good advice

[Patf]

There's an article in this weeks Sunday Times by the wife of Sebastien Faulkes, the writer. Evidently they spent a year in France, near Agen in the 90s, to see if they liked it enough to move there. They rented a house out in the country and let out their house in UK. To cut it short they decided not to stay. She was bored and missed town life. So the advice is to try it first before you commit yourself. Don't burn your bridges. For those people who need to work it would also give a chance to look round and assess the situation. See if the children miss their friends etc. Personally I can't understand people who can just dive into it lock stock and barrel, even those who are retired and have an income. Unless you are married to a french person, or have family in France. Then of course there are those who are escaping something. I'm sure many won't agree with me though ! Pat.

[Val_2]

We kept our UK home for the first five years of living in France but decided that it had to go due to future upkeep costs looking that we would have never recouped from the renters. It certainly made sense to do that and even after the first three years knew we were well established business-wise and family-wise that we would not be going back. It is a lot harder now to start again in the UK than it was backthen and many people I know who returned after not seriously thinking about what they originally were getting into,have settled for terrible expensive rented accomodation or a lifestyle less than what they were used to.

[Immokalee]

Hi Val

May I ask what your business is and if you had family members already in France?

It's interesting reading the various posts and news from friends of those who are going to try their hand in France and those who are coming home.  I think the overall picture is that it doesn't matter which country you pick to make the move the variables are always the same and many people find out that no matter what they were hoping for, ho whard they try, or what they were running away from, the grass isn't very often greener on the other side.

[Val_2]

Construction business for the last 32 years, the last twelve here in France and no family here when we came although our surname is French. As for the grass being greener here, we have never been so poor,paid so many charges and are working longer hours here BUT the lifestyle makes up for that with excellent education for the kids and good friends and neighbours for us which we never had in the UK. If we had known about the lack of help government-wise for self employed people here in the beginning I think we may well have gone to Australia or NZ

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

[quote user="Patf"]There's an article in this weeks Sunday Times by the wife of Sebastien Faulkes, the writer. Evidently they spent a year in France, near Agen in the 90s, to see if they liked it enough to move there. They rented a house out in the country and let out their house in UK. To cut it short they decided not to stay. She was bored and missed town life. So the advice is to try it first before you commit yourself. Don't burn your bridges. For those people who need to work it would also give a chance to look round and assess the situation. See if the children miss their friends etc. Personally I can't understand people who can just dive into it lock stock and barrel, even those who are retired and have an income. Unless you are married to a french person, or have family in France. Then of course there are those who are escaping something. I'm sure many won't agree with me though ! Pat.[/quote]

Or those just seeking a bit of adventure and living dangerous a little. Sometimes life is too short to be too safe. I've emigrated twice and regret neither move. I would regret having to move back to the UK though - I would class that as being a failure - but that's just me.

My Aussie wife had spent two days in France her entire life before that (admitidly only in Paris in 2000) and hated it. Yet, it was her idea to move here. And she believes it to be the best move of her life and loves it here.

But I get the point of your advice, my wife and I are obviously an exception to the rule and probably did most things the wrong way on our move here, but it all worked well for us.

Richard

[Patf]

Richard - I can understand some people want to try something risky as it's more exciting, which was me in my youth, but now I tend to be more cautious. The article finishes with this paragraph: " I would always encourage people to try living abroad. But go with the intention of staying for a limited time. That way you can come back feeling that you have succeeded in doing something adventurous without feeling you have failed if you decide that England is where you really want to be." And I think this is excellent advice for those who can't decide whether to try it or not. Pat.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

I meant feeling failure in returning to the UK in that I can't stand the place now. I know I would be very depressed if I lived there again. Been back four times since 1998 and each time have counted the seconds down to get out again. England is not a place I would want to be. If it came to it and we had to leave France, it would be to go back to Australia.

But I do understand my wife and I are the exception to the rule and the above advice given is sound.

[monaco]

I retired to France in 2002 - and , yes, I was running away from something - from young people standing outside pubs, even in little villages, using foul language and vomiting, and from a dreadful health service, and grey weather.  I had worked in Monaco and Brussels and travelled in most areas of France, but I was a single woman of 60 and I loved the challenge.  I do think there is a lot more to be taken into account if you have children. 

My sister stayed with a husband who bored her to death for fifty years, because she wanted to be secure.  Well, you are very secure in the grave!

I see my children and grandchildren for about three months a year - probably as much as some grandmothers who live in the same county.  I have absolutely no regrets and love my life in the beautiful  French countryside.

[Babbles]

The trouble with staying somewhere for a limited time, you always know your going back which IMHO stops you from committing to the new place and making it work, my 6 monthes in Florida with work would have been a different experience if I had to stay there[;-)] Moh always says make a decision and then make the decision work, which seems like a pretty good attitude to life.

[Russethouse]

LOL - I shouldn't think being with Sebastien Faulkes for a year was too much of a hardship, anywhere. [;-)][;-)]