frenchaddict

Hi, we're moving to France in August with four of our children.My French friend has just informed me that the schools my children will be attending, want a letter from their current schools here in the UK, just to confirm that they are definately leaving the school. The mairie apparently told her this when she went to see him on my behalf (I was still in the UK when she went). Has anyone else ever had to supply this piece of info to the school and if so, what sort of info did it have to contain? I'm presuming it will have to be in French of course. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Sheila

Thanks for that advice Nick, it's certainly something to consider. We thought we would be hammered for CGT so we have to wheigh up whether it's worth just registering as a small business right from the start or wait to see if we want to keep the house long term. With regards to your concern Val, that was also one of ours too. We just don't know what guidelines the French have for guarantees with regards to house building/selling. Although I must admit(even though I'm biased), my husband is a brilliant builder, his work is second to none and he certainly would honour any unforseen faults which do sometimes arise with a new build. Any other advice/comments will certainly be appreciated. Thanks. Sheila & Pete 

Hi, I'm afraid we haven't posted much on the site but we have been reading a lot![:D] The thing is, we'd just like some thoughts on this please... My husband is a builder here in the uk, we've had a house in Picardie for over 10 yrs which he renovated himself. We've now bought a piece of land in the same village, which my husband is hoping to build on very soon (he's drew the plans,had them passed and is just waiting for the next available free time he has to go over and get the ball rolling) The Mairie and all the other French people we know are just so pleased for us, they know if things go well for us, we are hoping to move over there this year with four of our children. The thing is, we don't know whether he still has to register in France in the same way he would if he was building for someone else. If anyone can shed any light on this to let us know what he should do.....register as a macon (that's his trade) or not? We aren't planning on selling the new house for a while(if at all). Obviously when we are living there, he will be registered but for this build, we are unsure. Our French friends and the Mairie seem to think my husband doesn't need to. Regards  Sheila & Pete  

We're moving to France in July and this site address will certainly be coming with us! It'll be brilliant for my children. Thanks for sharing. Sheila

Hi, my husband, myself, four of our children (ages:5,10,12 and 14 yrs) and our german shepherd are moving to Picardie this August. We've had a house in Martainneville for over 10 yrs and we're now ready to make the move[:D]. Our house is very close to the Normandie border, near Blangy sur Bresle. We would love to hear from anyone who is living or has a holiday home in this area. Looking forward to finding out who's out there[:)]. Sheila & Pete 

Hi, we're moving to France in July this year; my husband, four children(5/10/12 & 14 yrs), German Shepherd dog and myself. My children all attend a theatre/dance school here in the UK and they would love to join a school in France. If anyone knows of any in the Somme area, I would love to hear from you, especially if you have children who already attend dance classes. My children are studying ballet,tap,jazz and disco. We are moving to a village near Blangy-sur-Bresle near the Picardie/Normandie border. Sheila & Pete

Hi Teamedup, My son is actually 10 tomorrow so going off what you say, he will be at the village school for at least his first year in France(much to his and my relief I might add!). Thanks for the info. I've also spoken to a friend of mine who teaches in junior school here in the UK and she's very kindly offered to get me some photocopies (I will of course be paying for the paper that's used) of the worksheets they use in her school. This way I can help my kids with their English studies along with one of the courses recommended on this site. Would still love to hear from anyone who is already based in the Picardie region of France. Sheila & Peter

Hi, We hope to be moving to Picardie (near Abbeville) in approximately 3 - 4 months. Our children are aged; 14 boy / 12 girl / 10 boy and 4 girl. This is the first year at school for our little girl and our 14 year old has only 2 years left if he were staying in his UK school. We don't have any major worries about our other two children, apart from the 10yr old being shy. Our main worry is that the move to France might spoil our sons chances of getting decent grades in his final exams(languge being the main drawback) and hold back our youngest daughter learning the English language(reading/writing etc.) Does anyone have kids around the same ages and even in the same area? If so how did they cope with the move, what are the schools like in this area? All of our children have been having extra French lessons for the past year(through a home tutor with the La Jolie Ronde course). We didn't want them going to France without any knowledge of the language. There is a tiny school in the village we are moving to. We think our two youngest children will be within the age range for this school but we're not sure. We hope they are, just so that they will at least have each other at the school, the same also goes for our eldest two. We would love to hear from anyone in the Somme area and would welcome any advice on helping our children to settle in, not just with school but also socially and emotionally. Sheila & Peter 

Hi, We have a small but well established building firm here in the UK. We have a house in France where we will hopefully be moving to soon(with four kids  and a dog!). Now the thing is, we would like to rent out our UK home, keep our business running in the UK too but also expand into the French market with our building company(not a lot when you say it fast!). Does anyone have any advice on the best route to take or who we should approach first? We don't know whether we would automatically be taxed under the French system or would we stay within the UK system? Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated.Thanks.Sheila & Peter

Dear forum, can anyone please tell us the first place my husband should go to register as a builder?  He has ran his own building company here in the UK for the past 10 years. We are hoping to move to France in the not too distant future and we would like to get as much sorted as we can before we go. Regards Sheila & Peter

Hi group, First of all we'd like to wish everyone a very peaceful new year. We just wanted to give you an update on our roof problem: The damage is as we thought it would be....over 450 euros. An assessor is coming out to have a look at the damage so hopefully we will have it repaired soon. From what we can gather, the insurance companies have responded really well to the damage caused by those freak winds. Best Wishes to everyone. Our thoughts and prayers especially go to those who have been affected in some way by the terrible disaster in East Asia. Sheila & Peter

Thanks for all the info and advice. The damage was to the roof and luckily we're covered!(not as much as we were before the storm cos a lot of the tiles are missing now!! my attempt at humour!)  Our friends in France filled the relevant forms in last Monday and so we now have to get an estimate from a French company for the repairs. If the damage is less than 450 euros we just have to get it done and recover the money from the insurance company. If more than 450 euros(which we think it will be) we have to have an assessor come out to check. Once again, thanks to everyone who replied. Sheila & Peter

Hi, unfortunately during the high winds in northern France last week, our house along with every other house in the village, has suffered some damage. We do have insurance on the property but have not read the small print and so we do not know if we're covered!(we're pretty certain we are). Still waiting to hear from our French friends to let us know, they hold the documents for us incase of times like this. We would like to know if anyone else has had anything similar happen in the past and if so what the outcome was, was it easy to get the claim dealt with and finally, how long did it take to sort out? Sheila & Pete  

Thanks for the info Nick, we thought it sounded too good to be true! Well....here's to French electrician hunting.   Sheila & Pete

Hi, We have a house in need of renovation in The Somme, Northern France.  The thing is, we have read(in an issue of FPN) and heard that it is now legal for an English electrician using English cable etc to rewire a French house. Does anyone know if this is actually true? We certainly hope it is!Sheila & Pete