Is it worth moving to France?

[tinabee]

[quote user="Sprogster"]

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]

You are right Sprogster - just checked out our local (French) prices and compared them with where we used to live in UK.

Petrol: a few cents MORE expensive here, diesel: about 15-20 cents cheaper.

[lostinfrance]

[quote user="lostinfrance"][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.

[/quote]

The sun is shining now. No rain!!!

[Scooby]

[quote user="lostinfrance"]

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.

[/quote]

Sorry I wouldn't want to go to Spain - even if I was paid to do so!!  Likewise the Algarve and a few other parts of Portugal.  Plus, I love England and love sending time with my family there - so why would I not want to go home to be with them?

[lostinfrance]

[quote user="Scooby"][quote user="lostinfrance"]

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.

[/quote]

Sorry I wouldn't want to go to Spain - even if I was paid to do so!!  Likewise the Algarve and a few other parts of Portugal.  Plus, I love England and love sending time with my family there - so why would I not want to go home to be with them?

[/quote]

Pardon,

             So be it.

                          Horses for course.

                                                          c`est la vie.

[Sprogster]

Often overlooked, but family is a major factor, as if you are fortunate to have a close knit family being near to see your grandchildren grow up for at least pasrt of the year could be an important consideration

[woolybananasbrother]

That works two ways. Being a frontier away works wonders too. Though the traditional solution of Indjya is probably a little passé

[lostinfrance]

So true,

            But not to all peoples taste

[KathyF]

[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.[/quote]

We managed to afford it by downsizing drastically to a small cottage in the UK and only buying a small, now 2-bedroomed house in France. The French house was very cheap, because it needed considerable (but not complete) renovation., and still is very reasonable in terms of taxes and other expenses. We do sacrifice other luxuries to be able to continue having a two-country life, but it's worth it! [:D]

[AnOther]

If prices continue to plummet in UK maybe we could be tempted to buy a little flat somewhere although if we wanted to escape the French winter we'd be more likely to fly South, as far as New Zealand even [;-)]

 

[Scooby]

That would be my choice too Ernie - southern hemisphere somewhere.  I'm probably going to offend lots of people now but winter in the Costa del Sol eating fish and chips and playing bingo with lots of other oldies would be my idea of hell!!

[woolybananasbrother]

Couldn't agree more Scooby.

[Jill<br><br>Jill (99)]

[quote user="Cathy"]

Keeping your UK house will give you an exit strategy of things go wrong.  What about having a year's trial, to include a winter, in France? 

Personally, I like winters in France because they are shorter and, correspondingly, springs and autumns are longer.  Make sure that you have a wood burning stove.

 

 

[/quote]  I'm just wondering why you put such importance on a wood burning stove.  When I stay with French friends who have wood burning stoves, I always get asthma and I only get it from red setters in England.  Also, wood burners make everything stink of smoke.  I know that electricity is said to be more expensive in France than in England, but of course we have gas central heating in England, but is there no cheaper way of getting warmth in France other than using smelly wood burners?  I would like to buy a house in France, but would really prefer to have something more instantaneous, less work and less smelly.

[AnOther]

[quote user="Scooby"]That would be my choice too Ernie - southern hemisphere somewhere.  I'm probably going to offend lots of people now but winter in the Costa del Sol eating fish and chips and playing bingo with lots of other oldies would be my idea of hell!!
[/quote]No argument from me on that one Scooby, somewhere near a decent diving location would suit me admirably [;-)]

[AnOther]

[quote user="Jill"]I'm just wondering why you put such importance on a wood burning stove.  When I stay with French friends who have wood burning stoves, I always get asthma and I only get it from red setters in England.  Also, wood burners make everything stink of smoke.  I know that electricity is said to be more expensive in France than in England, but of course we have gas central heating in England, but is there no cheaper way of getting warmth in France other than using smelly wood burners?  I would like to buy a house in France, but would really prefer to have something more instantaneous, less work and less smelly.[/quote]

Surely Asthma is a chronic condition and not something you 'get' from Red Setters and wood burning stoves [blink]

Wood burning stoves need not neccessarily smell and if they do to the extent you describe I'd say that there was likely something wrong with them. Also I think that the majority would agree that what smell you do get is not an altogether unpleasant one and can add a wonderful cosy atmosphere to a room. Of course, if you're burning unseasoned wood or other rubbish...............!

