Deby
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Everything posted by Deby
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The Quiet Life - but what is it like living near to a busy city?
Deby replied to Goldie's topic in Earning a Living
I have to recommend Grenoble. It is a university town and has lovely architecture. There is something to do all year round, winter - skiing, summer is beautiful but gets hot, but you can always escape to the mountains - which Grenoble is surrounded by. Autumn is full of festivals and fetes and so is Spring too. You can dine on Sundays, it has lovely boutiques and cobbled streets, clean places. It also has a river which runs right through it. Glorious weather all year round. It is expensive there simply because it is so good. Deby -
I hope to be employed by their school..... Mazza, I honestly didnt mean to be too blunt earlier. It is very difficult to be employed in France certainly by the school. If you are a teacher, the chances are the qualifications would not be transferred, so you would have to spend several years doing the CAPESS, if you are not and wanted an administrative role, you would probably have to study in the French system and get the equivalent qualifications, plus your french would need to be fluent and you would need to have a thorough understanding of the french education system. If that was not enough to contend with there has to be a job available, most of these jobs tend to be a job for life, so unless someone dies or retires you will struggle, let alone with the fact that the school is more likely to favour a local person. I do not wish to pee on your bonfire so to speak but merely inform you of how it is in France, rural or otherwise. Please do not be seduced by that holiday feeling. Sensibly rent first - and continue as you are doing lots of research beforehand. Its good to get a balanced view and the Forum is certainly a place to hear how it is. Yes, France is a great place, but it is not all about sunny days, great food and the feeling of freedom for children to roam around. Best, Deby
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I paid £80 quid for 4 rtn tickets from Geneva. I have only hand luggage. The fee for Credit card was a fiver which I dont mind paying as at least I have some very basic insurance cover. Worked for me. Deby
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Hello SB, havent seen you on here in ages..... i though you were languedoc gal too?! The OP question is very interesting, we moved to france for a better quality of life...... and it certainly was, I had one small child - 1 yrs old and both my husband and i had jobs to go to in France. The jobs had CDI contracts, my french was rubbish, but I had learned German at Uni, so had a good grounding in languages, plus I had lived abroad before. Hubby was fluent in French. We also moved to a city with lots of facilities. We had a great life. We moved after 4 and half years to rural France, which was a complete shock to the system. By then I had good enough french to integrate, but even so, I was not prepared for the differences in lifestyle. Whilst we have a beautiful place and it is a nice part of France, raising a family in rural france is hard and not particulary idyllic, certainly not a better quality of life. So there it goes..... I now love where I live in the UK and have a good quality of life there, I seek out all the amazing things that there are to do on my doorstep, most of the people who have lived here for years do not take advantage of what is on their doorstep but instead tend to complain and wish for a better quality of life. I also stopped working full time and cut out areas of excess in our life, like having a smaller house, with a smaller mortgage and this alone gives us more financial freedom. Some people just simply move countries to obtain this and fail to look at their own lives and ask more deeper questions. Moving to rural France usually means a bigger house which some equate to having a better quality of life, think again! Life is a learning curve. Our life and move to France was a great thing, but we had jobs, language skills and very small children not yet in the educational system. I see so many people making the move to France because they are so unhappy with their lives in the UK. The question they should ask is Is it the UK that makes m them unhappy or is it their lifestyle? A flippent response is dangerous. It is easy to say the UK is dreary, crime-filled, fast-paced and unfriendly. What about not understanding what is going on, unable to communicate, having no local transport, no social circle, no or fewer friends and family, no pub, no take-away, no 24 hr tescos, no cheap clothes shopping, no choice of supermarkets, no library, no english film cinemas, no after school activities, no drama or sport in school, no nativity play, no teenage activities, limited technology, no customer service, no english speaking newspapers. For some, all the aforementioned are things taken for granted in the UK, how would you feel when they have gone. Be honest, we probably dont really shop at tescos at 2am in the morning, but probably rely on nipping to the shop to get a loaf and a tin tomatoes at 9pm in the evening. France is a great place to live, but when raising a family in France, more pertinent questions need to be asked. Deby
