Jump to content

Any chance of earning a living.....


Spencer
 Share

Recommended Posts

We are seriously thinking of moving to France with our 2 young children but one of our main concerns would be how to earn a living.  We understand that it would be extremely difficult to get employment through a company and are looking at self employment.  My husband has experience as a carpet fitter and we would look at this kind of trade as a means of income (and we would need an income).   Would anyone have any idea if this would be a viable venture?????  Any advice or tips would be very welcome.

Geraldine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firstly, you should be aware that being self-employed in France is a completely different and a more expensive game than being the same in the UK. In France you will have to pay into compulsory social security, unemployment,pension, health and retirement schemes to name but a few and you need to be continually working to pay these charges. People do register for micro entreprise, but with a family to support,quite often the authorities will want to know how you  can manage this on a limited income. The other route is to register fully as an Artisan charging TVA whereby you must register at the local Chambre de Metiers and attend a full five day course onbusiness management in French. You may not also be aware either that carpets are not as popular in France,especially fitted ones and you very rarely find them downstairs as they are not practical especially in the country and for keeping clean. I would suggest you do some investigation into this trade before uprooting yourselves and ending up with no work and no money - harsh but true, France is not the easiest place to find work with unemployment rising and your lack of fluent language and of course, competing with already established local businesses offering the same trade.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote]I don't want to be flippant, but I've never seen a fitted carpet in France. Tile-laying might be more appropriate, or solid wood floors (I know someone who makes a living at that in England).[/quote]

I agree, fitted carpets are pretty rare in France and maybe you would struggle to earn a living from such.

Dick who is it?

Is it a young Dick at the proms, yes that's it ! I have seen this chap right at the front on the last night, bobbing up and down during the sea shanties and waving a little union jack

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well you might have seen me bouncing about at the proms (though I preferred the gallery) about 1964-69, but the picture is the younger (in all senses), less cynical and lighter me at a retirement 'do' about 1976...

I've got scarier ones than that!

- sorry to hijack your serious thread, Spencer -
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your frank responses!  Our initial posting was to test the water and we are not completely whet to the idea of moving to France.  We do have another option of my husband gaining employment with a company as an Accountant,  however, we understand that the work ethos in France is very different to that in the UK, and the idea of moving with a young family is to have a "better" life - after all isn't that why people move??

At least we know that carpet fitting is practically a non-starter so can now investigate other alternatives.

Geraldine 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote]I don't want to be flippant, but I've never seen a fitted carpet in France. Tile-laying might be more appropriate, or solid wood floors (I know someone who makes a living at that in England).[/quote]

Having been to hundreds of French houses I have seen hundreds of fitted carpets. However it would appear that 99% of them were either on the walls or ceilings.

But seriously carpets are not that popular with French folk, an indication of this is that there are few carpet stores or outlets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote]Having been to hundreds of French houses I have seen hundreds of fitted carpets. However it would appear that 99% of them were either on the walls or ceilings. But seriously carpets are not that pop...[/quote]

.......yes but I think they are becoming more popular with the younger generation.

As someone else said on another thread, carpets are available in places like Leroy Merlin - several are sold on rolls there and loads more styles can be ordered. Can't remember where it was but I have also seen lots of different hemp type carpets for sale - very North London.

And where do the Brits get theirs? Nearly everyone I know from the UK and living permanently in France have fitted carpets somewhere in their houses, usually in the bedrooms. LOL  - some houses are fully carpetted.

Maybe Geraldine and husband should concentrate on advertising and servicing the ex-pat community! Good luck whatever you decide to do though Geraldine.

regards.......helen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interestingly the house where we are currently living has carpets on the mezzanine, the upstairs hallway in the main part of the house and two of the bedrooms (and had very smelly carpet in the bathroom). We are the first non-French to have owned it since it was rebuilt in its present form about 25 years ago.

I very much fancy replacing some of the present carpet with the aforementioned 'North London' natural fibre, though Judie is worried about what the cats would do to it. A large rug of this type of material seems to be standing up to their claws far better than conventional carpet though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You say your husband could look for a job as an Accountant.  Well, I am a UK Chartered Accountant working in France and although it is possible to get a job here working as an accountant, I would advise you that you must be able to speak good French.  The accounting side is not much different - a debit is a débit, but you will need to talk to suppliers, clients, staff etc and it is more difficult over the phone.  My written French wasn't as good but I have created standard letters (to the bank, suppliers etc) with help from the other staff who corrected my mistakes in the beginning.

One thing you can do is take a "Bilan de Compétence" in accounting which, if you pass, gives you a certificate of competency which you can show to prospective employers.  You can get details of where you can take the test from your local ANPE (French equivalent of the job centre).  You can also register with the ANPE and receive e-mails of prospective job offers as soon as the employer registers the offer.  You need to define certain criteria, e.g. geographical area and job type being the most important.

You must also expect to earn a lot less here, I am in the south west and I earn half the wage I earned in Surrey, but the advantages are a 5 minute journey to work, I come home for lunch, less stress and I also work part time, with Wednesdays off (no school for the kids) so it is worth it!!

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Jenny

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a thought, but you do see some fitted carpets and they are often very poorly laid.  It may that good carpet fitters are not very plentiful.......

Check it out, next time you are in France. Root out carpet shops and research how they go about fitting carpets for clients.  You could have hit ona very good idea.

It is true if you that being self employed in France is not as attractive as in the UK, but in reality it is on a par with being employed in the UK.  People seem to forget that a employed person in the UK paying basic rate tax is really being taxed at 34% on most of their earnings.  People often forget National Insurance when talking about the 22% rate of tax.  No employed people pay tax at just 22%.

Stephen(19)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Solier-moquettiste is the name for a" carpet fitter",they work for companies who do"revetements du sol".However they don't just  fit carpets, they do screed floors, vinyl floor coverings,laminate flooring and as said somewhere else wall coverings ,(not wallpaper)this type of work exists around larger towns and cities ie Rennes ,Nantes ,Paris etc.The metier of Solier-moquettiste has a nationally recognised diploma.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for your tips and advice - it is all very welcome.  Our main issues are earning a living and schooling for our children and these need to be sorted out before we can make any firm plans.  This forum provides a wealth of information for people in our situation.    Geraldine
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was planning to live in France and be franc do as little as possible...I have a couple of E bay shops and I could run them from my lap top.....Maybe stretch to pick half a dozen apples of the ground and put them on a table for the British tourists...

 

I wound`nt need a pension or anything because I will still have one foot in England...

 

Hard work should be left for the youngsters....[winky smilley]

 

mick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...