Spencer Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 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). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Miki Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 [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 More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Spencer Posted August 31, 2004 Author Share Posted August 31, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Jirac18 Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 [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 More sharing options...
zeb Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 [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 More sharing options...
Will Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Jennys Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Thedunnes Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Mysfloss Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Dublin_Annie Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 JennySorry to but in OP.I am another CA. Are you working in industry or practice? How easy was it to get work?I've no immediate plans to move to France (barring a lotto win) but if the opportunity should arise....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted September 2, 2004 Author Share Posted September 2, 2004 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 More sharing options...
dandaz Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 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 More sharing options...
Toucan Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Ive seen a French carpet fitter in action - they GLUE the underlay down, then glue the carpet on top. It takes forever.Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesLauriers Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 ...it also takes forever to get the damned stuff off again to reveal a lovely parquet floor underneath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennys Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 To Dublin AnnieI have sent you an e-mail in answer to your question, didn't want to hi-jack the thread!Jenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peabody Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 this whole thread is about threads.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now