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No probs - hope you get to go somewhere nice. Its a great deal. deby
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Easyjet have a great offer on for january - £10 inc taxes per seat £20 rtn inc to anywhere they fly. Includes ski locations as well. You cant get this via the main site but through the below link! www.easyjet.com/january you can buy me a beer! Deby
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13 year old - does he speak good french, how is his written french? If he is less than average, remain in the UK until he has got his GCSE's/A levels and then move to France. Don't mess with his education - he may be keen but he is not the best person to ask at such a tender age. Parents need to put their teenage childrens' educational needs first. Sorry to be blunt and this is my advice. Deby
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Did anyone see the funny side - or was it just me that found this hilarious!!!! Deby
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Cant quite get my head around the dont come to France unless you speak the lingo bit! How on earth do you learn a language then? Most people only really start to speak a language when they are in the country?? I could count to 10 and that was it at first now I speak it well enough! This lady only asked for opinions and boy did she get them, I wish people would be a little less aggressive when they impart the opinions, you can say the same things and get your point across, but does it have to be so aggressive?! I do wonder how people go through life with this attitude and seem totally unfazed by it and how it affects others - are they permantly having a bad day. Deby
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French healthcare feature on Radio 2 Jeremy Vine
Deby replied to Deby's topic in The Complete France Post Bag
Is a painful discussion and I was somewhat surprised at Joe Publics response to the issue of the retrospective withdrawal of health cover - the listeners felt that why should another government pay for ex-pat healthcare without lengthy contributions from those who decided to leave the UK for France. The responses were very much in favour of Sarkozy's reforms. -
French healthcare feature on Radio 2 Jeremy Vine
Deby posted a topic in The Complete France Post Bag
French healthcare feature on Radio 2 Jeremy Vine is now on for those who are interested. Deby -
Anyone ever enforced a home sale through legal system?
Deby replied to gracie's topic in French Legal Issues
http://www.droit.org/ Follow the above link there are some very useful links. Indicate to the Notaire that you will pursue even if it takes a long time and look for damages. Sometimes showing a sense of strength may well tip the balance. I would also get your funds back in an interest bearing account, ask your Notaire if the funds are interest bearing on your behalf in order that you can get the benefit. It is your money and not the Notaires. I would sit tight and firm. Good luck. Deby -
The best advice is to go back to the Notaire and ask him/her for advice, they act for you and as well as the vendor. However, if you cannot stand the thought of the possibility of termites in a house, the Dordogne and most of the south-west is not for you. I would inform your Notaire of your concerns and ask his advice, but depending on his allegiancies I would proceed with caution. Notaires are supposed to act in your best interest but sometimes they simply don't. They are not like a UK solicitor/ conveyaner, they tend to act a public servants! You seem to have a 'fear of termites' as Ron says this is not a sufficient enough get-out to use the clause suspensive. Pay an independent to do a thorough examination of the site. When you signed your compromise it is the intention to buy, when buying in France the processes are different, life is very different, you are already making the mistake of comparing the two countries (UK + France). Part of living/holiday homing or whatever it is you plan to do in France will be a very different experience and you will need a strong reserve or 'take what it throws at me philosophy' otherwise your time could be miserable. I do not want to sound mean and cynical but from your Post I am not sure you would be able to face all the hurdles that living in France presents. Good luck and I hope you find a solution. Deby
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In my experience, the mother tongue will always be the dominant language for life, I have friends who are multi-lingual i.e at least 4 main languages, a language spoken at home, a language spoken at school, a national language and maybe a language learned. The mother tongue could either be a language spoken at home or school. Depending on the subject i.e a family discussion or something learned at school the language used for that subject would take precedent. For example one friend comes from Curacao, her family dialect is Papiement, she learned Dutch at school, the national language is Spanish and she studied English & German. She is married to an Anglo/Dutch guy and they speak dutch together interspersed with english. They live in the UK, but she would say her mother tongue is Papiement. When in France if I have a conversation in french with someone I stumble or hesitate a little to repeat back the same conversation in English. My husband whose french skills are far superior to mine doesnt seem to be so affected by this problem. Could be a male/female brain issue or it could just be him :-)
