LanguedocGal2

[quote user="Russethouse"] What about TNT http://www.tnt.com/country/fr_fr.html ? [/quote] I had dismissed the courier companies after seeing the rates of DHL  but  I will indeed review them all as I have a better idea of volume now. The post would have been so convenient (literally minutes walk from my home) had their rates been reasonable for my purposes.

[quote user="opas"] [quote user="Jc"]Why does every side-road SE of the town take you to Lattes whether you want to go there or not?[/quote] Our daughter wants to know why the trams have big multicoloured flowers on them. [/quote] Opas, the response to that will depend very much on your daughter’s age.  If she is under 12, tell her that it’s because the Emperor of Montpellier (also of the region but cares b ugge r all for the rest of the realm- leave that bit out), is a sweet and gentle giant who adores flowers and their perfume.  This gentle soul had a vision of his splendid capital being criss-crossed by the biggest and prettiest flowers imaginable. He then decided that the only way this could be achieved was to have them painted on a tram. If she is older…. Euh, I think I’ll not offer any explanations as the thread may be deleted… 

Oh well, I was over the moon for a few minutes. They really have to do something about opening LaPoste to real competition. Apparently Brussels is forcing them into this by 2009 and not soon enough in my opinion.

[quote user="Jc"]Why does every side-road SE of the town take you to Lattes whether you want to go there or not?[/quote] JC, you don’t get it, do you?  The urbanistes (planners) of Montpellier and Beziers are a breed apart. I think they have a set idea of where THEY want people to get to and they will get you there, come what may.  You simply don’t realise that you REALLY want to go there too[:D] Has anyone seen the Lacroix designs for the 3rd tramway trains?  Must have cost a packet but ‘’It’s Lacroix, darling, Lacroix’’ (To be read a la Edwina/Eddie). No doubt wrong thread but… Read that the extension of the Beziers-Vias airport runway is due to be completed Feb 20. So the airport is closed until then. However, still no news about which airlines (Unless anyone else has news on this). The article just says charter and low-cost. I'm personally hoping they'll have flights to places like Seville, Madrid, Lisbon, Oporto and not just the UK. At the moment, flights go to Ajaccio and Paris.

WOW! Thanks for this reference. I'd been looking for a cheaper alternative to La Poste (rip of merchants!) and so glad I saw this.

[quote user="RumziGal"] I think you made that up, 5-element.   Everyone knows that France has no traffic and a fast, efficient public transport system.   [:D] [/quote] Agree with you RumziGal. Think 5-E really meant to say that she was held up by beautiful wildlife, whilst crossing the lush green fields to get to the quaint shopping centre and buy some terroir paint.[:)]

If this link works then you will have a few addresses. http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/ciweb2g-pagesjaunes/RecherchePagesJaunes.do If not, do a page jaunes search for PEINTURE and then  look under PEINTURE POUR LE BATIMENT and choose PEINTURE ET VERNIS - detail www.pagesjaunes.fr. You will find a few and the nearest ones to your home.

[quote user="hastobe"] I guess it depends on what you're used to in the UK - for some that would be a pretty big drop in income - it's all relative.  I find these 'how much do I need to live on questions daft'  - what one persons idea of living well is another's idea of pergatory and vice versa.  It's an impossible question. Kathie [/quote] Of course, Hastobe. The comment that the amount was ''not a huge sum by UK Standards’’ was what I reacted to[;-)] Not very much for Sugarfree is one thing but in the UK is another. Of course, if you own an enormous house in Holland Park, Belgravia or Neuilly sur Seine with no mortgage, I expect that 4000 euros may just cover your basic charges and be pocket money.  I can't help thinking that the ''average'' UK resident could make a NET disposal income of £30000 per annum AFTER payment of mortgage/rent go quite far. But you’re right; the living cost guess work is a little daft. The original poster is moving to L-R and depending on the dept and location within the depts, costs vary enormously. The most expensive is dept 34 (Herault) and the cheapest probably being Lozere (48) as it’s a bit of a wilderness, even emptier than the Creuse (The Creuse has an unfortunate name hence the jokes[:)]) Once they have found a property they like, if the Estate Agent doesn't provide the Fonciere rate, they should get the Cadastre reference for the property and land and simply contact the relevant impot dept for that year's rates.  Habitation charges will depend on their earnings. The rest is personal circumstances.

[quote user="sugarfree"]   We will have no mortgage payments.  4,000 euros  a month is not a huge sum (by UK standards) but a lot of people in France manage to live very well on considerably less than that. [/quote] Sorry, but am I the only one who finds this statement a little odd?  4000 euros/ roughly £2500 a month in the UK without mortgage or rent to pay.  Personally, I think the average Brit would be delighted and live comfortably on that too.

