woolybanana Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Well, if it were not for personal ties, I would seriously begin to wonder if France is worth it any more. The trouble is that taxation levels in different countries tend to leapfrog each other so the money issue does not really make that much difference, though I do resent being seen as a financial sponge to be wrung out to clean up the mess that the French have made of their economy over the last 50 or so years. My widower's mite is far smaller than they wanna realise and if they squeeze it any more, I shall start stamping my feet and losing weight, and may have to eat the doggies!However, culturally, the Vendée is beginning to irritate me. It is so up itself. Frankly, I think the burka would go down well here.A return to UK is not realsitic as the NHS would probably manage to do for me as their diabetes care is very patchy indeed and I don't like being talked down to. Besides, the Liverpool Care Pathway now constitutes legalized murder or economic euthanasia and makes me feel quite sick and ashamed of my country.Belgium is too cold; Italy, a bit too far though very attractive; Spain is not my thing; which leaves Portugal, though that too is a long way away.Hmmmm, just having a bad morning as it is housework day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 It is true that the medical side limits the options.At one point I thought about Eastern Europe, having had some good times on the Black Sea, but their best Doctors are in France now.I saw a charming place for sale in Sicily .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaud Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Norman, thanks for the clarifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pommier Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Somewhere else a couple of different lots of people were considering moving from Bulgaria to France so as to be nearer the UK. From what they have said, the health service in Bulgaria is not only excellent but also cheap and mostly English speaking. They were rather off-put by the cost comparisons in France. Not the place for me though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 A return to UK is not realsitic as the NHS would probably manage to do for me as their diabetes care is very patchy Its pretty good here abouts - can't you find out how it where you may want to move to ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Going slightly off topic... I was talking to a pal on Saturday who has a house in Florida with pool he rents out for £450 a week .After his agency garden maintenence costs and taxes he makes about £200... The UK governement from Air passenger tax for a family of 4 going out to his house gets over £500. Result he is being told from regular past users of his place they are sorry but with the tax on flights and how things are at the moment they will not be using it this year. So when it comes to people renting out houses for holidays .People with children who drive down to France these days are also watching their costs . Any increases due to extra taxes being placed onto owners whatever its called and passed on to holiday makers could just backfire . Turkey is becoming ever more popular as a value for money place to holiday this year . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 [quote user="Sprogster"]For those on lower incomes who are reliant on letting their holiday home for a few months a year to help fund the cost, clearly any increase in tax is not going to help.The negative publicity these tax changes have generated in the UK, is bound to make individuals considering purchasing in France a bit nervous about further increases.Also alternative countries like Spain and Italy who will now have lower taxes on property than France might be favoured instead.[/quote]I'm still not sure foreign (or even just UK) buyers are going to have that much of an impact. We only had a handful of people viewing our property in the period we had it up for sale, before we gave up, but I did notice they were all French. That was between two agencies - one aiming at marketing to foreigners and the other mainly marketing within France. Also, Italy apparently has huge legal fees and it's really dodgy buying in Spain at the best of times, but especially now they're going round telling folks they can't sell or bequeath their homes because they've decided that the relevant planning laws were ignored and they're going to demolish the place once they're gone!These taxes might affect UK people who own property in France but the French property market as a whole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 [quote user="woolybanana"]which leaves Portugal, though that too is a long way away.[/quote]I had a spell of looking there - but the language put me off! Bad enough struggling with French.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pommier Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I agree with Debra that UK buyers are such a small percentage of the total that they don't make a huge difference to prices. More important surely is the economic situation in France and how French people are affected.We only had French people enquire about our house (although one of them was UK resident!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 [quote user="Russethouse"]A return to UK is not realsitic as the NHS would probably manage to do for me as their diabetes care is very patchy Its pretty good here abouts - can't you find out how it where you may want to move to ?