WE have finally done it

[want2move09]

We are so excited we have found a property we love , had a survey, done all the mortgage stuff and the signing  of the compromis de vente is imminent. We looked at 15 properties over a couple of weeks in the Dordogne; and would you believe it we are having the FIRST one we saw. It spoiled us and nothing else came close.

It is within walking distance of the lovely market town of Piegut Pluvier; so we are really looking forward to selling our house, though in no rush as we don't plan to move out permanently till next year........but who knows we may go sooner.

I just wanted to share it with you all. Thanks

[Mme poivre]

Hi

Want2move09  I am soooooo jealous [:D]congratulations

We keep looking for opportunities to work and live in france but have to be contnt with out holiday home, we will be able to retire there but not for a number of years to come[:(]

Judith  XX

[want2move09]

thanks Judith, we can hardly believe it ourselves. Where is your holiday home? What work would you be looking to do ideally in France?

[Mme poivre]

Hi

Holiday home in the vendee, we would do any legal work that paid really, However, we are in quite well paid jobs here at the moment and will contiue to be so until the house has been renovated, although perfictly habitable at the moment ( we have been using it for 5 years) we are still workin on getting it how we want it.  So yes my heart is saying go now but my mind is saying you have to earn the money first[:(]

Judith XX

[Bluebell]

Mme Poivre, you only have one life!  I too thought I'd wait until retirement but went earlier and have not regretted a single moment.  If you sell the house in Oxfordshire you'll be able to invest the money and live off the interest!  Don't waste your life working if it's just for the money. It'd be a shame if something happened later that stopped you.  Go now!!!!

[Belle]

On the other hand, Mme Poivre, I have regretted giving up work early to come here, if I had stayed just a few more years, I would have had a bigger pension, and more money saved, it's ok saying you only have one life, sure, but making the best out of that one life, is what it's all about, come here with as much money as possible, then you will be able to have a good life, things are changing in france all the time, everything is going up, and will continue to do so, you will need an awful big investment to be able to live off any interest, and of course, that will be subject to tax here.

Good luck anyway

Belle

[krusty]

I am an other one who recommends getting out early if you can , although selling my house in the UK did not provide money to live off the interest , it did allow us to buy a house cash , so no mortgage to pay. A couple of company pensions provide our income now (taking them early meant they were reduced).

Having a heart bypass a few years ago was also a big incentive.

Good luck to OP , exciting times ahead.[:D]

[Thebiga]

I bet you are excited. But as one of the others said you only have one life so live it whilst you can.

It all took by complete surprise to be here really because as they say every cloud has a silver lining. I fell sick with Multiple Sclerosis around 2000 and we had our mortgage paid off and we thought hey we both hated our jobs so here we are. If we had not done it we would have always said what if ?. So we did and we love it. It would be a real blow to have to go back so we try and make ends meet but its hard. So I wish you all the luck and enjoy it as much as you can. 

[Bluebell]

I wasn't really serious about living off the interest from the house but you've still a big investment there - an assurance vie helps with the tax.  You really don't need so much money to live here.  You don't need to keep up with the Jones's, dress up for the office and be faced with expensive entertainment bills.  Everybody here has a potager and spare produce so a vegetarian wouldn't starve.  And surely there's something that two energetic computer literate people could find to do that'd earn them a bob or two.

[Sprogster]

If you need to sell £ for euro, think about doing it sooner rather than later, as I fear we are in for another bout of £ depreciation against the euro. Germany has announced stronger than expected growth figures which together with rising oil prices has raised expectations that the ECB might now increase euro base rate to curb inflation, rather than reduce them as had been previously expected. This might also impact on your mortgage arrangements, if you are borrowing in euros.

With the spectre of inflation raising its ugly head again it is important that one does not underestimate how much capital one needs to put aside to produce sufficient income to retire early. As a rule of thumb you should work on the basis that if you are living on a fixed investment income your spending power could halve every ten years.

[Mme poivre]

Hi all

Some food for thought here.  HOwever, we are unlucky in that we dont own the house we live in, it is rented, (one reason why we brought a house in france as we could not afford to get on the housing ladder in the Uk)  (other reason we love france[:D]) so unfortuantly we have nothing to sell and will need to make sure our pensions will support us if we cant find work.

However, I am lucky enough to have the school holidays in which to live in france so technically i can spend 12 weeks every year there at the moment. ( not always possible but i try any way).

My husband and I have now after a lot of years working for peanuts, and bringing up kids on a shoe string, got jobs that pay a halfway decent salary.  The other reason is that 4 of our kids (yes we have 5 of them) will want to remain in the UK.  We also have 3 small grandkids.  (we are not over the hill yet we started very young[:P]).  We have another 15 - 20 years before we can retire[:(]

Judith  XX

[Joe]

I have just read your post.I only joined today.Subject to selling my house during this"recession",we hope to move to the Charente.We have owned a mobile home in Brittany for 6 years,but it can be a tad cold and wet.I have just taken early retirement with a company pension so I think we will manage ok.

[baypond]

congratulations, it is a fantastic feeling when the signing of the compromis is in the bag! We saw our house in January and it took 3 months before we could get the vendors to sign, and a further 3 months for the acte de vente.

With it still being pretty cold in the UK and the stories of 20c+ temps in France, I bet you can't wait to get down there as soon as possible.

We also bought the first house we saw, in fact we only saw four! and have never looked back.

[Kitty]

Congratulations Want2move.  You won't regret it I'm sure.   We looked at a house in the morning, returned in the afternoon, signed the following morning.  Intention to move within 2/3 years.  Sold in UK in a month, took early retirement and arrived 6 weeks later.  That was in 1991 and we are still in the same house, very happy here, and we are just 10 mins from Piegut.  You picked a lovely area.

[krusty]

Be careful peeps this post is nearly 12 months old .....it is good to read an old thread.

Spogster was on the ball........any more forecasts ?

I am still happy here ,despite the exchange rate .

"Live off the interest "......those where the days .[:D]

[jo]

We arrived in our new home on the 28th Jan, came from a very warm climate, so although prepared to be cold, did not really appriciate just how debilitating minus three can be when you are not used to it, or find yourself that cold very quickly. But we survived, the days are warmer, and hard work helps! So far so good, no regrets, not missing work, only like a hole in the head!