Sprogster
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Posts posted by Sprogster
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idun, this is nothing knew, as Spa days are very popular in the UK, being a large growth industry for some years, becoming a must have for many hotels. Whilst it may not be your thing, it is very popular amongst the fairer sex and indeed the gents have been known to partake!
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Pickles, Jersey Post has stated that Jersey mail order companies are not using Belgium, Germany or anywhere else, pointing out there are no direct flights from Jersey to the Continent and therefore all the Channel Islands mail goes via the UK in the first instance! Apparently, this was just a scurilous rumour without any foundation.
In answer to the OP, Jersey Post is an authorised VAT collection agent for HMRC, so VAT would have been charged and paid in advance. Otherwise, the ipad would have been impounded in the UK.
As for the future of the LCVR industry, UK companies like HMV had already relocated to countries like Switzerland and Luxembourg, as bizarely the UK government has not brought in any measures against low value imports other than from the Channel Islands. Go figure!
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If you are an early retiree and plan on using the AE regime as a means to join the French health system, then it might well be worth holding on to see if the AE system survives, or charges are increased to uneconomic levels.Also if your net assets exceed euro 750k, you might be concerned to see what happens with wealth tax and if the between spouses exemption to inheritance tax is maintained.With Hollande having over a 10% lead in the opinion polls, his victory seems the most likely scenario.
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Very pleased for you Mr CdeL and fingers crossed for completion. At least now you will be able to move forward with your new life in the land of the free, without this worry hanging over you..
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So pleased for you both at the good news.
From my own experience with the big 'C', there is a hidden blessing, in that you emerge with a far more positive perspective on life and it puts ones day to day problems and challenges in perspective
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Idun, being rich does not buy you good health and therefore the need for comprehensive private medical insurance may be a question of unobtainability rather than affordability.
A similar issue arises with the promotion of Florida and other parts of the USA as a retirement second home destination for Brits. What they omit to mention is that unless you are in excellent health, it is unlikely you can obtain over the age of sixty private medical travel insurance for more than a six week visit at a time, meaning it is virtually impossible to obtain cover for the 4-6 months you are allowed to stay in the USA as a visitor.
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Fluffy tree, unfortunately unlike your goodself, it is self evident from this and other similar French expat forums that many people do not undertake extensive research before moving and or buying a property abroad. Amanda on a Place in the Sun, said herself on one of the programmes, that many sensible people looking to buy a property abroad leave their brains at the airport!
The fact is that a lot of people get carried away with the excitement and sense of adventure and fail to take into account for example the difficulty of learning a second language to a sufficient level, that they have any realistic chance of finding meaningful employment, if needed. Another common area overlooked is health care and the fact that some form of private health insurance might be required, which could be unobtainable or unaffordable if you have a pre-existing health condition, even something relatively minor.
I think there is a difference for those emigrating to countries like Australia and New Zealand, as there is not the language barrier and the visa application process and medical requirement weeds out those who do not have required work skills and in most cases those over the age of fifty who are seen as a health care liability! The risk with EU countries like France, is Brits can move there on a whim, which many do and the estimated return rate of up tp 75% over seven to ten years says it all.
Anyway, I think the gist of the responses to the OP, is that fantasy sea view properties in France are not reflective of the reality of the vast majority of Brits who own property in France, who generally buy inland where houses are more affordable..
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Pads, very sensible in renting your UK property for a couple of years, as although I have no doubt from your enthusiasm you will settle in well, the bigger challenge from what you say might be your other half, as is often the way. To this end, I read recently that in international recruitment the number one reason for expatriate workers returning home early, is their partner not settling in and I have a feeling it is one of the main reasons a lot of expat retired couples return home as well.
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Liz,
I would have thought that the high price of sea view and coastal property in France, would put it far outside the reach of most prospective British buyers, who are reportedly most active in the French inland property market below 250k. For example, in the Var and Alpes Maritime, villas with a sea view start from a million plus and this is probably reflected by the low posting activity in the South East section of this and other French property forums.
Those fortunate few who are active purchasers in this rarified upper market are usually protective of their privacy and for good reason, as it would not be the first time a high end property is targeted by thieves, following its publicity in the media. Also the likelihood of a forthcoming Socialist French President and recent adverse wealth and capital gains tax changes on French property are likely to have dampened enthusiasm amongst foreign purchasers of high end French property.
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This is a repeat as I watched the original broadcast some time ago. An ancestor of hers came from Alsace in the 19th century which chopped and changed from German to French territory and back again on several occasions.
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I don't think there is any risk with the BBC, as it only broadcasts these days programmes it has commissioned and therefore owns the copyright. That is why you do not see foreign programmes or rarely films on the Beeb anymore. Also the BBC and ITV are required to maintain unecncrypted freesat mini dish and digital TV coverage for the Channel Islands, which by default covers an area of northern France.
Also following the legal case with SKY Sports you can no longer legally restrict viewing between EU countries and therefore in the future it is likely that subscription channels and copyrights will have to operate on an EU wide basis anyway.
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They have to keep the Channel Islands under the main beam, as SKY has tens of thousands of official customers there, as if bigger dishes were required it would need planning permission and there would be a wave of protests! So Northern France should not be impacted I would have thought.
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There is an increasing problem of cloned number plates in France, with innocent drivers receiving multiple GATSO speeding tickets in the post, as someone else drives around using your car reg.
