In 3 months' time exactly...

[DZ]

... I'll be moving to France!  The one-way ticket has been bought months ago and now we are in the throws of redecorading the house with a view to letting it/finishing hectic work/contacting various official bodies etc.  I am writing up all that needs doing on a daily basis, to keep a record of developments and just in case this advice comes in handy to others sometime in the future (even if we find out that this was one big mistake and have to get back).

Wish me luck - this is scary and very exciting!

[Catalpa]

Don't forget to take time out for an apero on sunny evenings. [:D] It's good to be scared occasionally... in a good way and not because someone with a machete has been eyeing you up at the bus-stop...[:-))] so travel hopefully and enjoy.

[Tressy]

DZ, your winding down programme reminds me so much of mine. 

I can't remember I was down to just one 'list' at the three months to go stage, but if I was, that list was enormous.

Here's hoping your list gets smaller day by day, and that everything to do with your move goes well.[:)]

[DZ]

Thank you for your positive thoughts.

My "to-do" list is not too long probably because I am forgetting/haven't thought yet of some crucial things!  I'll probably remember in 3 months' time...

[Tressy]

Having a big list shows you're on top of it - as long as it shrinks from time to time.

The list will still get bigger as you add more things to it, but that's normal. The things you're adding will gradually become less important.

Hang on though, the very last thing on my list was 'Billy'. That was the cat, and I actually crossed it off the list, which reminds me how deranged I was that day. [8-|][:D]

[krusty]

The one way ticket ........I remember it well .......it has been two years now and no regrets , in fact glad we got out before the Uk house selling market got to how it is now.

Good luck.

[NormanH]

It's a good idea to keep the house though in case you decide to go back.

Very few people last more than 7 years, and those who have to earn a living, much less.

We are also beginning to see the sad bewildered halves of  a couple whose French-speaking partner or able-bodied chaffeur has died, and who are now completely disorientated in a place where they don't speak the language, and have no friends.

Hope for you it works out as you wish, but as I said, it's sensible to keep the bolt-hole.

[Cat]

Where did you read that very few people last more than 7 years Norman?  I (and others I'm sure) would be very interested to read some accurate and reliable numbers about success vs failure rates in France (not saying that anyone that returns to the UK has failed, btw).

[Lilly]

Not that we are complete crack pots but We did decide to move and pack and go in 4 weeks and forgot nothing  ( well give or take some non important items!!) I sent my resignation back in the post ( I was off sick for 2 months)  there were obviously some things that made it a bit easier and we had already got the dogs sorted with jabs etc it was only the pet rats certificates from defra that were problematic. So it can be done, we are still here Hubby working, Chambre d'hote nearly there. Kids bi lingual, Not all roses I can assure you and I am much greyer ( blond now don't tell!) What you have forgotten can be retrieved or sent for or left behind so good luck you'll have a great tale to tell one day and you will have lived your dream.

 

Lilly

[Sprogster]

Cat, I don't think you can put a specific time frame on it, but from my professional experience the majority of Brits going to live in Spain or France do return eventually.

For retirees, which represent the largest percentage of Brits moving to these two countries, the main reason for returning is family & friends, declining health and boredom. For example, when one partner dies and the surviving partner is left feeling lonely and isolated. For younger people who need to work, it simply comes down to the difficulty of making an adequate living, especially if you are not fluent in the language of your host country.

There is a greater success rate for those moving to countries like Australia and New Zealand, because to obtain an immigratrion visa you have to demonstrate you have the necessary language and job skills needed, before you are allowed in.

Maybe another factor is that moving to another country is a very exciting life venture and becomes all consuming in the planning and implementtion stages. That can carry on after the move if one has a house refurbishment project to focus on. However, when everything is completed, by comparison normality can appear very boring and depression can creep in. A bit like a relationship with a new partner, where for the first eighteen months they seem absolutely perfect and then when the novelty factor wears off, they appear less than perfect after all!

