timc17

This question is aimed at those already living in France. Do you have any regrets about moving and if you had the chance to do it again what would you do differently?   tim17

Anyone have children that attend or have attended the schools at St Savinien (dept 17) ?   tim17

Teamedup, I am not moving to France because i think the grass is greener or for better child benefit or tax breaks. I start work at 6.30 am before my wife and children are awake and return home to an empty house as they have already eaten and have left for swimming coaching , guides , cubs , football training etc. My wife will get back about 9.00 pm and we may have an hour to talk before tiredness sets in.I spend no time with the children whatsoever.The weekend is more of the same , Sat morning work at 7.00 am then more swimming and badminton and if we're really lucky a swimming gala Sat evening a hundred miles away! I'm sure the above is typical of a UK family but we've had enough.Our income will plumet when we move but we'll have more time together and we are lucky that we have been able to keep property in the UK should we need to return. You get one chance at life and it's no good at eighty having regrets about what you could have done.  

Without giving too much personal information i'll expand on my previous postings. 1. I have a job , therefore I WILL be paying tax and social charges. 2. We have four children. As in the UK we are entitled to claim child benefit and fully intend to do so. It is much higher than the UK but it could have been lower. 3. Our healthcare costs in France will be far greater than the UK but the standard will be better (in our opinion). 4. Because of the number of children we have our property taxes are reduced and the starting point for paying income tax is quite high. 5. We bought our house in Dept 17 two years ago and have put around £80k into the local economy doing it up. 6. We love the laid back country way of life in France and the children seem to have more freedom and enjoy playing with the other children in the village. 7.I'm fed up of working for 60 hours+ and getting paid for 40.My wife has had enough of standing in front of kids swearing at her and threatening to assault her and being told 'tough that's what teachers are paid to do'. 8. Our move has been made financially possible by the UK property market like many others before us.  I totally reject the label of scrounger.We have the right to move where we like and to claim the aformentioned benefits and tax breaks which are available to anyone else in France with children.  For us this a once in a lifetime chance to do something different regardless of what Boghound etc think.If we fail and have to return to the UK then at least we gave it a go.   tim .

Well that's not going to happen now that compulsory teaching of foreign languages has stopped in Mr Blair's Education! Education! Education! pro europe UK.   tim

Should i presume then that both Boghound , WJT and the majority of ordinary french people never claim any state benefits whatsoever ? You have made me so guilty (NOT !!). Without people 'breeding' as you nicely put it there will not be enough future earners paying tax to fund state pensions etc for old codgers like you. Back on planet earth the sun is shining and there's football telly for a change.   tim    

Boghound, Are you really suggesting i pay social charges and income tax for a couple of years BEFORE i claim child benefit or a rebate on the property taxes ? Are you barking mad ? (pun intended). We have already several french friends in our small commune where we are the only non-frenchies.They think we're crazy for moving to France but have been  helpful and supportive nonetheless without any sign of resentment. tim   i'm (nearly !!) here in france  

I'm not scrounging. I have a house (no mortgage) a job and expect to pay social charges and taxes.Increased child benefit and tax breaks for large families are however an advantage over the UK.   My real point was that the EU has enabled me to make this move easily and as the current governments of the UK and France are both pro europe this will continue for quite sometime whether people like it or not.     tim

Why should it end ? What is wrong with freedom of movement between countries ? I'm moving to France in july with wife and kids and expect to claim all the state benefits that i'm entitled to just as thousands of east europeans etc are now doing in the UK thanks to the expansion of the EU. A big thankyou to Ted Heath.     tim  

I too am sorry to hear your story.It's very relevant to me as i'm moving to the Charente Maritime in July with wife and four children.I do have a job and have been able to keep some property in the UK in case things don't work out but reading your post has been a reality check. I have to say that we have experienced the opposite with regards to our neighbours etc.They have all been very helpful and one of them came with us to see the headmasters of the local schools the children will be attending as our French is not brilliant. With regard to electricity our last bill was over a 1000 euros and this will be our biggest household cost. I would like to ask a couple of things.Do you have children and where are you in the dept? We believe the children are our best asset (and biggest potential problem) and they have already made lots of friends in the village. Our move is purely to spend less time working and more time with the children before they leave home.We will earn less than half what we do in the UK but we are completley debt-free for the first time ever.   good luck with whatever you do   tim   ps. If you need help selling your property please send me a pm

I'm not here in france and if it's full of individuals such as outcast i'm damn glad.   tim17

I live near the North Norfolk coast where so many homes have been bought by wealthy 'City' types that one of the villages is now known as Chelsea-On -Sea.Here the local council have reduced the usual 50 per cent council tax reduction (for second homes) to 10 per cent in an effort to stem the tide of holiday-homers.The existing local population cannot afford to buy in the area and are moving away which will eventually lead to the villages being deserted during the week and springing to life at weekends. Being a hypocrite i also have a second home in the Charente Maritime which i hope to move to full-time this summer.The only difference being the house i bought was in need of total renovation , had sat empty for over a year and had been offered to the rest of the commune by the mairie without any takers.By moving there with our four school age children we are keeping the village going as 75 percent of the inhabitants are retired.Out of the forty houses in the commune at least five still remain unoccupied and in a state of decay. As i understand it aircraft pollution is far worse than cars or vans and as someone who currently lives under the flightpath of the local airport i'm glad i don't live near Heathrow or Gatwick. tim i'm not here in france(yet!!)

