suein56 Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="Cat"] Today the local sunrise/sunset times are 0609 to 2140 in my bit of France, and 0501 to 2132 for Devon![/quote]And 06h12 to 22h09 here in southern Morbihan.And yes, Frenchie, I would miss the extra minutes of winter daylight if they were no longer there. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="woolybananasbrother"]Not just daylight is the problem though? Many houses themselves are dark inside. This may be an agreeable retreat from the summer heat but in winter or the endless grey days, those rooms gets pretty depressing too, despite good lighting and warm fires. SAD is a real but unnoticed problem in France, often, I suspect, covered by an increased alcohol intake.[/quote]I agree - what may be pleasant shade in the summer is just deadly dull the rest of the time, a lack of good daylight levels are bad for the soul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I have rejected many houses because I consider them too dark.However, you could make a big difference by painting walls and ceilings in light shades and you could look at the possibility of installing some velux windows. These 2 measures could make a massive difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Removing part of the floor above a room and creating a mezzanine, with the insertion of skylights is a good way to get light into a place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I am happy to lose some summer daylight while I am sleeping for longer winter days, although in Picardie the differnece is probably minimal even if we were able to see the sun [:)]What I do notice and recently read a long debate on the pros and cons is that in French summer daylight saving time is 2 hours different to the solar time. I.E. midday when the sun is highest in the sky here in summer is actually at 14.00 hours.France being more or less on the prime meridian should really be on GMT instead of BST, the daylight saving compounds this.So now when my friends (French) ridicule me for eating lunch at 14.00, getting up and working later than them I have a ready made excuse.I do wonder though when I see the warnings in French on sun-cream to avoid the mid-day sun whether people realise what this actually means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I simply adapt to the place where I am. My walls and floors are white at home, and on long winter evenings, I enjoy feeling cosy at home, with the sweet light from lamps ..Even when I'm in the UK, I feel perfectly well..But I have the feeling I could easily live anywhere, as long as I have the ones I love around me, I really don't care about a few Xtra minutes of daylight.But of course we all have a different perception of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Wish it was so simple, Frenchie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinfrance Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="Frenchie"]I simply adapt to the place where I am. My walls and floors are white at home, and on long winter evenings, I enjoy feeling cosy at home, with the sweet light from lamps ..Even when I'm in the UK, I feel perfectly well..But I have the feeling I could easily live anywhere, as long as I have the ones I love around me, I really don't care about a few Xtra minutes of daylight.But of course we all have a different perception of things.[/quote]In lots of ways the French Culture and the English Culture differ.As the comments made on forums show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Well, to me it is. I must be simple, is that what you mean ?? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="lostinfrance"]In lots of ways the French Culture and the English Culture differ.As the comments made on forums show.[/quote]That is really interesting!! Could you please develop, I would be glad to know about how you perceive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinfrance Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="Frenchie"]Well, to me it is. I must be simple, is that what you mean ?? LOL[/quote]no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Sorry Lostinfrance.. I was addressing that méchant Woolyb..... [:)]your post got in between.. [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 yes[kiss] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 ze banane eez no échant, but a leetle bent babyeeWait til my sister joins, she is called Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinfrance Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="Frenchie"]Sorry Lostinfrance.. I was addressing that méchant Woolyb..... [:)]your post got in between.. [:)][/quote]O.K. The story of me live. Getting between.[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="lostinfrance"][quote user="Frenchie"] Sorry Lostinfrance.. I was addressing that méchant Woolyb..... [:)]your post got in between.. [:)][/quote]O.K. The story of me live. Getting between.[:D][/quote][:D][:D] But I wrote a post to you.. and you didn't answer... [Www] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="woolybananasbrother"]yes[kiss][/quote]Well I knew... you can't be liked by evryone can you?? sans rancune [kiss] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 When did you have your rancunes removed, you poor dear Frenchie? I know there was something. Did the medication contain the wild chest hair growth which is so often a side effect and the urge to indulge in young flesh that gets so many people who have that operation into trouble with the maw?You have all my sympathy. Come up and see me sometime. YEAH BABA[6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I am a happy person, I rarely have " rancunes".. ( well, there are a few exceptions..) [:)]I have no time in my life for being grumpy or bitter. I almost lost my life years ago, now I'm just happy to wake up every morning.. and yeahhh call em fluffy, etc... Je serai toujours sans rancunes.. eh oui mon cher, c est comme ça..les gens méchants?? answering ?? Just can't be ars*d... