vickybear

Anyway..............we had Cumberland sausage and mustard mash tonight with onion gravy, the weather was 22 degrees today and the beach was surprisingly empty so lots of room for bat and ball with the dogs. Got a job interview tomorrow so, if successful, the extended holiday is over but hey, ho....it's a part-time job [:D] 

Rag pudding.......mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ( this is Mr VB now!!  )

You can't win 'em all, but it got the majority going!!!!!   [:P]

Mmmmm mushy peas!!       How about black peas with salt and vinegar on Bonfire Night.......and treacle toffee..........and parkin.......

Grandma Pollards in Todmorden which is Lancashire or Yorkshire depending on which side of the argument you are on. They're opposite the railway station, make their own pies and fry the chips in beef dripping!!   Truly the best I have ever tasted and one for the Northerners over the Southerners, let alone the Brits over the French. On the subject of chips, has anyone else noticed the standard of crockery at most local French eateries???  It seems to be something to be proud of .........more chips equals a better meal?  AND, do they EVER warm the plates?

Mmmmm, they were sooooooo nice!!!! I can see I'm going to have some fun winding you all up with the occasional reminder of the UK's finer points!! Husband had some chips on a slice of Warburtons medium white, so hot they melted the butter which ran out a little on his fingers........................ (ps the fish batter was crispy!!) [;-)]  

[quote user="Bugbear"] Andy, your last post 'has hit the nail on the head' completely. With the trauma I have both had and seen in life I am still an optimistic type. On this thread the only point I was trying to make was simply 'if you fancy doing something, then just do it', if it all goes 'pearshaped' so what, at least you've had a go. There is no nirvana, no magic place where problems don't exist. Its just that france, for us, is currently a nice place to live. If that changes then so will we. That's all I was trying to say. Someone once said (I forget who) "That in life, you only regret things that you don't do" [/quote]   ...........Anyway, just got back from the beach. It's sunny today in Devon. I sat on a bench and watched the boats sailing in and out of Brixman Harbour and pondered on my current big issue............will I ever get used to flushing anything I like down the loo again???!!! I've also pondered the above statement. Is it true? If you look hard enough at any situation you can make the statement fit. For me, I don't regret my move to France as it has made me appreciate the UK more. If I feel more settled here for the forseeable future then the two years I could otherwise have regretted weren't wasted. Right, just off t'chippie for a bit of Torbay Cod n Chips!

[quote user="Deimos"] [quote user="LanguedocGal"] ... the state of the French economy and the often ‘closed’ employment market (specialist sectors in particular) often proves the undoing of many. [/quote] Totally "off-topic" but there was a recent Royal Bank of Scotland economic report as to the reasons behind Germany's recent economic strength. It almost read like a critique of how things were organised in France. Sort of "Germany seems to have managed to weaken xxx practices..." where xxx practices are something France is trying to strengthen !! Ian [/quote]   [8-)]

[quote user="Bugbear"][quote user="vickybear"][quote user="Bugbear"] That is all part of the fun, just enjoy the challenge, don't listen to the whingers and get on with it. You're dead for a very long time............................................................[:D] [/quote] Bugbear........that's not fair.   I've just returned to the UK after 2 years in France and I don't consider myself a 'whinger'. I have been asked my views and expressed them. I have been positive about some aspects of both France and the UK. It's a forum, I don't call you delusional because you love France, nor should you refer to the people it hasn't worked out for as whingers. Bugbear....you're right, we are dead a very long time, but we're also alive a very long time too and being miserable with the life you are living can make it feel a lot, lot longer!!!!!!![Www] [/quote]     Oh dear Vickybear.............Where exactly did I in any way refer to you? Absolutely nowhere and any comments you have made were in no way being referred to by me. My reference was a general one about people who always see the negatives and from what I've seen from your posts, you don't fit that picture. I will accept your apology, of course. [/quote]   SORRY [kiss][kiss]    ( but not all whingers are whingeing.....they might just not be putting it very well. I didn't think you were directing it at me personally, just defending t'others! )

Prasutagus - if you don't know what CPAM is you need to do a lot more work before the move. And before anyone jumps on me for that comment, believe me, I know of a number of Brits don't know what CPAM is before they move nor how the taxation worked, planning etc etc. An example. We met a couple who moved out last May. She had a serious medical condition which required monthly visits to her UK doctor. She also gets Disability Living Allowance.She thought she could transfer the treatments over to France and continue to pay absolutely nothing, as she is doing in the UK. I'm not an expert on this but it appears she was wrong. As a result, although living permanently in France, she is lying to the DSS, has given her permanent address as a UK family memberrs address and has to deive back to the UK every month for her doctors visit and prescriptions. She intends to continue doing this for the future. Having bought a house in France and using up all their funds they are stuck.  I'm not sure how they're going to get round doing their tax returns but one things for sure, they'll be telling porkies. An extreme case, and I may have got some information wrong, but it demonstrates what CAN happen if you've not done enough research. The point of this post, in a conversation regarding a variety of health issues after they had relocated to France she said 'what's CPAM?'

