Nathalie

Hi I'm looking to set up a website helping ex pats to get over minor (or indeed major) hurdles such as filling in paperwork, translating, writing letters, making phone calls and finding out information for those who don't yet have the language skills (and it will come - once the hard part's done and dusted that is!) to deal with things that you wouldn't think twice about dealing with in the UK.  There will be other services as well, like sending over smoke alarms and domestic fire safety advice from a qualified Fire Safety Officer, and professional counselling services for those who need them (hopefully not too many).  I am a French national with English/French parents brought up in France and UK and therefore have the benefit of being fully fluent in both languages and cultures etc.  I've helped a couple of people sort out various bits and pieces that have taken me just a few minutes but has avoided a lot of hassle for them and they keep telling me that my help should become more widespread. My aim is to provide help and support however often it is needed for a small yearly fee rather than pay-by-service, as this would prove costly to the customer.  My other aim is to provide an excellent, value-for-money service (within 24 hr turnaround) via email or phone (I am UK based with a second home in France) without ripping anyone off.  It makes my blood boil that there are so many cowboys out there fleecing British residents/second home owners who have the courage to do so in a different country. So!  Any suggestions as to what else I could offer (and the inevitable "from offer to contract signing" service or "give me a property brief and I'll go and find it" service would come in WITHOUT the extortionate fees) as well as "SOS" building services for those wanting recommended workmen to do an urgent job quickly.  I'm open to comments = if you think the whole idea is a waste of time then do let me know, might as well be sunning myself behind my desk at work than trying to build up something no-one wants.... Thanks for listening! - and I hope I get some replies! Nathalie  

France is not the back of beyond you know - they do sell turkeys at Christmas!!!  Why not try a French Christmas,  oysters, salmon, roe deer or venison, a sorbet, dessert, cheese and then coffee and liqueurs until about 5 in the morning .... great! Nathalie  

Not sure whether to stick this here or in Legal, anyway here goes. Received a copy of the draft Acte de Vente, all seems OK, but was wondering whether anyone has added any other useful clauses in to their contracts?  There's a clause about no comeback on the vendor if, for instance, the roof suddenly falls in or something, but there doesn't appear to be a clause along the lines of "if something goes wrong that the vendor would have been aware of, ie. faulty boiler or something, then the vendor is liable for all costs etc etc". I saw something similar once on No Going Back, and didn't make a proper note, thinking we wouldn't find our home so quickly... Thanks. Nathalie        

Hi again Further to my previous post.... Banks and Transfers: Went to the bank itself to make the transfer I needed, was told it would definitely be done the following day and I asked that I be telephoned to confirm as it was time critical.  I got a phone message at 5.40pm to say that ... it hadn't been done, would be done the following day, so sorry.  So deadline was missed. Following day I make an appointment to see the bank manager, and made my point quite firmly and politely what I thought of his organisation's service and we settled upon a free CHAPS service to get the money transferred there and then, particularly after I said that if the money couldn't be transferred by the deadline I'd like it in cash there and then please....  my money, after all.  However, the story dosn't end there, the bank manager left a message with my daughter a bit later on to say he would ring back Monday which to me doesn't bode well..... Banks and Exchange Rates: I rang the French bank nearest to our (soon to be) French home and asked about exchange rates.  I nearly fell off my chair when I was told a figure that was beneficial to us by £6,000!!!  I explained that we were very near to signing l'Acte Authentique and wanted to exchange the purchase price in France from sterling to euros and then immediately zap it to the Notaire.  No problem, she said, I'll open your account now, over the 'phone, and you can send me copies of the paperwork (passports, utlity bill).  She took all the details and called me back 5 minutes later with the RIB details and my account number.  We get internet access, debit card and chequier for the grand total of 4 euros 33 a month.  What about other fees, ie. for setting up a direct debit?  No fees. This lady was so helpful, and so willing to take the time to help, it was a complete contrast.  I am so glad I took heed of the posts regarding CA Britline (to join is a right rigmarole) and decided to try a different avenue. Of course, I'll probably just wake up and realise it was all a beautiful dream.... Nathalie              

This has been a really interesting thread.  To Later, I would say that, and I don't mean this disrespectfully, that you are maybe too scared to make the move.  If you always look on the "down" side of things then you're not going to take the step, are you, and at the end of the day your website (I only had a quick look, so forgive me if I've missed something) has nothing positive, no "plus" side so to speak about living in France. As I've said before, I was born in France and raised in both France and the UK in equal measures, and the simplest thin is to just accept each country's faults and good points.  To move to France and carry on living as a Brit is probably a step on the road to a miserable life, the comment about Paris being grey and only being happy when the poster was with english people and in English pubs etc reinforces that. Everyone wants different things out of life as they get older, there's nothing wrong with yearning for bright lights or indeed the sleepiness of rural life.  I live in the Yorkshire Dales, am just about to sign for a house in Brittany, but when my kids leave home I'd probably like to swap that for a tiddly studio flat in Paris - but keep my rural idyll here.  (And believe me, Yorkshire Dales folk can be as unfriendly towards us incomers as any French person!).  It's what you make of your life that counts. A bientot. Nathalie    

Hi again Thanks very much for all that useful advice.  Currencies4less have quoted us a better rate than the bank. Our agent cashed our UK cheque for the deposit last week and the rate worked out at 1.46 which is quite good compared to today's bank rate.   Can anyone tell us what today's rate happens to me in France?  We were wondering if the Notaire would accept a cheque and we could benefit from the better rate..... Trying to find the current rate of exchange is a nightmare via the web - probably not looking in the right place. Anyway, thanks again for the advice, the LF forum is worht its weight in gold!. Not quite so frustrated of Yorkshire    

