phil47

[quote user="Teamedup"] I really like the Jura, but we live in the Alps and they are exceedingly beautiful for the most part, so I know where I would always choose, but then the prices of buying here are dearer. You are right about the music. I live with a musician who cannot wait to get back to the Uk to play all the time, instead of very very rarely here, if we lived in a city, then it would be a bit different but en plein campagne it isn't the same and there still isn't enough music for him either. We have musician friends, some amateur, some what I would call semi professional as they just cannot make enough to live on and others that are interim de spectacle, which is certainly not what it was, but they manage to make a living. If your music is really the 'thing' you need then I would start coming over and finding out about every little spectacle there is in an area you fancy and talking to people about what you want to do and where you should be exactly.     [/quote]   Hi Teamedup. Well that's my dilema. All I have done all my life is play guitar for a living. I don't think I'd be able to switch professions after all these years. Mind you, nor would I really want to. I have played with loads of bands over the years, but currently teach more than I gig. I work with some of Billy Braggs musicians and the 'Mutter' the singer from Stackridge at present, but the old UK isn't what it was for us ageing Rock N' Rollers. One of my best friends and also one of the finest bass players in the UK is delivering meals on wheels to supplement his income, and the ex bass player from 'Ten Years After' is doing car repairs. All the others are dead I think..[:D]... Oh how the mighty fall eh? I still keep in the business via teaching, as at least it's still playing. I bought our house and brought up three kids from playing guitar, but you couldn't make a full time living from just gigging these days, unless I want to travel all over the UK, and I'm getting a bit old for that. Plus..'Been there..Done that', springs to mind. Time for a change I feel.. My daughter however is a brilliant singer with a lovely voice and as an added bonus looks just like Nora Jones, so I do quite a few gigs with her. The dad and daughter thing seems to go down well, but obviously I'd like her to make her own inroads without having old dad there to cramp her style. I'm sure I could get the teaching thing going and also some gigs, especially in Switzerland, but in the final analysis like everything else.. It's a gamble. I have been offered a few things in the States, but it's a bit far from my sons.   Phil.    

[quote user="Monika"]I am not quite sure if I am allowed to point you to "the other side", but on the forum: www.totalfrance.com  is somebody who has moved to the Jura last year and they were very enthusiastic, his name is "Dorsetdude" and I am sure he would be pleased to help you with suggestions! [/quote]   Hi Monika, Thanks for that link..Dorset eh.. Well he'd have been be a local to me then. I'll give that a whirl.. Great ! I already live out in the middle of nowhere, so obviously having a town with something going on musicaly within easy access would be a great idea, although I'd still like to live outside any town.   Phil.

[quote user="Teamedup"] Living in Switzerland and whipping over the border to see the dentist or doctor.... LOL.   How would that work then, would the french doctors and dentists be cheaper, you wouldn't get reimbursed if you did it that way. I think that the Jura would be the cheaper option really and ofcourse there is easy access to major swiss cities from there too. [/quote]   Hi Teamedup. No, that was more of a tongue in cheek utopian fantasy regarding the whipping over the border to see the dentist..[:)] Of course that wouldn't work. Obviously one has to live in the country to reap any benefits of their health care. Yeah the Jura sounds quite nice. Does anyone know of any nice towns in that area. Obviously as a musician, I don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, so some nearbye towns would be an asset.   Phil.  

[quote user="Monika"] Hi Phil, nice to have a fellow Swiss on the forum. I am quite envious of you and your plans to move near Switzerland. I think you might be surprised at how affordable Switzerland is at the moment,  house prices are not too bad at all and if you "google" it, I am sure you could find property which you could afford (with West Dorset being quite expensive). As to the Swiss Health Insurance I would not be sure how much that is nowadays, but could give you some addresses to make inquiries. If you want to search in France why don't you look at the Jura, around Pontarlier, we often travel that way when we go to Switzerland. It's a lovely area with mountains and gorges and not that far from Lausanne and you can still find bargains.   I wish you much fun in your search. Monika [/quote]   Thanks Monika. That would be nice. Living in Switzerland and whipping over the border to see the dentist or doctor.... LOL. My Mother left Switzerland around 1930 and married an Englishman..Hence the English connection. I remember going with my cousins over the lake for lunch in France. I can't remember exactly where but it might have been Thonon les Bains. I suppose that's mega expensive too..Nice place though. Yeah the Jura looks interesting. I'll check out Pontarlier.. That's exactly what I need. Some recommendations of places in that area to make a start on. I want to stear clear of the ski resorts, as I know they'll be very expensive, and my cousins own chalets near Villars anyway if we ever want to go to the mountains. Plus the fact I don't fancy trudging through 6 feet of snow with a guitar case in one hand and an amp in the other. Cheers, Phil.

