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Britts leaving France in great numbers?


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Heard on the radio today, that a large number of Britts are selling up in France, (or trying to) because of the economic climate, is this true? Surly the prices are low to sell in France just as they are in the UK? or am I missing something, I hope never to have to sell before my retirment in 10 or 15 years time. what are your thoughts?
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I suspect a lot of people leaving had unrealistic expectations of moving abroad (weather, quality of life, etc), had not done their homework in terms of the true cost, had not allowed for variables (e.g. currency movements), had assumed they could find employment, were relying on the property market (both in France and UK) continuing to rise, were not prepared for cultural/language differences, and were not adaptable enough - in other words, were wearing the good old rose-tinted specs when they bought. The "Place in the Sun" brigade.

Some of course understood and accepted the risks, took a flyer, gave it their best shot and decided it wasn't for them for the long term.

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I agree with Alan however I view such reports with suspicion as they are seldom if ever backed up by real statistics. Even on forums like this there seems to be a balance between numbers of arrivals, or those hoping/planning to move, and returnees.

From personal experience too, judging from people I know and new ones I meet, I can't really say that I've noticed much of a change in the balance there either.

On prices one thing to remember is that even if actual they have fallen in France anyone who bought before the £ dived in mid 2007 should still be sitting on a good profit at least on their initial purchase price. Obviously any return on investment in renovations etc. over and above that is entirely dependant on how wisely and efficiently that money was spent [Www]

Fortunately most of the work our house required was in modernisation and cosmetics and it doesn't owe me thousands for that. Consequently if I were desperate to sell to return then I would be looking to do little more than recoup my actual outlay in which case I could market it at around say 20% less than I paid for it 4 years ago and confidently expect to sell it fairly promptly. Couple that with a depressed UK property market and there is scope for even greater reductions, for instance if I were going back to UK to buy back the house I sold I would be offering £50k less for it!

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[quote user="mustang boss 302"]Heard on the radio today, that a large number of Britts are selling up in France, (or trying to) because of the economic climate, is this true?[/quote]

I sold up and moved out of France not because of the "economic climate" , but because of the climate (too cold) .[Www]

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krusty - some people just prefer grey and wet back in the UK! I'd much rather have defined seasons i.e. very cold Winter, Mild Spring and Autumn and baking hot Summer - gorgeous. That's the Pyrenees for you! Used to live in the Thames Valley - dull, dull, dull.....

Not sure if many people actually move to France solely for the climate though - if they do then they need a reality check.

Beautiful blue day today (has been for the last 7), frosty morning, expecting 17/18 degrees later, not a cloud in the sky - how's it with you in Cyprus?

Simon :-)
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[quote user="Alan Zoff"] (weather, quality of life, etc),  had not allowed enough for variables (e.g. currency movements), were relying on the property market (both in France and UK) continuing on a level (ie didn't see collapse like many others), understood and accepted the risks, took a flyer, giving it my best and not thinking of leaving.[/quote]

All the above apply to me, italics are mine, but I'm not thinking of leaving (not here all the time anyway) and I don't know anyone who is thinking of leaving. I can only think of one couple who has left (financially secure having inherited loads, seeming to have it all, several gites in nice position etc, but wife hated it and wanted to go back home, she got a job in a department store, he did what he was told[Www]).

Talking to the Removal Company who store my chattels in the UK about deals and they said that all their business is full loads out?
is it really much of a story?

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This story comes up about every month in one or other of those journals aimed at house moving / ie estate agents, money transfer, removals, etc etc. And if it is not that it is  - it's a good time to buy because houses are not selling so they are cheaper......

A bit like climate change, saving the planet, saving resources,  you name it..... what comes around comes around, again, and again, and again.......

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Someone on another forum did a poll of how many families we knew of who had "moved back".

75% knew less than 5, 15% more than 10. About 80 people did the poll.

