suein56

[quote user="Cerise"]  I believe it exclusive to this part of France but if you are very good you will get some in your areas later.[/quote] Is this the same as a microclimate? Every coastal area we looked at we were always told that that particular spot had a beneficial microclimate - so it seems this microclimate spreads all the way up, or down, the west coast of France. Sue [;-)] [:)]

[quote user="Frederick"]Its the length of time out of the UK thats seems to be the stopper .......3 months  away on  an annual  Travel Insurance is a No..No ........I seem to be expecting too much ?[/quote] We use Flexicover.com/ Flexicover.co.uk - they do all kinds of travel insurance. We have used their long-term one trip cover for 6 months European cover, a kind of 'hippy' gap-year travel insurance for oldies. They covered a friend of ours who went to Aus  for 10+ weeks when she was 72 - but that was 2 years ago. worth a look anyway. Sue  

Yes there is. Right click on the Orange icon on the RHS of your toolbar, choose Livebox from the list and left click, this should bring up either Sagem or Imventel, depending on your modem/router model, saying the pages`are password protected, click on the link. Put in password as per your info manual. This takes you to a new page where - for me - there is a list on the LHS, choose Configuration and a drop down menu will appear with a list, choose languages, and go on from there. Sue  

[quote user="chessfou"] We pay €22 per month (for a large house - 150m2). [/quote] We pay approx 189€ for a buildings and contents policy with our bank for our small 3 bedroom rented house of about 90 sq mtrs plus an attached single garage. Sue

Turnip - it is 14h43 here in very southern Morbihan, around 10 deg C, sunshine with a blustery wind and, occasionally, a few drops of rain. Sue

[quote user="Dotty "] Not sure Dick.  I pay 8.15 euros per month, not sure if its for internet banking or what. [/quote] Gosh Dotty we pay 7.40€ to [Atlantique] Banque Populaire each month and I thought that was an astronomically huge charge, but for that price they are excellent - very speedy with virements from the UK and their online banking is superb. Sue

[quote user="Crevette"] The last point is the bit that bugs me. I didn't see the need to keep an empty box which my headphones came in and so threw it away. I think because of this that I cannot get a repair made for the product - even if it under guarantee! All thoughts/comments appreciated. Regards, -Rob-  [/quote] I think this is because there might well be shop/store related codes on the box which will prove that you bought said item from them. I found this same potential snag when I had to return a faulty electrical item to a store even though I had the purchase receipt.  Sue edit: gosh this has printed out most oddly

[quote user="sweet 17"] just tell me what i can safely use that will not interfere with the bacterial action in the fosse, PLEASE!   [/quote] Hi Just be aware that you will need to use extra Eparcyl, or whatever you use - I use WC Net monthly 'activateur biologique concentré' - if someone is on antibiotics for whatever reason. Antibiotics can have a much more devastating effect on the bacteria in the fosse than bleach. Sue

When we moved house in 2004 I reluctantly had to part company with the chest freezer my mother had bought for herself in 1974 then subsequently given to me because she couldn't reach the bottom of it without falling in. Sue

[quote user="samdebretagne"]That's what I'm worried about - though I've also heard that they've managed to fix most of the problems with the Livebox and that the new ones are much more reliable.   The guy at FT told me that out of all the Liveboxes, only 3% of the problems are actual problems with the Livebox - the rest are user error, problems with the line, etc. [/quote] Hi Sam I had great misgivings about the Livebox too. It didn't seem to help when in a short queue at the FT shop to make enquiries about the reliability of the Livebox, the guy in front of me had brought his box back. Having spoken to the staff they said that earlier Liveboxes were less reliable but now most of the problems were user-related in some way. So I went ahead and, almost 4 months later the Livebox is still working fine - fingers crossed! Sue [:)]

http://www.linternaute.com/ville/ and just input your nearest town is quite useful for giving you information as to population, income etc for a town or an area. For our nearest town income per household is given as: Revenu par ménage : 17 898 € / an and we live in quite a select area, but most people around here are retired! Sue

[quote user="Anton Redman"] NB do not wait till you are resident in France because the tax free lump sum is taxable as income last time I looked at the rules.   [/quote] Which rules - where? I am interested to find out whether a pension lump sum likely to be taxed as income or a capital gain. Sue

[quote user="Rjpfrancais"][quote user="Spg"] Well actually - I'll just whisper it 'cos I am embarrassed, but - we have a rented livebox at the moment. Now we have had adsl for 3 months, and I am feeling a little more courageous, I am anxious to ditch the livebox and sort the internet access to avoid using the Orange software; hence my query. Sue  [/quote] Sue, there's nothing actually wrong with the Livebox per se, I know a lot of people have problems with them but then again a lot of people (like myself) use them quite happily (we have 2 PCs directly connected plus a laptop which we connect via Wifi). The main beefs seem to be 1) Why rent when you can buy your own box outright, but on the other hand if your Livebox goes on the blink you can just take it down to your nearest FT shop and they will give you a new one. 2) The Livebox is not exactly at the cutting edge of technology particularly as regards Wifi access. This actually doesn't matter for a lot of people but if you need Wifi access through thick walls, for example, then one of the latest MIMO or draft N models might be a better bet. You don't need to load the Orange software to use a Livebox. The Orange software isn't loaded on any of our PCs (I particularly dislike those 'Veuillez Patienter' messages.), we just access the Livebox via a standard Windows XP network setup. Hope that's useful. [/quote] Rjp - that is very useful, thanks a lot. I am very unsure of myself when it comes to setting up anything new to do with the computers so I am delighted our adsl actually functions at all. I must agree I hate the Orange software though, I will try and see if I can start again without using the Orange disc. Sue

