Evianers

[quote user="eleanor_12"]hello there! I am Eleanor and I am new here. I quiet visit France for sometimes and I one thing I love to say and t is one of the fabulous countries I ever visit. I love the people, the culture, the climate and I guess, I am in love with this place. I do some business in France and I am I love to meet more people. :) [/quote] Hello Eleanor Welcome to this forum, which has a super exchange of ideas and suggestions. Where do you come from as Kikrland WA does not say much for many of us I venture to say. WA to us means Western Australia but it is unlikely that you come from there.

Come back now Monsieur Depardieu, all is forgiven - well, almost. 29 December 2012 Last updated at 11:54 GMT French 75% income tax struck down by constitutional council

we looked under several ideas to find a list of recorded house sales under the "advanced search" section but are obviously not doing something right, as the long list does not find what we are looking for. we need to know for how much a particular house has been sold - we think we have heard somewhere that the FNAIM give a comprehensive list of houses sold - can this be correct? If anyone knows the link, please post. TIA

Perhaps we are a little naive? Could other members please give their opinion? A B+B not too distant from us, actually in the Ain, offers overnight accommodation for a price including breakfast of €60 per night, with dinner at a cost of €24 per person. This strikes us as somewhat high, in that a hotel is not much more. Added up, a three day stay comes to quite a lot!

[quote user="john"]whats the best way to go about looking for a property in the perpignan area[/quote] Don't you just love it, when contributions like the above always have a "please" or a "thank you" after the request

[quote user="kidtravellers"] We are also not sure whether to rent our place out here or doing a house swap. We could get good rent for our place but putting everything in storage sounds like a big pain but a house swap might get complicated useless we can find something through a contact. Any advice would be great.[/quote] Are you aware that you will normally have to sign a lease as tenants for three years minimum? It is sometimes possible to opt out of the contract, but you should give at least three months notice.

Our combined hearts go out to you as we had a similar experience with an English couple from Portsmouth. NB, they know who they are, so if they are reading this, GOOD! Without going into too many gory details, they absolutely trashed our apartment too : even the toilet seat was ripped out of the mounting ; there was stagnant water in the plastic box in the fridge ; gouges out of the enamel in the bath {how on earth does one do that}!? So to cut a long story short, we also ended up having the Huissier track them down, take them to court, where the Tribunal awarded us over €10,000.-- in damages. However, €500 was deducted from this amount by the Huissier as he had such difficulties getting them to pay up. It was a very nasty, salutory experience but we did actually go on to rent out a different property later [we couldn't bear to live in the above and sold it shortly after it was renovated]. This was a to French family with four children and a dog = we had grave reservations, but they were clean, paid on time, left the house in good condition etc. which really restored our faith in human nature. But this doesn't help your situation and we therefore really feel for you. Sorry it had to happen to you.

Does anyone have any recommendations for the week over Christmas - self-catering or gite please? Within fairly easy driving distance of Lac Leman area, with loads of cultural and walking activities? All experiences welcome bearing in mind a limited budget. Thanks everyone in advance.

A fervent and sincere vote of thanks for your help. FYI, he is hoping to enter the Tech Music School. The information you have given is super and will be passed on to him. Thanks again

[quote user="NickP"]Watching the immigration minister dodging questions on the news this morning; about how many illegal immigrants there are in the UK, I would think that in eastern Europe and the middle east the UK is everyones favourite place to retire to? [:D][:D] [/quote] Possibly correct..... but it certainly wouldn't be for the weather. Just returned. Never more glad to be back in the Haute Savoie!

My 20 year old French student is disenchanged with his university in Quebec and now wishes to continue his studies at a music school in London [Music Production that is, not classical music]. He has been told that he must pass at least level 5.5 of the IELTS examination before being accepted. Has anyone any experience of this please, and if so, any tips they can impart. The request is somewhat urgent in that he returns home mid-December, has intensive lessons with me during December and January and hopes to enrol in the school in Fulham by 20 January. His English is reasonably fluent. Thank you in advance.

Is it not sometimes a question of what you, personally, want in your retirement? We could not wait to leave No. 6 because of .......... well, I don't want to go into details so will leave this to your fertile imaginations, so chose France and are blissfully happy here except for the occasional strike. Nowhere is paradise but here in the Haute Savoie, we feel that we are close to it, being very near to both borders of CH which also gives us added advantages. Wonder where UK would come on the list - last???[;-)]

Having lived there for over 15 years, we were aware of just a few Belgians returning from sojourns in France back to Belgium. But the vast majority of traffic is the other way of course, not simply because of the weather which is definitely a huge contributory factor, but because it is one of the few days nowadays to utilise the "under the table money" which is so prevalent in Belgium. Interestingly enough there was a definitely Far Right Swing yesterday in Antwerp where we lived - not that this is a huge surprise!

