rmelrose

hi Theres a nice resto in the center called Entrecote they specialise in steak and only steak but its great and always busy.

Your right, and that actually makes me feel better. Thanks and sorry for ignorance.

Just to explain further, I placed the offer by fax. I was told by friend that when you place an offer by fax it's legally binding. They cannot accept any offers until my bidding has closed. Normally they would give me a counter offer. I believe this is to stop bidding wars. I believe that if someone had put the offer in before me they should not have accepted my offer. That's why I feel hard done by. I suppose I could ask to see the other offer which would have had to be sent by fax or post to be official. It's the principle really I don't like being given the brush off because I'm not French.

Recently my family went to see a house we liked it so we put an offer almost straight away. I spoke in French my level good its not perfect. They accepted the offer and asked me to justify why it was below the asking price. I told them the work that would have to be done and that I thought the offer was fair. I waited for 2 weeks and heard nothing when I finally I got my friend to call as he is french and I figured he could quiz them better. They told him that the house was sold for the asking price and that they told me this when I put the offer in. Now my french is reasonable and the person I spoke to didn't tell me the house was sold or that there was an offer on it. I feel I was hard done by because I'm an etranger. I understood that once I put in an offer that nobody else could put one in at the same time. I always use my french friend to ask for viewings as otherwise they don't bother to call me back. All because they are feed up of property tourist from the UK.

I agree with Rob Roy you will end up with 2 problems after, solve one first is your best bet. The problem with electric fences also is that if they make a dash and get through they may not wish to come back through the fence again.

Hi Fi I can imagine that your breed of dog in very high energy indeed. A dog like yours at his age needs to be given rigorous exercise daily. Energy build up in a dog can cause all sorts of behavioural problems. Is he/she neutered? If you don't intend to breed from your dog this can help by not only prolong the life of the dog but also reduces his level of energy. This might sound daft to some people but I bought a thread mill for my dog, he's a similar age and also high energy. Worse still we live in an apartment and have a small baby. (Better in my apartment than death row in the SPA) He is perfectly calm in the apartment because I exercise him for at least 1.5 hrs a day. I attach him to my bicycle and he runs along beside me. I have trained him to do this so it may not be so easy for your dog but just an idea. If I’m travelling my wife takes him on his normal pee breaks (15min walk) then puts him on the thread mill for an hour in the evening. Most people think that when you have a large run the dogs exercise themselves. This is a myth. It sounds also that your dog is self rewarding this is a bad habit and difficult to break. Self rewarding can be chasing another dog or finding food somewhere. There are many things we could talk about but exercise is key. You have a Labrador they are excellent retrievers have you tried to enrol him in a training program. Or you could take him to a lake and train him yourself. I know it sounds like a lot of time and energy I know but short of that have you considered getting a dog that is more suited to your own energy level.

Thanks for the advice guys. I have been living and working in France for the past 4 years. I would like to have my own business in France. I'm not yet sure what business I want to go with yet. I agree the EXPAT market is a small market and not worth pursuing. I have good experience and come from a background of mechanical engineering. I travel a lot with my job so that is my motivation for becoming an entrepreneur. I am also in my 30's and a long way off retiring so I'm looking for a medium size business. Thanks again for your imput.

I am stuck on this question though and I would appreciate a little help. Maybe from someone who knows the procedure a little better. Idun: Fair Point! We all have to start from somewhere though and It would be very arrogant to assume I knew everything. And you can always find out if you ask nicely.

Hi I am planning to start my new business here in France. I would like to provide services and advice to French and Expats. The trouble is I'm not confident I can being in enough revenue to survive for the first couple of years. Can I continue to work in my normal job and set up and run a business at the same time? It will take a long time for me to build up a client base. If yes How do I declare my Taxes? as normal or through the AE system. Does my annual income count towards my max turnover of 32500eu?