Miki

Bringing the topic back on line, I believe the choice to move abroad, be it France or where ever, are more to do with lifestyle decisions.  Trends, if you like Teejay, I read a litttle while back that ownership abroad is indeed now a trend, following in the footsteps of a Gucci bag or a Burberry raincoat. No longer wanting to be the odd one out at the dinner soiree, it seems the topic is more likely to be "and whereabouts is your second home dahling" From someone who missed out on the boom in house prices in West London, bah humbug !!  

Is it only me then, John even your one , is still a red cross in a box? Admin what's a going on 'ere?  

Yep, visited Turkey and knew plenty of Turkish folk back in London. Agree, lovely people, really nice, now as I barely knew my grandparents, let alone great grandparents, no inbreeding to sway my feelings then, only actual contact. We are talking "people" here not the hierarchy and that is where the problems come from. Turkey hotels, good as they are at £3 (although where you find them these days doesn't bear thinking about !) are not why Turkey will not gain entrance to the EU, nor is it the wonderful people. The first thing the last white paper on new entrants mentioned, once again, was the inhumain treatment of prisoners and deranged people and until even just this has been addressed, there will be no acceptance of Turkey in to the EU. I think someone ought to put an APB on yer Granny, doggo.  

Di, The old friend I was talking about sold his pile for a fortune, bought an apartment in Southern Spain and a smaller place in Sussex. He still had bundles left and added to his savings he should not have to work again, aged 57. With all due respect to anyone with a pension policy, you ain't gonna gain dare I say big time like him ! (lucky ba*****, no that's not right, he wasn't lucky, he knew how it was and I didn't). My feelings are that at the top of the pile, added to old money you have plenty of folk who are new money, and the houses at the higher middle to top dollar, although they will feel the pinch as will others in a bust scenario, those houses will, in normal times, find buyers, not just now but always have done through history, past, present and dare I say, future. What you seem to be predicting, is a house sales stalemate. We are reading recently that in the near future tens of thousands of houses are due to be built and that is just in the south east, to keep up with the need for housing, they will sell, no doubt. "The richest people I ever met - well those who had the best fun in retirement had nothing, well they had a council house and lived on benefits. They had worked all their lives but never had much and came from a part of society who had never owned their own houses. They had free prescriptions, low council rent and council tax and as he had a nice but small railway pension; they went everywhere by train - for free. They had never had a debt and bought all their Christmas presents in the January sales. They had never been so rich." Were they really rich or were they, for the first time in their lifetime much better off than they had ever been  before? Well yes, you have admitted that. The real thing about that case is yes, they had a feeling of richness and good luck to them but as you are aware, their "richness" is at the expense of other workers and taxpayers who worked hard to save, whereas these folk had nothing, so claim benefits, nothing wrong with that if they are geniuine cases but Rich, no, not in the real sense is it ? Saving money is an outdated idea, be it bricks and mortar or private pensions (and YES we are still stuck with our Equitable lump) or even - dare I say it, saving money in an account which you do not spend until you are in retirement. Not sure about this DI, if saving money is an outdated idea and so is investing in bricks and mortar or private pensions, then what's left? then what does the final sentence mean ? "Anyone who bucks the trend and saves will have a better retirement than those who do not" Are you therefore saying, yes, it is outdated but still the only way? You may be stuck with your Equitable lump, how lucky were we then, we bought ours with Allied Crowbar but at least Zurich thought them good enough to buy out !! still our pensions have been frozen so long now, I can't see them ever coming back to life ! 

Mick, All I can see is a small square with a red cross inside it. 6 ensuites, poof,  still a bit small, sorry, or is it just the annexe?      

Mick, that is the best red cross barn I've ever seen, small but nicely proportioned    

Also, the other end of the scale, can you only have private insurance and not pay CPAM?  I have read that some do this but wonder how it works - don't you have to pay for this on your tax return - how do you notify them you don't have to pay? I am sure that under the rules, made not too long ago, that the private insurance companies are no longer allowed to sell full policies for health for residents in France and are restricted to selling the top up type covers only but Peter Owen will know about that better than me. 

