LanguedocGal2

[quote user="Just Katie "] Is it me or does anyone else feel RG and LG seem uncannily alike??[blink]. I wonder if LG cooks rice in her garden?[blink] [/quote] If I had a garden, I'd give it a go but cooking is not my forte so we'll leave that.  We've already decided we are Sun Sisters on another thread.[:D] On the same basis, before joining this forum, I thought exactly the same thing about 90% of those posting here[:D]. It was quite a breath of fresh air for me to come across certain posters. I thought most of you lot were on the pay of the French govt tourism propaganda machine[6] Jon, I understand what you say, but what a lot people seem to enjoy missing in my posts is the fact I am happy here and I have said that on numerous occasions. I just hate the idea of people moving here, hearing all that 'theme park' nonsense about France all the time because it's false. If you speak French and are a news junkie, then you know that. 5-E has also said she is happy here. Living in rural France doesn't mean that you are happier or more fulfilled than the rest of us. We all have our positions and are entitled to them as much as the 'everything is perfect' mob.

[quote user="Cerise"] RG - Jack Nicholson lives there innit.[:)] He's rich - maybe France would suit him better than Eastwick[6] [/quote] No way, Cerise! Once the Tresorerie de la Republique get their hands on his pognon, he'll probably do a Johnny. He's much better off with us in Eastwick on the Med, which is an independant pays de trouble-fetes, it would seem.[:D]

[quote user="Just Katie "] Come and join me on my threads BB! I must say, I am a little intrigued by the statements from the "Witches of Eastwick" ([:)]) and the things they hear.  Am I correct in assuming that the "Happy Clappers" amongst us would be heartbroken if we knew what "they" really, really thought of us? Or shouldn't I ask?[Www] [/quote] Don't forget that the French (generalisation I know but you know what I mean, no doubt) are not as tolerant as the Brits about differences. So JK, I definitely think you shouldn't ask. Not much of it would keep you happy and clappy, unless you drown yourself eternally in the red/white stuff.[6]. From a happy resident of Eastwick on the Med. Grey today but the sun is just around the corner [:D]

[quote user="Bugbear"][quote user="LanguedocGal2"] Bugbear, should we talk about beautiful BMW bikes or pretty landscapes on every thread? Aren’t there threads for that?  This thread is about why people stay in France and so everything about being in France is surely relevant.  There are so many happy clappy threads on this forum, why not simply stay with those?  [/quote] Sorry, I thought that this thread sought all views on "Why do we stay in France". I didn't realise it was only for people who aren't happy in France. Agree but perhaps you should re-read your previous post about whingers going back to the UK and negative Brits. I'll go and find a 'happy clappy' thread instead...................................[Www] Think you'll be spoilt for choice[:-))] [/quote]

Hello Mrs Riff Raff Disappointed you are not really riff-raffs, thought I had found some kindred spirits.[:D] Good luck to you all in your venture. Reassured that you are getting proper professional advice. Once you get here, do not hesitate to let off steam on the forum - shows you're human in my books. Bonne chance.

Bugbear, should we talk about beautiful BMW bikes or pretty landscapes on every thread? Aren’t there threads for that?  This thread is about why people stay in France and so everything about being in France is surely relevant.  There are so many happy clappy threads on this forum, why not simply stay with those?  RH, glad you took Gastines up on his comment about the Doctor’s  appointment. It’s the kind of nonsense that’s put out and people think the system throughout the whole country works that way. On another thread, he never replied to my request for his source on his figures for the amount of businesses created in France last year and it turned out he inflated the figures (322000 instead of 22000 of which 86% were individuals setting up alone). Perhaps it was a typing error (then say so) but how useful is that kind of misinfo to anyone thinking of moving here?  Gastines, I am happy here, just not blind! Cassis, I totally agree with you. RumziGal, your experience is the same as many a French person too and as we all know, many have gone to the UK to get jobs. TU, I wouldn’t dare post everything I hear. It keeps me amused. However, that’s not to say that I think those saying them are always 100% right.  It’s often just too close to home to dismiss. The comments made to me at this party about the rural Brits and their drinking habits just made me think that perhaps the rose tinted specs worn by a lot of Brit immigrants were aided by a more than generous helping of the Rosé stuff. [8-)].To be honest, it was not the first time I had heard it.

