Question for French grapes

Just being a bit nosey here cos this is something I'd love to do. But would it not be a tad difficult popping over to France just for the weekends?

I'm sure you will get differing ideas on your question, but from a purely personal point of view, if thats your dream then give it a go.
I moved 5 years ago, and havent regretted a single day, not a single second, even though things havent always gone smoothly here. Even if in the future life here becomes untenable for whatever reason, I will know that for a period of time, I really did live my dream.

For an idea of prices etc, try looking at this website, Petites annonces gratuites d'occasion - leboncoin.fr
You can then look at the area of the country you are thinking of, and have a look at prices for land/houses etc.

Its not easy, my French is pretty tolerable and I struggle to get work when I have to work in France, the health system is fantastic but again not easy to navigate through and becoming more difficult, you can't buy Bisto gravy granules, but equally, I wake up in the mornings, let my dog out of the front door before we go for our constitutional, safe in the knowledge that he wont see a vehicle or a person.

If you decide to go for it, I wish you luck, I suggest you buy some Michel Thomas tapes and get learning the language, and do as much homework as you can before you move.


Bottom line, after 5 years, a relationship breakdown, financial hardship and a house that sometimes makes me cry in frustration, would I do it again????


****ng right I would. I have very few regrets in life, but one is that I didnt do this earlier.

Hi its hilly

I have lived in Brittany, France for 10 years now and don't regret one day of it!

I started with a holiday home and 4 years later decided to make a permanent move here and bought another house which we renovated, lots of work but well worth it. 4 years later after a relationship breakdown the house was sold and I bought another one. It was a struggle but I had my two horses and my son to keep me going. I now have a new partner and we decided to move to a different area and start afresh.

My old house is for sale, taking into account the present market conditions it is priced very realistically.

property22640

Quite a lot of people surprising, survive with very little French, however, to intergrate better it is advisible to speak some French. It's surprising how quickly you pick it up when you are living here.

As Bobleponge pointed out, the life here is so much better although some people come over slightly blinkered thinking they will find work easily, which is not easy to find even if you have reasonable French, but many do survive by swapping for a more simple lifestyle and end up being far less materialistic.

Life here is very much different to the UK, a lot slower pace, everything shuts for 2 hours at lunchtime, there is a lot less crime, some things are cheaper if you shop around. There will be things that you miss, but the positives far outway the negatives.

Good luck with your 'dream' but do your homework and if you come with an open mind and are realistic then you should do well.

The only thing that I find difficult at the moment is that my partner spends some time working in the UK during the month, leaving me to cope on my own, however, I do have my dog and my horses for company and over the years I have made some good friends that I can rely on in times of crisis.

Bon chance!
Mrs TK

I did it ......fantastic old farm house. Normandy - Brittany borders
hard work but so worth it- you wont get much done in a weekend though. We did 2 weeks every few months.
had little or no french but got by with drawings and a smile.

I echo everything Bob has said. We always said that if we didn't try it we would never know and probably regret it.

I guess that if you want to commute then here in the middle of France (2 and a half hours from the airport and 6 and a half hours from Calais) could be a bit of a problem for you so I won't suggest anything around here in the Auvergne.

If you ever find yourself looking this way, let me know and I can give you some specific help.

One good book we used was David Hampshire Living and working in France

As for the language: get on a course NOW! sorry to shout but I found from bitter experience that you do not magically "absorb" French when you get here and I am still finding it difficult to have normal pally conversations with French people after 4 years

I could go on for ages but if you have any specific questions PM me and I will try to help.

Also, watch the sterling to euro rate - it can really make a difference when buying a house

If it's right for you then you will have a wonderful life

Gosh- that really is a difficult set of questions!!!

As you know we've made the final commitment to staying here by selling our UK house.
Property prices suddenly drop once you are one hour from the coast. Around my area a ruin with quite a bit of land can cost as little as 35,000 Euro
Plenty of peeps live in caravans for a couple of years whilst working on their properties.
Jobs are hard to find esp if you don't speak much French.
As Bob says- get stuck into learning the language as fast as poss. If you are really serious then the Rosetta stone is fantastic- and a fun way of learning. Expensive?- yup, but it'll be used by both of you.

The peeps here are really friendly and polite- if you make the effort to communicate and integrate ( but you'll need to be able to speak!!)

We often get home to find oysters, black pudding, home made meat products, jams, peaches left on the doorstep. Some weeks we seem to eat out most nights!!
Maybe we're lucky- some Brits feel very lonely and only mix with expats....life is what you make it eh??
Apparently the majority of Brits return to the UK within 3-5 years.

Yup- I'd say go for it, sort out your finances beforehand, and learn French asap and if it doesn't work out then you can always return to the UK having experienced one of your dreams!!

2 fantastic books to get your hands on are:-

Survival Books......... 'Living and working in France' by David Hampshire
and...'Renovating and Maintaining your French Home' by Joe Laredo
( both about £15 each)
Have a good read and see what you think!

I'd like to add my enthusiasm to everyone elses.
Also altho you do need to speak reasonable french to run a business BUT there are loads of british people in france who quite like to have an english speaking person to do their more complicated building stuff ...i have a french builder for roof repairs, small building works, a french company for windows, doors etc, but an american electrician/plumber.So you might earn a living just working for british people.
Come down to the Lot - its wonderful.

