heidi h

I am so fed up with all the brit bashing that goes on in France. I am moving back to the UK next week for the simple reason that after 3 years I miss it. Shock horror I hear you all muttering. I have had a very nice time here and despite meeting some great people, I don't feel they will ever be friends like I have in the UK  - there is too much of a cultural difference. I miss cinema that isn't dubbed, a good coffee, a wide choice of good places to go and eat and drink( I think the UK now beats France hands down for food and bars), decent shops,  customer service (Uk is better than here where I don't think they have even heard of the phrase) a supermarket that sells a wide range of products from other countries too (so I can but lemon grass to make a thai curry or an Italian red!). As someone in her mid thirties it is also not a cheap place to live and I too pay much more in fonciere and habitation than I ever did council tax (Poll tax was a different decade!) Don't get me wrong I have enjoyed my time here but for me its time to go back. If I could transport my house with its land back to the south coast of england I would be made up - and space is not a reason to stay somewhere when lets face it, even the weather aint that good. I am originally from a rural staffs village and truely believe that the rual Uk is is not really different from rural France. Neighbours are friendly, they help you out, there are village fetes, morris dancing, real ale by a fire in a local pub, bonfire displays, a sense of community and there ARE farmers markets. The only real difference is the price of property. I don't know anything about new health laws as I have paid cotisations for health care for the last 18 months but if you do have to return I don't think its all that bad - certainly not as bad as the 'Daily Hysteria' would have you all believe!

Sorry I dont sit next to my computer 24/7. I recieved your message this morning when I logged on and replied to it immediately.

Hello I would personally invest in the housing market in the UK rather than France. Someone did tell me the other day though, that there will be a big boom in the Langeduoc area because of the TGV connecting through to Barcelona in a few years. Don't know how much truth there is in that though!It may help!

I am moving back to the UK this month and although I have my car on various internet sites no-one appears interested in buying it. I even took it to some second hand dealers who told me it was too new!!!! (15 months). It seems I will have to drive it back and use it in the Uk till I come up with a plan. I really dont want to change registration as I want to sell it (preferably in France- I would deliver!). Does anyone know of a company who would insure me on french plates driving in UK (french or british)??

Hi When I first came over here I had my UK car on UK plates for a year and it was insured by stuart collins. I think they are in swansea. That was a few years ago but worth a try.

Thanks for the info!

Hello Can anyone tell me whether such a thing as a bankers draft or bank cheque exists here in france and what it is called? Many thanks

Heidi here again I still can't seem to reply to the person sending me PM requesting more info about the car. Every time I try a message comes up saying the thread has been deleted which it quite plainly hasn't. I know we are not allowed to advertise but I thought a private chat about a car via e-mail was okay. Am I wrong? Anyway am going to drive around a few dealers tomorrow and check out the prices.

Thanks for all the replies. I have been back in UK for the weekend so have not been online. The car is a diesel fiat punto. Also someone sent me a PM but I could not reply from the link as it kept saying the thread had been deleted! Anyway will have a look at some of the options suggested. Many thanks.

I want to sell my one year old french car and was wondering if anyone could help with some questions - Where is the best place to advertise, I am near Carcassonne. Does France have an automart type magazine? Is it worth taking it to a second hand dealer? If someone agrees to buy, is it like in the uk where you can really only accept a bankers draft type cheque? What paperwork will I need to fill out and give to new owner/mairie? Anyone with any info or experience please let me know. Thanks

It sounds to me like you were at the lac Cavayere. As far as I know this is the only lake in close proximity to la cite. There is another nice lake up in the black mountains and one near Chalabre. I think it was probably clever photography that made the beach look larger and photoshop that made it look like it had a view of la cite! Its still a nice place to go especially with kids  - tha adventure playground thing is for all ages - there is even one for the under fives. You can also take a pedallo (sp?) out on the lake but I think they are only open weekends and maybe school holidays. Take your own refreshments though, there is a small drinks stall but its opening hours are pretty random!

  I am currently selling my property with IFP (internet french property). It is a pretty good site and the advert cost 117 euros for 12 months with up to 10 pictures. In 3 weeks I have had 148 views, 3 enquiries and 2 visits which is a lot better than some of the estate agents! Also without agents fees you can sell it cheaper and appeal to more people! Once you have had an offer I assume you approach your notaire and take it from there. It might be wise to speak to your notaire first and find out exactly what to do (something I should do too!!) Good luck!

The trouble with coffee in france is that it is often stale. I don't know why. I had a cafe in UK and we would only grind a small amount of beans at a time so the coffee was freshly ground. The machine was also back flushed and cleaned every night. It would not surprise me if this was never done in some of these cafes. Also WHY oh WHY when you ask for a creme here in france do they BOIL the milk. From what I can remember from making lattes etc in UK the milk only needed to get to 75 degrees for a lovely frothy coffee. I say go for your van - I would certainly visit if you did decent coffee something very rare in the carcassonne area. (by the way if you ask for a cappucino here you get whipped cream and hundreds and thousands on top!)

I would SO visit an english pub. I have to say that pubs are one of the things I miss most living over here ( along with indian takeaways and cinemas showing V.O). Why does everyone get so het up about all things english. No-one bats an eye lid if say an italian cafe were to open but tag english onto anything and everyone is up in arms! We should be proud of our pubs as there is nothing else like them . They sure beat the grubby french cafe/bars around here for atmosphere/drinks/food/music. Twinkle I think your friend should go for it.

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately the day after I posted my computer broke and I have just got it back from being repaired. Our friends have just left. We had a few days of bad weather - filled up with long lunches, although hampered by the fact they are vegetarians ( who don't like mushrooms or peppers!!!!!!) We were very british - sitting outside anyway to the horror of passing locals. They went out on a high as the last few days were beautiful - which makes life so much easier and more enjoyable.