Nigel Numbers

tresco, get real. I can assure you my original post was true. Hell, I'll even have Louise take a photo of me holding the books, map and magazines that I bought and post the jpeg picture here if you don't believe me. The documentary idea just popped into my head this morning when I was in the car with Louise, so I came home and scribbled down some notes. I am always doing this, I have about 20 ideas penned for documentaries and the like. If I only ever intended to get information for a documentary I was planning I would have simply put up a post which would have read "Independent filmmaker needs your stories of moving to France for TV programme". I would have then stated what I required, I think most people would have still given me the information I was looking for. However, this was not my intention, Louise and I first looked at Tuscany in Italy, but after similar research i.e. buying books "Living and working in Italy" and "Buying a property in Italy" and posting in Italian forums, we decided that Italy was Way too expensive, the properties are treble what they are in France, as for cost of living, forget it, the taxes are sky high. The whole plan came tumbling down very fast and Louise even knows people who live in Italy who could help us, still it did not pan out, hence we looked into France, which, although not as bad, it is not the easy option we thought (as per TV programmes led us to believe) it would be. We are confused at the moment, we don't know if we should even bother exploring other countries, we know we are not happy here, but is there anywhere on the face of the planet that we could buy a cheap home in the sun and sit around all day drinking wine??? Maybe not. My older brother lives in the USA (marraid an American girl), but we can't even get over there, it's just too impossible with all their immigration laws etc. It would take 10 years before they would even look at my application. No rat here, just a couple looking for a better life.

I agree totally, however I personally am not a fat-cat, I'm low-budget independent. I have managed to get a few things broadcast over the years. I think somebody should put these tacky fake TV programme makers in their place though, especially if they are leading everybody to believe that they can spend £45,000 on a 5 bedroom house with 4 acres, then spend the rest of their lives sitting around drinking wine over looking their own personal vineyard surrounded by some of the finest scenery in the world, that just sucks. Sure, people can have their dreams, but personally, I'd rather somebody told me to be realistic about my dreams, just like you kind folk on here have done.

Thank you everyone for your kind responses, especially now that I know this is a common topic around here. I never new that before. It would appear that we won't be moving to France on the basis of what we have heard here. As for the TV programmes, it would also appear that they are selling broken dreams. I myself happen to be an independent production company and I am giving series thought to writing a script entitled "Moving to France - The Naked Truth". I don't think I would find it hard finding families who have moved to france and have some down-to-earth stories to tell. If there are any people on here who would be willing to be interviewed on camera and tell some "Real" stories about what it is "Really" like then drop me an email at [email protected] Thanks again everyone. Nigel

This is my first post here so forgive me if it is not quite in the right place. My wife and I have been giving serious thought to moving to France. We currently live about 20 west of Cambridge/England in a town called St.Neots. We only have around £68,000 positive equity in our home. We are not too sure which region we want to move to yet, but my wife is leaning towards Brittany, personally I would prefer a little further South to get some better weather, maybe Toulouse outskirts. We have bought books on "Moving to France" and "Working in France" and some of the usual French magazines that are published and printed in British. However I would like the input from people who used to live in England and moved to France recently (within last year) for their opinions on the cost of living compared to here in England. My understanding from the various estate agents both on the web and the ones advertised in the magazines that we should have no problem whatsoever buying a place for £60,000 plus the usual £8,000 or so Notaire and tax fees? (obviously not in central Paris) My wife has A-Level in French, personally, I can't speak a word, but from what I have heard, after a year in residence I should be fluent. I would like to know how much things like: electric/water/phone/council tax etc bills cost compared to England, also how much food cost compared to England, Tesco is getting pricey these days? Anybody have any idea what the crime rate is in Brittany and the Southern regions? I heard that Diesel is much cheaper and running a car in general is, electricity is also supposed to be the cheapest in Europe? Now the work bit: My wife is a professional piano teacher and I am an independent video producer/web site designer. How difficult will it be for my wife to set herself up as a private (teaching from home) piano teacher, or in school for that matter? And how hard will it be for myself to find work with my video production and web site skills? I know there are horror stories to be told, but we need positive encouragement at this stage so please try and keep the horror to a minimum. Thanks in advance.