[quote user="Bugbear"] That is all part of the fun, just enjoy the challenge, don't listen to the whingers and get on with it. You're dead for a very long time............................................................[:D] [/quote] Bugbear........that's not fair.   I've just returned to the UK after 2 years in France and I don't consider myself a 'whinger'. I have been asked my views and expressed them. I have been positive about some aspects of both France and the UK. It's a forum, I don't call you delusional because you love France, nor should you refer to the people it hasn't worked out for as whingers. If I had read more posts from the people it hadn't worked out for then I may seriously have re-considered, just like this poster appears to be doing. Being pre-retirement age and having insufficient grasp of the language to find work in France ( despite all the glorious ideas we had ) has left us over £50,000 worse off than when we started out. Luckily we got back on the UK housing ladder and we're settling in well back in the UK. It's been an experience I will look back on with mixed emotions. It's marvellous for some and a nightmare for others, and somewhere in between for some of the time for another bunch. You won't know until you get there, but you CANNOT have enough information before you make the move and moving because a lot of people say 'it's just great' is just as bad a reason not to move because of  those who say 'we hated it' If I had the time again the big thing I would do differently, if I could, would be to rent the UK house out and rent a French house until I was sure it was right for me.......particularly the location. We moved into the French countryside and the culture shock was immense. If you have been used to having an active social life and enjoy simple and silly things like shopping, cinema, nattering in your native tongue, and need to work, the French countryside is not for you. The men seem to settle better for some reason. ( and before anyone jumps on this, it's NOT because women are simple and silly!!!! ) I wish you luck, but those of us still looking at this forum who have moved back have a moral obligation to share our experiences with those thinking of making the move to help them with the full facts we may not have been aware of before our move. Bugbear....you're right, we are dead a very long time, but we're also alive a very long time too and being miserable with the life you are living can make it feel a lot, lot longer!!!!!!![Www]

Sweet 17, I wish you every happiness with your move. I hope it's everything you wish for and more and you're absolutely right, if you don't try you won't know. Logan - you sound like the Grim Reaper...only joking ( actually, I'm not!! ). You're also absolutely right and I know that some of the reasons we wanted to move away will rear their ugly heads again but we have the advantage now of living at the coast, close enough to see the sea from the house and 2 minutes from the coastal path in Torbay. We were previously living in the North West and, with absolutely no disrespect intended towards my fellow Northerners, we realised one of the reasons we moved to France was to get away from things which hopefully won't affect us here. It's too easy to get into the habit of complaining about this and that because it's been on the news or in the paper, and lose sight of the good stuff ( like carpets for example!! ) So, we're determined to enjoy what we've got here. As far as having the advantage of balancing the two experiences, I can already do that can't I? I had 43 years here and 2 years in France so am well able to compare the two and I'm back in the UK so I think that probably demonstrates which one suits me best. We made sure we left ourselves in a financial situation which enabled us to return too. Another year and we'd not have had enough left. I feel for the people who want to move back and just can't, due to finances. Believe it or not as we pulled into our new road on 1st March there was a car parked up with a department 16 ( Charente ) registration. I thought someone was 'having a larf'. It will still there 2 days later so I knocked on the house door. Briefly, couple in their 60's ( in Devon visiting her sister ) been living in St Claud, Roumazieres for 4 years, she hates it, house on market over a year with no interest. If they come back they can't afford to buy what they were living in before they left. She said the experience had aged her ten years and she had such a sad expression my heart went out to her and I realised how lucky I had been. If you love it it's a wonderful life, if you don't and can't get home how lost you must feel.