We will be moving to France in July with our four children who will all go to the local french state school.I have read with interest the many postings regarding the french school system and offer two examples of lunacy my wife and i are experiencing here in the UK. 1.My wife is a science teacher in a secondary school and for the last six months has been subjected to a daily barrage of verbal abuse and threats of violence from a group of 14 year olds.She has brought this to attention of senior school staff on many occasions.She has been informed that there is nothing the school can do and she must carry on as best she can.The school is in an affluent area of Norfolk. 2.Yesterday my eldest son had a school soccer match and asked if i could go and watch.I of course said yes and arrived at the school just after kick-off time only to find all the school gates locked.I eventually found a member staff who informed me that the children were always locked in when playing sport after school.This is to protect them but from what she didn't want to say.My son was obviously disappointed . So my question - in France can it be worse than this?   timc17

We are considering installing solar heating primarily to heat our yet to be built swimming pool.Are there any grants available and how do we go about applying for one? Apologies in advance if this has been covered before but i've yet to master the search facility.   timc17

I'm moving to dept 17 in the summer near Saint Savinien.Anywhere near you Tresco?   tim

I think what hugh means is that he started the thread to obtain information but this has now evolved into a pro v anti hunting debate which was not his intention. Could i politely ask all the 'anti's' whether they have been on either a shoot in the UK or a hunt in France? I have been to several different shoots in the UK and some were downright dangerous with the 'guns' holding a whiskey flask in one hand and a twelve bore in the other.I'm sure the same applies in France with some hunters being more respectful to walkers etc than others.   timc17  

I have no wish to offend or upset anyone Zeb/Marzan.Hunting obviously raises passions in France as in the Uk but surely i have the right to try it for myself ? Should i not like it i will not do it again and recognising the dangers i will leave the children at home (as stated in my previous post). This forum has given me a better insight into the pleasures/difficulties of living in France but i do wish people would express their opinions without the venom.   timc17

Sorry hughmandy but i'm glad this discussion was started.I shall be moving to a very rural area of the France in July where hunting is a big part of local life. In the UK i am a 'beater' on pheasant shoots and usually take one of my sons with me as they enjoy the day in the fields and woods.We do not interfere with anyone else as the shoot takes place on private land.I think this is where hunting in France is different.Whilst walking on xmas day down the local country lanes we had to be a bit careful where we walked as a hunt was in progress.We did get the impression from the looks on the hunters faces that although we were on public roads we had no right to be there. I still intend to try and join the local hunt but will not be taking any of the children as it seems too dangerous.I can see why hunting is unpopular with the majority of the population as they take over mainly public land but it is a tradition in rural areas. So i'm grateful for the postings as i had assumed hunting was universally acceptable in France.   timc17

There's a small village called Bras near us.The kids always titter when they see the roadsign and they also know we're nearly home.The village is also next to Chez Moron (i'm not making this up) but this doesn't get the same response.Totally irrelevant posting but it's better than doing the VAT return.   timc17 

Help please. My wife and i are moving to France full-time in July and will be taking my wife's children from her previous marriage. We are aware that we have to inform the natural father and probably require his written permission as well. If he refuses can we still go ahead with our plans or do we have to obtain permission through the courts? At present he shares custody with my wife although he has had no contact with the children for nearly two years. ANY!! views or advice would be most welcome.   Thanks in advance.   timc17  

Saintes bowling is near Macdonalds.Their web address is www.saintesbowling.com and has directions.   timc17

We had mixed experiences when house-hunting two years ago.The first agent (who i had booked an appointment with) showed us one house in the middle of nowhere and when we said we did'nt like it got the huff jumped in his car and drove off !! However the next two were very helpful (one even gave up her lunchtime to show us a house) even though we didn't end buying through them. Finally, after seeing eight houses in a day and a half we found what we were looking for and still can't believe we paid less than half what we're now about to pay for a small terraced house in Norfolk. With regard to house prices there is still the assumption in France that the brits have loads of money and will buy any old property regardless of condition.Some french friends of ours have a huge house with tons of land for sale.The house needs total renovation and in parts dates back to the 14th century - the price 1,200,000 euros!! We have been looking for a small house near La Rochelle for a friend and have noticed recently that houses are now taking longer to sell (a bit like the state of the UK market) and perhaps this will lead to more sensible pricing.   timc17

My wife and i are considering buying a leaseback property in Paris or in the South of France purely as a long term investment.Can anyone recommend a good agent or have any advice on these schemes?   timc17

The pomposity of some of the responses to this and other threads from major contributors fills me with anger and frustration in equal measure. I am shortly moving my wife and four children from a life of almost complete luxury here in the UK to one of hard work and uncertainty in rural France.This is purely because we wish to experience a different way of life without the relentless pursuit of more and more MONEY!!! We have a built-in safety net should we wish to return but the chance to properly learn a new language , make new friends etc is (in my humble opinion) more benefical to our children than what lies ahead for them if we stay put. So Teamed Up be on your guard! timc17 - also a forum fanatic but who keeps his opinions to himself unless provoked or paid handsomely 

Ryanair have announced that La Rochelle Airport is closed from 31.10.04 to 17.04.05 for runway repairs with all flights within this period being sent to Rochefort. Didn't think Rochefort's aerodrome was that big.