[quote user="Clair"]To give you a basic opinion on property prices: Annecy is pretty pricey anyway. It's a beautiful place, I should know, I used to live nearby! My sister lives not too far from Annecy, in the Ain department. Shortly after we bought our house in spring 2003, she came to stay with us here (Lot/Cantal) and commented on how she and her husband could never have found a house like ours for the price we paid. Her comments were that her area is quite expensive because of the frontaliers (people living in France but working in Switzerland, earning Swiss salaries but with French outgoings) being able to pay "over the odds" for properties in the whole of the area. Re cotisations: try a search in the artisans forum, that should get you started info-wise. [/quote]   Thanks Clair.. I had a sneaking suspicion it would be pricey. What about the Franche- Compte? I suppose I could always sortie over he border for better paid work in Switzerland. [Www] I used to work with English rock bands in Geneva back in the 60's, so know that area of Switzerland pretty well. My cousins live in St Prex..Lausanne, and also further a field in Bex and Bern. I'm just worried about the type of work I do. It's not like most people and can vary from week to week. Musicians are considered oddballs in most places to say the least, and it would be virtualy impossible to predict ones earnings for a year. Most of the best work is word of mouth and one has to build up contacts. Obviously I am fairly well established over here, and it would mean starting from scratch.. The point is, can France put up with yet another ageing Brit rock musician?[:D]   Phil.

Hi there all, I hope I'm in the right place to ask these type of questions, but would be grateful if anyone could help. My wife and I who in our late fifties are sincerely thinking of moving out of the UK ( Yeah surprise, surprise) and as I have relations living in Switzerland ( My Mother was Swiss French) thought that it may be a good idea to move somewhere nearer the Swiss border in France. Obviously Switzerland is not an option as it's far too expensive and we could never afford the Swiss health care insurance, but it would be ideal to visit my cousins in Lausanne, who also have chalets in the Alps. [;-)] I am a professional guitarist who now teaches guitar more for a living than gigs these days, and have been so since I left school back in the early 60's, so somewhere with a fairly healthy music scene not too far away would be a bonus. Our two sons would be staying here in the UK, but my daughter 23 who is a singer, also with skills as a Nanny would probably be coming with us. I was looking around the area of Annecy.. Anyone got any comments re that, or maybe a little further North in the Franche- Compte. I'd be grateful for any input re these areas..Property prices etc. Currently we are living in West Dorset, and have no idea how much our cottage is worth, as we have never bothered keeping up with prices, but I should imagine somewhere in the £380 000 bracket. Obviously we want to downsize, so we are not looking for a mansion, but somewhere small, detached and not high maintenance..( I may be good guitar player , but I'm a lousy builder ). We also have two German shepherd dogs. I could supplement any savings we made on the sale of our cottage in England with either teaching or gigging, so I'm lucky in the sense I can take my skill anywhere, and my wife would like to get back into breeding cats, which she used to do back in London many years ago. ( She had the brother of the Chinchilla cat in the James Bond film as a stud ) Our French speaking skills leaves something to be desired, but can make ourselves understood and are willing to learn. So! If I have got the right forum and there is anyone out there in the wild blue yonder who has any input, I'd love to hear from you with regard to that area and the relation to property prices to the rest of France... Weather... Music scene.. Anything relative really. I have also been reading how complicated it seems to be being self employed over there. Cotisations and other such horror stories. As my income is variable and from many different sources..ie: Gigs..Teaching...Recording sessions etc etc, is this going to pose big problems and headaches? Any musicians or self employed out there with tales to tell or suggestions, and is the bureaucracy worse than in the UK?... My God! Is that really possible?? [8-)] Many thanks, Phil.