Just found this thread and read it......all 10 pages! Phew! Couldn't read it before as I was too busy unpacking..............yep, we've moved back to the UK after 2 years and I can honestly say I've felt more comfortable back here in the last 3 weeks than I've felt in the last 2 years. Why? Hard to define.  We're 45 with no children but UK based parents. Brothers in Spain. If I look at what I've done in the last 3 weeks the answer may be hidden amongst it: I've............... Walked to the corner shop, applied for jobs I've got a chance of getting, gone to the cinema, talked to the utilities and understood the answers, visited my parents in under 4 hours, got a good Indian Takeaway, stopped for a natter with my new neighbours ( who, incidentally within the first 2 days had sent 3 welcome cards and a bunch of flowers ), gone to my friends sons wedding,bought all the foods I'd forgotten I was missing, walked on the beach with my dogs, stopped worrying about what I'll do with my 22 year old cat when she eventually goes ( pet cemetery close by ), bought a paper for 40p on the day it's printed...........silly things really but all things that mean home to me. Why did I move to France..............I don't remember, two winters in SW France have addled my brain [:D]

[quote user="sweet 17"] vickybear may i pm you for his number and/or address, please? [/quote]   Hi there, I've sent you an email but just in case you don't get it his number is 0545 65 00 45 and I think he actually is M Vanden-Bulcke Dufour. He's the boss man anyway. You can go without appointment in the morning for innoculations but the afternoon is appointment only ( actually that may be the other way round so you'd best check ). They're all lovely and all try to speak English so with a smattering of French you get there, although M Dufour and another young male vet speak perfect English. Best vets I've ever been to ( despite pet passport confusion which I blame the husband for anyway!! )   Good luck.    

Our vet did all of the above and only charged one consultation fee. Amazingly the whole charge for 2 cats and 2 dogs was less than 70 euros. I'd gone in fully prepared for around 150 euros so it was a very pleasant surprise. He'd completed all 3 sections on the passport, ticks, worms and health check and he did carry out a good health check on all 4. This vet is M. Vanden Bulcke-Dufour based in Montemboeuf, Charente dept 16 ( just inside 16, not far from Dordogne!! )

Someone needs to get a representative from Defra to read this post!!    There is so much confusion and conflicting information out there and these animals are as important to us as our two legged family members. All I can say is that we're back. I stopped before I got to Le Havre and actually put my hands together to have a quick word with the Big One!!    AND I'd done enough research to write a book before I got there.  I actually left France a day before my husband just so I had time to turn round and come back and had organised a 7 month stay in our local kennels /cattery in SW France should it have been required, giving me time to get jabs / bloods and a 6 month wait out of the way. I am not a stupid person.....I'm normally quite bright [8-)] but this whole process was a confusing and conflicting nightmare from start to finish. I will never, ever take my pets out of the UK again.....just in case I DID get lucky last time! The 3 month rule is on the DEFRA site somewhere....you have to read everything, open all links....look at the info for Vets too. Then when you are totally confused and stressed, if you can....just leave the pet at home!! Anyway, it's a beautiful day here in Devon and we're off to the beach. Hope you are all having a lovely day too. Au revoir!  Ta ta!

No, you're not missing anything at all!!! The buyers ( husband ) told us that the money had been forward bought. Then they came back on to say that they would do a sterling transaction but at the rate they could get themselves that day, which was a reasonable rate for us ( only £800 less than we had originally hoped for ).  I have to be absolutely honest and say that when they offered this I chose not to ask too many questions about their forward buying ( actually I didn't ask any!!! ). I can only think that the deposit had been bought but not the balance. They were doing the French part through an English Traductrice who really wasn't very efficient so there's every chance she hadn't arranged the forward purchase after all. Either way, we said yes and that's what happened. For anyone not following all of this, the key is to agree your English price right at the start and before your purchasers start looking around for euros. We got very lucky managing to do this later in the pocess. ( mind you, looking at what happened to the euro by the time we completed there's every chance we could have got more sterling as the rate dropped but what we did get was peace of mind, a definite figure and more importantly a definite date to give to our UK solicitor for the completion of the purchase of our UK house ). If we'd had to exchange the euros we could not have set a definite date and would have been homeless with 4 pets for the time it took to exchange currency and complete the UK purchase. We sold in France on 28th February, our UK solicitor confirmed he had the funds, he completed our UK purchase the same day and we moved in on 1st March. If it's possible for you to do this and your circumstances are the same as ours I would recommend it. Not every case is the same. Hope this all makes sense?