[quote user="beryl"] Please don't be offended because I have named certain names, there may be others but these are the ones that spring to mind  and I am not having a personal attack just making observations.  It certainly seems that Rumzigal, Teamed Up and Languedoc Girl et al have a good deal of experience of life in France, but I don't think even with all their experiences that they speak for the majority of people on this forum. That they have apparently experienced life at the 'sharp end', have lived in France for an eon or can speak fluent French, doesn't make every one else's experiences less valid ( and I know that they haven't said that is the case either)  I love reading the perspectives of all people on this forum from the "done it, seen it, bought the tee shirt" brigade to the holiday home owners to those that have yet to make the move.  It is good to get opinions from all side but not every one will be able to identify with other peoples perspectives and I would suggest that a lot of people that contribute to the forum are generally happy with their lot in France. So they may be retired or gite owners or whatever, but they are generally happy. I would further suggest, that for whatever reason, the opinions of the aforementioned are equally as valid as anybody elses but the majority will not be able to relate to all of them, all of the time.[:)] [/quote] Beryl, I’m not in the slightest bit offended. Regarding the views of people on the forum, it's clear that people like myself  (plus a handful of others) are the minorities on the forum.  I decided to contribute simply because I grew tired of reading the very one sided view of France that so many Brits moving into their little enclaves here put out and have been doing for years. If I lived in Spain or Italy or any other country, I would do the same thing. I’m aware that a lot of people may find my contributions hard to swallow but that’s life.  Recently, I met a local chap whose organisation works within the construction/renovation/restoration field throughout France . It was a party and very relaxed and so on realising later in the evening that I was from the UK and that I was not your ‘usual’ Brit, he asked me why so many Brits living in their isolated homes drink so much?  I will not go into the gory details but in short, he said that often when they arrive at a house, even quite early in the mornings, they notice that the owners had already started on the alcohol and, at times, they are even offered beer and other alcohol on arrival. This chap and his colleagues are no teetotallers by any stretch of the imagination but after years of working around the country, this was an aspect of the British immigrants that puzzled him and his colleagues. This often happens when you can really converse with locals. They reveal things about the British immigrants that they would not of course discuss with their clients or those they meet daily on a ‘bonjour, comment ca va?’ basis. Let’s face it, how often do people in the UK have deep conversations with foreigners who don’t speak English well? You say hello, goodbye and how are you. It’s the same everywhere. What he seemed to be implying very politely was that many Brits in rural France are bored and are full blown or borderline alcoholics.  This is only his and his colleagues opinion and he was not being malicious or saying that all Brits in rural France were alcoholics but after over 20 years in his line of work, it was such a common occurrence that he wanted to talk about it. I have no idea if he is right or wrong but he felt strongly enough about it to want to discuss it. Ironically, the reason this came up was because he was shocked to learn that a Brit could be a teetotaller. He had never met one of these creatures before. [:D] However, he did also say that the Brits renovated their homes beautifully. A high level of integration often means that you hear about the messy issues the glossy French lifestyle mags don’t really like to dwell on.  I know that many Brits (including myself) are happy in France and there are tons of glossy mags and TV programmes to prove it so a few alternatives views shouldn't bother anyone. I could of course keep my big mouth shut and I’m sure that there are many within the French lifestyle lot that would prefer that the minorities such as myself and a few other contributors here did just that. 

Thanks for those links Crevette, I’ve just emailed them to my friend in Paris. Should make him happy to see the ''anglo-saxons'' are now talking about a decrease in France.     Like you he pays silly rent for a small place in the 15ardt and would prefer to buy. He has been monitoring the market for a few years and I have to say that a lot of the French articles he has emailed me had predicted doom and gloom initially for 2005 and then for 2006 but the crash still hasn’t happened. Good to see you have more scale to negotiate though but surely that will also depend on the suburb. How much negotiating can you do on a property in St Germaine-en-laye or Neuilly, I wonder? Your first post was rather vague. It wasn’t clear whether you were looking to buy to live in, a holiday home or an investment property and in which region. From a British perspective, I think certain regions of France will always be reasonable  but it depends too on what the property is destined for. If someone pays 250K for a property and prices fall, what is the big deal if that person has purchased it to live in?  Can’t say I’d care a jot if someone told me that my home had dropped in value, I’m living in it so that’s that.  Of course, it's different if it's an investment property. The one big difference between the British and French markets that is not mentioned in the articles is that it's really not uncommon for the French to sit on a property for years until they get the price they want.  Someone I know, simply rented out his place when he failed to get what he wanted after a couple of years of trying to get his exhorbitant asking price. It's a completely different approach to property than that of the UK. Like my friend in Paris, it sounds as if you need somewhere to live. As a local resident, you know your area and so are clearly the best judge. Good luck!