[quote user="wen"]Very eloquent Dick...ever wondered why Shakespeares characters never spoke with regional accents though? No thats not a riddle, I really am curious.[blink][/quote] Good question! Even if Dick Smith  has given the official answer, I think the real reason is that the RSC, RADA and LAMDA got together and decided otherwise[;-)]

Anglo-Frenchman, now that I live here, I'm not sure that the high level of taxation is what makes the French health service and transport ,for example, more efficient than that of the UK. I now put the better performance in these two areas down to better organisation of the French system. The Health System in France contains a strong element of ''private'' health management built into it. Something rejected by the Brits.  In the UK, if you have private health insurance, you can access operations and treatments very quickly as in France.  Any govt that privatises it's national transport system needs its head examining in my opinion. France has always maintained a state controlled system and this cohesion has been beneficial. I think the organisation ,or lack of, of a number of public services in the UK has been the cause of much of the mess, not lower taxes. As has been discussed in other threads; not too sure about the pensions being streets ahead though. It's good you won't swap places (nor would I because I couldn't cope with anymore grey skies[:(]) but thousands of young French people are clearly not of your opinion.

[quote user="Gastines"] On a new business note.. In the Times yesterday,it said that since the easing of legislation last year? 322000 new business's had started up in France. Following a report that UK had a new high for Bankruptcy and companies going into liquidation, it can't be all bad over here. Regards. 5 mins St.Malo. [/quote] [:-))] Gastines, do you have a link to this article?  I have a lot of contacts with the Boutiques de Gestion and Cooperatives of my area, I'd like to show them this article. Should provide light comic relief all round.  Are you sure there isn't a typing error in the Times article? A link would be appreciated. I prefer to get my reports from the ground but should be fun to read. Edit: Did anyone say that it was all bad over here?

Jon, I have thought for years that Spanish should be the second language taught in UK schools. I know that economically, Mandarin will become important but I think the Chinese will master English quicker than the English speaking world will master Mandarin.  I remember back in the 80s how people were saying that Japanese was going to take over the world because of its economic impact at the time. I still strongly believe that English and Spanish will be the dominant world languages for a while.

[quote user="cooperlola"]  For us, life is great - no mortgate; don't have to work any more; can still afford holidays, decent cars etc - but for those living close to the poverty line it's not fun at all.  And it isn't any fun anywhere in the world to be poor, let's face it.[/quote] Exactly!  And for all those who wax lyrical about how life is cheap in rural France, remember Cooperlola's words. Your French neighbours many not see the disney land existence you describe. However, you may need to be able to really communicate with them to understand this.[:(]

[quote user="Patf"]Rumzigal and PG - that's a good point. When I was looking to buy a piano on ebay I went into several "middle class" homes in Bordeaux and Toulouse to look at a piano and as you say they were well equipped with materialistc goods, stylish furnishings etc. Quite an eye-opener after the homes of the local paysans. But we're glad to be out of city life with less material worries. Apart from vehicles, but that's another story. Pat. [/quote] Patf, if your paysans had the means and knowledge of the ‘’middle class’ people you came across, are you sure they would not have had the well-equipped homes? Often, people do not have things like computers, Dvds etc because they simply don’t know anything about them nor have the means. Offer to swap your home and lifestyle with your local 'paysans' and see how materialistic they really are.[:D]

Tout a fait! The paing and demaing sound very much like the accents here. I studied French and lived in the south and Paris but moving here has been interesting accentwise.  I have no problems with ''standard'' French and my ear has gradually tuned into the local accent. Mind you, some of the locals are a challenge to understand even now when they speak  really really fast. However, probably no harder to understand than the folks of Dudley during my one visit there many years ago.[:)] Where I am, there is also a relatively strong 'spanish-ish' influence on the accent for obvious reasons. I find it quite musical but really cannot 'afford' to pick it up. I don't know if this has been discussed on the forum before, but I wonder how others coped with the various regional accents?