I think some depts. have more leaving than others eg up north seems to be a higher rate, and here in the Gers it's very rare.

We have a friend here who does removals, and I asked him about it. He said there's a slow trickle leaving, but then about the same number arriving.

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We moved back to the UK. It was not a backwards move at all, it was a welcome move actually. No regrets at all, been back three years as near as now.

Firstly if we had stayed in France, we would have had to move to say Brittany for a cooler climate. Red hot summers, well I am sat here shuddering, just the thought of them revolts me completely, I did 27 years of them including several canicules and I can no longer support even the idea of all that heat. Also I could no longer support living in a village. If we had stayed in France it would have had to be in a town, better still city and next to the sea. Village life was more than dull, mind numbingly boring it was for me in the end. Having to drive a distance for some 'life' was not what I wanted, different when our kids were small and the budget was tight and little money for socialising, but they grew up and the mortgage eventually finished.

We were the only brits in our village and our nearest brit friends were about 50 miles away.

Beyond me why so many brits moved to France in the first place especially when so many seemed to move to les bleds perdu. That they leave, never surprises me.
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idun - wow, who are you trying to convince? It sounds like you had an awful time - hope it wasn't entirely wasted! Can't quite understand why you stuck it out so long ....one life and all that.

Needless to say - that's not been my experience at all and what's more - I can't wait for those warm Summers evenings - something about the way the sunshine and warmth makes you feel. Certainly makes me walk with a spring in my step :-)

Looks like another clear blue day ahead here in the Pyrenees, 17 degrees later on - great! Means I can spend most of the day outdoors...

Oh and by the way - going back is ALWAYS a backwards move......

Simon :-)
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[quote user="Simon-come-lately"] Oh and by the way - going back is ALWAYS a backwards move...... Simon :-)[/quote]

 

Sorry, but what a load of trite nonsense.

 

Going back could be a backwards move if you have set yourself immovable goals and have failed to reach them and then have to retreat.

Most people have the sense to constantly revise their goals and look forwards setting new challenges, not look back at the stake in the ground.

 

Incidently Idun - we're the only Brits in the village - (sorry it's beginning to sound a bit like little Britain)

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Simon C-L

" idun - wow, who are you trying to convince? It sounds like you had an

awful time - hope it wasn't entirely wasted! Can't quite understand why

you stuck it out so long ....one life and all that.

"

A bit of a sweeping  reply to Idun I think!

Idun I lived in France for all those years because her OH worked there. She is one of the few who can really tell people about day to day life in France and not just the retirement or semi-retirement dream. Their plan was always AFAIK to return to the U.K. for retirement.

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Sweeping ??? Hang on a minute Cendrillon - lets just look at what idun actually said......

> too hot - for 27 years!

> didn't like living in a village

> village life was 'dull'

> mind numbingly boring

> had to drive somewhere for 'life'

> only Brits in the Village

I feel SORRY for idun being so discontented for so long. Dedication beyond the call I'd say!

Still using the Complete France forums though and joined up after leaving France....interesting......

Simon :-) (not retired)
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Get back in your box Simon, or perhaps under it!!

There are a few of us who returned to the UK because of the need for some life after a number of years in France, I for one still like France and think I may return when I want a very,very  quiet life.  I still have property there, still have people I consider friends there and on here, so return ocasionally to see what mischief they are up to!

I moved back to my birth town and I love it, I am out every day and back in a social whirl, none of which I could do in France.   My son is happy and loves school again (the main driver).

I realise I made the move at the wrong time in my life as my son's education is the most important thing to me, so my reason is that,not any of the others since, I had work, can speak french and was OK financially.

I will continue to snoop and post on here as I hope will Idun, who's been there, done it and has the t-shirt!

 

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Simon: let me correct you, Idun rejoined after moving back to the Uk and had previously been a very valued forum member for a number of years. She has always been very open that regretted staying in France because of her sons education.

