Clare ElizabethClare

I think I have seen nice used in this way (picky_ in 18th/19th century novels...Jane Austen maybe?? never in the 21st century..but my husband still thinks english people say my taylor is rich...      

I found some citric acid  - cheaper than in the UK - at the local pharmacy. But you have to ask for it, it's not on display and it is sold loose so you have to say how much you want. I have made cordial with lemon juice and citric acid, but can't remember quantities put a tiny bit of syrup in very cold cheap white wine and it makes a lovely aperitif    

You might find it useful to meet with an assistant social - some are dreadful but most are good at explaining how the system works.  There might be one attached to the hospital, or perhaps a Centre de Protection Maternelle Infantile?  This is a good site www.magicmamans.fr I found it really useful to get all the vocabulary, and there are some good forums I found France a great place to give birth.. medicalised but they gave me champagne for new year's eve and the after care was great in Languedoc. They had to drag me screaming from the hospital.. I didn't want to leave    

We don't live on a farm, but in a village in the foothills of the cevennes, and my husband does organic gardening (mostly own consumption/exchange, and chestnut/ mushroom hunting). There are some good networks in the cevennes, have you come across the guys who are trying to bring back the old fruit and vegetable varieties/ Which side of the cevennes are you on?    

We don't live on a farm, but in a village in the foothills of the cevennes, and my husband does organic gardening (mostly own consumption/exchange, and chestnut/ mushroom hunting). There are some good networks in the cevennes, have you come across the guys who are trying to bring back the old fruit and vegetable varieties/ Which side of the cevennes are you on?    

It's more common than you would think. I commuted for a while from the South of France, once every two weeks and work at home for the rest of the time. It was OK, bit tiring, stayed with friends so OK, downside was difficult to progress in my career, and impossible to sort out social security payments. Worked out cheaper for me than living outside London (colchester for example) and commuting in daily. I used to meet other people on the plane who were doing the same thing, and I've heard of a lot more - one guy worked at the Guardian for three days a week, and commuted from Paris on the Think it's best as a transition strategy, if you are a couple of years from retiring and want to move to France. or one half of a couple and the other person wants to set up a business and you need a couple of years steady income during the set up phase    

La Redoute catalog have some nice very simple ones for girls , and you can buy on the website www.laredoute.fr. Think they have a sale on at the moment  

I'm a regular commuter from Nimes, so was a bit worried about this, but my husband thinks this is a January ritual, threatening to close is part of  budget negotiations. But who knows, with all the restructuring of the state and Freches in charge maybe this year will be different. Nimes is my favorite airport in the world, as it's so small and friendly, but I cannot imagine how it possibly makes a profit or even break even,

Hello I'm new to this forum, and probably won't spend much time here as I supposed to be working, but wanted to post as your experience quite similar to mine - I'm based in rural france working exclusively UK and other northern european clients   1. It's probably worth keeping up the job seekers registration, you can do it on line, and it may qualify you for some kind of help in the future 2. What worked for me, was once I had three months without income (unemployed with no unemployment payments, is that I qualified for the RMI, which is minimaux social, as an rmist, you have to do a lot of humiliating things, such as meeting with a social worker to discussion your reinsertion into society, but it also gives you access to apply to the ACCRE, which is a year's exemption from almost all cotisations. You have to prepare a business plan, and submit it to a commission, but there are lots of organisations that will help you do it. You can't apply for an ACCRE, if you have already started. Then I registered as a profession liberal, I had a great boutique de gestion which helped me with the paper work, and generally held my hand. Most of my clients were quite happy to pay into my French account let me know if there is any more I can help with ... I'm starting my second year and worrying myself about how bad the cotisations can possibly be, but then again we do pay NI in the UK,