lucky luke
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Posts posted by lucky luke
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Ah ..thanks for that. It was worth wondering!
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We already have one house in France which is our only residence and which we have owned since 2003. This home is in my name not in my husbands. We are planning to buy another house to to rent out and put this in my husband's name. Would this mean that should we come to sell in the future we would not be subject to Capital Gains Tax? Any thoughts and advice very welcome.
LL
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I'm not totally sure, but I think the passport must be at least three months valid from the date of departure. Best checking with UK passport office or trying the embassy in Paris
LL
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Angela,
If it's as good as your Vendee guide then it will be worth it. Your sacrifices will help thousands visiting or living in Northern France.
Thanks for the work!
LL
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Given the abundance of wine, beer, pate, rich foods and the like, has anyone any advice on managing long-term gout?! More importantly has anyone visited their French doctor with gout, what is the standard medication/treatment? Anything that surprised you or was contrary to UK advice? Any observations would be greatly welcomed.
Many thanks
LL
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Only piece of advice I'd offer is don't welcome all newcomers with open arms. We were delighted to make new french "friends" in the first week - they were chatty, pleasant and very helpful - but, for a variety of reasons, we have since spent four years trying to distance ourselves from them! Remain open, friendly and polite but don't rush to make friends with every neighbour you meet - retain the same judgement you have in England for France.
Hope this makes sense! Good luck with everything.
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Feral cats
in Pets
If you feed the cat regularly why not use an oral contraceptive - these can be slipped into her food and would save you the hassle of catching her.
LL
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I know this is a long shot, but is there anyone travelling from Nantes airport (on Ryanair flight from East Midlands) to the south Vendee (La Chataigneraie/Chantonnay/Fontenay) tomorrow (Thursday 18 January). I'm due to pick up my OH, but the car has broken down and I'm unsure as to whether it will be mended in time.
Please PM me if you can help.
Many thanks
LL
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If this is a UK tax will you have to pay on leaving France (to travel to England) or will the charge only apply when you are flying back to France from the UK?
LL
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My partner and I live separately because we decided that, even though hubby needed to do two more years work in the UK, it was better for our daughter to be in the French education system earlier rather than later. Hence I have been here 16 months on my own, while my OH is working in the UK. It's certainly worked out educationally - our daughter started school aged 7 and has settled in very well. I'm not sure it would have been as easy for her had she been 10 (which is how old she will be when my husband comes over permaently). Coming early not only boosted her French but also made it easier to say bye to friends and school in England. The separation has also helped us integrate - I have time to help at the school and as I'm the only one helping with French homework, it's improved my language as well. That said, it's not always easy and if we could have all come out together I would have preferred it.
LL
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I know that I could shop around for this, but I've exhausted the usual avenues with no results. Please can someone recommend where I can ge the best (if any) pet insurance. I have a dog and two cats and have struggled to find anyone who will give us any cover.
Many thanks
Luke
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Hi
Has anyone any experience of re-training or taking up further education in France - as an adult. I am 30 plus and would dearly love to go to art college. Has anyone ever tried this? Financially I am fairly secure, but I wonder if there is a cut off age for applying. Any advice, warnings, observations greatly welcomed.
Luke.
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Oh, I'm always polite, but I just worry that there is an undercurrent somewhere. Before you know it I may be dragged down! I just wanted to gauge if this was "normal" behaviour" or perhaps something more sinister.
LL
Ain't it hard to stumble
And land in some funny lagoon?
Ain't it hard to stumble
And land in some muddy lagoon?
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I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been in this situation, but I'm still unsure how to take it. We have lived here for two years and have integrated fairly successfully (kids at school, working, speak reasonable french, help in the community...the usual stuff), however there is still an element of doubt. Once or twice a week we will meet people we know locally (usually on their way home from the bar!) and they will insist on throwing English phrases at us, for example: "Good evening", "How are you" "hello" etc..Now some of the French kids do this at school, but because I do English lessons (volunarily) and because they are fairly young, I put it down to enthusuiasm or whatever, but the adults?!! Are these asides, which are said in the nicest possible way, just a general jokey acknowledgement that we're English or, as I suspect, are they taking the michael? Surely, I'm not the only one to experience this?
LL
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Thanks for the recommendation Jon, but can you please tell me where the halles in Fontenay are? I've visited teh Saturday market, but must be walking around blind!
Many thanks
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Hi Twinkle
My daughter - age 9- enjoys Sims, but one game that she (and I!) would recommend is Zoo Tycoon. Great if you like animals and very addictive and educational. You can build and manage your own zoo, find out about species and even introduce extinct animals.
Hope this helps.
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Hi there!
From our experience I wouldn't worry too much about which year group the children start in. More often than not, if it's a small school the classes will be made up of a range of ages, for example at our local school there are 6 kids in CE1 and 8 in CE2 and they are taught in the same room by one teacher. This means that the age range is from 7 to 9. When our daughter started school the introduction was gentle and geared to her understanding of French. As a result she has done some work (French, maths) from CE1 and other work (geography, science, history) from the CE2 class. We have found that the system is very adaptable to the needs of the individual child. I would try the children in the years suggested by the headteacher - it gives the teachers a chance to assess the children themselves and after a year you can make a decision with the teachers as to whether they will need to be kept back or not. I know any advice is subjective and everyone's experiences different - but so far we have been more than happy with the education system here.
Good luck with the move - I hope everything goes great.
Luke
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At my daughter's primary in France history is taught chronologically. She started with prehistoric man and so far this year has moved from the Greeks and Romans to Charlemagne and the Hundred Years War. The chronological approach has certainly helped her understand history better and has given her an insight into British history as well (Joan of Arc, Romans, Celts, Richard the Lionheart etc...) I'm fortunate in that she has always had a love of history and can understand things irrespective of where in the world they took place. Surely looking at history globally rather than from one country's perspective is the best approach. This doesn't mean that we ignore famous events, dates, figures in British, French history but see how they all fit in together. My only problem with the French approach so far is an inability to pronounce Vercingetorix!
New cat, domestic cats and kittens - advice please!
in Pets
Posted
Hi there
I'm hoping someone can offer us some advice or support really.
We have two cats - (brother and sister) who have had since birth and who are both neutered. They are now 14 months old. They are friendly and affectionate and get on very well with our labarador. Both cats are friendly with other cats in the local area and often "play" with them outside.
One of these outside cats swanned into the house about four weeks ago and won over the dog, male cat and the kids!! No mean feat really, but the cat has now had a litter of two kittens in the kitchen. We are committed to making the new cat welcome and will spay her when the time is right, we will also treat her two kittens and get the necessary injections etc...
I know all this has been a lot for our female cat to adjust to and at the moment she won't entertain being within three metres of the new cat - she will hiss and raise her hackles at her and hiss when she hears the kittens crying. What I would like to know is, will our female get used to the new cat? Will she harm the kittens (at present the two exisiting cats are sleeping in a different room to the new mum and kittens)? and Does anyone have any advice as to how to help with this transition period?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated - I wouldn't mind but I've always been a "dog" person!!
Regards
LL