[Logan]

With time your relationship changes toward your new country. It does become mundane. You could not exist in a constant state of excitment. New things become old things, just like everything else. The rose tinted specs become very clear and warts and all become the state of normality. There also can set in a danger of wistfully remembering the old life in UK when the going gets tough. Completely forgetting of course the negative reasons which pushed you to move in the first place. I have long made France my home. I have also tried living in others places since, including a short spell back in Britain. I dislike many aspects of the country and have longed for those things to change. However I personally feel on balance France is the best place to live in Europe if you are financially self sufficient for a long list of reasons. If I was starting out again in business and life I would avoid France and choose a more business friendly country. That would make your life a lot easier and probably with a more financially suitable outcome. Make enough first and then move to France in retirement.  

Lots of luck with your move.

 

[DZ]

Lots of interesting posts - thanks everyone.  Being a pessimistic optimist I fully expect for our French adventure not to last a life time, but that does not worry me too much, as I do not treat this move as the absolute pinnacle of my dreams - just a different and new phase of life.  We are moving because we have the opportunity to do so (I am being made redundant and even though I could easily get another job in my organization, I want to see what else I can make out of my life and discover what hidden talents I might hopefully possess that would be of use).

While I am not British, I have been very happy in the UK and as a family we are not running away from anything.  Life is what you make of it - it can be both mundane and exciting in the UK, and so it will be in France.  It will certainly be much more challenging though because I am not as fluent in French as I am in English,  I realize that I am not likely to get any professional job (or even the most menial of jobs) and the children might hate living in France.  Still, it's best to try rather than regret not having tried at all when we get to retirement age.  We want this move to be a family experience, so would not wait for retirement, but I do realize it is also more risky taking the children to another country at their current age.

Well, we'll see what comes out of all that! 

I should be cleaning the house, by the way, and not sitting in front of the computer, so off I go now!

[NormanH]

Looking back at my post I apologize first of all if it seemed to be over negative.

Other people since have expressed what I wanted to say more sensitively: that you may be excited now, but one day you may feel differently, so your solution, keeping a place back in the UK is very wise.

Cat  I have seen a survey on this, but can't find the reference just now.

I bet there are very few people on this forum pre 2000

that could be the start of a survey?

so anybody who says 'we came over two years ago and it's great' are really just still on holiday [:)]

there is also a point after that at which people who were convinced they were settled in France go back.

It's often tied to lack of work, or the failure of their business idea ( around 5 years)

The only really long-term residents of British origin I know here personally are those who have married a French partner and had children here.

And of those I know two couple who have left France because of the poor employment prospects for their children or themselves.

[mint]

So, Norman, how long have you lived here and are you married to one of the natives?  I don't plan to "go back", but then I'm only new here and I don't like to say "never".

I am planning to move soonish, perhaps to the next departement.  Just want to be nearer where there are lots of concerts as I am passionate about music and there's not a lot going on where I live presently.  Does the wish to move indicate some sort of dissatisfaction in general?

I hope not as I'd still rather be here than anywhere else.  But what you have said has made me think a bit about the people we know and what their motivation might be for coming here in the first place.

[krusty]

[quote user="NormanH"]

so anybody who says 'we came over two years ago and it's great' are really just still on holiday [:)]

[/quote]

Its the best holiday I have ever had .[:P]

[Chancer]

I am an optimist who will always look for and find an opportunity in every problem (as opposed to the opposite pessimists) after 3 years I have only just begun to  realise the things that I dont like about my area or, specifically a majority of the people (I know its a generalisation), and that get me down from time to time.

Nothing has changed in that time except perhaps the excitement or rose tint has worn off, it doesnt tempt me to return at all, if things dont work out I would rather try 10 other places than return, in the meantime I will continue to look for the opportunity.

[Bugsy]

DZ, hi and good luck with your plans.

My advice, for what its worth...............................[:D]

Sift through the comments and pick out the useful bits.

Completely ignore the negatives and just get out there and live your dream.

Short and sweet.

Gary.

 

[Logan]

A pessimist is an optimist with experience! Or optimisim is the triumph of hope over experience. Can't recall who wrote those but they knew a thing or two.[:D]