baypond

Great help - Sorry for the delay in replying, but I was in France this weekend, and our internet is still down there. We have numerous parts of the ceiling down, and numerous holes in the rest. The builders have a week away from the job next week, and during that time I have asked someone to spray xylothene on to the wood and into the cavities. The windows are out on the whole property, so during the week, the worst of the funes should have cleared by the time the builders return. Also the electricity is disconected, so no chance of something nasty flaring up!

We are in the northern part of the Gers, between Condom and Lectoure if you want to know anything about that area, plusses and minuses. You can PM me

From reading all the thread, it seems to me that MONEY and LANGUAGE are the two main determinents of what you can afford/not afford to consider when thinking of a move to France. Clearly, the more money you have at your disposal, the less need you have to immerse yourself in the local community for support/work. Of course you may want to, but it is a choice, not a neccessity. Therfore if you need to be part of the local community for either economic or social reasons, then Norman's point about being able to understand and speak French is absolutely correct. To try from scratch to learn the language in situ is fine, but if you have little or no money at your disposal, you may run out of time before you have the necessary language skills to get going. If you have loads of money, then in theory (and it wouldn't be my choice) you could live in France for as long as you liked, with little or no contact with the community. I think it is interesting that the most common form of work for expats is running Gites or B&B. It arises because to a large part, it is probably viewed/deemed the simplest way of living and earning in France. Obviously, from previous threads, even here, the reality is somewhat different from the dream.

Hi We have just removed part of a ground floor ceiling during renovation. The boarding to the first floor (sitting underneath a concrete screed) appears to me to have woodworm holes all over it (same size etc). The wood is white and looks like a larch or popular perhaps. I have a decision to make. My builder (who I respect and is doing a great job) has said that the holes are not woodworm or termites, and will not do any long term damage to the wood. To remove all the plasterboard ceiling, replace it and plaster over, is a lot of money (90m2). My question is: Do I strip the plasterboard and treat the wood, or do I take my builder's advice and ignore the holes and save money by patching the ceiling. Any thoughts welcome Giles

For me, mutual respect (and love hopefully) is all that matters. The balance then sorts itself out. No one rule fits all. I am the hunter gatherer of the family, and proud to be, but given the catastrophic tsunami that swept through banking, I couldn't have done my job without my wife's unqualified support and understanding. Who was the stronger person at that time? In some senses it was her.

Oh dear, I think you have really started something here[:)] If white people were in the minority, you could say 100% yes, but because minorities have to be 'heard' I would say that the politically correct answer is NO it is not racist. However.........

[quote user="jon"]you are not allowed carrier bags!I believe.[/quote] not sure, I have often wondered if they would stop me taking duty free on board in a carrier bag, but to date (at Toulouse) they havn't stopped us despite measuring cabin baggage as we board.

From a cost of living point of view, 1 for 1 always seemed the wrong rate. I think 1.2000 is a far more realistic longer term level.

Hi,     Never mind, it's back at 1.142 €/£ now(1725hrs) .     Persons of a nervous disposition should not look at the exchange rate more often than once a week. Unless it is their job![:)]   ...

Market trading back at 1.1400. There is a general feeling that GBP will trade well for the next couple of months. If the market moves above 1.1500, there is a sense we could be back in the 1.2000/1.3000 range over summer. Let's hope so.

Apparently it is because when you download from outlook you are writing it on to your hard drive, whereas when you look at a website, you are accessing the picture from someone else's server.  

Back at 1.1300 now.

Adam Smith -  Theory of moral sentiments. Through the whole of his life he pursues the idea of a certain artificial and elegant repose which he may never arrive at, for which he sacrifices a real tranquillity that is at all times in his power, and which, if in the extremity of old age he should at last attain to it, he will find to be in no respect preferable to that humble security and contentment which he had abandoned for it. It is then, in the last dregs of life, his body wasted with toil and disease, his mind galled and ruffled by the memory of a thousand injuries and disappointments which he imagines he has met with from the injustice of his enemies, or from the perfidy and ingratitude of his friends, that he begins at last to find that wealth and greatness are mere trinkets of frivolous utility, no more adapted for procuring ease of body or tranquillity of mind, than the tweezer-cases of the lover of toys. I have an excellent article called 'The psychology of happiness' in PDF format. It is well worth a read by all those people looking to change their personal circumstances (such as moving home). Please PM with an email address if you would like to read it. Giles  

[quote user="jon"] Are Americans really more friendly!!!!!!Or do they appear to be?How many American friends have you got?   [/quote] Jon/ JR, humble pie, I clearly took the 2nd home comments wrong way. Sorry. On the real subject, there was a great article written a few years ago that discussed what made people happy, and whether the things that made us happy were in fact transitory or permanent. The conclusion was that material things had a very limited shelf life, and the constant pressure of topping up 'hapiness' based on material things could in fact be very stressful ie not happy. One of the examples was a survey on those people looking forward to their dream retirement in Florida, and then a re-poll a few years after retirement in Florida. Firstly, the expectaion and realisation of their dream to retire in Florida made them happy, but within a year or so it was found that the people who had retired were no happier than than those looking forward to retirement. All this means that apart from all the other aspects of moving to France, what makes you happy is not neccessarily France itself, but self contentment/fullfilment. Material things give a transitory adrenalin hit, but what really matters is health, good friends and/or family.

