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Joining the Exodus from France?


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Scooby, Will and Cooperlola

I am with you. France is not better than the UK, it has things going for it that the UK doesn't ( roads, healthcare etc etc), but the UK has things France doesn't, a social life for example, and supermarkets that are open when I want to go shopping. I am sure the pros and cons for each country are equally as long.

I am in France permanently, not my choice my companies. But I have done my best to settle here, bought a house, learnt the language etc. etc. but I can't see myself here forever, I don't want my kids growing up thinking it's normal to close your shutters at 7pm and thats the end of the day.

 

 

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Hi I agree with you all too,  I love France but also love the UK.  I'm with Oakbri on the social life , I miss just being able to go out for a nght with my girl friends, that really doesn't happen around here, I do get to go back to the UK quite often (4 or 5 times a year) and so I always make a big effort to catch up so I guess I don't really  miss out. 

As for children, I agree there too it's not just the closed up shutters at 7 mentality, there is also very little aspirational thinking in french rural schools and I want my son to aspire to be the best he can be, I will be making a choice when he reaches secondary school age and the choice will be to live in a French city with an international school (to ensure his english is up to the standard of his french) or move on to another country, could be the UK but more likely somewhere else, NZ or Canada always appeal.

Panda

 

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Find I have to disagree regarding social life here in France.  While it is true that diddy French villages don't have much going on, that is equally true of diddy English/American villages.  Because France is the bigger country (than the UK) sometimes the distances between towns/cities can give the impression it is "socially quieter" .. but if you want nightlife move nearer a bigger conurbation.  If you move from Edinburgh/London/New York to a tiny hamlet in rural France expect to find it quiet ... but move to rural mid Wales, Shropshire, Orkneys, Iowa et al and you'll find the same

There is plenty of social life in two cities I know well: Toulouse and Nice ... certainly more than enough to give Chelmsford, Guildford, St Albans, Wokingham a run for their money.

And even at our country home (a teeny village in the Tarn) there is some social life ... my wife was out "with the girls" only last night!

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It so depends where you come from, where you choose to move to, and what you are looking for.

We live on the outskirts of Reading - big, rather brash, seems to have a lot of crime (local daily newspaper headlines/articles), with good shopping facilities and very close to lovely countryside, plus good transport links. However, we pay council tax to Wokingham, which is also very close, and is small, quiet, andwith more individual shops - and a Waitrose! (and came top in another league table out last week - not quite sure why, although it's a nice place!)

We are very contented with our fairly busy lives here, friends and family, but we also spend a lot of time in France each year. So we are buying an brand new apartment (heard on Monday that we go to do the inspection visit at the end of November - 2 months earlier than expected!) - not the roses round the door type of property we would have bought years ago, if we could have afforded it then.

We will spend several weeks at a time in each house/country; mostly autumn, spring & winter in France, with the summer (what summer, this year, you might ask!) in England. Friends & family will be able to use the apartment in the summer - our sons have already planned their summer holiday there next year!

We are buying in a small town in the Gard, which we have visited for many years, and which has lots going on all year round, a lovely old town and a spectacular market, with beautiful countryside all around. We already know a few people, and are recognised at cafés and restaurants when we return.

I always thought we would move back to the country sometime, but it never seemed the right time, and it wouldn't be a good thing for us now - we're at an age when we think about sensible things like being reasonably close to amenities such as shops, doctor, hospital etc.

I think it all boils down to horses for courses!

