Humptydingo

Don't forget a microphone too.  Great free service, I speak to my stepson in UK regularly who watches the pennies.  Could be a good chatline to those seeking friends around the world - I'm not into that sort of thing personally but you can also communicate via the keyboard on-line too. 

Don't know what it's like now but we travelled over 8 years ago by Shuttle with our transit van packed to the hilt with all our worldly goods having sold up including the house in England (literally no space at all) - we got the special form obtained at the customs office for our Yorkie dog (Ministry of Agri and Food Certificate already obtained) and arrived in France, drove straight off the shuttle and absolutely nobody at all there to greet us and we just drove straight onto the motorway and off to the Suth of France.  Still here and love it.

Presumably by French registered you mean they have French number plates and the owners have Carte Grises for them. You cannot register a French car in the Uk without going through the export from France to Uk process. You could send off the necessary documentation as a new owner to the local Prefecture of the area where you are moving to. However the address in France (it must be in France)you enter on the documentation will appear on the new Carte Grise and the address to which it will be delivered. This will only be possible if you already own/rent the property to which you are moving and you will be able to have it forwarded to you in the UK or can collect it to enable you to use your new French registered car. The Carte Grise can only contain a French address - the same applies in the UK - the UK registration document V5 cannot contain a French address. You might find an insurer to insure a French registered car in the Uk for a limited period, as with a UK registered car, which some French insurers will take on provided you intend to register it in France (i.e. French number plates.) However if you are able to apply and receive your new Carte Grise by the method in the first paragraph, then you could problably then get French insurance to cover you whilst you are in the UK, before you leave for France, but you must not hide this from them otherwise you may not be covered in the event of an accident - doesn't pay to lie to insurance companies. Why don't you just cross the channel in August (or just before) and buy a French car from a reputable dealer, i.e Renault etc. who will then do all the documentation for you and you will also have a warranty which you won't get from a private seller. Hope you understand the above since it's getting late (an hour ahead of you) and my beauty sleep awaits.

My partner and I have lived here together for a few years now. He is retired now and has a Carte Vitale. Previously we had private medical cover. I know I should be able to get cover against his Carte/Social Security number as his concubine (silly name out of the ark) but have been putting it off - silly really because I may been important medical care - who knows. I was issued with a form from the UK when we arrived giving me medical cover equivalent to the UK cover but it expired after two years but I was covered by private health insurance then. Has anyone actually done this and can tell me how easy it is and what evidence I need to provide that we are living together etc. etc.

Don't forget that you will need to re-register the car once in France. I believe costs can vary according to the car you choose and in some cases these costs can be considerable so doing your homework first would be my advice. You will also incur the cost of a Controle Technique (French MOT) another 55 euros since your MOT will become invalid when re-registering. Also if you insure it in the UK, once you bring it to France, many UK insurance companies will want to discontinue the insurance often with a penalty involved.

A friend of mine (NOT ME HONEST!) has just split from her live in partner of 15 years. She is French and owns the house that they lived in here in France, having bought it before he arrived on the scene. He is insisting he is entitled to half of the house. Although he contributed to utility bills etc. she has always paid for improvements etc. herself. I don't think he is entitled to anything but she is worried to the point of a nervious breakdown. All this has just happened and I have advised her to take legal advice. At the moment she is stressed up and frightened to leave the house. Does anyone know anything about these things so that I can at least reassure her or perhaps recommend a french web-site that I can look at for her.

First things first. Before you cause a stink, get someone to translate the letter for you just in case you've got the wrong end of the stick !