"Jon didnt make any reference to owning two homes being right, wrong or whatever. You have drawn and posted your own inference." Yep, spot on, I will draw my own inference, and given the context within which it was written, I don't think I am far wrong.

[quote user="P2"][quote user="P2"] He did state that sometimes when a big deal is going through they can tag on to it and offer a far higher rate. My thoughts are that the rate they first offer is low but pushed they can do a lot better. Paul [/quote] Baypond that is why I added a sentence after what you have quoted from my post. However, my overall point was do not just accept what they offer BARTER Paul [/quote] Sorry, I didn't mean to single you out, or criticize your post, but rather single out the FX brokers who are not afraid to spin a yarn if it helps them justify not quoting their best rate to begin with. Giles

[quote user="jon"] I imagine that most of you have two homes?   [/quote] Please tell me why owning two homes is wrong and one home is right? It is just such a vacuous statement used to somehow add credibility to you own point of view. "sorry mate, you have two homes, so your point of view is out of touch with the real world and invalid. Go stand in the corner"

I don't think apriration/ambition and materialism have to go hand in hand, though they usually do in the UK. I also have two older children of 21 (as well as the 10 and 12yr old), and though it is tough to follow through on our promises, we have always said to them that when they are finished with school etc, they are on their own financially. If they can't afford a flat, then they are welcome to stay at home until they have saved enough etc We started from nothing, and if they want something, they have to earn it. I know it is the right thing to do, but it really is difficult to stick to.

[quote user="P2"] He did state that sometimes when a big deal is going through they can tag on to it and offer a far higher rate. [/quote] Unfortunately this information provided to you is absolute tosh. The difference in spread that these companies have to pay to cover any amount from EUR 100 to EUR 10,000,000 is the same within 0.0001.   ie from 1.1000 to 1.1001. My guess is that he was merely trying to extract as much commission from the trade as possible, but accepted a lower margin when you pushed him, and then tried to explain it away with the above comment. Smaller amounts will always tend to be quoted at a worse rate. The economics are simply to do with extracting value from the transaction. Mathmatically they need to charge you a 10th of the spread on a EUR 100,000 transaction than a EUR 10,000 to extract the same commision. As I said in an earlier post, I would always open two accounts and compare rates. If you stick with one only, and they sense that they have a monopoly on your business, the quotes will get worse over time as they try to extract more value from your transactions. When buying foriegn exchange, just remember currencies are just like any other commodities such as electricity, heating oil etc If you always buy from the same provider, you wont get the best rate.

Hi DD, I have read all the posts too, and defer 100% to the experiences of those that actually live in France full time. I have a holiday home, and my wife and I have frequently spoken about living full time in France. However, the cliches that keep popping into my head are 'the grass is always greener' and 'same sh_t , different place'. The other words I always have a lot of affinity to were written in one of the Frenchie mags by a newsreader who had an apartment in Paris. He said that the one question friends always asked was 'when are you retiring to France'. He said that to visit regularly meant that he always had something to look forward to. The expectation on leaving London, the sitting outside a cafe in Paris, enjoying the weather and the French culture. He said if he lived in France, the expectation, novelty, and 'on holiday' feeling and relaxation would soon fade and much of the pleasure would be lost. I have friends who moved to France 2 years ago, their children were 9 and 10. They are very happy at school, and seem to be progressing very well. The children are extremely happy, bilingual, and I am especially envious that the children don't suffer the pressures of materialism that exists so much in the UK. My children took some Abercrombie & Fitch tee-shirts to the two children as birthday presents. The children liked the tee-shirts but couldnt have cared less if they had come from A&F or Carrefour. That, to me, is one of the big differences that has emerged between our too sets of children. Theirs have lost their materialism, ours have not. (ours are 10 & 12 by the way).

[quote user="Dog"]God told him to do it....[/quote] Cheri more like

65 million people in a country the third the size of France with a higher number of cars per family means that its is over crowded compared to France. The southeast has some beautiful uncrowded spots, but the roads are always stuffed bumper to bumper from May till October, plus every weekend, and every rush hour. The grass is always greener, but somehow in France it really is (if you can afford it)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1182373/Welcome-binge-Britain-Polish-photographer-documents-years-drunken-revelry-Cardiff.html To be fair, this could be any number of other British towns this weekend. Are we the worst country in the World for this?

For low transaction costs, any of the money brokers will beat the banks hands down. There is probably not too much between any of them. I use World First, however having a couple of different accounts is always useful because you can check for best spreads. There is no shame in asking for a better price from these guys either. Most work on commission, so they will start to try and charge a larger spread if they believe you have become a captive market. I do the same with heating oil companies as well, though in France that is not so easy with so few distributors!

I am biased, being in banking, but the phrase I have heard and hated more than other during the credit crunch is 'masters of the universe'. Radio 5 Live used it all day long for months.