[quote user="pcwhizz"] Go with your gut reaction, life is not about money. [/quote] Especially if you have enough to live on[:D]

Rob, are you talking about buying in France and/or the UK?  I can’t speak for the UK, as I don’t have a foot in both countries. Mine are firmly in Languedoc for the time being.  Re France In your assessment, you do not appear to have taken regional variations into account. If the French economy doesn’t pick up, it’s possible that more and more young people will continue to flee the rural areas in search of work hence increasing demand in towns but an even greater surplus in rural areas.  Also, projections show –irrespective of the state of the economy – that certain regions will continue to have a dearth of good affordable housing in the years to come due to their popularity. Fnaim and others have been issuing contradictory reports for well over a year and a half. I know because I have a friend in Paris who has been waiting for the famous crash to buy but, in the meantime, prices have simply continued to increase in the popular areas even if there has been a decrease in the rate of that increase. He has been sending me these contradictory articles for over a year and I had to tell him to stop and decide to buy or belt-up (I’m a very gentle friend[:-))]). He was only trying to convince himself and wasting a fortune on rent in the meantime.  I would also take the fantastic pre-election promises re new builds for social housing with a bucket of salt. These things will need to be financed by a stronger economy. Very little detail in the election bla bla about how they are going to achieve this. In terms of passing new laws to force landlords to rent, this being France, they will soon after pass another law to mitigate the first as none of the landlords will pay any attention and it won’t make a blinding difference. You may not know this but there are already sooo many incentives for landlords to rent their empty properties in the worst hit regions. Around me, there are fabulous apparts (80-160 sq metres) empty or barely used and despite the municipality’s attempts, landlords do not like the red tape and so do not rent out. The solution may be to liberalise the market but can't see them having the nerve to do that. So, they will pass even more pointless laws. This country is too vast and diverse. The little I know about the French housing market, I believe that your research should be more region-specific. The generalisations may work in the UK (perhaps) but not convinced it can be applied to France due to the different social factors and home ownership patterns. So, if you are considering buying in France, it’s probably a good idea to take your chapeau melon off before you decide on how to invest your no doubt hard earned cash. Just a few thoughts.

Hi Be very careful here. In my experience, if you register a business in France, then that business becomes an entity immediately and you start paying cotisations. Perhaps there is a way around this but I don’t know how that could be done. Your Chamber of Commerce should be able to advise you too. If you are thinking of protecting the name, I would suggest the following but I stress that I’m not an expert. Experience based only. 1)      Reserve the domain names as .com, fr, co.uk or anything else you can think of, if you haven't already. It's cheap to do this. 2)      Contact: www.inpi.fr . This organisation deals with the protection of trademarks, copyright, intellectual property etc and there should be a local office near you.  Their protection covers France. Also look at: http://www.euridile.com/weur2/init.ow?WRNCSRV2=0709440186324756 to see if the name of your company is already registered. INPI should be able to advise you fully. 3)      If you want European protection, the office is in Alicante and Worldwide in Geneva.  If you need the Alicante and Geneva details, post again and I’ll find them. The information is available via INPI though.  If you find a way to do this without incurring cotisations, please let us know

        I had to think seriously about this one. 1)      To be close to the UK for family. 2)      The excellent (for me) weather of my chosen region. 3)      Fluency in the language enabling me to integrate to an extent where I consider having a full social life. People in this region are quite insular and ‘’real’’ integration passes through the capacity to fully communicate with them. In areas such as Paris or PACA, lack of fluency may not pose the same problems due to the international nature of the regions. 4)      Proximity to Spain where I would really prefer to be but my Spanish is only average and my Catalan is appalling.  I’m working hard on my Spanish and perhaps at some point in the future I may reach a level enabling me to move permanently across the border.             So, perhaps what is keeping me in France is the lovely weather of the region and proximity to Spain.[8-)]