I don't know how old you are, but idun moved to France and had both her children there, and that was way before it became a popular thing to do or even dreamt of as being accessible for most people. There were no forums like this to assist or chat, she had to just get on with it. 

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woolybana and Russethouse - I'm afraid that when you post on a Forum you're not privy to the life history of fellow contributors - nor should you be.

I'm simply expressing my opinion - just like idun is.

I appreciate there are many reasons why people choose go back to the UK - often very personal and sometimes incredibly sad. Personally I can't imagine ever living in the UK again so that's what drives my posts on this subject. But hey - never say never - I'm not that stupid. I genuinely feel sorry for idun - does her no good but that's how I feel.

I don't feel the need to 'validate' my posts based on my experiences, length of time as a member, age, nationality or circumstances - I'm simply contributing to an open Forum - that's the whole point.

I don't know you and you don't know me. Would you like to hear my life history? I doubt it!

I won't post any more on this subject and consider myself 'told-off' and to be honest, slightly bullied for not conforming.

Knowledge is power heh?

Simon :-)

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It was not evident to me whom Idun was until somebody pointed this out either, Simon.

Clearly her attitude to France is understandable in the circs and her experience invaluable to those with rose tinted specs. 

However, it's not what everybody finds here.  I lived in the middle of nowhere in the UK - the main snag was that we could only afford an end of terrace (3 farm workers cottages of which we had the end one) and France was one of our options if we were ever to be truly free of having somebody else's house within shouting distance (nice as they were) and the  total peace of the open countryside.  When  I was little, the only home I ever really liked (out of the dozen or so we lived in as a "family") was the one at the furthest extremity of a Lancashire mill town, with fields on three sides.  My main problem with our house here is the neighbours opposite  who are delightful but who are THERE!  Thus, for some, Idun, rural isolation is a paradise, not a prison. 

I think it's true that some come here not understanding what real country life is like and thus they catch a big cold and are unhappy, especially if the isolation is compounded by a language barrier.  The obvious up-front appeal of a large garden and a bigger house than they had in the UK can cloud anybody's judgement about what they are letting themselves in for - just as people who buy properties in rural Britain can also discover.  Undoubtedly that contributes to some people going home.  Of the three British families (out of the  dozen or so whom I know round here) who have gone back since we arrived 6 years ago - 1 went back for a job, another went back because they couldn't afford private healthcare, and the third is because terminal illness is sending her back to be closer to her children.  There is no "one size fits all" reason for the back-and-forth between the two countries.

We are all different, and Simon's opinions and Idun's are equally valid.  But let's have a discussion, not a fight based on how many posts we've made and how long we've been here. 

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[quote user="Simon-come-lately"]idun - wow, who are you trying to convince? It sounds like you had an awful time - hope it wasn't entirely wasted! Can't quite understand why you stuck it out so long ....one life and all that.

Needless to say - that's not been my experience at all and what's more - I can't wait for those warm Summers evenings - something about the way the sunshine and warmth makes you feel. Certainly makes me walk with a spring in my step :-)

Looks like another clear blue day ahead here in the Pyrenees, 17 degrees later on - great! Means I can spend most of the day outdoors...

Oh and by the way - going back is ALWAYS a backwards move......

Simon :-)[/quote]

Not so sure that it's a backwards move, but I feel sure I never want to go back to England. Whenever I have moved country, it has always been to a new one. From England to Oz, from Oz to France and now from France to the US. Life is short and there is so much to see and experience.

For me now though, I feel I am done roaming, I have to settle, I'm exhausted and money is tight.

By the way, imo, I loved living in Australia the most, but I think the US will rival it once I've been here long enough.

France was a wonderful experience, I saw and did things I doubted I'd ever do, but like Idun, I lived in a small village and eventually, life was very dull, nothing to do, everything shut by 6pm every night. Felt like I was going insane towards the end. However, I had been single for the last year there.

But it's horses for courses.

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