A recently widely reported case in Brittany involved a deceased individual in France, with the elderly widow receiving multiple speeding tickets in the post addressed to her husband who had died two years previously. Despite the fact she can prove her husband is dead, his ancient Renault 5 subsequently scrapped, the photo of the car caught numerous times speeding being a different make and model being used hundreds of miles away and therefore an obvious case of cloning, she has been told she must pay the fines amounting to several thousand euros first, before her appeal will be heard. Money she does not have.
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The font size, colours and layout of the forum should be designed for the eyes of the average age of the readers of the associated French publications and users of this forum, which are fifty, sixty and seventy somethings!The vast majority of Brits in France or contemplating buying a home there are retirees or second home owners and in the fifty plus age bracket, and invariably with less than perfect reading vision.
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At the large Frejus regional hospital in my area a five hour wait in A&E is the norm, unless you arrive by Ambulance in a life threatening condition. That is why someone with gastric discomfort would be triaged and if as is likely it is food poisoning or a gastric bug, it is not urgent and would have to wait, as there is no real treatment other than bed rest and plenty of fluids. Whereas someone with a heart arythmia would probably be seen straight away, as potentially the condition is life threatening. Simples!
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The problem is that if you now search for Complete France on browsers such as Google, the links to the forum no longer work. Not a problem maybe for loyal existing forum members who persist in finding the new forum, but I would have thought it will deter potential new members who dare I say are needed.Some form of prior notification to existing members would have been nice, as has happened on the other main competitor French forum.Also please can we expand the forum page to full screen.
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Emily, you would be shocked as to the percentage of fifty somethings diagnosed with serious medical conditions, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Apparently, if you get to your sixties in good health you are likely to live to a good old age, as your fifties are a perilous decade for health issues according to Dr's.
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If you try and emigrate to any other country outside the EU, part of the visa requirement will be a comprehensive medical and if you have any chronic health condition, then forget it. France now imposes a medical requirement on non EU citizens applying for a non working long stay visa popular with non EU retirees.Unfortunately, someone later in life can easily develop a serious life long medical condition that could cost the health service several hundred thousand pounds over the years to treat and no level of personal social security contribution would go anywhere near compensating for that.If you have a careers worth of social security contributions behind you then there is a better chance of covering the cost of your health care in later life. However, if you move to France as an early retiree it is far less likely that you will pay your way, as the risk of illness increases with age.
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Most of the British daily national newspapers for circulation in France are transmitted by satellite and printed overnight in Marseilles and Paris. As a result many newsagents in the South of France seem to have for sale the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Times and Express on the same day of print, as there are lots of Brit tourists around who are probably the main purchasers, with public internet access on holiday in France being limited and expensive. (My local cafe charges 4 euros an hour to connect to their wifi!) That said the Sunday Times and Saturday Telegraph seem to be very popular with more than just the Brits, as my local newsagent are often sold out if I don't get there early enough.
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Clarkekent, I am fairly certain that Viagra and its ilk are now available free on the NHS if you have a qualifying medical condition that warrants it. Not that I have any personal experience of this!
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A very good point often overlooked is that the NHS is free at the point of delivery, whereas the French health care system is not, as only 70% of the costs are covered, leaving families having to pay for ever increasingly expensive private top up health insurance. Would the voters in the UK tolerate that by way of raising additional funding, as I doubt it?
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Most Brit expats in France are retirees or second home owners, with a surprisingly low number in employment according to Eurostat.
The only thing I know about Cafes in France is according to various reports they are sadly a dying breed in fast decline, with owners finding them uneconomic to run due to high costs and dwindling customer numbers, as they cannot compete with the likes of Macdonalds. France is Macdonalds fasting growing market!
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I can give you several similar stories of experiences I am aware from friends with the French health service, involving misdiagnosis, arrogant French Consultants, poor cancer care, serious hospital acquired infections and long waits in A&E as the norm. A neighbour of ours almost died after a seriously swollen leg was diagnosed initially as an insect bit, eventually when they got back to A &E with their leg the size of an elephant's, it was eventually correctly dianosed as a serious life threatening thrombosis after a four wait to see a D and required three weeks hospitalisation . (The French Doctor was furious my friend had to wait so long, but it is not unusual in provincial and city French hospitals these days.) Which shows you can have bad experiences anywhere..
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The problem with free travel insurance provided with some credit and debit cards is that it can be inflexible and it does not usually cover you if you have any pre-existing conditions or recent medical history, so if you have high blood pressure or cholesterol for example you might find that this sort of cover is useless as the insurance cannot be customised to individual needs. Also look out for restrictions that require the tickets to have been purchased by the credit card providing the travel insurance cover and upper age restrictions.
Helpful suggestion
in The Complete France Post Bag
Posted
Please could I make a suggestion that a link to the forum should be put at the top of the CF home web page, where there appears to be room on the far top right and not far down the left hand side where it is somewhat lost at the moment as it is slower to load than the top of the page.
I have checked the 'other' magazine linked forum website which also recently underwent a revamp and there is a forum link at the top of the home page, as other sites I visit. If this forum has become partly hidden it could explain why it would appear there are so few new members at the moment compared to the competition!
Not really relavent to us old stalwarts, but it would be nice to see some new blood!