[quote user="riff_raff"] things but you can only ask the same questions so many times to each other and thats is why we have come on here. [/quote] This is not targeted specifically at you but a lot of people who write into this forum, saying that they are moving to France for a ‘’better life’’. These same people then go on to ask the most BASIC questions about the country. When I read these questions, I always wonder how anyone can declare they will have a ‘better life’ in a foreign country when they know SOD ALL about the country and its systems? I’m sorry but I do not consider years of going somewhere on holiday as a good basis for deciding that that country and systems can offer you a ‘better’ way of life. A cheaper house, better weather, better beaches maybe, but not necessarily a better life for one’s family with all the variables that it entails. When you move here, you may have a great life and everything could work out for you but the whole experience could also be a disaster.  You will never know until you try it You should not only be asking these questions to each other (I’m assuming you are talking about your partners), France is a country with very complicaed systems. You should start by contacting national and local organisations that deal with your area of work, the French education authorites etc etc. Surely, that’s where any intelligent research should start and for it to be complemented by people’s experiences on forums or elsewhere.  What is the name of the organisation in France governing your sector? This is France so there are bound to be at least ten for starters[:)] How many official French organisations have you been in touch with since you decided to move here?  This question goes to you and anyone else planning to move to another country. If I decided to move to Sweden (it will never happen as too cold), my first point of contact would be the Swedish national and local (to my chosen area) authorities to advise me on taxation, schooling, health contributions etc etc. Surely, that’s only sensible? I simply wish that some of the thousands of people who return to the UK every year after their search for ‘better life’ abroad (not just France) would contribute to forums as they could offer invaluable advice. I personally know a few but sadly, none of them are interested in dwelling on ‘issues’ that made them return to the UK. I sincerely wish you lots of luck Riff-Raff and like others have done, I'd stress that you should have a very healthy bank balance after you have bought your home because even if you do not need to spend a fortune on renovations, you will need it to live on before your business starts making a profit. On a personal level, I enjoy myself here but I spent years researching everything and I am also fluent but none of these have prevented all pitfalls.  I chose to live in France of the 21st century and not the one that resembles the UK of the 1950s (whatever that was) as so many people seem to crave when they move to rural France. Whether you choose to live in time-warp or modern France, you will need to know all about the modern systems if you are to run any business. Otherwise, wait until you retire as the retired ‘’appear’’ to be the most successful UK immigrants here.  

Nice to see photos of our little 'coin' de France. I may post  a few one day. Perhaps of Collioure and Beziers as you don't have many on your site. The pretty and not so pretty areas for some balance. Mind you, in the sun, even the ugly streets have a tendency to look quite lovely too.

Fab! Fab! Fab Think she won a grammy for her role and well deserved.

[quote user="Jc"]It's the bit between Nimes & Perpignan that I'm interested in.I can't see them upgrading this bit of line;too many corners(bends).[/quote] Nothing  I have ever read on this project has mentioned difficulties with the terrain but you no doubt have. The budget has to be agreed in Paris and let's face it, the regional leader does have a tendency to get on the nerves of the suits in Paris. At this rate, the Marseille-Nice line will get all the money it needs and be completed first. The terrain on that side doesn't appear to be an easy one either. I just consider LR fortunate to be well-served by the network despite this little blip on the line. EDIT: Peter, just seen your post. Thanks for the info.

