woody2000

Yes I am aware of some of the complications of employment in France and she certainly would not like to displace some more deserving French person .... Treaty of Rome aside!!.  Apparently because she will be training in a school there are lots of opportunities for extra curricular lessons (tutoring) in English.  She is also very experienced in restaurant and cafe work so there too may be the chance of some casual hours.  Even some unpaid voluntary work will be good for her and give her the chance to get our and meet some natives... so to speak. Heck, she is just 20 years, speaks three languages has a car and is going to be set loose in France for 6 months....  If she can't have a brilliant time with that then she never will with anything...  [:D]

I take your point about the bathing habits of young women and 20 minute showers with me banging on ceiling!!  What can you do?...Kids!! Can't teach them or bury them in the garden.... The employers (British Council) can help I think but they tend to recommend uni type accommodation or lodgings... Don't cost Dad enough so she wants her privacy.... Just kidding, she's a great kid and we are keen she gets a real feel for France and to that end encourage her to find a place of her own (with my help).  She is completely fluent in both English and French and has a good grasp of Spanish.... She also has a great work ethic and has always had part time work... She should be able to find a part time job on top of the training (which is only 12 hours a week) and we hope have a it of a social life.  We plan to visit her regulatory and again a cottage or gite lends itself to such a thing.  (We never shower and our bath is full of coal so perspective landlords need not have apoplexy over water bills). I will stay on this site I think and when we have a definite location shall bring the subject up again.  I am sure there will be owners interested in discussing it if we could just narrow it down...  With BC you go where you are put if you are lucky enough to get picked... In the mean time the site is very interesting and I will check out some other posts.. Thanks for your comment. Regards Woody.

Thank you Chancer, Your reply alone shows what a good decision it was to ask on this site.  Your point about heatng is very valid and like the wheel pretty obvious now you mention it.  For this reason I think we will look for a one/two bed place (to keep heating down) and agreeing a payment for heating is a good idea, in fact it could even be calculated pretty accurately.  Maybe some places have a separate meter. I had no idea about the 'tréve hivernale'.  I guess another solution would be to pay the whole tenancy upfront.  That way the landlord is protected and so is the tenant due to the tréve hivernale.  We were thinking along the lines of a long let on a gite or holiday let however as this avoids the other taxes so complained about in France. On the other side regards costs there would be no turn around issues and as she is just a single girl hot water usage would be less than with a couple or a group.  In addition, becasue she has only to work 12 hours per week in her training she will be able to work part time so will be out of the house quite a bit.  She grew up with aircon and is not like the thoughtless guests I know so many get... leaving open windows while the cool or heat the rooms.  I think when we have a definite town in mind we will re post and see if we can find an owner to enter negotiations and come to some compromise.  What I ca say is that the so called 'long term let' sites for France are not at all helpful. Thanks again for your response. Regards Woody

Dear Users, Apologies if this is posted in the wrong place, I note there are various sections where one might post this question.  If there is one more suitable than this perhaps someone will be kind enough to inform me of it or a Moderator might move this. Anyway, the point of the post:  My Daughter is about to undertake a trainee teaching post in France from October 1st to April 30th (approx).  She will not be there for the Christmas break or any other significant school holidays.  We are unsure of the exact location at this time but she is hoping for it to be in the mid France area.  She has a little car and is very independent. We are looking for advise on how to procure a log term let of a little cottage/Gite/Apparetment for her.  I have tried various sites but they tend only to entertain inquiries for up to 30 days and the rates are not appropriate.  No need for a pool or any other tourist attractions.  She is independent and likes her pricacy (like all 20 year old girls I guess).  She speaks French of course and a little Spanish.  Her English is pretty good too but she will use stative verbs as though dynamic in the present progressive....  I blame Mc'Donalds....  "I'm loving it"!   Grrrrr    I have also checked one or two 'long term let' sites but they seem to want slightly less for the winter months than they do for the spring. My mode of thought is this:  Many little cottages are left empty off season and owners might want to make a little letting them out to cover heating etc and make a reasonable profit rather than hammering the price for three weeks and having it empty the rest of the time. I am no economist but I guess it would be about optimum pricing.  A non holiday let in the area is about £400 to £600 a month but these are notorious hard to procure due to complicated paperwork and bureaucrats.  Am I being unrealistic thinking £600 per month for a one or two bedroom gite or cottage?  That is £4200 for the winter where a person might get no lets at all.  I have looked at the calendar of some places and they have no bookings for that period.  Any advise would be most welcome.  Please, if my frankness offends it is not intentional, I am sure there are some would sooner see their place empty than let cheap for the same reasons one might agree with pouring away EU milk lakes.... So as not to kill one's own market and I respect that. Maybe I have the thinking all wrong so any advice from people who perhaps have had the same dilemma would be most useful.  Just basic general advice if possible because she has not yet been allocated a school. Comments are welcome from British and French Owners. Many Thanks