Up to a point, I'd echo everything that people have said above. But, it's not that easy, especially if you are having to work here to make ends meet. The standard of living in rural areas is much lower than in the UK, the average wage in our area is €13,000 pa net but many things still cost less.

Unemployment is higher in France and much higher in rural areas - I'm a local councillor and also sit on a couple of larger economic committees and the French are finding employment opportunities hard. You can get by solely working for other Brits but the housing market is depressed still and many Brits are going back so you'll have a shrinking possible client base.

There's no point in coming here with little or no French - if you want to speak mainly English, stay in the Uk, they all speak it there, a good understanding of French is essential to get through the bureaucracy properly - and don't think that you can use UK electrical and other fittings in France, it's illegal to do so - especially electrical fittings - and if you ever want to sell, you wont be able to - I promise you, I've seen people having to take their houses of the market here for that reason.

If you renovate your property yourself you can't claim the VAT back, that's only claimable if you use a registered artisan so you have to kiss goodbye to that cost.

Rule of thimb for renovation - the price of the property x 4 (from my local estate agent) plus a buffer of 30% for when things go wrong.

We're fortunate, we have a steady income from our pensions so we're not dependant on other people tho I could work if the need arose, so that's not too much of a problem. But a lot of registered artisans from the Uk working here are really struggling right now and are labouring, if and when they can find the work but only for other, equally stretched, Brit artisans.

I wouldn't change anything about our move here (well, some things but they're out of my control) and wouldn't go back to the UK now.

But it will be hard, if you don't integrate or at least try to - and spoken French is essential - you'll always be an outsider and if you just associate with other Brits, you may as well stay where you are.

Sorry if this appears negative but as things are now, I wouldn't suggest to any of our children that they move to France if they have to make a living here - the French look after the French first and the UK market is shrinking.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ies_28663.html

This may help, from last year.

I see you're still in the UK Janeyo!!!

I have to disagree with a couple of your points Tony.
There are plenty of Brits living in France with little or no French. I dont like it myself, but its quite simply how it is. There are a couple who live not too far away from me at all who have lived here for 7 years now, and they can barely count to 3 between them, and yet they get by ok. They do use Brit tradesmen, who I agree totally are working for a shrinking client base, but to say if you dont speak French dont come is, IMHO, a touch strong.
I would urge anyone thinking of moving to France to learn the language before they came, but it isn't the end of the world if you dont. You miss out on a lot, conversation is clearly impossible, but it does come if you make the effort.

Unemployment IS higher in France, and more so in the rural areas, but that doesnt mean there aren't jobs available. I have struggled both times when looking for work in France, but both times, because I really wanted to work, I found it. And whilst I speak tolerable French (without meaning at all to blow my own linguistic trumpet) in both places where I worked, there were foreigners, not just Brits, who had been taken on with minimal French).

The French do indeed look after the French first, but if you make the effort, although always an outsider, you can integrate well into your community, and have a fantastic lifestyle here.

In short, as I said before, if its your dream, do it. I would hate to die not knowing if it would have worked.

We are, OH's parents are not in the best of health (in and out of hospital both of them) he is an only child so responsibiliy falls to him to sort things.
We have promised ourselves that France will be the next move when the time is right

It will happen - I lived there once, I will do so again, even if I have to go on my own!

Tony might be right about needing to speak French if you are going to work, because of the need of managing french bureaucracy,but its not impossible - but you dont need to speak perfect french to live here perfectly happily....my french is very basic - i am trying to learn more but it is difficult...OH speaks very little..... but we get by
we have managed to register our car, apply for planning permission, manage all the health service stuff, etc etc and we manage to converse with our french friends at the walking group, the social association etc etc .....lots of umming and hand movements ...the most difficult thing is on the phone.
i agree that the french will use a french artisan first but that is perfectly natural...
do the research, sort out a niche, have some savings stashed, expect to live more simply.

I know people who have been here years and they don't speak much if any French. The French really only tolerate them and that's about all they do, when I speak to my French friends and colleagues about the non-French speaking Brits their reaction is usually "why should we bother if they don't" and I see their point completely. You might get the services you want - like registering your car, medical etc - and in a social context, you'll be acceptable but never fully accepted.

I was talking to an American yesterday at my WDYTYA class and we were discussing a forthcoming vist to the Departmental Archives. She complained that all the records are in French! Go figure !!!

But my comments about the economic situation still stand. You may be able to get factory work and some SMIC level jobs where you're working but not really interacting with your colleagues too well or alternatively work for the Brits but if you're going to do that, why not stay in the UK and earn more money there?

Our cleaner was in today and her husband is a plumber, both Brits. The downturn in work from the Brits, the economic climate with the Euro etc etc has meant he's had no work for months and she's keeping the family going working all hours WHEN she can find work.

And also remember that the restrictions on registering for work here are tougher than in the Uk and if you work on the black and get caught - or, worse still, get dobbed in by other artisans (including Brits) because you're not registered, the penalties can be harsh.

Whether the French do it or not is immaterial, if your a foreigner here and get caught, you'll certainly be dealt with.

The health system is brilliant but again, if you're not of retirement age and you're not working, you'll need 100% insurance cover after your E forms run out and until retirement age - it's a legal must have and not having it makes you an illegal immigrant!

I'm really priviledged in my life here but I've seen and I'm seeing so many Brits of all ages selling up and going back for any number of reasons, especially the 'youngsters' I truly wouldn't advise anybody to come here atm, unless they're retired and their income is assured.