Jo

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Like Will and others on this page, I love both France and the UK and am very happy to spend time in each. To make this possible we've drastically down-sized here in the UK and are now lucky enough to have small homes in beautiful mid-Wales and equally beautiful southern Manche, as well as spending some weeks each year in another favourite area - the far northern coast of Scotland. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't think of coming to live full-time in France until we're of E121 age, as no-one would insure me privately with my health record, at least not at a rate we could possibly afford. [:(]

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[quote user="Ian"]Find I have to disagree regarding social life here in France.  While it is true that diddy French villages don't have much going on, that is equally true of diddy English/American villages.  Because France is the bigger country (than the UK) sometimes the distances between towns/cities can give the impression it is "socially quieter" .. but if you want nightlife move nearer a bigger conurbation.  If you move from Edinburgh/London/New York to a tiny hamlet in rural France expect to find it quiet ... but move to rural mid Wales, Shropshire, Orkneys, Iowa et al and you'll find the same

There is plenty of social life in two cities I know well: Toulouse and Nice ... certainly more than enough to give Chelmsford, Guildford, St Albans, Wokingham a run for their money.

And even at our country home (a teeny village in the Tarn) there is some social life ... my wife was out "with the girls" only last night!
[/quote]

Ian

I am jealous. I have visited many areas in France and found the only places with any social life are the tourist areas, and it's the tourists out socialising. I have also then visited the same places out of season and found then as dead as everywhere else.

I come from a small village in the UK and the social life happens 12 months a year as its not tourist dependant.

I have many French friends and they, like the majority of their countrymen (and women), seem content to lock their shutters before 7pm and thats the last you see of them. It is quite a contrast to say Spain or Italy where at night everyone goes out for a walk and there is a general buzz in the air.

I accept there may be places in France which have a buzzing social life and all the locals enjoy going out but I have yet to find it.

Reading through other posts it seems I am not alone in my views and boredom seems to be a common factor in why so many people are moving out of France.

I am planning to sell my current house next year and I am in the process of locating my ideal place to live which has mountains, sea, weather AND a social life, sadly if it proves too elusive I will be joining the exodus.

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It's English shops I miss - not supermarkets as they are better in France - produce is fresher!( eg milk and carrots! English carrots go soft so so quickly and fresh milk lasts only 2 days!) Also, with the exception of English sausages and golden syrup, all we would ever need is right there on the shelves now! It is clothes shops and M and S and the local farm shop and farmer's markets and all those little craft shops that have special things in for a different birthday gift! I do use the Internet to buy things on now more than I ever would living in the UK!

We are in a rural community but I have found French and English friends here in Charente Maritime and enjoy a reasonable social life playing cards and eating shared suppers.

At the end of the day, life is what you make it! You have to be bold and invite people into your home because if you just sit there behind your shut shutters, life will pass you by!

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In my opinion anyone who considers that France has the 'best' in produce quality needs to get out of france and travel to other surrounding countries such as Switzerland and Italy where I have recently found that so many everyday things are of such higher quality. French butter for example, in my opinion, is the worst I have ever tried (too crumbly). And as for farmers markets; I have only ever encountered rotting vegies and poo-covered eggs (yes, I know how the chicken ejects them but I still prefer them cleaned).  We`also live in a very rural area where the local neighbours are too busy to come for dinner, and too dis-interested to ask us to do same.

I suppose it helps socially to choose to live in an area where one's fellow expats have already established themselves in large numbers, but in some areas of France this is not the case. My shutters have always been open. I am fed up with being bold. I hate standing in line for half an hour (literally) at the village poste to post just one letter while the sole counter worker chats idly with an old lady at the front of the line and conducts a phone conversation before disappearing out the back for 10 minutes in between customers. The local 'cinema' attracts the locals who chat with each other loudly and continuously throughout the film.  And those quaint little weekly markets, usually selling cheap matronly clothing and smelly fish, are not for me. I have no tolerance for the lack of consumer rights or basic provision of customer service here. Personally I am looking forward to saying 'au revoir France' - before life passes me by any longer.

Some parts of France suit some people, but not all of France suits everyone. If you like it here in your little niche then stay; if you don't then there is no shame at all in leaving.