We live right opposite Lausanne - you can almost see the millionaire French emigrés arriving by the boatload! The administration in Cantons VS, VD, GE, and FR are rubbing their hands in glee.

That's the most amazing coincidence as we have just logged on to ask a similar question! Our Swiss friends, who have obviously had a clear out, presented us with a blue and white rather crumpled 50 franc note which has languished in their abode for yonks. Question is.... what should we do with it [polite replies only please]! Are there any collectors out there who would like it? Any response on eBay perhaps? TIA

What kind of message does the worthy? President of France send out to young impressionable youngsters when he has four children by one woman whom he apparently never married, and is now {I was going to say shacked up with but probably liaising is a more polite term} with someone who has been handed down from others heaven knows how many times?

[quote user="idun"][quote user="Evianers"][quote user="Pickles"][quote user="Evianers"]For those living close to the CH border, beware that it is being mooted that the Vignette annual cost be increased from CHF40.-- to CHF100.-- in 2014/2015 - how about that for inflation?!!! [/quote] I presume that there is no update to this story for the time being ... Would I be right in assuming that the price of the vignette in 2013 will remain unchanged? [/quote] AFAIK, the increase is being brought in as from 1 January 2014 - the Swiss Government are characteristically taking time to make up their minds. Perhaps there will be one of the usual Referenda on this? The alternative is a price hike to CHF70.--. I shall post again when I know something definite [we live 11 kms from the border]!! [/quote] Indeed we do! Like the proverbial backs of our hands. Only problem is............. there tend to be one or two very large bumps in the way periodically   Being so close to the border, do you need a vignette, do you not know all the little routes into Switzerland [/quote]

As you know, we had grave misgivings not only regarding taking the tablets but the exorbitant cost thereof. Well...... they didn't work.

[quote user="Pickles"][quote user="Evianers"]For those living close to the CH border, beware that it is being mooted that the Vignette annual cost be increased from CHF40.-- to CHF100.-- in 2014/2015 - how about that for inflation?!!! [/quote] I presume that there is no update to this story for the time being ... Would I be right in assuming that the price of the vignette in 2013 will remain unchanged? [/quote] AFAIK, the increase is being brought in as from 1 January 2014 - the Swiss Government are characteristically taking time to make up their minds. Perhaps there will be one of the usual Referenda on this? The alternative is a price hike to CHF70.--. I shall post again when I know something definite [we live 11 kms from the border]!!

[quote user="idun"]Did they have kids? I just wondered as we were told by more than one notaire that we couldn't make such a change before they were major, and then we'd need their permission. Yes, this bill will simply be the transfer fee and it could be worse. These bills are expensive in France. [/quote] Two sons - one married, living in Swizzle, the second one married, living in Serf Efrika. Expensive is the right word!

[quote user="andyh4"]   My guess is that the 6k€+ is the cost of changing the deeds.  So not a tax but a fee - still hurts the pocket though     [/quote] Gasp!!!! Ever met a poor attorney/lawyer/solicitor/? Thanks for that - so this is what awaits us?

I was going to write "pleasure" in response, which is perhaps not quite the right sentiment. But you all know what I mean and thank you for your good wishes. To look at him [OH] one would never know the profound trauma we have been through during the last 8 months - still water under the bridge and all that. Yaw'll keep safe and well now......

We are both and always have been fit, healthy, hike regularly in the mountains of Switzerland and France. In January my OH was diagnosed with Gleason Scale 7 prostate cancer. ENORMOUS SHOCK! Thank God because of diligence and frequent [blood] tests and scans it was found in time to be operated, and now 6 months later, the patient is doing really well. I am NOT intimating for one moment that this is what might be wrong : no, simply that doctors and specialists can and do interpret blood tests on a daily basis and know what to look for. If you need any additional information do not hesitate to contact us privately as believe me, we now know our way around blood tests!! Better safe than sorry.

My OH has had to have 9 blood tests this year [post- and pre-operatively]. Each test has been requested by the doctor with a prescription [ordanance] but for various different things. We had a HUGE shocks when one of these tests returned positive for E-Coli so as others have said, go to the doctors with your OH posthaste.

A question to those who know more about French law than we do ourselves. Friends hereabouts have lived in the Haute Savoie for 11 years, and who changed their matriomonial status to the "Universelle" in order to be joint owners of their house: sadly the husband died in March this year. The widow told us yesterday that she had had to pay +€6600 "to have the house transferred into her name" - which left us entirely perplexed as we were under the impression that if it was jointly owned under the above "regime" the law dictates that the husband's half automatically reverts to her? She is not certain why she had to pay this. Alarm bells started to ring. So before we find ourselves in a similar position, having had a huge scare with the Big C earlier this year, can someone please explain why it was necessary to pay this huge additional amount? TIA