OK.  The smug look is wiped off my face, we're due to sign for our house next Friday and after everything has gone so flippin' smoothly so far the tide has now changed. We're buying with two other sets of friends and the plan was that each couple would transfer their share of the dosh into one account and then whizz the lot to the Notaire. My wonderful British, well known bank (I hate banks), charmingly says I can't transfer such a large amount of money!  Eh??? Don't they deal with humungous sums every day?!! And of course the interest rate has been dropping steadily since we signed the compromis... My question is, after all that ranting, has anyone transferred money via the currency companies and if so, any recommendations?? Frustrated of Yorkshire

I would suggest attending jive classes.  What!  Some suggestion I hear you say, well, I always wanted to learn to jive, and one day someone at work said he went jiving (or Ceroc - from the French "C'est Rock") and he agreed to teach us on a lunchtime.  We got the bug, went to a jive night and saw hundreds of people looking really really cool and we decided to have proper lessons. It's the same system in France (we know, we went to one in Paris) - the guys stand in rows and the girls "move along" so you get to practice with lots of different people of different abilities.  It's a great way to meet friends (I found my husband that way, so I suppose I'm a bit biased!) and it is really feel good, releases the endorphins or whatever they're called and helps to banish the blues! It's quite popular in France so it should be fairly easy to find out if there are any classes in the area.  My friend who taught us originally now teaches professionally and he says it's brought lots of people out of their shell - so you never know. All the best to him anyway. Nathalie  

Personally, just dropping in for cups of tea isn't something I've ever done, maybe because I work full time, time with friends is mostly arranged, or following a quick phone call, and most weekends are spent socialising so that suits us. When I lived in France with my parents, however, people would often stop in for an aperitif on an evening, and usually stay for dinner that would last to the wee small hours.  Always wondered how my mother managed to produce hors d'oeuvres and make the dinner for three feed eight... Why not "when in Rome do as the Romans do" and follow the way your French friends socialise (however that may be). Nathalie    

Someone once said to me "regret what you haven't done - don't regret what you have done".  Look at the reasons to why you want to make the move, bu what I would say is - if you have the slightest doubt, don't do it - yet.  Moving abroad isn't the recipe for automatic success and happiness, I'm not saying that's what you're looking for but I imagine some people want to escape one way of life for another in the hope of finding, as******o says, utopia.  But it can help if you're looking for the things that matter to you and which you know will improve your quality of life. Good luck.  Nathalie 

Yes, people shouldn’t want to lose their identity, by integration I meant getting to know your French neighbours, not just the British ones, becoming familiar with the culture and the language – AND NOT COMPLAINING OR PICKING HOLES INTO EVERYTHING THAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT FRANCE!! We’re talking about two different countries here, some people move here because they like those differences, some people, some would say naïve, move here because they misguidedly think there is no crime, that the government is perfect, the weather always good, and that you can buy a week’s shopping and still get change out of a 10 euro note!!! – getouttahere!!!! The grass isn’t always greener, it’s just a different shade. My mother, who is English, lived for 30 years in France married to my French father and she spent all that time being completely uninterested in learning the language, thereby having trouble at French dinner parties following the conversations with friends (it’s difficult enough in English once everyone gets going!) amongst other things. During her time here she complained constantly about missing England, fish and chips, baked beans, the health service, you name it, she missed it. When my father died and she came back to live in England, she’s done nothing but complain about our Health Service, the food, how she misses the French way of life, and she doesn’t touch baked beans or fish and chips! She now wants to move back, because in France she would actually have a better quality of life as a pensioner. So how ironic is that. I also think that if people have the attitude that the French will never accept them, then with that mindset it's bound to happen, giving out subconscious "you'll never want to get to know me" vibes.  The French always accepted my mother - despite her rotten French.  And I live in North Yorkshire - I can live here for 100 years and still be regarded as an "incomer"!!  Maybe it’s human nature, but whilst people spend their time picking holes in everything, they’re missing the point – enjoy life, you only get one shot at it. Right, I’m packing my soapbox away now. Tata.

We've just bought a house in 22 with friends, so last Sunday 6 adults and 6 kids traipsed down to IKEA in Leeds to buy the essential stuff - crockery, cutlery and the like.  We want to buy as much French stuff as possible when we go out for a week in November, but it will get us started at least ...  We had loads of fun catching people on the ankles with our trollies, blocking the aisles, taking over the coffee shop.... Anyway, Ikea does have some good stuff, and a lot of tat, but don't you think it's a shame that France is starting to lose that "je ne sais quoi" when it comes to chic shops and its reputation for quality?  MacDonalds, fast food, Ikeas, cheap clothes shops in big shopping centres .... Nathalie  

Cite Europe isn't open on Sundays.  Not much is apart from boulangeries (stuffing a croissant in your tank won't make it go, unfortunately!) Petrol stations such as Total should be open on Sundays, and those on motorways are.  Supermarkets ones aren't (apart from a handful that may be open in the mornings), but you can pay at the pump with a credit card, but you need a chip in it for that to work. Hope this helps. Nathalie  

There are a proportion of people who seem want to live a British life abroad, and that includes changing the house to an English-style property and not wanting to learn the language or integrate into the French community .  That is their choice, and it's their loss entirely in my view. I'm surprised they didn't come out with "France would be great if it wasn't for the French"! A work colleague went house hunting in France, and didn't like any of the houses she saw, obviously comparing the difference between English properties and French ones.  So she's gone for new build and so far nothing has gone to plan.  We found the house of our dreams at house view no.3 - and it has shutters and fireplaces and we wouldn't change a thing.  But we're all different, but I'm with you on this one Deby. Nathalie      

Lots of converts to proper French cooking, then, I see!!