An old friend who played soccer for me many years ago, was a pension and finance director for a very well known high street chain shop. He often used to tak about pensions and looking after your money. On occasion he was even on the old BBC2 Sunday money programme, once talking about the power of bonding amongst his colleagues and paintballing was a good way to bond.......sorry I digress ! Once, in a quiet moment I asked him what kind of pension he recommended, he looked at me, looked around (it was then I thought he was finally going to buy a round of drinks !) and said in all seriousness, " put every penny you have in to bricks and mortar and keep doing that until you retire, me I am going to extend and  improve my house until I can't improve or enlarge it anymore and there will sit my pension" (Alexis, ring any bells?) He never had a pension and didn't fully believe in them, always worrying about world forces and the known fact that the elderley would be living longer and put a strain on not only governemnet pensions but private ones as well. Has anyone seen the poster here and there and I have seen it in one or two mags as well about how many people are required to pay for one persons pension today and how the equivalent in 10 years will look ? I have forgotten what year it was when it would take one for one or even two for one to come around, has anyone the details?    

Miki, these boots of yours, do they have laces?  I only have a BAC+27, isn't it a BAC+35 plus 4 years wearing slip-ons before you're allowed to do up your own laces? Laces !! these cat boots have the latest all dancing all singing (not rap) velcro fasteners. You only need Bac + 19 and no need for the slip-ons brevet pass to qualify either ! There will be jobs soon on the new underground (under the sea in fact !) car park in Saint Malo if you want to apply, do so quick before all the expats and other foreigners get all the work (pense pas ) 

[quote]I will admit to speaking rubbish French in my eyes but I am fluent. But I speak it 24 hours a day as OH doesn't speak Hingerlish. Miki, all you need to do in these foreign parts is speak SLOWLY and ...[/quote] That's me to a T. Who grassed me up Alexis? Chicken is; flap the arms about and cluck, Pork is a simple gallic snort, beef is a mooing sound, that's international parlee in any language, wee? As someone once said (it might even have been me   "I speak great French, it's just that it's not the French that people around here are used to"    

Which means nothing as REAL men (and women - me! me!) support RUGBY. Tut Tut Alexis, You shouldn't take Mr Beckham as a "normal male" player in the REAL soccer world. He jumps higher than a young gazelle in any challenge. Not so sure how Dave Mackay, Norman (bite yer legs) Hunter, Chopper Harris or even the new "hollywood star", Vincent Jones (as Sam Hamman would fondly call him!) would make of your comments Alexis, I will forward your posting to them for comment  !!   

 Which day is early closing in north eastern Britany - St Malo and Dinan. I want to buy a 'pea coat' and don't want to drive all that way for nothing. Or does anyone know of a shop with a good selection a bit closer to Sainte Mere Eglise.Sorry never saw your posting until now. As Val said, on Monday's many shops will not open but some main towns, such as Saint Malo, some will open after midday. Some shops open late night, many on Friday and Saturdays in Saint Malo, intra muros. In the high season many will open all day and well in to the night as well ! We are there for dinner on Sunday evening this week and will take a look for you if you want?   Is a  a "pea coat" the reefer type looking coat worn by Uncle Albert and other marine types ?  

BJ said :There are inumerable places in the world where property is cheap, including a few in the UK. However why anybody would choose to relocate there solely because of the price of real estate escapes me. Teejay said: Frankly it's unrealistic to imagine living in a strange country without language skills and Slavonic languages, as you say, are difficult to learn. I am not aiming this posting at you BJ or Teejay. I have to say that the above statements corresponds to many thousands of Brits living in Europe. At a rough count I would guess that tens of thousands of expats do just that, in many countries, Spain, Italy and France to name just 3. As far as I am concerned, I could count on one, possibly two hands, the number of Brits I know (or have known)who speak what might be thought of as fluent French here in France, French nationals excluded of course !!  