I definitely poo-poo those stats still[:)]  Also, bearing in mind that they are for 2003 and the French economy started to take a nose dive from around 2002. Stats or not, we only have to look at the state of the French economy (through their own reports) over the last few years and the number of govt subsidised jobs (not talking about functionnaires) to see that incomes are really not that impressive. I'm nosey, I ask people to give me a rough figure of wages in the region and it's not good. I think the averages are always inflated by govts. Stats apart, Jules wants to know the level of taxation in France and I think he will be ill-advised to come here thinking that this was a low taxation country. Not sure if he has kids and will be getting govt subsidies but I really don't think that would be a good reason to move here. Let's not forget that the CAF revenues come from taxes too. Even Jon's calculations make depressing reading for a family of four. Jon, I think your comment on the spiritual well-being is interesting. I'm easy to please (believe it or not[:D]) and when I wake up in the morning, open my windows and have the sun streaming through my windows (300 plus days a year), I assure you that spiritually; I'm happy. However, I'm not sure how long this spiritual well-being would last if I didn't know how I was going to pay my bills and fund my very modest lifestyle. There is a lot of poverty in this country and people like Jules should be forewarned so their move here will be successful. Jules, perhaps you could contact the head office of the French inland revenue and get your personal circumstances assessed. In my experience, the Impot are about the most efficient public organisation in this country (unfortunately[:(]), and at HQ, there will probably be English speakers equipped to advise you. Don't move here using Britainshire lifestyles as representative of France. Brits downshift to France but the average French has very little to downshift to.

[quote user="Llwyncelyn"]How does his RH Prince Charles address HM The Queen?[/quote] Your Majesty, MaMaaaaaaaaaa Dearest.   Twinkle: I'm sure you're a genius.  Do you speak French with the local accent?  I 'm desperately trying to avoid picking up the local one here.

[quote user="mmaddock"] The last tax fonciere bill was 268 euros!  I dread to think what council tax would be anywhere in England for our house, a lot more than that for sure! Matt [/quote] You're no doubt right but the two countries are not really comparable on the fonciere issue either.  Laws of supply and demand mean that there are far more people chasing the little space/properties in the UK.  I think you need to find another western economy with the population and size of France in order to make a credible comparison to your taxe fonciere in relatively underpopulated Vienne.

Thanks SPG, I checked and, sadly, my guess for my region was within the range. I think a lot of people in the regions would love to earn anything near that average salary quoted by Matt though. Matt, seeing the name of your dept, I understand why a fairly low average salary may be fine. Sadly, a lot of people in France live on the SMIC or just above as has been well discussed on other threads. Also, from the description of your house, you would be paying far more than 800 in taxes in the more popular depts of the country. I live in a flat with no land and pay way more than a 1000 in fonciere alone. You can pay 130,000 euros for a house in one region and 500,000 for the same house in another and local taxes accordingly as in any other country.  Last year, there was a TV documentary on my dept in which they featured a family living in a villa near Montpellier.  Your property sounds much better than the one they lived in (though theirs wasn’t bad either[:)]).  The documentary team was shown the taxe fonciere bill for the villa.  It was just over 2000 euros in 2005/6 depending when the documentary was actually made. They didn’t even talk about their taxe d’habitation, impot sur le revenu, mutuels for the family and the rest.  So, as discussed on other threads, one has to compare like for like and though it’s obvious that some parts of France have lower local taxes, many of these dept also attract fewer businesses, hence high unemployment, fewer services and young people do not stay.  So, from my point of view, experience and those I know, France is a very very high tax country[:'(] but (my corner) very very sunny[:D].

Matt, it would be interesting to know what you consider a fairly ‘average income’’.  In this region, I get the impression the 'average income' must be in the region of 1000- 1500 euros per month (my guess only) before tax. I know a handful of researchers who earn a packet (for the region) but their earnings are hardly 'average' in these parts. Every French person I know thinks France is a high tax country and they don’t need comparison with other countries. It’s all about what they really have to spend at the end of the day and the cost of living.  In my personal experience, as someone who has worked independently in both countries, France is an EXTREMELY high taxation country.  The only cases I can think of where there might be less taxation in France is in relation to ‘’families’’ with young children but that is only a guess. Friends have told me that there are quite a lot of ‘allocations’ for people with children as well as tax breaks and this may explain the high birth rate. But forumers with children can confirm or disprove this. As others have mentioned, the complexities of the system does not help perceptions. I personally include the system of ‘’cotisations and mutuelles’’in the tax bracket ,as I would NI in the UK.  It’s about govt deductions to finance the state, so it’s all tax to me, irrespective of the pretty labels govts give them. Labelling a deduction as contribution to the national debt or solidarite, fonciere, habitations etc etc doesn’t change the fact that it’s a tax even if they are not necessarily part of the ‘impot sur le revenu’ bracket.  To encourage young start-ups, the new income related cotisations system would certainly be a plus but I agree with others that it will have to apply to existing small businesses too or I can imagine seeing a lot of small businesses closing down their old structures to restart again in order to benefit from the new system. Yet another bureaucratic mess would be created. Hope they have the foresight to avoid this.

