to-eye contact with the bureaucrat: it works miracles - but of course unless you have reasonable French this is out of the question!! E. You will find that France doesn't idolise Napoleon on account of his military adventures but because of his genius in organising the Departmental system (UK should emulate) and his laying down of the Code Napoleon for the judiciary. Again, in the UK we would benefit if, instead of the Police or the Attorney General investigating offences (which results in a bias on the side of prosecuting) we had an Investigating Magistrate in the French way simply to assess the facts. The US does it better with its Grand Jury system. F. Agreed. But the answer to this has been at the UK's fingertips for at least 20 years - get more involved in the EU and join the EURO! G. No-one in France takes the communists too seriously any longer. Britain had the right idea at least 40 years ago in more or less laughing at Harry Pollitt and Ian Micardo (an old boy of my school!) and the menace self-destructed. The US should have followed our example. H. There is truth in what you say, but France has now begun the easy let-down in this respect. There may be more manifestations to come but eventually Sarkozy and his followers will prevail. "Be-nice-to-everyone" Chirac has had his day - thanks to the "NON" on the constitution. I. D'accord! Cordialement,Geoff I found it interesting to read your comments on France - I am a little different as I sold up and came to France to live near my son, wife and grandchildren. My son tried to start a business and needed money and although I helped him out by moving here after six months they went back to UK. I can't as I haven't enough money to start all over again - My daughter-in-laws parents live here on top of the mountain as we are all retired but they made a lot of friends before I came out and had two years experience. On the mountain there are no shops and I have not bought a car yet as the winter here is very harsh and I don't fancy driving the mountain roads in winter. I am also an anaphylatic and the Doctor although very pleasant has caused an emergency by changing my medicine twice and that makes me nervous as the last attack almost killed me. I made the mistake of following my son and if in time I can get back to England I shan't move again to be near him. I also find the language very difficult but the people here are excellent and helpful with problems even if you can't speak their language which in the Auvergne is a little different to the rest of the country. Regards Val
You're absolutely right that the bureaucracy is not just a myth. Of course, it does happen that administrative work is completed like a dream, but according to what I've been through, that is the exception rather than the rule. Furthermore, you can never trust the advice of a fonctionnaire, because many of them don't know their job and when they don't know the right answer to your question, they just say no. Even notaires and huissiers cannot be systematically trusted. Some of them knowingly violate regulations such as the fixed fees per act that they are obliged to take. These less honest individuals simply increase the fee illegally when they think the fee fixed by regulation is not enough for their work. Of course, if you never check their fees, you will never know when you've been taken for a ride. Economic comments: France had a record high trade deficit last year. The surplus mentioned by someone else must be another figure, but not a trade surplus. Also, the state budget's deficit is exceeding the EU's stability pact year after year. Interest payments on the public debt now absorb all income taxes in France. Because of the euro, France cannot devaluate their currency as they used to do when the economy got too bad after continued overspending. Former EU commissioners are now openly talking about the possibility that the euro cannot survive another ten years. That was already clear to those who'd read Bernard Connolly's book "The Rotten Heart of Europe". Because there will be no political union in the foreseeable future, and because a political union is necessary for the euro to work, the euro has a hard time ahead, and in the meantime, it's populations in France, Germany and elsewhere who pay for this political project by being unemployed and seeing their economies ruined. Member states like France and Germany are not introducing the structural changes necessary to boost the euro. What I fear most is the moment when the euro will break into two or more pieces and economic chaos will follow. I no longer consider it a question if the euro will break up but when it will break up. Finn, it does beg the question, why do you live in France if it is screwed up as it appears to be? That's a very sensible question. Well, I was unemployed in the UK for a year in 1998 and then found a good contract in Paris. Then I found my wife in Paris. The trouble after 20 years IT was that jobs in my area had been drying up for years, so where should I go after the end of the 2 years in Paris? I had been learning French for 3 years in Denmark and was very positive about France. However, little by little, as I discovered what France really is, I got more and more disappointed by France, the French and the propaganda I had read about France in book after book and article after article. I guess that was how I got the idea to start the site. It was a counter-measure against all the propaganda. In fact, both my wife and I have many times seriously thought about leaving. My wife is sick of the country. I too am sick of many things. On the other hand, I cannot deny that Provence has its charms. If we could have it without the French, it would be a paradise. Switzerland is a country I've been looking at. It's outside the EU and outside the euro but in many ways inside the single market. When the euro crashes, the Swiss franc shouldn't be too affected. Living costs in France are going up and up, closer and closer to Swiss levels anyway. Another consequence of the euro. Finn Skovgaard www.skovgaard.org/europe/france.htm and www.skovgaard.org/europolitics/ I have lived for about 14 years in France and I am married to a French woman, Ghislaine, so I know France and all the pitfalls(well maybe not all,) the endless bureaucracy etc, etc, that one can come up against, and if it were not for my wife it is unlikely that I would have stayed in France. ... as an end note, my wife spent the better part of the day dealing with our paperwork, and that of my parents who moved to France nearly 10 years ago. French bureaucracy drives her crazy and I will never understand her patience, but thank goodness she