I'm not sure electricity is any more expensive in France, certainly being some 80% reliant on nuclear generation the country has been largely shielded from some of the massive rises seen in UK and elsewhere where generation is by fossil fuel.

Of the fossil fuel sources gas is only available in the larger villages and towns, LPG is a bit of a non contender which only leaves oil which is becoming less and less tenable except for those for whom cost is no object.

Given all the above then it's not difficult to appreciate why wood is such a popular choice.

 

 

[mint]

I agree with most of your post, Ernie.

The first argument I have with you is the remark about asthma.  Yes, you either have it or you don't but some asthmatics' condition can be set of by triggers and certainly 2 of these triggers can be animal fur and smoke.

But, I do agree that wood smoke is lovely; I adore the smell of ours.  I can't deny that there is a bit of work involved in running the stoves (we have 2).  Getting in the wood and, because we don't have proper storage, keeping the wood dry (eg taking the tarpaulins off the logs on fine days to give it all a bit of an airing), bringing the wood indoors, etc.

Wood fires do undeniably generate dust and, if you have a glass-fronted woodburner, you need to clean the glass to keep it looking nice.

Having said all that, a "real" fire is one of the great enjoyments of winter life in France and I wouldn't like to be without ours.

[AnOther]

[quote user="sweet 17"]The first argument I have with you is the remark about asthma.  Yes, you either have it or you don't but some asthmatics' condition can be set of by triggers and certainly 2 of these triggers can be animal fur and smoke.[/quote]Quite so Sweets, but you put your finger on it when you say " animal fur and smoke". I think it would be a rare strain which would be set off specifically by Red Setters or smoke from wood burning stoves but I guess it's possible.

The work involved in providing for and tending to a wood burner is half the enjoyment is it not ?

Hard to remember I'll admit when it's 12deg below outside and you need to fetch some in [:-))]

 

[Gluestick]

Interesting.............

I suffer with mild asthma, which mainly manifests itself as Hay Asthma in the pollen season.

Our French woodburner affects me not at all: but then as Ernie states, there has to be summat oop if any woodburner emits any sort of fumes whatsoever!

Possibly the door seals need urgent replacement: or the stove-conduit joint needs re-sealing. Anyway it is potentially dangerous as woodburners produce free CO if not burning correctly and leaks will prevent full correct combustion. (Which is why an electronic CO alarm sits above ours!).

Friends nearby have an open fire in the Winter which does produce a considerable amount of smoke and fume into the living room when wind gusts cause downdraughts and that can make my eyes water and itch and bring on the odd wheeze.

Allergens can very often be breed-specific: for example, my son, who is also mildly asthmatic, is affected by Labs (a breed he loves) but not many other dogs.

Agree about the glass, Sweets! I now cheat and use a spray-on oven cleaner! Cheaper than the fire glass cleaner and quicker, too!

[Patf]

Llanthony - a bit late but thought I would add my comments on your question.

We originally bought a house here as a holiday house, having just sold one in Scotland. It was a cheap habitable house with a lovely view. For the first year or two we were back and forwards a lot, but gradually spent more time here and rented out our UK house. 

During those first years we did all the things that people get told off for on here ie kept UK car without registering it, used E111 and paid at the doctors, didn't fill in a tax return etc. But now we are more or less legal.

So if you can afford to keep your UK house I would advocate doing it the way we did. Gives you time to sort out your priorities. I should add that we do intend to return eventually.

