Pickles Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Nothing that hasn't been discussed here before but still a change from the rose-tinted glasses ....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23586037 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cendrillon Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks for posting this. Many years ago we looked at a house in Aubeterre but decided against both the house and the location. Instead we bought our holiday home in a fairly ordinary village, population 500 in Charente-Maritime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osie Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Quite a true article for the self employed but I dont think the work ethic applies to normal employed persons.. the employed French have a very different work ethic to a brit.. neither better nor worse but very different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 And this illustrates why parts of rural France suffered désertification, no work and foreigners moving there have kept their heads above water and inflated property prices.My France was different, and was seeing people going out to work very early in the morning, as we lived in a village some distance from the towns and cities, and getting back late. And then I'd read on here, that I didn't understand that brits were moving away from long London commutes, leaving the house really early and getting home really late. The big difference as far as I could see was that the french people were still doing it and not getting well paid and those from the UK seemed to have earned enough to buy somewhere and stop working or give some hospitality thing a bit of a go. And now these people's kids are doing the same, but these french commutes have kept the villages around me going and some thriving for all these years without an influx of other than french people....... My neighbour used to call it her profession, sorting out the kids clothing in Carrefour. She couldn't move to a Carrefour that was somewhat closer as she would have lost her anciennete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Just a few comments spring to mind; not particularly thought-out, so please feel free to criticise[:)]Tourism is very much an integral part of the French economy so no great shakes if a village like Aubeterre does depend greatly on tourists. Aubeterre also has a place down by the river with camping facilities and I have seen the whole village heaving with visitors on hot summer days.Arguably large parts of Wales are also considered tourist resorts or some sort of museum that one visits for its "quaintness". Also the same comment can be applied to many towns in the west country, Clovelly and little seaside places in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.Only a few days ago, I read an article (and OH saw a TV slot) about places on the south coast such as Hastings, Worthing, etc where large Victorian and Edwardian houses are now converted into multi-occupancy flats for people on benefits. Certainly, even years ago (before I ever came to live in France) our once-posh seaside town on the Welsh heritage coast was a magnet for social security claimants because "why would you live in a dead mining village on benefits in a Welsh valley when you could live on benefits by the sea"?All has to be seen in the context of changes in societies from being agrarian or industry-based to service industries and life in urban areas. And who could possibly forget the "crise financiale" that is affecting all of us?Lastly, I no longer set that much store by BBC output these days (with a few notable exceptions!) and they equally try to capture auduiences much as tabloids newspapers and the so-called "life-style" magazines.Yeah, gloom-and-doom headlines are great for business; even better if we can do a bit of French-knocking on the side...[:'(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 sweet17, isn't this a warning about losing tourism?????In the Alpes many places are tourist dependent too, but not the whole region either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 [quote user="sweet 17"]Only a few days ago, I read an article (and OH saw a TV slot) about places on the south coast such as Hastings, Worthing, etc where large Victorian and Edwardian houses are now converted into multi-occupancy flats for people on benefits. Certainly, even years ago (before I ever came to live in France) our once-posh seaside town on the Welsh heritage coast was a magnet for social security claimants because "why would you live in a dead mining village on benefits in a Welsh valley when you could live on benefits by the sea"?[/quote]This was a recent BBC report on the UK seaside town problem ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwmcn Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 17,We spend most of our holidays in France on campsites, using Eurocamp. They choose very nice campsites all over France and provide tents or mobile homes. The tents are already up, have bedrooms with beds, a tabe and chairs, a cooker and fridge, pots and pans, dishes, and knives, forks, and spoons. It is much better, and cheaper, than anything I've seen in GB. And the locals speak that quaint, funny language.David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I see a similar contrast between the dirty old town in which I live, and the 'Disneyland' place where I have spent some time recently.Guess in which one my wallet was stolen [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Wasn't Carcassonne by any chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Aubeterre - my idea of hell. [+o(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Closer to you and smaller.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Got the PM, it is the season I am afraid. Carcassonne has a load of problems and I suggest my guests take the same precautions as visiting say Toulouse for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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