Housesitters

Hi Clair. Some good points there. Hmm..this is where the plot thickens. The Villa has been inherited by the owners from his deceased father, but there is a clause that the elderly mother can live there as long as she is alive. (now 75?) However, she only uses it as her summer retreat, as they have several other properties in France. I will be employed by her. She is as equally as nice as the rest of the family and she is an ex French accountant, so knows the ropes? It is also the owners prime residence, but they will be travelling abroad most of the time. With regards to holidays, etc. They are very flexible and there is no requirement to be there 100% of the time as the Villa is alarmed, etc. However, they prefer for someone to be seen to be there, as you can appreciate in the Cote d'Azur. I will request the contract ASAP. Great replies and all good stuff. Thanks to you all....

Hi Ernie, Clair and Tinabee. Thanks for your speedy response. This Forum really is good at times. The cautionary tale is indeed very interesting. Thanks for the link, good stuff. The idea of payment in return for accomodation is the same situation as myself. ie. live in the tied house but with full use of the Villa.  However, in my case, the French owners have said there will be a written contract, which I should be recieving before we go. The contract will state the number of hours to be worked/week, which they say will be enough to cover the cost of the social security contributions without any additional payment from myself. I believe it to be around 15 hrs/week. I will be looking at getting a Mutuel as top up for us both. Do you have any recommendations, bearing in mind we both need repeat prescriptions as neither of us are "fighting fit" anymore? When did our bodies become high maintenance and why didn't anyone warn us this would happen when we were young? LOL We have known the owners for a couple of years now, after house sitting their other home, and they are very nice people. We have been house sitters for various people in France over several years now but not for such a long duration that requires this sort of consideration. I speak some French and get by quite well, but still speak like a "Spanish Cow". We see this as a great opportunity for my wife to live in a climate that will help her condition. Also, the Villa has it's own pool which we can use when the owners are not there. (most of the time) This will be good physio for my wife and hopefully make her feel better too. Time will tell. The main complication for me is which is the best route to go with regards to an E121 or not? There are other things like which Bank to go with, car insurance, how to leave our UK house and whether we can get Sky TV or not, but these are small fry compared with dealings with health cover. I don't think we are doing this too naively. With the security of French social security payments being thrown in, I feel we should be covered better than some we have met. If anyone can think of other things to consider, please post a message. All thoughts and ideas entertained as two (maybe more?) heads are better than one. Thanks again., very much appreciated. Kind regards.    

Hi I have been offered a long term Gardiennage position for a villa in the Cote d'Azur.  The French owners will employ me in return for gardening, security and upkeep of their property whilst they are away. They have said they will organise the paperwork for me to get into the French social security system entitling me and my wife to French health care, etc. The question is, would it be better for my wife who is on long term IB, to get an E121 or to rely on the "family" cover my employment will entitle her to? The reason I ask this, what if my employment comes to a premature end and we want to stay in France? I presume we would  no longer be covered, but I believe an E121 would cover us both, regardless of employment. If I did get made unemployed, could we get back into the UK system if it all goes pear shaped and we end up back here? (hopefully not!) We will be keeping our UK home too. Saying that, we are hoping to settle in France one day but want to cover all bases if possible. I realise there are a few questions here and I am most probably trying to cover too many possibilities with one easy solution. However, any thoughts or advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi I have been offered a long term Gardiennage position for a villa in the Cote d'Azur.  The French owners will employ me in return for gardening, security and upkeep of their property whilst they are away. They have said they will organise the paperwork for me to get into the French social security system entitling me and my wife to French health care, etc. The question is, would it be better for my wife who is on long term IB, to get an E121 or to rely on the "family" cover my employment will entitle her to? The reason I ask this, what if my employment comes to a premature end and we want to stay in France? I presume we would  no longer be covered, but I believe an E121 would cover us both, regardless of employment. If I did get made unemployed, could we get back into the UK system if it all goes pear shaped and we end up back here? (hopefully not!) We will be keeping our UK home too. Saying that, we are hoping to settle in France one day but want to cover all bases if possible. I realise there are a few questions here and I am most probably trying to cover too many possibilities with one easy solution. However, any thoughts or advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.

BUMP...anyone have any info on this area?

Hi We might get an opportunity to do a long term house sit in Montauroux, Var. We have been house sitters in many other areas but don't know anything about this area of France. Any info about the area appreciated? Cost of living, ex-pats in the area, climate, seasons, etc? Thanks in advance.

[quote user="Cathy"]They are superb.  Any more?[/quote] Hi Cathy. Thanks for the compliment. I have lots and lots of "France" pictures as I just love taking them when we are there. France has so many beautiful and often unusual buildings, it's an amateur photographers play ground. Here are just a couple more to finish off with, before I bore everyone to death with them. Thanks again for everyones kind comments. It's nice to know others like them too.   Poullaouen, Nr Carhaix Plouger, Brittany. [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/Poullaouen.jpg[/IMG]   St Jean de Monts, Vendee [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/Vendee2.jpg[/IMG]      

Hi Gardian Are you looking for a SPECIAL nights stay? I can thoroughly recommend this French Chateau, that's only 5 miles off the motorway, at Tours. They do B&B for Euros 130/night with continental breakfast for 2 with a spectacular huge bedroom and lovely en-suite set in 5 Hectares of tranquil grounds. English speaking too. [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/ChateauGate-1.jpg[/IMG] PM me for more details as I have just read that adverts are not allowed. Hope this post is Ok tho? Apologies to the MODS if anything above contravenes the rules. Please edit as necessary. ps. We have stayed there and loved it.

War Graves Normandy [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/Normandyf.jpg[/IMG]   Dragon Fly in the Centre region [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/DragonFlyCentre.jpg[/IMG]   Sun rise in the Gers [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/Gers.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks, glad you like them. France is a great for taking pctures with so many fantastic sites and landscapes. I will add a few more later. Thanks again.

Having had Malignant Melanoma TWICE! Once in 1990 and second time in 2000, I can confirm that the ONLY way to definitely know if a suspect mole is malignant, is to have it removed and checked under a microscope. NEVER wait to see what develops. ALWAYS get suspect moles removed and checked! Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive cancers if not caught early! How early is early? Early means before the growth has reached a depth NOT greater than 0.7mm deep. ie not grown down through the epidermis into the blood stream. Take care out there and as the Ozzies say.Slip, Slap, Slop!

The Loire [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/Chateau1600.jpg[/IMG]   Brittany [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/BanquedeFrance-1.jpg[/IMG]   Near Pau [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/P9180017-1.jpg[/IMG]   La Rochelle [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/Chainview-1.jpg[/IMG]   More Brittany [IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z39/palwing/Cows3.jpg[/IMG]