[/quote]Yes, RH, it would have to be researched very carefully indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I'm taking the OH for one of his regular eye tests today , ( the one where you can't drive afterward) our surgery has a specialist diabetes nurse and a doctor who also specialises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 As with many things medical, RH, I suspect that the cover is patchy. You live in a posh area where services are good, I guess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 GG, YCCMB and I all live within about 20 miles of each other. GG and I use the same hospital which is one of the largest non teaching hospitals I believe. I'm not sure about YCCMB's local hospital, but Val2's family live within a 20 mile radius and we know what she thinks about that area. Patchy is generous, spotty might be better......[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprogster Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 If my French neighbours are anything to go by, the standards of French hospital care seems to be slipping fast due presumably to budget cuts.Horror stories such as one French hospital overlooking blood clots on the lung that were highlighted in the scan report read by the patient as they were being driven home from hospital!Another critically unwell neighbour having to wait outside on a wooden bench at French A&E on Monday in 35 degree heat, as emergency room was over flowing, having previously been turned away from another hospital due to lack of beds.I get the impression that non urgent elective medical care in France is better, but emergency care is no better if not worse than the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I could certainly cite cases of bad emergency care in France.The best I had was in Marseilles during the 2003 heatwave, but often it depends which place you go to.We have the choice of 3 Urgences, one in the public hospital and 2 private cliniques.The latter seem more punctilious in looking to see if you have complications, but I suspect that is because they are touting for custom for the specialists who are behind the establishment. In addition if it were something really serious you might have to be transferred to the public because they have a full range of services, whereas the cliniques tend to cover the potentially profitable areas of medium surgical care etc, but not such things as neurology.So it is not always easy to judge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I have always been treated very well by the French health service, a million times better than I ever was in the UK. This has been discussed in the past and the thing I learnt from other forum members is that it is a post code lottery here just as it is in the UK. I have seen the A&E services operate only once here in France and it it slightly different down here than the UK.One of our guests a few year back collapsed and was unconscious, the ambulance was called and were here very quickly. In total we had about five or six people here within ten minutes. Once they were able to move the person they took them to the local A&E where they were seen whilst still in the ambulance by an A&E doctor. He made the decision there and then whether to admit the person or to forward them on the much bigger hospital in Carcassonne which is where they were sent because they wanted an MRI scan. The person was stabilized before being sent on, all done in the ambulance. I thought it was very efficient I must admit but I doubt you could operate the same type of system in the UK. I can only go on my own personal experiences and what I have seen with my own eyes.The only similarity between hospitals here and back in the UK is that you have to negotiate all the patients standing or sitting outside having a smoke complete with all sorts of things plugged in to them and the quality of hospital food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I don't live in a posh area, but know of a few people with type 2 diabetes and they are happy with their treatment, they haven't died 'yet'. Although whatever their treatment it is inevitable at some point. I suspect that health care is very 'spotty' in both countries. Hospital food Q? When I had my kids it was OK, but that was some time ago. My long stay and it was degueulas, the yoghurts and compote were edible, but they only let me have the yoghurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 And all this turns to where to move to. If you've thought of Portugal WB, then there's the Canary Islands, which have easy flights to/from all over europe. And I'm assured by people I know has a pleasant climate and not everywhere is full of tourists. I used to think that eastern europe would have been OK, but nationalism seems to be raising it's head again............. is that really only media hype????so I'm not sure how well forreners'd go down these days anyway. In France it would be a no-brainer for me. Cote Granit Rose in northern Brittany. That is where I'd have gone if we had stayed. I am pleased with my move. I'm sure it's not to most people's tastes, but it suits me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I don't live in a posh area, but know of a few people with type 2 diabetes and they are happy with their treatment, they haven't died 'yet'. Although whatever their treatment it is inevitable at some point.With the amount of monitoring he gets I suspect my husbands life expectation is just as good as someone without any condition who may have something nasty without knowing it......but you are right, we're all going to go sometime...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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