has that patience because I could by no means deal with what she managed to deal with. ……….but I love France. Best regards, Wilf We moved, en famille, to France in September 2001 doing all the silly things that you have mentioned. At least I could speak French well (but not fluently as I had believed!), but we had sold our house, uprooted the kids & thought we could camp out in a horse lorry until we renvovated the house. We ended up in a predominantly Front Nationale village, had our kids terrorised & bullied at school, fell foul of the Maire & French bureaucracy & had to sell our ruin because no-one would renovate it for us & then we ran out of money because we hadn't realised that there was no way our English qualifications (I am a teacher & my husband is an accountant) were going to be recognised in France & get us full-time permanent jobs. Five years later we are still here though 3 or 4 times a year we panic & think this is finally the end. We were lucky in that I have 10 years professional experience working with animals & a BHSAI so we were allowed to breed dogs! We have sunk everything into our business and it has grown from the 9 dogs we brought over with us to around 45. We are up to date with our cotisations, the kids are doing well in school & we have finally found a nice house to rent. (It is opposite some gens du voyage so no French person wants it). However, you have confirmed my suspicions. We have accommodated the taxation, the bureaucracy & the racism. But puppy farming is big business in France & if we had realised this we would never have even tried to do the kennels. The bribery & corruption that goes into supporting these businesses is apparently quite widespread & of course there are subsidies as well which no-one will give us. (I have asked!) More-over we share your anxieties about how long France can continue on her crazy course but as we can't buy a house in the UK we have to carry on with fingers crossed. I have felt I was a voice in the wilderness until I found your site. Well done. regards Stephanie Godwin, Todspack Kennels www.parsonrussellterrier.com Email address included with Stephanie’s consent. Of course I can equate with the thrust of your argument that people should try and research every facet of making a move to France to protect themselves. Fine. Obviously you will generate the ‘For’ and ‘Against’ usually with a very positive bias in either direction. This is natural and can be informative or just plain rude. I find it strange that the most important qualifications to enable ordinary people to re-locate anywhere in the world do not seem relevant to France. First. Common sense. Secondly. A basic knowledge of the country and language, sensible finance, a good sense of humour and tenacity. Thirdly. Good luck. France and the French are different. Of course it is and they are. Not only that but France is a big country. In different departments many things vary wildly. The French are protectionist. Very. It is called nationalism. The French have this weird ideal that, as a Republic, the people own the country and it should always be governed by the people, for the people. The UK used to have a similar system, even as a Monarchy, it was called democracy. The French also consider that they have an inherent right to enjoy their country and all it’s abundance, together with the right to ignore any laws they do not agree with, protest is second nature. Whilst being the most caring, sharing, generous people on a personal basis in all other ways they are as mean as hell and create havoc when anything goes up by a euro cent. Yes, it is difficult to find work in France. It can also be difficult to find work in UK. Yes, a new business can fail in France. Many also fail in UK. With respect virtually all the problems associated with a move from, say, the Oxford area to any department in France could equally apply to a move from Oxford to Wales, or Cornwall, or Scotland, or Newcastle, plus all other EU countries and beyond. For some it works, for some it is a disaster, but, for all, an experience. My philosophy, for what it is worth, is that life is but a series of experiences, both good and bad. To do nothing but grow old and die is for vegetables, not humans. To venture forth, to meet challenges, to win or pick up the pieces and start again, that is experience, that is living the time we are allotted, that is life. Of course you can research, quantify every aspect of a move, use ‘experts’ and still be a square peg in a round hole. In contrast, on a whim, people have, truly, up sticks, moved to France and lived (of course not without problems – as everywhere) a different but enjoyable life that they prefer to the one they had previously. My proverb. ‘He who looks carefully where he treads, lest he trip, sees not the branch which smacks him on the head’. Bonne chance, David
I was a 32 when I moved here to be with my French girlfriend. Reality check: If you don't speak the language you will never find work except in abbatoirs and worse... Rural France has nothing to offer young people. No cinemas, shops, life, work, future.... If you have at least 20'000euro+ per annum to live on as a pension/private income then you will survive even as a couple but there will be no foreign holidays and your car will have to last... For us Brits its a great place if you are financially secure but not a place if you have to earn a living. I am a self employed person here and pay 48% of ALL PROFIT to the state in social charges. The Black Labour Market here is huge! There are enormous numbers of impoverished, middle class, educated, capital rich, money poor Brits who scrabble about for any grass cutting or renovation job going. They haunt bars and internet sites trying to snap up anything going rather than work in a factory gutting pigs... Brits come here hoping to live off the back of proceeds from the sale of their U.K residence adn by renting out a few gites... sadly a market over subscribed... We are returning to the U.K in order to earn better money. As an Anglo French couple we can earn little better than the minimum wage here in France and the property is only cheap in the deepest sticks where of course there is no work. 10%+ unemployment reaching 40%+ in certain age groups. Having said that... If I had no money worries I should choose to retire here...but thats another eulogy... More truth for you... Brain stormed and needs editing... Back in the U.K, the fail rate for new business start ups is 1:3 in the first 3 years. Imagine trying to start a business in France... If you are a tradesman such as in the building and renovation trades then you need to be able to prove your