Well actually - I'll just whisper it 'cos I am embarrassed, but - we have a rented livebox at the moment. Now we have had adsl for 3 months, and I am feeling a little more courageous, I am anxious to ditch the livebox and sort the internet access to avoid using the Orange software; hence my query. Sue

[quote user="Quillan"] You need a decent WiFi router with a built in DHCP server (it gives out IP address's to your PC(s)). You want it to give out address's starting with 192.168 because the internet cannot see these address's. It's also very important to change the password of the setup part of your router to stop people from hacking in to your router. [/quote]   Thanks for that - I intend to buy either a Netgear or a Belkin wifi modem/router - either of these should offer suitable protection built in, I assume?   Sue

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]... the shop's computer was broadcasting an IP address that was completely unprotected.  We had a little dig around and could access all sorts of stuff - unbelieveable really.  [/quote] I am looking into using WiFi, but want to be safe and secure, so how do I protect my computer's IP address? Sue

Hi Amanda It should be a part payment for 2006. We arrived in 2005 and made our first and only tax payment in November 2006. The way it was explained to us was that this single payment situation occurs only in your first payment year and subsequently there are stage payments - approx February, June and a catch-up in September/October. Though this time-table is likely to be thrown into disarray because the tax people are very behind due to the introduction of the pre-filled in tax forms. Hope this is right. Sue

[quote user="Mersons"]Has anyone had experience of redirection from France to the UK?  How efficient is the service in that direction? [/quote] Some friends of ours returned to the UK to live at the beginning of October 2006, they are having their mail redirected from France to their new UK address and say that it appears to be working well, they are not aware of any losses. Sue

[quote user="Dick Smith"]Reminds me of a student friend who used to sex kittens. When we asked how she did it she described how she held them up and looked at their little faces. "Some look like boys and some look like girls..." [/quote] Looking at Will's photo, and applying the above principles, I think that the squashed cat at the back is a male as he seems to have a more masculine expression on his face. Sue [:)]

[quote user="Jo"]Oh you still have a mind to wander? Mine left years ago........ Didn't leave a forwarding address..............[/quote] Mine comes and goes ... some days it works fine, other days it seems to have gone walkabout. The worst thing I find is that I don't know when I wake up which kind of a day it is going to be. Sue [8-)]

[quote user="Linda P"]The OH has just done his FIMO and FCOS - you need to be able to read and write French reasonably well. His firm very obligingly arranged for one of the office staff to sit in with him to translate anything he wasnt sure about. You also have to do a1hr 30 min driving test! He was well chuffed as he got higher marks than the French drivers who sat the exam with him! [/quote] Congratulations to him, Linda, you must both be very proud - deservedly so! Sue  [:D]

[quote user="annie"] ...any suggestions would be much appreciated .Its worth mentioning that this system up until 4 weeks ago was working quite normally until the first LIVEBOX broke down. Paul [/quote] Hi Paul We had a very similar problem and went through very nearly the same scenario as you. At my wits end, and after umpteen euros worth of 'help' from the Orange technical helpline we were left, rudderless, seemingly on our own. I went round to our closest French neighbours and explained the situation - help was at hand. 13 year old Victor was our internet saviour. He de-installed the orange/livebox software - crucial, he said - and then reinstalled it using a USB2 cable - just to test the set-up, he said - when all worked fine with that, then he de-installed again and re-installed using the ethernet cable. Orange can be tricky he said ... the computer and connection are there but they don't necessarily want to talk to each other ... I will probably have to call on him again when I get round to connecting my laptop wirelessly. Sue [8-)]

[quote user="EMH"]    Yes, we are being charged for it along with internet banking, again, I've not used that facility either. In fact, only this afternoon, I tried to have a browse at our account on-line and my password wouldn't work. We literally opened the account for a euro cheque book, to pay the few bills we have in France and thought we'd used the carte bleue more. Before having one, we seemed to find ourselves needing petrol before the garages opened and could have done with it.    I have actually wondered if we can bank cheaper or maybe we have got the cheapest/most minimum package already. [/quote] We bank with BP and, IMHO, they are excellent - if a tad pricey. But their service (to us anyway) has been superb. You are paying for your Carte Bleue - so use it; it is invaluable at the petrol stations out of hours or that are not staffed. With regards the internet option, initially I had the same problem as you, but this was solved by explaining my lack of access to our  advisor. He 'allowed' our access by inserting his password, which is, apparently, a security requirement - one we had no knowledge of prior to our access problem. Following that, we have had full usage of our bank account via the internet - 'sans problème'. Sue  [:)]

[quote user="ty ar mor"] The floor boards, beams and ceilings are all very dark wood ...  it is quite dark, despite light, but sympathetic furnishings.  I am so torn between a need to keep the place as it is meant to be and making it as comfortable and pleasant as possible for us.  Any thoughts.......?  [/quote] This sounds just like the gite we rented when we first came to Brittany - during a few bad weather winter months the lack of light due to the dark ceilings and beams drove us nearly mad. The place we have now is white, white, white - too bright say our neighbours, almost perfect say my OH and I, sighing happily. So slap on the paint - make it light and cheerful, I really believe you wont regret it. Sue

[quote user="Sunday Driver"] ... then called into MAAF to change the insurance over from the Pan.  Upshot is, cover is changed over to the GS - but they'll continue to cover the Pan for another month on the policy whilst I'm selling it - free! [/quote] AGF has offered us this 'free month' too on our old car, now we have swapped the car insurance over to our recent purchase. But I have no idea what it means. What exactly does this insurance cover us for? And who can drive the car? Is it the French equivalent of short-term third party, fire and theft? Any input gratefully received. Sue