moving to the Limousin

[lauramattellahollie]

Thinking of moving to our farmhouse in the very rural Limousin, would love to talk to people who have or are thinking of making the same move, to discuss and swap knowledge.

any information would be grateful;

laws and regulations on expats moving to france.

schooling and education.

costs of living.

etc........

literally any information welcomed :)

thanks

[idun]

Two places that you should look at, and that is the Ambassador de France in London web site and also service-public.fr.

There is so much stuff on the web, and as you already have a place and are planning a move, with kids, just go onto google.fr and look it up in french, all is there.

Personally, I would never ever bring a child to be educated in France.

And for all it works and can work well for some, IF it doesn't work, or

your kid isn't the perfect fit or at least  a good fit, then it is quite another

scenario. Mine were born in France.

And we have had quite a few posters who have left because of the education system. Look back through the posts, all is there, the good and the bad.

 

[HoneySuckleDreams]

it would be useful to know what nationality you are as the laws and regulations differ for EU and non EU people

also it would be useful to know how old the kid(s) are. Any older than 11 then forget it.

 

[suzycreamcheese]

sounds exciting. We're currently buying somewhere in Haute Vienne, but not sure when we'll make the move full time, although would like to eventually. Will more than likely try and home educate the children though, even though they do speak a bit of french. Heard too many horror stories about french schools!!

[Hoddy]

Home education ? Have you checked that it's legal in France ?

[EuroTrash]

I think it's legal but there are plenty hoops to jump through to satisfy the authorities that they're getting an adequate education and not being disadvantaged in any way. Also it opens up other issues like, how are they going to make friends with other kids if not at school; and of course, what qualifications are they going to end up with and how well equipped will they be for finding work, if the idea is for them to stay in France long term.

[YCCMB]

The scary part will be that IF you opt to home educate (and it IS legal in France) you will have to work out how you're going to comply with the (pretty stringent) French bureaucratic processes involved IF you plan to home educate them in English, because the rules in France are, naturally, geared to the French curriculum and to children being educated in French. Whilst it may seem in some way wrong to you, the inspectors who come (and they will, at least once a year) to assess how well your children are progressing, will not be equipped, either linguistically or otherwise, to assess their progress if they aren't being educated in French, so may well be unable to report. And in general, as the system can't cope with that, it will be deemed to be YOUR fault, and you that needs to change and comply, and not the fault of the system or the inspectors...because in France, it never is the fault of the system.

Sorry if that sounds negative, but it's the reality.

[mint]

And how are they going to learn to speak like French children and to learn about their French life through their friends and school mates?

I don't mean to sound negative but living in Limousin AND being schooled at home? 

Are you sure you wouldn't prefer that they simply spend holidays in your French house and the rest of their young lives in the UK, doing the same sort of things that the majority of UK children do?

I am shaking my head in wonder.........

[suein56]

[quote user="suzycreamcheese"] Heard too many horror stories about french schools!![/quote]

If your children are of a young age ie under 11 say, and you have a horror of french public schooling then consider private schooling, which is not at all the same as the sometimes-snobby and expensive UK equivalent. At least your children would be mixing with young children, speaking French and learning in the French way - cf Betty's comment above re the necessity of getting the approval of the education inspectors if you home educate.

Some UK immigrants I have met seem to think that France is a country almost identical to the UK except for the fact that French is spoken. This is so far from the truth that it beggars belief. I am hopeful that you won't for a moment fall into that trap.

Sue

[idun]

The ecole prive that are easily accessible are just about the same as public schools, catholic and sous contrat.

Truly private schools are hors contract, and expensive and quite something else.

Payment for the readily available ecole prive varies, our elementary school based it on income. I have heard of it being a fixed amount at some schools but not ours locally. Also heard of people lying about their income. AND the canteen is also dearer, is in my old village. And it was already dear for the ecole public.