blackcat

Thanks, the limousin area, I have come across some lovely cheap properties on recent searches and am now very interested in visiting that area too. Thanks for your reply. When there are up to 8 of us all looking to relocate then pin pointing an area that we can all focus on is going to be very interesting! We have set a target for ourselves of 18 months but dont mind if things stretch out a bit in order to give us time to make the right decision.    

Hi citygirl I see that 2000 euros a month is a more realistic figure, thanks. My husband is a senior construction engineer, his average UK wage (for his senior skills) is £40k - £45k.  He is looking into acquiring inspector status which would pay more but would take him to other countries aside from the UK, which is his dream. Me, my mum and the kids just want a nice base where we can enjoy a quiet life, keep a few chickens, plant some veg, make some wine, the kids are really looking forward to it, maybe a B & B in years to come or a nice small family business. Ive been brought up in an italian family where this was the norm.    My mother in law has also decided to come out and buy herself an apartment. Our uncle is also looking into buying a holiday home nearby as he has just sold a property in Italy and has 2 UK homes. We have a uk property that we will make £1000 per month in rental profit, which will help towards our income. If we needed to return to the uk then we would live there, its quite big and has loads of potential to extend. We will definitely sell our current home as we want to use the equity to buy our french home, along with the investment my mum is making. She is able to support herself very well. Although we do plan to rent for as long as it takes to find suitable properties, we may want an outbuilding for mum to convert. To find an apartment nearby for my husbands mum too, all this could take a year easily, so hopefully we will have a good idea of french life by then.  

Agree renting is the best way to go, but only plan to do it for as long as it takes us to find a suitable property. We will still have a property in the UK to come back to if things dont work out (I would be inclined to give it 18 months to 2 years based on my friends experiences who have moved away). We are selling one property in the UK to finance our french home. We have another property that is being rented out in the UK. If we buy in France and decide to return then we will still have a nice holiday home in France and a home in the UK We are looking into the financial implications, which I guess we wont be fully up to date on until we are there and have established our residency. There are a couple of ladies that have kindly e-mailed me, their husbands work in the UK and they are offering advice for which I will be very grateful for!  

Yes, I am proud of being a stay at home mum and was astounded at the reaction of the lady on that forum and gave my reply as well as I could without being too rude! What she didnt know is that Id also been a working mum for 11 years prior to my present 4 years at home so had seen things from both view points. But I guess thats the trouble with forums, unless you post up your life story noone really knows the full picture. We are looking to move around that area because the children would like to be around some british families like us, at least for the first couple of years. I have had some lovely e-mails from mums living in the Bergerac/Eymet area who have been most encouraging and given me so much information. Some also have husbands that commute to the UK and have made it work for them so I found that very reassuring too.        

Amanda, thanks for your reply, I really appreciate what you've said and it must have been hard for you being alone. So glad it all worked out for you. People I know that have made the move abroad have said similar things to you so Ive taken it all on board. Thanks to all of you for your replies, and for Benjamin who said he was off to lay in a darkened room, thats where Im off to now. My, this thread is long ...:D

[quote user="Bugbear"][quote user="sara77"] Anyway, for the person who said this was like a soap ... tune in next week when Sara turns up on Rons doorstep and offers him 1500 euros to take her cats and give them a better life! (or was it 1500 pounds) [/quote] My five penneth to you, lighten up a bit, sift through the comments, laugh at the stuff that gets to you, give as good as you get and most of all enjoy this 'virtual' world that we all spend time in. Gary. [/quote]   I'll drink to that. cheers

No, it was the second post, not the first, but that doesnt matter now. TBH I've had a really crap week so burning the kids tea would probably turn me into an emotional wreck! :)) A few weeks back I was on a forum where people were posting about the cost of UK groceries and listing what they buy. I mentioned a brand of cat food that I use and a woman decided to lay right into me about what I'm feeding my cats. Another week I was on a parenthood forum and someone had a go at me because Im a Stay at Home mum and apparently its not right that my husband is out doing his bit and Im not! ... so my experience of forums havent been that great!! Anyway, for the person who said this was like a soap ... tune in next week when Sara turns up on Rons doorstep and offers him 1500 euros to take her cats and give them a better life! (or was it 1500 pounds)

Well, that put me in my place didnt it. Like I said, sorry and I will avoid forums. I am obviously far too sensitive as your last post upset me alot and if I cant handle peoples opinions then I should stay away.

You're absolutely right, perhaps I'll just become a 'lurker' from now on!

Thanks again to anyone who replied. I wasnt being knowingly agressive and apologise if I offended anyone. Maybe Im a little too sensitive when it comes to my personal life and family and perhaps I should stay away from forums. Regards.  

Thanks Will, that information is very useful. Much appreciated.

Hi. I totally understand that. But no-one else knows your own circumstances, how much money or assets you may have, your knowledge and experience, your families individual personalities, what they are capable of etc., Having given out only as much info as I wanted to, I didnt feel that the questions I posed warranted knowing the full picture. Maybe the area we intended to move to, yes, thats relevant. I appreciate people want to share their own experiences, but there is a way of wording things tactfully so as not to be patronising or condescending. Thanks for your time.         

Hi I dont think that the cost of living is much cheaper in France, I just wanted an realistic idea of how much families in France do manage on. We are a family of 5 and spend £2500 each month living in the UK, which includes a monthly mortgage payment of £1,050 each month. Now, if we lost the mortgage why on earth couldnt we manage on £1500 in France each month, regardless of where the income came from. We have been a family of 5 for some time, I manage the finances in our house very well and have a very realistic view of what it costs to keep a family as I actually do it every day. The question I posed was just a cost of living query. I have been used to my husband working away for many years, its nothing new to me and I didnt ask for anyones opinion on how our income will be generated, not did I ask how my children should be educated, which someone was keen to offer advice on. When I posed a question on another forum about residency for my elderly mum, people seemed to want to tell me I shouldnt contemplate living with my mum, which wasnt the subject up for discussion either. I am grateful for the advice being given but I just wanted a couple of simple questions answered. Thanks for your help anyway.  

Hi. thanks for your reply. My daughter is 10 now, she'll be almost 12 when we move, as I said in my original post. She is currently eagerly taking french lessons so Im hoping she'll be well on the way to being fluent by the time we go.

[quote user="Will"] I would also agree that if relying on sterling to live in France, then France is currently looking rather less attractive. [/quote] Thanks for your reply, but could you elaborate on the above for me? My head is spinning! We are hoping he would only have to work in the Uk for 6 months at first while he achieved enough to live on in France for 12 months, then he could have plenty of time to sort out work in France. If not then its back to the UK again the following year! Also, as someone who is maintaining households in both countries, would you know anything about converting our savings into euros in another account, maybe off-shore account? Would you know if this is possible, as I would like to avoid problems with the pound getting any weaker. If we are looking to buy 18 months down the line I would like to see if there is a possibility of converting our money now.