Mrs B

Hi, Thanks everyone for the great info and links. Unfortunately my French is not good enough for me to understand completely the French websites but it's fun trying :-) Apologies for this late response post but I have been laid low for a good few days with the 'lergy' and the forum was unobtainable the several times I tried in last few days but great to see it back with a great new look Mrs B

Hi, Was having a discussion on French mortgages and the subject of paying off the mortgage was raised. One question was: what happens when the entirety of the French mortgage is repaid ie what should be done after eg 1. should any legal authority eg the notaire be informed? 2. is there a French equivalent of the English title-deeds 3. any other things that should be done Can anyone enlighten please? Thank you, Mrs B

Hi Andy, Firstly, apologies for late reply, I have been having problems logging on. Thanks for you words of encouragement, we will keep it in mind but we are concerned how our cat will take to communal living with other cats as he is rather shy and timid. We will continue to look for a cattery with individual pens and keep our fingers crossed we will strike lucky Regards, Mrs B

Hi, Does anyone know of any good catteries in or close to the Narbonne area please? We have been looking hard, have only found two to date: one which houses all the cats in one single room and another which is located off a narrow beaten track and to be honest, does not look and smell clean. My French is rather limited so would prefer an English run/spoken cattery but happy to cope in my limited and badly spoken French if I have to :-) Many thanks, Mrs B

Thanks everyone for all the helpful comments. I did not know there is a free online fax facility which I will certainly check-out when my little Phillips has done his service or if as LeHaut advised, our phone line turn out to be VOIP but you guys are right, indeed we are still a bit old-fashioned when it comes to free online services :-) but thanks v much for all advice which we will take on board. We'll be newbies when we move and will appreciate any info/suggestions/guidance Mrs B

Hi Danny, Thanks v much for the additional and the image of the RJ11, it will so help to ensure we do buy the right adaptor Thanks, Mrs B

Hi Danny, Thanks v much for the additional and the image of the RJ11, it will so help to ensure we do buy the right adaptor Thanks, Mrs B

Hi Quillan, Thanks v much, that's great, we'll do just that. We are so fond of our little Phillips fax we were reluctant to leave it behind Thanks, Mrs B

Hi there, What are the more popular pet insurances companies in France please? We have been using PetPlan and if possible would like to have a similar cover for our cat after we have moved Thanks, Mrs B

Hi there, Will our UK telephone/fax work in France please? The model in question is a Philips Magic 5 Primo. We are aware the telephone sockets in UK & France differ but is there an adaptor that we can use to get it working in France? Thanks, Mrs B

Just looked on website and there is no mention of any cancellations of the Economie crossing however current available crossings only available from May 11

Hi, In case anyone is thinking of using this crossing in the next two months, we have been informed this route has been cancelled : "We are sorry to advise that due to a technical fault with the ship's stabilisers, the sailing from Portsmouth to Le Havre is cancelled. Please call us on 01752 648637 for advice and assistance. We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause. " We were told that the repair work will take approx. two months. Crossings still ok via Portsmouth Caen Mrs B

Hi Sprogster, Re: [quote user="Sprogster"]Looked at the profile for the OP and found out they have never visited the forum since their initial and only post! .[/quote] Apologies if we are butting in but if not logging onto the Forum daily has offended anyone, our sincere apologies, it is not intentional. We are also newcomers to the Forum and have asked for and got very useful thoughts, guidance and advice. We do visit the Forum almost daily but we do not have auto-logon enabled. The topics are helpful, enlightening and interesting, there are still so many things we are learning about day to day living and the administrative requirements for a life in France and this Forum is a fantastic resource Thanks, Mrs B

Hi Patf, Woolybanana & idun, Thank you too for your advice,we will certainly be taking on board and heeding all of it

Hi Nomoss, Thanks for the link , I have seen this company before in my previous searches I think and we will certainly be following this up now Thanks v much also for your kind advice, all of it is so very useful. Have also attempted to email you to say thanks but the page has not refreshed after I selected the email button so I must have done something wrong Many thanks again