 

 

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My word, did you not check it all out BEFORE you came?  I dare say France will be glad to say goodbye to you too.  I won't say "au revoir" because that means "until we see each other again"!  I am NOT making any apology for my comment.  It was all so pointless, all those "sorreee" when one doesn't mean it at all.
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That's the problem my dear... you cannot check out absolutely everything. Being a tourist is not the same as being a resident. Seeing things from the 'inside' sheds a whole new light. Ive been here long enough, a few years in fact, to state that with confidence. Like I said. France suits some, not everyone. We gave it a go, we don't like it.  If you don't like a party you leave...right?. Only we stayed long enough to make sure of that.[:)]
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No, we get along quite well. Very well in fact. Its just that they are not into 'entertaining'. Tell me something I have noticed...why do some expats get so insolent and defensive when you say you don't find France to be all that?. 'More French than the French' I have heard it said...my not liking it here is not mean't to offend you so don't take it as such. 

 

 

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Well, certainly wild horses would not persuade us to return to the UK - a sinking ship is a sorry sight, but that place is a complete and utter mess best left to those with no other alternative. We have a very short list we have spent the past two years drawing up. Time will tell.
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[quote user="Jura"]Well, certainly wild horses would not persuade us to return to the UK - a sinking ship is a sorry sight, but that place is a complete and utter mess best left to those with no other alternative. We have a very short list we have spent the past two years drawing up. Time will tell.[/quote]  

Don't be so quick to write off the UK - it has many positives.

I guess you are from "...the grass is always greener......" school of life, Jura  [:)]

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Will there as been some interesting views made, Yes one of the bigest reasons for us leaving france is its plain boring, The shutters are closed at 7.30 and thats that. Out side the larger cities not much works very well, we have had so many elec cuts due to low current, the so say boardband internet cuts out if more then 3 people are using the hub at the same time, Yes life is slow, But its more like being die then alive, as to the markets italy, spain can beat france hands down any day. Can,t wait to get out of the place before I get to old, as to those people that always run down people leaving, maybe they have just burned their bridges and just need to believe France is a great place, For me it a grave yard of boring small minded people. michael       
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Yes several interesting views with people seeming to be in 2 distinct camps. Firstly the "France is great and slag off anyone who dares to say different" and the "I hate France, can't wait to leave"

Having just returned from a great weekend in the UK the problems here are even more prominent than usual, however I realise that I now view the UK through rose tinted spectacles and as much as I love to visit I don't know if I could settle again. The hardest part for me was as we left the UK, my 6 year old son being close to tears and saying he didn't want to come back to France. He had such a fun weekend.

The company I work for has around 80% non French employees. Of the foreign employees only myself and a handful of others chose to settle here. The others commute over to begin their shift and commute straight back at the end. I must admit I feel jealous when they tell me stories of their basic family weekend, going to watch the football saturday, followed by a few pints down the local, then sunday morning shopping in the city centre and the cinema in the afternoon. All very basic things and all totally impossible for me. I actually dread sundays as there is nothing at all to do.

This all leaves me in a difficult situation. I don't want to stay here but I don't think I could go back. I need somewhere that is as lively as the UK but without all its inherent problems.

If anyone has found this place please share it !!!!!

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Katy Kopy Kat/Just Katie... as someone who does not live here in France what advice, from experience, do you have to the contrary?. Where do you live in France?.

No Panda, I am not returning to Australia.

Yes I was Wen and am now Jura. Got bored with the former name. Hope that's ok with you all.

Got bored with France, that's all. Hope that's ok with you all.

If you think that France offers the be all and end all then I suggest you broaden your horizens. Because it does not.

Otherwise who gives a toss.

Freedom of choice still exists.[:P]

Terry 1956; wholeheartedly agree but your comments wont be popular here in 'we love France so why don't you-land'.

By the way, I loved Belfast..yes it is the UK but hardly any English people there...that's the difference.

 

 

 

 

 

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[quote user="terry1956"] For me it a grave yard of boring small minded people. michael       [/quote]

I take it that description is applied by you to anyone who does not think the way you do?

Each to his own Michael, You dont have to like what I like and vice versa - so which one of us is boring and small minded?

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