ValW

Blanche whatsit You're on the forum for France Magazine have you not bothered to read the magazine.  It's not my idea to live the good life whilst doing up a wreck and living in a yurt - it's already being done by Maylin Tan & Keith Bishop-Bourne I've just stolen the idea Val thingy!

Hi Lilly Forgot to tell you what a YURT is - sorry. It's a traditional Mongolian structure.  It's circular in design, the walls are made from a wooden framework and the roof is made from wooden poles.  Once the basic structure is erected it is covered in thick wool padding and then on top of that a canvas cover is fitted.  It has windows and a proper wooden door and although is basically a glorified tent it is very robust, very insulated and very comfortable.  (Mongolian winters can be very harsh).  Once erected they will last for years.  They can be fitted with a wooden floor and heated with a wood burning stove. Some of the ones we have found on the internet are really snazzy with complete kitchens, bathrooms, proper bedrooms etc and really fired our imagination.  According to the article in France Mag because they are not classed as permanent structures they don't require planning permission, but this is obviously something we would discuss with our local Mairie once we have found our property.  We anticipate it being far more comfortable than a mobile home would be.

Hi Lilly We obviously realise that it's all going to take time to build up relationships.  The intention is to live rurallly and I believe that it's therefore very important to try and build those relationships with your neighbours.  You never know what situations may arise when you need a friend close at hand.  We don't intend to rely on bartering, I was just curious Miss - honest! We also realise we will have to contribute to the health system and make provision for pensions etc but as I mentioned in one of my previous posts I run a small web based craft supplies business here in the UK which my daughter will take over when we finally do leave.  I doubt it will ever make me rich but it does quite nicely and hopefully will continue to grow. We have a couple of other ideas which we believe will bring in revenue but I'm not going into that now.  We are also very flexible and are quite prepared to change our original intentions if necessary  the only thing that is set in stone is that we will live a very simple life.  The stresses of UK living have taken their toll and before they get out of hand we are going to jump ship! Your friend in IT, has he thought about satellite internet.  I actually found a link on this site for a company that charges £50 a month for it (installation costs were about £1000 I think) and I believe that you would also be able to use a phone through it.  Unfortunately can't remember who it is was but you should be able to find it.  This is my hubby's plan and over the last couple of years he's been keeping an eye on the people who provide satellite internet and their prices are really dropping - which can only be good news. We haven't been put off by the negative comments, we appreciate all the pitfalls (well perhaps not all), we are not afraid of hard work and we are definitely going to go for it.  You only live once and when something happens to bring you mortality to the fore it definitely makes you put things in perspective and to go and follow your dreams not matter what!   PS. Please try harder with the grammer or I will have to set you some lines!!!

Thank you.  You've hit the nail on the head.  I fully appreciate it will take time, it was only watching the 'No Going Back' programme on TV last night that made me wonder if skills could be exchanged for mutual benefit so thought I'd ask the question. We will definitely be doing the move.  We've put it off for too long now and a spate of ill health for both of us has made us realise that there is never going to be the right time and to just take the bull by the horns and go for it.

OK, I’ll just stick to hay and eggs so thanks for that Jon as it was the kind of answer I was looking for.    I think I went into too much information on my husband’s skills.  It is not our intention for him to work at all, his initial main occupation will be renovating the property (aided and abetted by me) and my UK business will provide our income.  When renovations are complete we have several (legitimate) ideas of ways to generate an income, not least using his IT skills.  It is most definitely not our intention to go touting his skills in order to produce an illegal income.   If helping a neighbour with his DIY work in exchange for him reciprocating in some way is going to be akin to walking in a minefield then we will avoid it.  But it does seem a shame that we are unable to help each other without it becoming an issue.   Just to clarify – we wouldn’t do anything illegal, or potentially dangerous, we wouldn’t want to annoy any legitimate worker or the Taxman nor would we be silly enough to rely on bartering as a major factor in our new lifestyle.  We do actually respect the law, both in the UK and France, no matter how beaureacratic or silly it may appear sometimes.   Our intention is to live a very simple, self sufficient life.  We intend to grow our own food, use renewable energy and live a green, stress free lifestyle as is possible in a country we fell in love with in 1992.   We are not rich by any means but we will have enough to live the aforementioned simple lifestyle.  The original questions were put as mere ponderings, just small ways of potentially easing the cash flow.

Hi Viv I obviously realise that we will need to pay taxes and have every intention of doing so.  I run a small craft supplies business which I intend to leave in the capable hands of my daughter. I will be taking some revenue from that on an ongoing basis and will need to pop back to the UK several times a year in order to attend shows.  Although I haven't got my head totally around the tax situation I am aware that I will need to declare my earnings both in the UK and France.  I am not trying to dodge my responsibilites just trying to eke out our income in the most sensible and economic way possible and we just wondered if we would be able to sell any excess produce to generate a few extra cents. The reason I ask about bartering is that we watched a programme on TV last night 'No Going Back' and although the family concered were living in Spain they were bartering skills with their neighbours so we just wondered if similar experiences existed in France. And as for doing up a wreck.  We are aware of the cost implications but view it as a long term project.  We are definitely not in any hurry.  Looking at the articicle in French Mag, Maylin Tan & Keith Bishop-Bourne have already been at the project for 3 years and only recently started work on their derilict buildings - that suits me!

This is my first time posting so please forgive me if I've put it in the wrong forum. After years of dreaming and planning we are finally hoping to make the move next year based in part on Maylin Tan & Keith Bishop-Bourne's inspired idea of living in a yurt whilst doing up a derelict property. (France mag August edition).  We are going to unashamedly pinch their idea and this will then allow us to do up the property (once we've found it) at our leisure yet still be able to live in comfort (never fancied a caravan!).  The intention is to live a very simple self sustaining lifestyle. There are a couple of things I'm curious about and I'm hoping someone may be able to help: Is bartering still alive and well in France.  We intend to make our money go a very long way but I am fortunate in having a husband who is multi talented and can turn his hand to loads of different things. We are in our forties but during his working life he's been an electrician, gas fitter, plumber, HVAC engingeer, car mechanic/electrics, HGV fitter and at the moment is an IT Consultant and that doesn't include all the hobbies (DIY, gardening, and so on) - told you he was multi talented. So we are  hoping to trade off his skills against things he can't do or more likely items we require but don't want to pay money for.  In the UK it seems that for everything you want or need money has to change hands so do we have our heads in the clouds thinking that we may be able to barter and hang on to our cash. (Oh he also worked as a cable car engineer but that's another story!) Also (and I have read several threads on this but not really found the answer I was looking for), if we take any surplus produce (fruit, veg, eggs etc) to market and set up behind a few crates and one of those 1960's folding picnic chairs will we require a licence and if so what would the estimated cost of said licence be and can anyone give me any idea of what, if anything, we would need to pay for the pitch.  It's not unusual to visit rural markets and find the odd farmer's wife sitting selling her produce and I can't believe she would make much profit on a few boxes of beans or peaches. Hope you managed to reach the end of this novel before falling asleep - many thanks!