pangur

Yes, you generally pay tax but it can differ according to canton. If you work in Geneva and live in France, you are taxed at source but I believe if you work in Vaud, you pay tax to France.   In general, it works out so that you pay more or less the same overall in social costs and tax.  For example, a person living in France and working in Switzerland has to have a special kind of health insurance for Frontaliers.  And there is also some kind of goverment level redistribution - frontaliers inform their Marie of the status and I believe the commune gets a credit at some point. But you do have to fill out a tax form if you are resident in France. People who don't pay any tax at all are probably some of the many UN workers, who are outside both the French and Swiss system. They don't pay taxes but do have to tick a box on the tax form (they are not entitled to any kind of state unemployment, health benefits or pensions either) And of course you get to pay tax d'habitation etc if you are resident.

Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego are very popular in our house (age 4, 2) and lots of DVDs available.  Lots of repetition, simple storylines and have a bilingual element - the English DVDs use a few words of Spanish and the French use English.  They also like Wonder Pets a lot, again lots of DVDs available. Peppa Pig is also very popular as is Bob the Builder but they drive me demented. At that age, I would just let them bathe in English rather than worry about teaching them letters etc.   It's a pity Sesame St is not available on DVD, would love to get them.  Although, there is a new series from the Jim Henson people called Dinosaur Train - I used to find a few episodes on YouTube and it is fantastic.   It's now on French TV as Dino Train and DVDs are available in French/English via Amazon.fr We also find pictionary books in either language great.

The local Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture organises nightclasses and various courses for children in our village, including sports and language.  I believe most towns have an asscociation like this, try googling mjc and your local town.  You enrol for classes that run throughout the year in early September. 

Hi I have a four year old who has just finished his first year of maternelle after 2 years with a French childminder.  His comprehension is excellent but he is still far from chattering away in French, unlike what some expat internautes might have you think.  His English vocab is excellent, he loves to read but getting to grips with a foreign language is hard even for 3 year olds.  Definitely get your kids exposed as much as possible. I have been really impressed with the standard of French magazines for children which seem vastly superior to the TV tie-ins that seem to dominate the English speaking market. http://www.bayardkids.com/ have a great selection of magazines for all ages and you can also buy internet access for games and DVDs for the aural aspect.  Also, why not buy their favourite DVDs from Amazon.fr?   

Oh, just some other things that have arisen over the years... I would imagine French labour laws apply but my husband works to UK law - e.g. takes UK rather than French bank holiday. I am not sure of the legality of this and would imagine that at a push French law would supercede. You would need to set things like this up in advance with your employer. He no longer gets a private pension contribution from his employer - addtapparently for tax relief reasons it is not possible for this to happen. Set out how often you need to return and who will pay! It can be more often than you think and depending on where you are located can be extremely expensive.

Hi You can set up as a sole representative of the company in France. My husband has done this for the last 5 years and it is relatively straightforward and as far as I know, free. The issue is that under this regime you are responsible for paying both employer and employee charges and as both are much higher in France than in the UK, your net wage is lower. My husband gets paid gross by his UK employer and about 60% of this figure goes on social charges and tax. Of course, your employee may volunteer to pay gross in a way that includes the full charge they would need to pay in France... You need to do the maths before you jump. Regarding the self employment, you might get more per month but you have the set up issues and the advice we have received is that you will lose out at retirement as you won't be able to get as big a pension. We pay for a French accountant to issue monthly pay sheets and deal with some queries that have arisen. Hope that helps - link in English below. http://www.anglais.urssaf.fr/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=276&Itemid=5493