Oops!!!  Sorry to offend....but you have to admit that a lot of posts on this forum are answered with  'I've heard' or 'I think'. A lot of posts are answered with absolutely excellent information and Will springs to mind as someone whom I have generally held in high regard for his answers over the last 2 years, Ron Avery too ( is he still around? ). The point I'm making really is that if you don't know your answer is absolutely correct it's safer to say nothing. I agonised for over a year between Declaration or Permis before a very nice Irish surveyor helped me out for some cash and a pint and during this time got a lot of conflicting advice on what I actually needed from this forum....some of which was obviously right, some absolutely wrong! We've moved back to the UK after admitting defeat. Our French was just not good enough and we were exhausted in the end trying to get through the red tape and paperwork and general difficulties of everyday life in a foreign land, beautiful as it was. Our poor house is sold and sitting empty until the new owners take their next 'break' after nearly 2 solid years of renovating it and turning it into a 'permanent' home. We've only just managed to keep on the housing ladder in the UK and have a lovely new home on the Devon coast ( I can even see the sea if I stand on tippy toes ) and we watch with horror the TV programmes of Brits planning to move abroad who are even less prepared and financially able than we were 2 years ago. For those of you it has worked for I say great, good for you. But for the Brits who are planning to move out to France in the near future I cannot say loud enough 'DO YOUR RESEARCH' and when you think you've done enough, do as much again.  It's not cheaper, the weather can be truly horrendous, if you can't speak French DON'T GO, paying your tax or even just your household bills can be almost impossible without the help of a French speaker ( particularly if you are elderly ) emails complaining about damaged goods you have had delivered will be ignored, and 2/3rds of Brits who move to France move back to the UK in the first 3 years. However, the air is clean, the sky sparkles at night like Xmas lights, the French  neighbours know how to be neighbours and the services ( France telecom, dechetterie, vets etc ) are truly exceptional!!! But tomorrow morning I'll be back on the beach with my dogs passing the time of day with the other dog walkers ( in English!), after which I may have a toasted tea cake or a dougnut.......or maybe just a quarter of mint humbugs.....it's the small things that count in the end!!!! Good luck to all who remain, all who have yet to arrive, and all who can say 'well at least I tried it!!'

Well, all I can say is that I was very, very relieved to go through and get on the boat. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs and one of the cats is 22!! I don't know what we've have done if she'd have been refused but I'd have turned round for sure. We hadn't planned to come back to the UK so the Passports were only really in the back of our minds. Our annual jabs and rabies booster dates differed so the poster who said they would be done at the same time was wrong in our case. When we had the annual jabs done the 'French' year was nearly up yet the French vet didn't mention this and we didn't know about the annual rabies booster at that time, relying just on the English re-vaccination date. When we discussed this with our French  ( well Dutch ) vet before our return he was adamant that the annual booster was not required. He actually said it was not required if they were staying in France either so I don't know if something was lost in translation there. One thing I would warn you all about tho.....I said we sailed through but that was not strictly true. In the Pet Passport at the front there is a section for your vet to write the actual date the microchip is inserted. One one of the four passports he hadn't done this. I had read a previous post recommending you carry all paperwork with you so I had a record of the day the chip was inserted, BUT they hadn't put the date on the record for the chipping. It was an adoption certificate for my rescue dog and the adoption was dated ( done same day as chip ). I told the check in at Le Harve it was the same day but she ummed and arrged and picked up the phone. At this point I mentioned 'Thierry' and it was like saying 'abracadabra'. Suddenly all was ok. She asked what he'd said, I said he'd said the passports were ok ( well, he did!!!! ) and she let us through. So please, please check everything in your passport os completed in full and ALWAYS carry your supporting paperwork, blood results, microchip certificates etc. LD lines were great, I visited the pets during the sailing, the ship is very nice too.

Having recently returned to live in the UK I would like to let you all know what ACTUALLY happens if your pet has lived in France for a year and a half without having a rabies booster........ From various postings on this forum I had understood that I could not take my pets back to the UK without starting the whole jab / blood test fiasco again as they had not had booster jabs after a year, despite their UK jabs being valid for 2 years until April 2007. Over and again posters said that the UK date is not valid and, as the pets are French resident they need a booster after a year. I talked to a vet at the Department of the Environment, two quarantine kennels, my french vet and a uk vet. I even spoke to Thierry the customer services Manager at LD lines who all assured me that the passports were valid to April 2007 even though the pets had been in France since May 2005 wihtout any boosters. Quaking at the thought of one or all of my FOUR animals being taken from me at Le Harve I went for it and 'sailed' through, no problem. Did I totally misunderstand the postings? I was informed by Eurotunnel in a seperate email that I did not have to prove residency and basically they weren't interested where I'd been or for how long so long as I'd been in a participating country and the UK jabs were valid for re-entry ( plus worms, ticks 24-48 hours bla bla ) So, for anyone else who is as confused as I was, use LD lines and if you get stuck...ask for Thierry or Fred!!!