[quote user="Dick Smith"]It certainly brings back memories of how much better BB is to look at than to listen to! [/quote] Sorry Dick, I had intended to add that people accessing the site should turn their speakers off but forgot. [:)]

A French friend emailed this link to me. Not too sure why but thought it may bring back memories for the 60s ados on the forum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9QG8RnL5n4  

[quote user="Jc"]Where is the new TGV line going to run?;it's funny to see TGV's go thro' our village station at about 50/60 mph.One even stopped for a few minutes due to a lineside fire.[/quote] JC, there are regular reports on the lines progress in the local and regional press. However, here are two links.  The LGV/TGV are the same things. http://www.aquitaine.equipement.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/LGV_FranceEspagne2004_cle6b938f.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGV_Perpignan-Figueras If you are in Dept 66, there are bound to be more detailed plans you can see. Contact the Mairie. It's such an enormous project for the region that there must be tons of information on it locally. Also, keep an eye on the Perpignan official websites (town and agglomeration). If I come across any detailed plans, I'll post it here. It will put Perpignan at 50 minutes from Barcelona.  On the Spanish side, you can see that the fast link is being completed between Barcelona and Madrid. This will mean that from Languedoc to Sevilla, the journey should be very easy by train as the Madrid-Sevilla fast link has existed for years. The weak link in this amazing network is the bit between Nimes and Perpginan. The TGV's are there already but cannot travel at the full speed until this section is upgraded. The region has fought hard for this but only the Perpignan section is under construction.

5-E, I said guaranteed space, not sun. You've just ruined my very very cunning plan to divert attention from the more popular bits. We can now officially blame you for the future over-population of the dept and ALL the ensuing problems. Hope you  can live with that.[:-))]

L-R is so popular that I’ve seen figures of a population increase of 800,000 within the next 10 years. If the predictions are on target, that's a hell of a lot of extra people to cater for in such a short period of time. Montpellier’s frenzied development is thus a necessary evil. The region needs a major capital and that’s what Freche has achieved (let’s give credit where it’s due even if I think it’s about time he retires to a plage ou deux). Like 5-E, the lack of greenery and the traffic, has made the smaller towns of Languedoc more appealing.  As most are well served by train and buses, getting to Montpellier is never a problem so one can take it or leave it. The region, on the other hand, can but benefit  from its attraction to the young and it’s strong university/research culture. Montpellier’s development is already having some positive knock-on effect on the smaller towns such as Nimes and Beziers.  Being a poor region – due to it’s traditional industry disappearing at a rapid pace – it’s vital these towns -  Perpignan, Nimes, Beziers and Narbonne -  also develop to take the pressure off Montpellier.  The TGV extension between Perpignan and Barcelona should have a positive – jobs wise – impact on Perpignan in the long run, so the region can have important commercial centres on it’s western and eastern borders. That would be a good balance beneficial to the whole of L-R. I do, however, feel a little sorry for people who moved out to small neighbouring towns/villages over the past decade hoping to escape to the calm and a little countryside. Sadly for them, Montpellier is very quickly catching up with most and many are becoming part of the capital whether they like it or not, for example, Castelnau. How can a commune with a population of  around 15000 people, so close to the centre of MTP, continue to justify a separate Mairie and administrative machine? Doesn’t Freche have a cunning plan (temporarily thwarted) to have the MTP agglomeration extend as far as Sete? I suppose that those looking for guaranteed space had better start looking at parts of the Aude and Lozere.

[quote user="RumziGal"][quote user="LanguedocGal2"]  It would completely freak me out if I woke up and saw those landscapes on opening my windows, [/quote] Yes, it would make me want to throw up.   Are we twins?   [/quote]  Good Question!  The Sun Sisters? On the phone to dear old Mamaaaa, as I write….. Pandora’s box – open….comes to mind. Freaky! [:D]  

[quote user="Mpprh"]Hi I've edited the link. It should be working now. Peter [/quote] Peter, saw the scary pix.  Was it taken near your home and how long did the horrid thing hang around for? I’m assuming that you are in the Gard, so I’m a little reassured. [8-)]

[quote user="Mpprh"][quote user="Pads"][8-)] yes peter its snow ....................... you OK?[/quote] We haven't had snow in my part of Languedoc since 2002. Last snow here : http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/photos/languedoc-photo-026.htm I know people say it is pretty etc etc etc. I used to live in Sweden. The prettiness wears off after the first 6 months ? Peter [/quote] Yuk! Hate the stuff too.  Looks good in photos though as in the winter shots thread. It would completely freak me out if I woke up and saw those landscapes on opening my windows, as that would imply hibernation. Would have to move further south[:(]. Peter, I can't get your links to work.

Good point, RH!  I need to take a whole new approach to this important issue. Can't bank on liberalisation making LaPoste reasonable any day soon. [:(]