anteater

HI ALL, JUST WANT TO SAY THANKYOU TO ALL THOSE WHO REPLIED, I AM NOW ENLIGHTENED AS TO WHAT E LE CLERC IS!!! THANKS AGAIN, ANITA

hi there, can anyone please tell me what they sell in e leclerc?  we are coming to france to finish our holiday house sale, and i believe there is an e leclerc in limoges.  just wondering whats available.  also, where is a good place to buy bits and bobs for a kitchen - utensil wise etc, and a good place to buy reasonably priced chests of draws.  ANY help will be very much appreciated.  thanks, anita (new zealand)

can anyone give me any information about where i might be able to purchase bedspreads, linen etc, direct from the manufacturers or at wholesale prices? i want to supply a local shop in new zealand and as we have a holiday house in the limousin region and are coming over to france in 5 weeks time, any information would be very helpful.  i am willing to travel outside of the limousin.  i would like to bring home some samples to show and if they are interested i can incorporate buying these things into our future trips to france. people in nz just love things made in france!!  i just wonder where the market stall holders buy theirs?  thanks in advance for any info.  anita (nz)

hi all, my husband and i are about to finalise the sale of our maison secondaire in the creuse.  we would eventually like to live in france permanently.  we renovate houses for a living in new zealand and i would be interested in hearing from anyone who does this in france. (we do alot of the work ourselves).   i believe cap gains tax is 33% if you live in france.  what i want to know is this :  is it possible to make a decent living from doing this?  apart from the cap gains tax, what other taxes are involved when selling a renovated house? we would also want to buy something to rent out long term for extra income.  Finally, what is considered a reasonable amount of money per year to live on in france?  (no mortgage, one teenage girl and us). Oh dear, thought of another question :  this is very general, but can anyone give us a ball park figure of how much it costs to build a 4 bedroom house? if we move, we would like to build on the land we have and also use our little house as a holiday cottage too.  MERCI BEAUCOUP TO ANYONE WHO CAN HELP!!!  Anita and Ian (New Zealand)

hi, my family and i used the train from limoges to paris in april when we were visiting and when we return (in july) we will catch the train from paris to limoges and back again after 2 1/2 weeks. the journey took about 3 hours (almost the same as it would take to drive but my husband does not yet want to drive "in paris").  it was absolutely fine, the train was mostly filled with middle aged and older french people.  we dont speak wonderful french (unfortunately) but got by with no probs.  we then hire a car from the train station in limoges.  i am sure you will be fine!!!! all the best, anita (new zealand)

bonjour, my husband and i are returning to france end of july to sign the final acte de vente on our maison secondaire.  we plan to spend our time tiling and painting and to save time driving about aimlessly, can anyone tell me where we can go to buy floor tiles?  i heard there is a diy place opened in la souterraine and that there is also one in dun le palestel (do they stock tiles?)  we are just out of crozant.   i also need paint but its the tiles i'm concerned about - just want some plain terracotta coloured ones and we don't have long in france as we have to get back to work in nz.  light shades also?  thanks to anyone who replies!! anita

hi and thanks to both of you who replied - good to know about the quarantine!!  we are about to buy a holiday house in the limousin (crozant), although if we move there permanently i don't know whether we would stay there or not.  about coming over skint and looking for a job - we would want to be self employed, doing what though, we are not sure!!! not sure whether that part of the limousin is the best place to make a living, its lovely but very quiet. as for where we are in nz - we are about 40 mins north of auckland (i should know where cockle bay is - i will go look it up!). as your 'other halves' will have no doubt told you, nz is a great country, and not very populated, green etc.  so why do we want to live in france? -  i dont know, just know i love it there, and feel quite at home.  taking french lessons in nz but impossible when you don't hear the language all the time. anyway, thanks for your replies!! - anita

hi all, just wondering if anyone can tell me about the french requirements involving quarantine of pets when moving to france permanently??  we are thinking about moving there from new zealand late next year and we have a 4 year old german shepherd and two 2 year old cats which we could never leave behind, but the thought of them being in quarantine for who knows how long worries me (as in being stressful for them).  i have looked on some websites but cannot find the exact info i need. any input would be welcomed - thanks, anita

hi carole - sorry its taken me so long to reply - unfortunately i was in crozant on those dates - can you believe it?  just returned to nz today, it would have been nice to meet up with you.  crozant was lovely - our place (to be) is about 4 mins from the township and very cute.  will be returning in 12 weeks to sign the final act de vente. the countryside is so picturesque, cant wait to see it again.  let me know if you are there end of july!!  thanks, anita

hi carole, thanks for your reply!  it certainly is a small world!!!!  i am embarrassed to say that since i have yet to see the property (apart from on video) i dont know what side of the gorge we are on, but it all sounds wonderful and my mind is coompletely at rest.  i will definitely try some of those restaurants you recommended - thanks again - anita haultain p.s. we live 30 mins north of auckland in new zealand. wouldn't it be funny if your daughter lived close to us!  

hi to everyone who replied to my question. thankyou, really appreciate any and all information about this area.  its a long way from nz to france, but we loooooooooooove france.  hopefully in time we will be able to increase the amount of time we can spend there.  who knows?  we may even live permanently one day. buying a house site unseen seems like utter madness i know, but the people we are dealing with are extremely helpful and very genuine.  cannot wait to see it in person (will be there april).  thanks again, anything else please don't hesitate to let us know!! anita  

Hi Josh, thanks for your reply (i think i just sent you one, but maybe i have done it wrong).  glad to hear it is rural - i was sure our information was all correct, but this woman who lives in st junien was oh so sure it was all industrial!!!  any further info on the area would be greatly appreciated - thanks,   anita haultain

My husband and I are in the process of buying a holiday house close to Crozant.  Is there anyone there who can tell me abit about this area (I have done alot of reading, but not spoken to anyone who actually lives/regularly holidays there). We are visiting it for the first time in april, then have to return to France in June for the final signing (we are from New Zealand).  I had some woman tell me I was buying into an industrial area - please tell me this is not true - all our information tells us it is very rural and where we will be is private but not isolated.  We are 2 mins drive from Crozant, 15 mins drive from Dun le Palestel, and 15 mins drive from the A20.  Any information on the general area, climate, best markets etc would be very welcome.  Also, the house we are buying is a "chalet", not a stone house.  Are there many chalets in this area?  Have not seen any others advertised for sale.  Thankyou, look forward to any replies,   Anita Haultain

My husband and I are in the process of buying a holiday house close to Crozant.  Is there anyone there who can tell me abit about this area (I have done alot of reading, but not spoken to anyone who actually lives/regularly holidays there). We are visiting it for the first time in april, then have to return to France in June for the final signing (we are from New Zealand).  I had some woman tell me I was buying into an industrial area - please tell me this is not true - all our information tells us it is very rural and where we will be is private but not isolated.  We are 2 mins drive from Crozant, 15 mins drive from Dun le Palestel, and 15 mins drive from the A20.  Any information on the general area, climate, best markets etc would be very welcome.  Also, the house we are buying is a "chalet", not a stone house.  Are there many chalets in this area?  Have not seen any others advertised for sale.  Thankyou, look forward to any replies,   Anita Haultain