Just to let you all know we have happily returned to the UK having completed our French sale in sterling. It could not have been easier. The French house was our primary residence so no CGT. The Notaire told us the figure he needed for fees and taxes and the purchasers paid this. We agreed an english price for the sale and an exchange rate for the Notaires money. This was between ourselves and the purchasers only. No-one else wanted to know the rate. The Notaire did not need to note it anywhere. The ONLY reason a second UK solicitor was used was for money laundering. It was easier for our buyers to use their usual local solicitor to take in Passports etc, however if our buyers had sent money laundering ID to our solicitor only one solicitor would have been required to handle the funds. Our solicitor received the Sterling from theirs, he called us to say it had arrived then we gave the Notaire the nod to complete the transfer. Simple, simple, simple. We knew what we were going to get and stopped worrying about the exchange rate. In addition, we had our sterling on the day we sold which saved us a further week of faffing about getting it changed back to sterling from euros. We did it, that's how we did it, anything anyone else says is wrong...........and on that note, those of you with animals and pet passports who have been told you can't use them unless you have annual boosters in France may want to visit my post in the Pets section where I am about to correct a million earlier posts regarding the cans and can'ts of this. I lost a lot of sleep due to the  mis information on both these subjects from posters who actually don't know the correct facts! Thank you though to those who do....and an even bigger thank you to those who don't and choose to say nowt!!  [;-)]

This just gets harder!! I now understand about the passport so thanks all for that. I've just noticed from the passport that the address on it is our old address. We are now 300 miles from where we used to live! I called DEFRA and was told I would need the Pet Passport changing by the vet who issued them......not possible as he needs to see our pet and check the microchip etc. As we've only recently moved my driving licence, bank cards etc are all at the old address. I'm thinking of just booking the Eurotunnel with all our old details. Can anyone see a loophole in this?  The last thing I need is to get there and find out that their computer somehow says something different to our details? I know I've now moved into panic mode but if my little darling ended up in quarantine they'd have to put a bed in there for me too. I have a passport, in date, can book with same address as poassport, will get treatments done in timescale, don't need hotel receipts!!  Can anyone see anywhere that I could slip up from their experiences with going through the tunnel??? For all amateur psychologists out there.....no, I don't have children......yes, the pet is my baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sweet 17......the sterling never comes to France. The notaire is not responsible for ensuring the money gets to us if we don't ask him to be. He is responsible for ensuring the French government get their tax and he gets his fees in euros. So what happens is the Notaire tells you what tax and fees he requires by completion day and you agree with your buyers a sterling sale price. They pay this to your UK solicitor, or to theirUK solicitor to forward on, if they prefer for safety. When your UK solicitor has the funds he tells you, then you tell the Notaire to complete the transfer of deeds. There may be a small additional cost to the UK solicitor for handling the funds, but not as much as you could risk generally with just a 1 cent move in the wrong direction. Not sure what happens if CGT is payable but I expect the Notaire can also tell you this amount and so long as he has it by completion day you can still do the sterling transfer. At least then from the day you sell you can rest easy knowing what you're actually going to get. Hope this clarifies.

Just so everyone knows....... Hubby went to see the Notaire. He said 'absolutely no problem' making the transaction in sterling. He is only interested in what he should receive for taxes etc in euros. He does not want to know what rate we agree with the purchasers. He does not need to speak to any English solicitor. Basically, he has told us what balance he requires by completion day in euros and is happy for the 4 of us to tell him when to complete the transaction i.e. after the sterling hits our solicitors bank. Great news if it wasn't for the fact that our purchasers are tied in to a forward purchase of euros at 1.45. If they want to come out of the deal the dealer will sell the euros on their behalf but I think he may struggle to get rid of them at 1.45 so we're stuck with a euro transaction. For all of you out there planning to sell your primary residence in France for a move back to the UK, agree a STERLING price with your purchasers if you wish. It can be done and you get your money, in sterling, on completion day without losing thousands of pounds due to exchange rate fluctuations like we have over the last few weeks. We bought at 1.41, if we're very lucky we'll be selling at around 1.50. Thats £17000 of our money down the pan!  

Thanks for the responses. There is no CGT. This was a primary residence and we have lost £6000 in the last week on currency rates so for us, it's not a trivial amount as we have to get back in to the Uk property market so every penny counts! Thank again.