credentials and ablities to the Chambre de Metiers. If you manage to convince this organisation that you hold qualifications or can prove your 'expertise' then you will have to sit a 5 day business course and pay for the privelage. The French to their credit do hold a very limited number of these obligatory courses in English but these are few and far between. Whew! Then you must find an accountant to guide you through the myriad of paperwork and procedures. Even before you have earned a single cent you are obliged to pay your way in health assurances, pensions and up to 17 different organisations who will send letters demanding a 'cotisation' or payment. You can't run or hide... Building trades must pay 3000/5000euros per annum in 'deccenial assurances' that cover their works. You must learn the French 'Norm' or way of doing things... Almost everything is done differently in France. I have seen many Brits rewire their property in U.K wiring and plumbing only to find difficulty selling on to French and the more savvy Brits. So back to new business failures... Imagine here in France... You are a Brit and start up a business. You speak 'basic' French. How many Brits compared with French are there in your area...? It may seem lots but in fact rarely more than 5% at most. How many French will use your business...? Few to none at all! French employ French and the Brits employ Brits! Unless you have something no-one else can offer then you will be in for a life of hardship and possibly economic failure... You may open a shop, offer basic gardening and cleaning services without formal qualifications but anything that requires 'creation' such as baking, cooking, hairdressing, building trades require you to furnish translated certificates and to be able to prove your experiences. The state takes more than 48% of all profit in 'Social Charges'. There are no tax allowances here and so it is almost unheard of to run a part time business for pocket money. Strangely enough... the only way to reduce you social charges is to have three or more kids as you get back more than 500euros per month as well as free cinema tickets, holidays and meals. You rarely see disabled people or see many facilities here... They are still largely hidden from public gaze... Don't bring you child here if they suffer from any learning disabilities... The French rarely recognise the much flaunted ticket of 'my Johnny has Dyslexia' or ' My Billy is Hyperactive'... They are just likely to be called thick and badly behaved and cuffed around the head in class. It is normal for French teachers to hit even quite small children much to the dismay of British parents. Many Brits buy a property requiring huge renovation works. Such a property may only have a token local tax rating of a few hundred euros before the works... Afterwards the local commune may levy a rate comparable with the the U.K council tax... Also, there is a one off tax to be paid upon completion of your renovation which is often in the region of several thousands of euros. There are NO BUILDING CONTROLS here... Great for the renovator and amateur builder but many a poor renovation has been sold on to unsuspecting Brits with dangerous/illegal wiring and hidden building faults. Thats all for now.. Is this what you are looking for or am I boring you...? Stuart
This disrupted the house pricing in the area. House prices have doubled in France in the last 5/6 years and some of the blame does lie with British buyers. Not everyone stands a good chance in France but two groups seem to find the change good. Retired couples with at least one a fair speaker of French and those who have a skill which fits their new new community. Families with children seem to fit in well and the children pick up language skills amazingly quickly and love their new schools. (my limited experience).That is if the parents have found a niche. France has an unemployment problem so it is foolish to imagine that you will easily find work. This is due to the high social charges and means that most French work much harder than British. You have just to look at a typical restaurant where 2 or 3 people serve and cook for a busy restaurant. Certainly you are right to tell people of the difficulties Michael
Many many good points are made by both sides of this web debate but I think the above article is one of the sad but true points that cannot be argued. I have made good French friends here who were brought up to respect their family and elders, and also brought up to believe English food is muck! It has been an eye opener for me seeing what the French really think of English people and their ways (you only get the true version when you know them well) and I was unable to explain when asked why English people have allowed their Country to slip into its state relating to all the points made in the above named article. Sure France like many Countries has its problems but I think it has less than England's share of "cultural cancer" and PC madness. Vive La Differance Ray
I have just been reading your reply to Mindset 1 and would like to give my own view. We are just starting our second year of full time living in France after debating, renovating our house and getting to know the locals for sixteen years! We actually intended to take the plunge thirteen years ago but things didn't work out that way, so we waited until offspring had all left home and here we are. We are lucky because we don't have to find employment, I have a small pension from my employers and we live very simply. We find the cost of living to be similar to the U.K. (although rates and other taxes are much less) and of course we only have ourselves, dog and three cats to look after. The French we have met, who are mostly our neighbours, have been very friendly and helpful especially if you try to speak the language and we do try to join in any events ( except when it involves Langue de Bouef which we both hate!) We do most of our own renovations but when needed we try to us local labour and I think they appreciate it. Joining local associations, singing, dancing or whatever your hobby is, is also useful. We could if we wanted to be exclusively British, there are lots of us in our area, but that's not what we moved here for. When we go out to eat we tend to go for lunch to an 'Ouvrier' where you can eat a good three, for or five course menu for around 11 Euros. The food is good and you don't need to eat again that day! I realise our experience is very different from what yours would be but the only thing that I miss about England is my family. I realise that you've probably heard all these comments before but I just had to have my say. Mary
|
||||||