Hi there, This has probably been asked before, if so, apologies but here goes ... We are hoping to make the move but would like an idea of what health costs may be incurred if one is covered by S1 : 1. may I ask if anyone knows the best or a good insurance company to use for top-ups in the Narbonne area please? and generally how much would it cost annually or monthly 2. if tests for investigations etc eg bloods, XRays, swabs, investigative procedures etc, are required, how much of the cost will be beared by the patient please 3. if a hospital stay is required, what are the daily costs to the patient likely to be please Also assuming that if covered by private health insurance, then all the above costs will be covered by insurance company as is the case in UK Thanks, Amy

Hi Sue, Quillan, Many thanks for the advice, cordless phones with extra handsets sounds ideal. I'll do some research re: best mobile coverage for our area Thanks, Mrs B

Hi, Apologies for re-opening this topic but I have a couple of additional questions please Q1. We would like a couple of extensions (kitchen, upstairs) in addtion to the main fixed line in the living area so what would be a better( re: cost & efficiency ) option please:- • ask FT to install these extensions at the same time as main line • or ask FT to install the main line and have SFR (who we'll be going with for internet) do the extensions please? We intend to keep the fixed line with FT Q2. Re: mobile , which is best provider please re: cost, usability and support? If SFR, do we get the mobile subscription from SFR at the same time as the internet or will we need to do this separately? Thanks, Mrs B

Thanks Sue, Chancer and Danny, for the info and the explanation, we understand a bit better now :-). All things considered, think we will retain the fixed FT line and go with SFR for the internet  Many thanks again, Mrs B

Hi Sue, thanks for the advice. We are in Narbonne, I have looked at SFR website again and spotted La box de SFR 29,99€/mois Internet haut débit Téléphone illimité sur les fixes en France métropolitaine et vers plus de 100 destinations internationales Application SFR TV sur smartphone et tablette SFR Cloud 10 Go Accès aux 4 millions de hotspots WiFi SFR en France Modem inclus the 'haut debit' I think is broadband? What phrase or description will we need to look for if we want WIFI rather than broadband. Apologies for our lack of knowlwdge but we think broadband uses a network cable to access the internet? Thanks, Mrs B

Hi, May we have some thoughts or advice please re: telephony & internet services. Will it be better to have the internet from a different service provider from the fixed line provider - reason being if fixed line provider access is unavailable for any reason, we will still have the internet service if it is provided by another company We currently do not have a fixed line and have been told that the fixed line must be installed by France Telecom first, before any internet service can be installed by another service provider. As far as we can tell, SFR seems the most popular for internet access where we are so was planning to go with SFR for internet. However France Telecom has advised that we can have the entire package (fixed line, internet access & television channels) installed at the same time for 48.80 euros per month which seems a bit on the expensive side We have also looked at the SFR website and is a bit confused with the various packages available as all we want is a simple internet WIFI service with unlimited access for a monthly/periodic fee and cannot figure out if such a service is avaialble from SFR - as our French rather limited as we are still learning the language Thanks, Mrs B

Thanks all, for the advice and info. Healthwise, we do need to get away from the damp & cold Brit climate as soon as we can for MrB's health, we will need to rethink this through, hopefully we'll come to the right decision Thank you again  

Hi InforGipsy Yes that is the the social element I was referring to MrsB

Hi Idun Sorry I missed your post earlier, by additional taxes I was referring to the social taxes I understand all French retirees have to pay on their pension salaries - I believe this is similar to the NI contributions in UK, which is not payable by a retiree in the UK? Thanks for the French salary slip info which I was not aware of, I will certainly keep this in mind if I do get offerred the French opportunity MrsB

Hi Thanks for info, I thought it might be the case for the Brit employed in France. Would you know if my husband's pension will also be subjected to the additional taxes please? He will not be working (he's not 65 but already retired) if we do make the move across the channel Re: the tax breakdown, would the invalidity element apply to everyone regardless of whether they are registered disabled or not? Can you also explain further what the 4.2% 0.5% and 100% of gross mean please? I also read somewhere that if either husband or wife works in France, then the other is or can also be covered by the French healthcare? Is this correct and if so how would I apply to cover my husband as well please? Thanks, MrsB