Earning enough to get by gardening, changeovers, handyman, light building work.

[Polly]

I would say that the OP's main worry is that he's 20 years too late, an awful lot of other people have been down the same route over those 20 years! Some are still going, some went to the wall, and some went back to the UK.

In Brittany, the Les Bons Voisins network seems to have got many areas covered. Check out the opposition, OP before you jump in!

[idun]

North Country Boy, sorry for high jacking the thread.

[dave21478]

[quote user="LEO"][quote user="sweet 17"]

Hang on a minute, Leo.  We don't know the size of Tony's garden and pool and also what sort of land it is.  For example, hedges take forever to cut and the trimmings even longer to cart away.

As for strimming, if there is a lot of rough ground, it's actually quite hard work and very hot work in the summer.

OTOH, I'd expect the contractor to give me an accurate quote and not just give me a low one so that I engage him to do the job and then he comes back and says sorry, but it's a lot harder work than I expected!

 

[/quote]

Tony said;,

we have been paying a French guy 2500.00 euros a year to cut and strim it.

Tony said he pays 2500 per year to have his grass cut .

[/quote]

I dont see an issue there....

Obviously nothing much needs done in winter, but here I have to cut the grass for 7 months or so of the year. That works out to €360 per month, and once a week is certainly not unfeasable, so thats €90 per week. Assuming a low charge of €15 per hour, that covers 6 hours work. Obviously thats excessive if he has 30m2 of lawn, but a larger garden will easily take a full day to do properly.

As for the OP, it has already been said before, but without a decent level of spoken French I think you will struggle. I started out doing that kind of work here and have since branched out into various other things although I still keep on a few handyman jobs for regular clients when I have the time.

[steve]

15€ an hour - ah good old black work! If you have some kit (decent) you wont be charging by the hour, but by the cut. That way, everyone knows how much its going to cost - if you know what you are doing then you can work out how long its going to take, then add a bit for 'emergencies' - if you cock up the origional price then tough, next time you will get it right -

I have customers paying 400€/month for pool and grass cutting - thats all year round. Could do with a few more though!

(Oh, and we only cut every 2 weeks unless its around the pool and looking untidy)

Steve

[Martin963]

Fascinating thread - and mirrors what we've seen round here.

What makes me sad is that I suspect (may be wrong) that France is also no longer "fashionable" with our fellow country-people.  Coupled with the £,  rocky property market in Britain,  and the health restrictions (which have caught us out because we dithered about moving here permanently and now can't) I feel that the comment that things would never properly return to how they were is spot on.

Which is sad,   simply because for me France is so lovely I have no wish to go anywhere else....

[mint]

[quote user="Martin963"]Fascinating thread - and mirrors what we've seen round here.

Which is sad,   simply because for me France is so lovely I have no wish to go anywhere else....

[/quote]

Martin, I can't agree more.  I wake up in the morning and I feel a surge of happiness and contentment to be here.  And all this before I have even got out of bed!  So, it can't be bad.

[Martin963]

I was introduced to France aged 10 in 1969.  It was - quite literally - love at first sight.   I can't explain why,  but even at that age I appreciated the way of life,  the scenery,  and particularly the food;   (my mother was rather fed up because I'd eat all the exotic things she'd order in the restaurant in preference to the "safer" choice she'd made for me,   she was torn between admiration for the quantities of exotic sea food I could put away and fear for the consequences on my digestion (we were camping)....   My father took one look at the price of Pepsi Cola and decided I should in future drink wine at all times.   Doubtless I'd have been taken into care if the situation had taken place nowadays.

I'm sure we're priviledged to be in the "nice" parts of France,   but somehow we've lost so many of our "good things" in Britain,    and somehow the French are - at least for the moment and in some places - hanging on to them.

But many would simply describe me as hopelessly old-fashioned.

[mint]

All I can say is, Martin, that I hope very much you are able nonetheless to enjoy your French property here until such times as you are able to live here permanently.

It will happen though it must seem like a very long time in the future for you.

All good wishes

[Martin963]

Thanks sweet.   Don't worry,  in spite of a winter that wasn't one of my best,  I do count my blessings;  we're lucky where we live in Devon (apart from the truly lamentable weather) and fortunate to be able to enjoy both places.

Incidentally I suspect we agree on quite a lot (I know we have in the past!).  I'm still trying to think of a suitable reply to your question on the Sarkhozy film in the Culture section.   Probably not going to get round to it though.    I think it'll blow over,   the people that matter take no notice of that sort of trivia (funny though it may be) when it comes to voting.

[LEO]

from martin963 to sweet 17,

then sweet 17  to martin963  ,

then martin963  to sweet 17,

 oh how lovely !

[Martin963]

I know,   30 all!

You're quite right,   we hijacked the thread a bit.   Apologies.