[quote]Well there's the answer - we all become builders!!! This will avoid the age problem. I do feel sorry for anyone at 45 looking for a job here. I've been told that if I spend time retraining for a...[/quote] Must be your lucky day SB, I have in my possession a nearly new pair of tuf caterpillar boots, a hardly used level (fixed bubble, obviously), a couple of trowels, drop the jeans a bit to show the infamous builders wotsit et voila, all yours for a song (nothing new'ish, like rap though). Should be more than sufficient for you to apply at the nearest building site shouldn't it ? Tell 'em Mr Costain sent you from Londres    

TU said : "It always feels to me that employers look upon a BAC here as if it has even less value than employers in the UK place on GCSE's." I am really getting to think that way as well. After sitting down with a few of our daughters teachers over the years and being told how important gaining her BAC, then carrying on to gain +2, +3 or more, to gain decent work was for all kids, I am flabbergasted to read in the papers just what employers want for even the most simple jobs. For instance in Saint Malo, a hotel chain are asking for temp staff with min Bac +2. The highly educated job entails, waiting, serving and possible bar work. I really get annoyed sometimes, at just how sad it is, the way French employers treat potential employers highly prized education awards. Why, oh why does a kid need to stay at school in to their, often early twenties, to be able to serve in a bar or wait on tables? It sure doesn't show in most of the restos and bars I have frequented!! Give me the UK system any day of the week, where one can start from basically nothing and earn a living, here it is pactically impossible to do the same without first registering and going through the whole shabang (sp) and knowing full well, that the chances are, you will pack it all in before the third year adjustments kick in and the cotisation peeps demand all your life savings !! We have 3 cordes of wood to start stacking today, I wonder what grade BAC, employers would want for us to do that?  We don't have any but we ought to be able to do this work without BAC +2, don't you think   

[quote]Another point is that in uk it's easier to set up on your own in some enterprise without risking being accused of "working on the black".One of our sons had a small gardening business while he was sti...[/quote] Put like that Pat, legally..........................zilch !!  

Whilst I was typing that Greavsie got on a horse! I did roar when I read that Dick, I was imagining you wondering where the hell Jimmy had gone !! It's back to another man who most certainly should be knighted, it's a crusade Dick, first letter went off last week for Sir Jimmy, if I get a reply I will let you know. Pete, The reason he sought a yellow card was so he would get his ban against Azerbajan (sp) on Wednesday and by getting a yellow card to add to his other one collected earlier in another match meant an automatic ban on Wednesday, which was good for him as would not have been able to play due to his broken ribs anyway, leaving the way clear to play in the following match clever eh, I suspect Posh shouted the instructions out from the stands  As you rightly say, why get a yellow anyway? Why not get no more yellows, full stop, no suspension then anyway ! 

These kits contain a certificate which you have to register with the manufacturer to show that the job has been done. I understand this satisfies the insurance requirements. Please do not rely on the certificate on the side of these boxes. Any insurance agent we have ever known, simply tell us that in no way are those certificates a guarantee of the work being done properley, if at all anyway and if there was a fire, that "certificate" would not be seen to be of any consequence. We have always been told to get the chimney swept once a year and get the facture from a bone-fide ramoneur. You can often read that you should get the chimney swept twice a year, don't know anyone who does but we know of people who do it all themselves, going on the fact that if one does it properley, then there will be no chimney fire. If the bouches were any good for the insurance companies, no one would bother to call out the ramoneur and simply fill in the box etc hoping all was well. We use them as a "plus" to the ramoneur's work but that's all.  