[quote user="Lori"] Oh and the song is not aired on the radio in the U.S.A.  It is only available on the CD.   It is against Federal Communications Commission obscenity rules for any media outlet to broadcast the song.  The record companies love making this kind of stuff as it creates publicity and controversy.  That in turn sells CD's and that in turn makes MONEY! [/quote] Lori, I remember as a teen, as soon as the BBC banned a song, suddenly everyone seemed to own a copy or wanted to hear it. And this was the time of the formidable Mary Whitehouse. In fact, getting banned was probably the best thing that could happen to a record back then. Censorship is so much harder now with the internet but I suppose if the censors took the producers and record companies to task and ensured they lost that money, perhaps things could improve a little. Not an easy one though as the target audience (teenagers) is interested and the record companies know that. So, ruffled parents/adults are really not their main concern. Just to add that I have never heard the song in question but now know about it so I suppose the more irrate people are, the more publicity they get. It's win win for them.

[quote user="Pangur"]If the enumerators are confused about what is meant by nationality, it makes much more sense from an interviewing point of view to put English than British.   Then the statisticians can put all the English, Scottish and Welsh together as British in the final analysis.   This long drawn out process could so simply be avoided, but what would be the point? You can always put subgroups names together to make an overall group, but if you only collect the overall name, you can never split it out.    I understood that the French do not collect information on ethnic subgroups. I saw a programme recently where they looked at the pros and cons of the British system (as they often do) in this respect. It’s something about the republic not recognising ethnic differences. A good one that!  [:-))]  So, noting it in the first place is probably not terribly useful unless of course INSEE are being devious and secretly breaking the Republic’s rules.[;-)] To even suggest that INSEE wouldn't know how to classify a English person...honestly, I can't imagine it being a problem. You’re clearly right but extra work for nothing though.   Remember - census enumerators tend not to be professionals or officials - they are just doing a job for which they have received basic training.  Must be very basic but see your point. And in offices, again it makes much more sense for them to take down the lowest subgroup and have it coded up than have superiors complain that they actually want country of birth rather than nationality... But these would be different questions and usually are on French official forms (not just census): lieu de naissance / Nationalite. All I can see is a lot of work being created unnecessarily by not simply getting the Britannique in, in the first place. [/quote] Re the regional identities issue, of course, tribalism is everywhere. I know a few Spaniards working in LR who tend to refer to themselves as ‘’Catalan’’ first.  I also know a Basque in London who answers ‘’Basque country’’ when asked where she is from. One of my best friends from Brittany tends to say ‘’Bretonne’’ before French.  But with regards to ‘’nationality’’, they all say Spanish or French.

[quote user="RumziGal"][quote user="LanguedocGal2"] Perhaps a French person on the forum can explain? Does it come from the education system? [/quote] I'm not French, can I answer?  [:)] They do learn, very briefly, in school about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and its constituent parts. But as most UKers don't know the difference between UK and GB themselves, it would maybe be a bit much to expect French children to be in the least bit interested either.[/quote] I was not trying to make a comparison between the UK and France in terms of knowledge but simply interested in how this inability of officialdom to be corrected came from.  Gardian's comments regarding the reaction to them saying Britannique and the census fonctionnaires ignoring them and putting 'Anglais' rang true for me too. What the ordinary person in the street knows is one thing but I still think it's probably not asking too much for these professionals to get it right.  I don't know how the census papers are counted in France but can you imagine that on getting them together, they find 2000 marked ''Anglais'' and 1500 marked Britanniques.  What do they do? Chuck one lot or mark them as 'Other'?.  Who knows, perhaps there are really 800,000 Anglais and 550,000 Britanniques in France.[:D]. Edited:

[quote user="Jon"][quote user="LanguedocGal2"] I simply think it's strange as they never seem to make the same mistakes with Belgium, Spain and Swizerland. [/quote] Are you saying that the French make note on their multitudinous forms to the effect that one can be either Vlaams, Wallon or just plain Belgian depending on preference? How very accomodating of them. I can't say I'd noticed their making these clear distinctions. I shall have to pay more attention to news items about Belgium as and when they occur. [/quote] No Jon, I was talking bout Fonctionnaires and professionals such as Journalists for example talking about les Brits/Anglais. So, not surprised you've not noticed. On the census form in France I would expect them to put Suisse, Belge, Espagnol, Britannique as of course that would be correct and not Wallons ..., Catalans..., Suisse Romande... Anglais....  Surely, not that complicated.