Lou

Hi bertiebe the website is www.impots.gouv.fr I don't think you can download the forms until April or May, i.e. when they become available generally I can't find the link now anyway and I seem to remember last year that it was just on the front page. Lou

Last year we filled in our first tax return, I downloaded and printed off the relevant forms from the impots website and submitted them - no problems. Incidentally we hand-delivered them to the tax office and when we explained it was our first go, the guy on the desk opened it all up there and then to check everything was ok (it was!) Lou

We've just watched it too and agree with the comments, especially the astoundingly cheap house prices quoted and all those rose-tinted happy families in the market shots, "bet you don't miss Tesco" says the presenter - trying to tell us that supermarkets don't exist in France?? We too thought it interesting that no-one made any reference to where these people lived whilst in the UK. I did a very rough calculation of what it might have cost me to continue my job in the UK, rent a bed-sit and fly back here every weekend and decided that my SMIC job here would net me more money in my pocket at the end of the day than my £25k a year old job.  Obviously I'm lucky in that I can speak French and have found a job here, but even so the alternative of spending 50% of my wages on the commute would be ridiculous. Lou

It's also worth noting that if you have an address in France a lot of UK banks won't let you open new accounts, and some existing savings accounts won't let you change to a foreign address nor register for no tax as a non-resident (I know because we have one of these!). You do have the option of off-shore savings accounts too.  Lou Edit: also bear in mind that you would need to declare savings interest as a French tax payer and therefore more interest earned could equal more tax paid - thus potentially wiping out the extra percentage rate.

I work for a French estate agent, but was EXTREMELY lucky to get the job in that he happened to need someone bi-lingual about 2 months after we bought our house from him, and remembered me!  I work as a salaried secretary/receptionist and earn the SMIC - minimum wage of 8.27 euros an hour.  Colleagues who actually do the selling, work, as Will says, on a commission only basis, apying their own petrol and mobile phone bills etc, and spend a lot of their time anxiously hoping for that next client to turn up. One year on we probably sell 60% to Brits or other ex-pats, Dutch etc.  Possibly slightly worrying when the UK housing market looks ropey........ Lou

We've just been quoted a bit more than 4,500 euros for ours. EDIT our house is also smaller though - the quote is for a 4000 litre tank and filter bed approx 6 x 5 m Lou

I live in the Hautes-Pyrenees so am clearly biased!! But would recommend the Cirque de Gavarnie and the area around the lakes in the Massif de Neouvielle.  For the latter you can bivouac but not camp right up by the top lakes - in the summer you have to leave your car at the bottom lake and either hike up or take the special bus. Stunning views and lots of fresh air You can also walk up to the Pic du Midi rather then take the cable car (in the summer - though there's so little snow at the mo that you could probably walk up now too!) There are loads of paths all the way through and along the mountains - depends on your level of fitness etc Lou

We're in the process of sorting out the siting of our fosse too - my understanding is that you can have it more than 10 m away but if you do, you have to include a "bac a graisse" (sorry no French accents on this keyboard!) - a fat trap, to filter the kitchen water before it goes into the fosse.  The other thing we were told was that the longer your pipework from the house to the fosse, the more there is to block, go wrong etc etc! Our experience so far with the Syndicat d'assainissement has been very good...... Lou

We're not in 24 (further south in 65), but also didn't get a taxe fonciere bill but did get one for habitation - until the overdue reminder for the fonciere turned up a couple of weeks ago, with 10 percent added for late payment..........Went down to the Tresor Public and explained and they let me off the 10 percent - if I paid there and then! I would suggest you go and explain you haven't had a bill - my reasoning being that if you've had habitation, they know about you and somewhere there's an overdue account.  Someone we know was in a similar situation and only discovered they owed the fonciere when they were asked to get a declaration from the Tresor Public confirming they didn't owe any tax - and discovered they did! Lou

You may, as others have said, be able to include a clause for your UK house sale in the compromis, if the seller is in agreement (broadly speaking you can have anything in a compromis so long as all parties agree to it).  I work for a French estate agent and we have had this clause for buyers, BUT usually with one or two conditions - firstly, only if a named buyer is already in place, and also possibly with a time limit.  We had this clause in our own compromis when we bought our house in France. Lou

When I read the post saying "do not use chemical products in your stainless steel flue", I checked the one we have been using - and it specifically says it's ok to use for stainless steel flues.  Whichever chemical it is that you shouldn't use (can't remember what it's called!) corrodes the steel.  Lou