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Gluestick"]

Agree about the glass, Sweets! I now cheat and use a spray-on oven cleaner! Cheaper than the fire glass cleaner and quicker, too!

[/quote]

But Gluestick haven't you read these other threads on wood-burning stove glass door cleaning methods?

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1155724/ShowPost.aspx

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/788058/ShowPost.aspx

Damp cloth and the ash from the pan, cheaper than cheap, its free![:)]

[Gluestick]

Yes I have thanks, Jackie.

In the old brass bin thingy we keep next the fire, I have one of those scraper thingies with a Stanley type blade which is aces for scraping off deposits.

Impossible to get 'em off the cast iron door bits between the glass however with the scraper!

If I only use decent aged wood, the glass hardly carbons up.

And I'm lazy!

[:)]

[chessfou]

[quote]

Do you really care about a few Xtra minutes of day light?[/quote][Frenchie]

Oh yes! It's not just a few - for us it's about an hour (compared with where we were in SE England) in mid-winter - that's about 12-15% more (you could think of it as the difference between Super95 @ €1.30 or @ €1.48 but with "more" being "cheaper" [:D]). And it's not just the extra daylight, it's the quality of that light - winters in uk (even S) are just so dull and miserable, while here the sky is much more often clear and bright.

In the summer the uk gets more hours of daylight but who needs them then? If you really do need them in summer then go N to Scotland or Iceland.

I'm surprised at the ideas for spending winter in uk and summer in France. Wouldn't it generally make more sense to do it the other way around? Certainly we have some elderly relatives who live in the uk but winter in Spain.

[Llantony]

We are thinking of getting a wood-burning stove as the open fire gets very smoky and eats loads of wood.

However,  the comments about cleaning them are not relevant to the original post!

 

 

[Tressy]

[quote user="Llantony"]We are thinking of getting a wood-burning stove as the open fire gets very smoky and eats loads of wood.

However,  the comments about cleaning them are not relevant to the original post![/quote]

Uh oh! The 'no diverging from the OP' light has been illuminated![:'(]

Look on the bright side, Llanthony. You'll know exactly where to look for solutions when the pristine glass in your WBS gets covered in sticky brown stuff.[:)]

[mint]

[quote user="chessfou"][quote] Do you really care about a few Xtra minutes of day light?[/quote][Frenchie]

Oh yes! It's not just a few - for us it's about an hour (compared with where we were in SE England) in mid-winter - that's about 12-15% more (you could think of it as the difference between Super95 @ €1.30 or @ €1.48 but with "more" being "cheaper" [:D]). And it's not just the extra daylight, it's the quality of that light - winters in uk (even S) are just so dull and miserable, while here the sky is much more often clear and bright.

In the summer the uk gets more hours of daylight but who needs them then? If you really do need them in summer then go N to Scotland or Iceland.

I'm surprised at the ideas for spending winter in uk and summer in France. Wouldn't it generally make more sense to do it the other way around? Certainly we have some elderly relatives who live in the uk but winter in Spain.
[/quote]

Chessfou, I so agree about the quality of the light.  It was one of the first things I noticed when we came here to live.

The light here is like the light in the Mediterranean countries; clear, and you can see for miles.  In the UK, especially in South Wales where I lived, the light is often hazy, even in the height of summer.

I often wish I was an artist and can try to capture the quality of the light here on canvas (not that the greatest artist in the world can quite do that!)

[KathyF]

[quote user="chessfou"]I'm surprised at the ideas for spending winter in uk and summer in France. Wouldn't it generally make more sense to do it the other way around? Certainly we have some elderly relatives who live in the uk but winter in Spain.
[/quote]

Not really, chessfou, as in winter there is little happening in rural France and it costs a lot to heat the house. [:)] Many of the older people who winter in Spain stay in hotels on special deals which costs less than it would to live at home in cold weather, and are usually on the south coast where even winter can be warm.