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinabee Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="Llantony"] After owning a small French house for 5 years, we have staggered on to retirement (age 60 and 61 soon) with the intention of moving there permanently. We have made lots of friends and love going there. We still have small UK house which we plan to rent to our son (no room for us to live there too, except for very brief visits). I am beginning to wonder if it would be better to spend a lot more time in France but still be UK residents officially. Reasons: Health care costs (I'm so far very healthy but OH is on cholesterol reducing medication permanently), the euro being so strong against the pound, the hassle of reregistering the car and insuring it in France, having to do French tax returns -tho our main income will be a teacher's pension & taxed before we get it. Also our house is rather dark and only has a view from the garden above it, which is fine in the summer but could get depressing.Any thoughts? I have heard of people spending the summer in France and winter in the UK but no-one has ever explained how they sort out things like healthcare and car insurance! I thought officially we should re-register our car and be officially resident after 3 months. [/quote]Going back to the OP's question - is it worth moving to France?Option 1: Move to FrancePros: additional rental income from UK house, no council tax, no road tax, cheaper petrol/diesel, lower heating bills (and you can still get UK winter fuel allowance if you move at the right time), winter in south of France [:D], . . .Cons: some admin for car, tax, top-up health insurance costs, exchange rate impact all year, dark house, . . .Option 2: summers in France, winters in UKPros: no health, tax, car admin, exchange rate impact for only 6 months, . . . Cons: council tax/property taxes in both countries, road tax, more expensive petrol/diesel, may need French top-up insurance for 6 months (or travel insurance), car insurance may be more expensive, winter in Nottingham [+o(]Feel free to add/amend your own pros and cons [:-))] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyF Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Llantony, like Hoddy we spend the summer in France, but the rest of the year in the UK, for very similar reasons, and really enjoy living in two countries. My instinct (and it is only that) is that you shouldn't move permanently unless you are sure you really want to do so. Emigrating with reservations doesn't sound like a good idea. If you are seriously tempted to emigrate, a trial winter is an excellent suggestion. If you are happy in France in winter, my guess is that you will be happy there all year round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Personally I'm opting for a retirement spending the summer in France and winter in the UK (well maybe go elsewhere in the peak summer months when it gets hot and packed with tourists!) We had a few weeks in France the first year we bought the house and it was pretty dire. Freezing cold, nothing to do and the fuel bills for that period were horrendous - we could have heated our UK house for a year for the cost of heating the French house in January. Although I love France - I also love to come home - and I would certainly prefer to spend Christmas with my extended family in the UK. My three children wouldn't come to France for Christmas anyway - we tried last year and they refused point blank!! (Afraid the french health service has no appeal for me - bad, bad experiences there!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Strongly endorse what the two previous posters have written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprogster Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 If you can afford to maintain two homes and spend the winters in the UK and summers in France, you probably have the best of both worlds.I suspect there are members of this forum who ideally would like to do just this, but the only way they can maintain a house in France is by selling their UK home and moving to France permanently.Not sure if the price comparison some posters have made asserting fuel prices are appreciably lower in France is still correct with the much weaker £ to euro rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinfrance Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote user="Sprogster"]If you can afford to maintain two homes and spend the winters in the UK and summers in France, you probably have the best of both worlds.I suspect there are members of this forum who ideally would like to do just this, but the only way they can maintain a house in France is by selling their UK home and moving to France permanently.Not sure if the price comparison some posters have made asserting fuel prices are appreciably lower in France is still correct with the much weaker £ to euro rate. [/quote]Sorry i must disagree with you. We live in France and yes when the sun shines lovely, (le soleil brie), The winters long, But we go south then to south Spain or Portugal, it never gets below 7 degrees. So heating costs. So why go back to U.K. and spend money? Retirement good if you spend no money,so go to the places that cost less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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