I don't know where you live MM but our son goes back and forth to the UK. His Gran & Granddad live in the Chichester area, he has found work pretty comfortably whenever he feels "the grass is greener" over there. Here in France, the only work he can find is in seasonal tourism or fish factories. You have put some of the points employers want from your son, well you can add all that to here, although in our part of France, there are barely any employers to even give you those reasons and that's if they even get a reply in the first place. Our sons best friend here has applied for so many jobs in the last 2 years, that even with the help of the ANPE, he has not got any foreseeable chance of work. Kids around here without good qaulifications really do not see any future for themselves. Sad but so true. As Val said, in the UK, you have a fighting chance of getting a foot up if you leave school without any qualifications here, and I know Val probably knows about this, even to work for B.F full time, requires a Bac+2 in some of the most basic positions.  

Chauffour, Mr B is posh spice's other half, David Beckham but I like your quote best but changed slightly..........."who the hell does Mr B think he is?" As one of the old war horses from the boys of '66 put it: "I can't possibly imagine that kind of thing happening in our time," Sir Geoff Hurst, England's 1966 World Cup hat-trick hero said. "I come from a different planet when it comes to how I feel about that." and went on to say   "I'm disappointed about it as an ex-professional but it can't be right, whenever it happened. In principle, it's not right. It saddens me, if Bobby (Moore) had done that under Sir Alfs (Ramsey) management, he would have automatically been stripped of the captaincy" Peter, you have got me confused now, I am not aware he wants to "collect" yellow cards, except in this latest incident.

No problems for me Andy, it is too far for us to be of any use whichever port they sail to anyway, more's the pity, as we are stuck with the real ferry pirates, B.F and now with the demise of P&O imminent, one can only guess as to what the price structuring will be for next year. 

Full no claims on a Zafira (big family) cost this year was 404€ fully com and the 2 little cars both on basic cover cost 159€ (Pug) and 189€ (Renault 5) We could get the Zafira insurance slightly cheaper with companies like Direct Assurance on the net but I do feel it is best to have an assurance company close to where one lives, although having said that the Pug is still insured at our old insurers in the Dordogne !!

Coral, It is the vendeur who is liable to pay the taxe Fonciere and you as the buyer to rembourse her for the days you were in residence. It is not your obligation to initially pay the TF at the tresor public (we have always paid our bills for TF and TH at their offices but others have said they have paid at the hotel des Impots, might be a regional thing?). The TF will be in her name making her the one obliged to pay the facture. I think they are trying it on as you are a "foreigner and should know no better !! Stick to your guns and ensure you pay her by cheque, so that you have a record and by the sound of her, a simple receipt outlining what the payment is for might well be a good thing.    

"Now if call centers are saturated what about a bilingual secretarial position such as a "secretaire de direction "to start off, is that ok to get a permis de travail as a canadian?? Cat, The problem for many foreigners, fluent or not, in finding work, is their lack of relevant qualifications. Bac+2 or whatever, can often be the minimum requirement for what may be seen as "pretty normal" jobs in the UK (sorry don't know the relevant situation in Canada). Finding a job to suit you around here ,would be slim to impossible to find without any qualifications. Only the fish and chicken factories have temporary jobs, the page for jobs in our local paper barely fills half a page and the job centres are not a lot better. Sorry but that is the sitaution here in our part of Brittany, maybe someone else will tell us how it is in their region.     

[quote]HiSo reading all the news about Mr B and his yellow card, I understand he said :"So, I knew I had broken a rib and wouldn't be able to play for the next 3 weeks. People won't think I'm this clever, bu...[/quote] It's pretty fair to say our Mr B would not get very far in an IQ test but in this instance he was stating that if he recieved another yellow card to add to one he had picked up in a previous match, it would mean an automatic next game ban. So what he was saying was, that because he knew he had a broken rib 'cos "he had one before so knew how it felt", he had best get booked and as he would not have been able to pay in the next game anyway due to the rib being broken, he ought to get booked, thereby receiving his second yellow card and getting the automatic ban. !! Thus allowing him to play inthe next game when he was fit !! What let it all down, was the way the wally went and told everyone, he wasn't as stupid as everyone thought and proved it with his marvellous bit of quick thinking.......................think I'll take a raincheck on all that