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My daughter 6 at the time used to say 'mummy am I mangeing at the canteen today' the mangeing still stays with us as a family expression. Deby
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Yes, I did receive the Erasmus grant, there is another grant too da Vinci or Leonardo I believe it was called. You could google it I suppose. Usually most decent UK universities do have links with industry, should be a factor when considering your young adults place in my opinion. I would definitly go through this connection or as Tourangelle said a family friend. Its is exactly what the French do for their youth - the old boy network reigns surpreme. Deby
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Does anyone know roughly when the likes of EasyJet, RyanAir, Flybe etc tend to release their summer schedules. Thx Deby
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My advice would be to contact foregn Multi-Nationals who have offices/departments in both France and Spain. I would apply to their HR department direct, they certainly would be keener if she is going to work the unpaid! You could look on their websites to see what training programmes they might have. Do any of your friends work for Multi-Nationals and are they a good contact. Has she any work experience at all. You are trying to do two things at once, both business and language experience, these things are hard enough to find employment with on their own, you may wish to narrow it down to the language option. If you focus on getting this right when she graduates she will have good language experience and then will be more capable of a business placement with a language. Try Hewlett-Packard (HP) have offices in Grenoble and also in Spain or other IT companies. What links does her university have with multi-nationals? I did a business degree with a language (German) and gained my link through that route. I went to HP in Germany, some of my colleagues went to Airbus (French) and some to companies in Spain. A point to note is that the Language school at my university took a different route by focussing on teaching English or TEFL, whereas the Business school took a different route via multi-nationals. Deby
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I always get chickens and jumpers mixed up! :-) Deby
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Having spent 6 years in France and now in the UK Have been kissing our English friends for years and now they come to expect it - I think they like it too :-) The French Apero, friends get excited when we suggest it as they like the informal nature of it. My kids eat alot of french food and their friends think they are a bit weird, especially when they comment on the content of their lunch boxes! Am a foie gras convert, also eat veal as long as it is local and not Dutch. Appreciate the Hunt/Chasse, but dont like it when its on my land...... out strolling with two kids is not fun! Get annoyed when the shops here close at 5 or 6pm (sauf Tesco/Sainsb/etc)! I seem to always forget! Deby
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Yes, I know my statement is contentious, but in light of holding strikes whilst hosting a major sporting tournament -this is simply wrong. Apart from making life very difficult for all those who wish to attend, it effects France's economy, fewer people spending money in restaurants, hotels and on tourism in general. These people who are striking in the name of losing their outdated pension rights are plain selfish!
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Rugby World Cup Eng v France tickets for sale
Deby replied to Deby's topic in The Complete France Post Bag
There were no problems with the tickets. They also have final tickets too, but I am sure they will find no problems getting a buyer for them. Before you ask no I cannot get hold of them :-) Deby -
Rugby World Cup Eng v France tickets for sale
Deby replied to Deby's topic in The Complete France Post Bag
Sorry Logan, maybe I misuderstand I was waiting for your response - whether the price was okay or not. Guests have headed up to Paris. Do you want me to pursue? Deby -
I always use this argument to the locals here who complain about the rise in prices. It's not the buyer's fault - he simply pays the price of the house - it's the greed of the person who's selling which is at the root of it all. I did the same recently, the local deputy maire made similar comments at an Apero which we attended in the summer. Brave arent I! Fortunately, he is a jovial chap and we all had a chuckle! We are referred to as Les Irlandais though - thanks to my husband! I think we are not lumped as much together as Les Anglais in the commune. We do get invited to all the french social occasions, but I think it works because we speak the language well.
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My poor kiwi guests now have 7 World cup semi tickets to sell - England v France of course! They have 4 together, 2 together and a single PM me if you are interested. (wish I could go...) Deby