Sorry hope this isn't going to hijack this thread completely, it's sort of a similar situation. We have been living here for a year now and had E106s to register with CPAM last october, expiry dates of jan 2007.  However Newcastle later also sent me (but not my husband) another E106 to Jan 2008 (which I haven't sent on to CPAM) but I've been working in France now since Feb ( just got a permanent contract in Aug), my husband doesn't work.  I've rather been assuming that CPAM will know about my job because I'm paying contributions etc through my SS number from my salary, but is this in fact the case?  Do I need to specfically tell them, and can my husband tag onto my contributions once his E106 runs out in Jan? Thanks for any advice Lou

Hello The reports for environmental risks including earthquake etc are obligatory, but reports for all (I think) communes can be accessed FREE from the website www.prim.net Termite inspections are not obligatory in every department, eg not in mine, Hautes-Pyrenees - if the buyer wants one they have to pay for it. Lou

We flew from London to New York with Iceland Air in 2001 (not long before Sept 11th......) and had a two day stopover in Reykjavik - it was FANTASTIC! We stayed in a 4 star hotel (can't remember it's name now) close to the airport but it was also within walking distance of the centre, had a coach tour around the geysers, volcano etc etc and a free trip to a thermal swimming pool as well. The only thing I would suggest is if you can, do the stopover on the way back rather than outwards, we did it on the way out and found Iceland so relaxing, pollution free and beautifully clean and tidy that it was a bit of a culture shock to arrive in New York afterwards!! (though we also had a fantastic time there too!) Lou EDIT should also have said that we found Icelandair to be extremely efficient and very good value....

Simple solution - don't iron it!! I am proud to say I have never ironed bedding in my life....... I LOATHE ironing generally and life is way too short to iron pillowcases and duvet covers! Lou

After having read somewhere that the Pill was not reimboursed at all by the French Health Service, I was pleasantly surprised when we moved and I made my first trip to the doc to discover it was and to the tune of 100 percent no less!! Though maybe it depends which one you're taking........ my doc was very good and spent time looking up the exact equivalent of the one I'd been taking in the UK, so seemless transition. I have also wondered where the "luxury" bit comes in in terms of the VAT on hygiene products...... Have to say that going on the Pill didn't get rid of the all the PMT symptons but did make a huge difference Lou

I may be wrong but I thought "assister" did also mean to participate in/be present at/attend  - eg sporting events/fetes etc? But certainly there's a fairly distinct difference there for Depardieu Lou

In our part of France (Hautes-Pyrenees) we've found that people seem to switch to using "tu" quite quickly, eg the secretary at the Mairie and out next door neighbour after only a few meetings, but then I've found that here it's generally much less formal compared with when I lived in Paris (though that was 10+ years ago now).  I was certainly taught that the greeting "ca va" (sorry can't do accents on this computer!) was quite informal/slangy but everybody uses it here from the Maire to the Notaire. I always think that "on" is a bit like the english "one" in the sense that it conveys the meaning of more than one person but using singular forms of the verb, but much much less formal in French, very commomly used and very useful because usually the singular form of the verb is easier to remember than the "nous" form! Lou

Hi You might also (if you haven't done so already) want to check exactly what Credit Agricole's position would be - I work for an estate agents and have had clients doing similar things, but the bank may still take the UK mortgage into account on the debit side and not be keen to take a temporary rent into account on the credit side, if you see what I mean.  Though this might be academic depending on your general income anyway. Have you also considered a bridging loan ("pret relais" in French)?  Our local CA offers a 2 year deal which is not bad as far as I can tell. Lou

My French colleague greets me for the second, third etc time in a day simply with "Re" or even "re re" but no bonjour!  Other abbreviations I have picked up - "impec" for impeccable, "bon ap" for bon appetit or bon apres-midi.........................some days I feel all those years learning "proper" French at University were a bit of a waste of time.......... Lou PS all my colleagues say "bye bye" when taking their leave

Thanks Catalpa and Dick for putting my mind at rest!! Lou

Hi When we moved in last Oct we bought a TV from www.multe-pass.com and a cooker from www.actualis.com Price was much much better than Darty, But etc plus we found the ranges they offered better.  Delivery seemed to take forever though, think they both took 2-3 weeks. Lou

Dick, you have worried me!  We have 2 male cats, they are brothers, have always been together and are now coming up to 1 year old.  We had them both "done", and they seem happy enough with each other, cuddling up to sleep together and play-fighting in the garden - definitely only playing.  Are we storing up problems for ourselves later?? will one of them pack his bags and leave home, or be forced to by the other?? Sorry, I am hijacking the real thread....... Lou

No, no, it wasn't a lemon at all (honest...) Said friend a) still has the car and is perfectly happy with it and b) is still a friend!!!! Lou

PS to last post - conforming to stereotype here as dumb female knowing nothing about cars......my husband has just said we DID get the problem sorted, the man at the garage fixed it, something to do with the power steering relay which over-revs to compensate for low speeds - he adjusted it and voila it was ok.  I have no idea what this means!! Lou