Oboulez

I am in a similar quandry. We moved here a few months ago & want to buy a LHD estate. I have seen that second hand cars seem much more expensive here. Living here, buying from UK probably a non starter. Have heard that cars are cheaper in Belgium, however belgium is not just up the road from 56. Is it just worth taking the knock for the cost the first time around and buy one locally, or is it really worth the time/bother/expense etc. of looking at buying in Belgium. Anybody have experiences to share? Thanks

Similar question - I fly out from Nantes on a Monday & return on a Friday. Is there anywhere to leave a motor bike & leathers etc? I queried the car park re parking & they suggested that you had to park in car space!!!! There must be somewhere to park a bike securely??

Thanks Danny. We signed up for Net Plus. The TV, internet & phone are through the internet. You plug the TV aerial into the decoder, which in turn is connected to ADSL. The manual for the decoder shows both the co-axial & satellite connections. Not sure the make, but both decoder & Livebox are badged up 'Orange'. The diagram for Orange sat TV looks about right. Presumably if we get a satellite tuned in to the relevant sats we just plug it into the decoder which will then scan & lock into the additional channels? Gary

We are just up and running with Orange / Livebox. It is good, but we 'only' get a handful of channels, not the 100+ suggested. We do not have a satellite. Is it just a case of buying a satellite, getting it tuned in, and connecting it to the Livebox? If so, where would you go about buying a satellie & getting it installed? We live in 56.

This is great news. I hope that the first person to pick up on the change assuming it happens will post it on the site. I was a bit down to say the least after Craig's post, but this is potentially great news. G.

The posts have gone slightly off track, however my experience will hopefully cheer you up. There might still be hope yet. I exchanged my licence at Vannes a month ago & it could not have been simpler. On the Friday I filled in the application form which was a piece of cake (I downloaded it from the internet - it was a generic form - I had just Googled something like "exchange UK/FR driving licences" & got the link to the French site), provided proof of ID and surrendered both parts of my UK licence, and on the Wednesday my French licence arrived. No malarky about translations. Sounds like you were just unlucky enough to have been dealt with by a complete tool. One thing for sure, you do not need anything translated. The process is totally straightforward.

Hi Chris, might be a common name, but small worlds and all that, did you used to live Oxfordshire/Henley etc?

Again a very good suggestion. I have not had to see a Doctor yet, so a CV is not vital at this time. I was just trying to get things sorted whilst I am here on paternity leave & have the chance to do all the things I normally do not have a chance to do working in the UK through the week.

Thanks to you all for your very useful advice. The current banking situation is temporary pending us opening a joint account which cannot happen for a little while for a variety of reasons. It made no sense for me to open a personal account & pay the charges pending the joint account being opened. I like the La Poste suggestion. Cheers Gary

I have perhaps rashly declared my immaculate 14 year old baby 'pernamently exported' from UK, however when trying to get a C of C from Honda France they say that as the BHP exceeds 100 I cannot do it. Living in France it would be a nightmare to try to re-import & register in UK. Can somebody please give me a guide as to what to do. Is it possible to get the BHP reduced to 100 easily & cheaply? What else might need doing to be able to get it registered. I know the bike is old so not worth much monetarily, but it is like new & I cannot just 'write it off'.

My partner has a French bank account & was able to get her Carte Vitale no problems. I am going round in circles at the moment as CPAM need a RIB. The fact that I have a UK Nationwide account is no problems - just that they need a RIB. I am going round in circles with nationwide for them to supply a document with the relevant info. The best they come up with is to supply a bank statement which has the relevant bank code numbers on it. It does indeed, however it is not a RIB or equivalent. Somebody must have had similar problems??? Help please.