darren

Thanks for the reply Danny,the 6 months is to give me time to find the plot!I'm building the house myself so it could take up to 12 months,im hoping that the 6 months let will enable us to find land by word of mouth rather than paying agency fees and the like,then im hoping to secure something for up to 12 months whilst im building the house.Many thanks for the advice,all the best to you and jane,darren

Hi chris,im hoping to move to france myself in january and hopefully i will be building my own house eventually.From my experience as an english builder i can offer you the following advise,as you are probably aware the vast majority of english houses are two skinned with a cavity inbetween to add warmth and prevent damp.If your breeze block house is single skin as i believe a lot of french properties are, then it will probably be rendered outside with a waterproof coating.As long as the render is of sound condition there should be no problems with the breezeblock construction.My advise would be to have a good look at the external walls for any signs of cracking and check internally for any signs of damp on the plaster.P.S. my house will be rendered blockwork as this is the cheapest way to build.

I dont think that people who have been away from England for any longer than 18 months realise just how bad things have got over here.I'm not talking about the leafy suburbs,im talking about the city centres and surrounding areas.Every single week there are numerous murders,pensioners beaten half to death for a few quid,school kids pictured with guns and knives,its an absolute disgrace,and thats not the Manchester evening news thats the local Advertiser.I know there are problems also in France,but i cannot believe it can be as bad as here.

Thanks for the advise Deby,we definately are going to rent for 6 months before we consider buying property or land,If we do find that the grass is no greener over there at least we can say we gave it a go.I think that i would always regret it if we didnt see for ourselves.I was interested to see that you returned to England for a better education system,it must be pretty bad in france if its worse than here!!  

Hi to all,my wife and i and my two young girls are moving over to the charente region in early january.We are hoping to buy a little plot of land onto which i am hoping to build us a little house!We are looking for properties around this region that would accomodate us for at least 6 months.Anyone who knows of any such properties or any pieces of land for that matter,please contact me via email or pm,much obliged!

thanks joy,i forgot to ask,is it best to enrol before we actually move there or should we turn up in january and try and get it all sorted for the restart of term at the end of feb?

Thanks Joy1,some very useful tips there,i notice you say you gave your kids a break,i was thinking along the same lines,do you think this benefitted them?and also what are the rules on this,is there a time limit or would it affect what school year they were entered into?

thanks Suzie,this gives us some belief that she will settle in eventually,we know its going to be hard for her at first,even harder for us parents to learn the lingo but were trying really hard so we can fit in to our new surroundings,we dont want to be "the ignorant foreigners who refuse to integrate".The whole reason for coming to france is that we respect the values that the french still seem to uphold, and sadly we feel are rarely found anymore in England.All the best to you and your family. 

I know, thanks sweet but that was just for M,thanks for your best wishes,the same to you!

hi twinkle,thanks for your response.You are right of course,the thought of our daughter being unhappy at school or anywhere does break our hearts,but we are thinking of her long term safety and happiness.She will be 7 in december and because of the state of our own country we dont even feel safe letting her play outside without our constant supervision,shes being deprived of her childhood,certainly the carefree childhood i enjoyed! 

Thanks for the advise,we have no idea how we will fit in over there,and obviously we are nervous ourselves,but we are trying to learn the language,we love the area,we know that it will be hard at first,but we just feel that we no longer want our children to be brought up in this country,sad but true! 

sorry! thanks for your help!

FIRST POST,HI TO ALL,MY WIFE AND I AND MY TWO GIRLS AGED 7 AND 3 ARE MOVING TO NEAR MONTBRON CHARENTE IN NEW YEAR,WE ARE GOING TO TRY AND RENT AT FIRST(AS ADVISED) BUT DONT WANT TO BE MOVING SCHOOLS ONCE THE GIRLS ARE SETTLED.WE WOULD RATHER RENT NEAR A GOOD SCHOOL THAN GET THE HOUSE AND FIND THE GIRLS ARE NOT HAPPY IN LOCAL SCHOOL.IF ANYONE OUT THERE HAS ANY EXPERIENCE OF SCHOOLS AROUND THIS AREA OR JUST ADVICE IN GENERAL IT WOULD BE MOST WELCOME,OUR 7 YEAR OLD IS UNDERSTANDABLY CONCERNED ABOUT MOVING TO A SCHOOL "WHERE SHE WONT BE ABLE TO TALK TO ANYONE!!!"AND WE KEEP ASSURING HER SHE WILL BE FINE,WHILST SECRETLY PRAYING THAT SHE WILL BE! MANY THANKS FOR ANY CONTRIBUTIONS,GOOD NEWS OR BAD!

Have sent a pm