We often get
asked why we moved to live in France and the French are as interested in the
answer as anyone. Everyone has their own
reasons for chasing the dream and for us it was about living a more fulfilling
and less stressful life with the opportunity to have some peaceful, open space
around us and breathe some clean air. It was not a rash decision after a bottle
of French wine whilst watching one of the many UK TV programmes about Brits
moving to the sun; it was something we had thought about for at least five
years before finally making it happen.
But for a move like this to be successful I think planning is key and every now and then I come
across a document on the computer that was related to what we termed “Project
Cinquante” (I’d just turned 50 you see!). Lists of tasks that had to be
completed before we could move, lists of organisations that needed to be
informed and, most importantly, the budget sheet detailing every conceivable
expense. We even had a sheet showing who (between Nikki and I) was responsible
for each element of Project Cinquante – removals, healthcare, finance, rental
in France, the dogs etc.
A friend recently asked me if I’d be happy to have a chat to someone who was thinking of moving to France and this made me come up with the following things to consider. Please note that this is by no means an exhaustive list, just my opinion based on our own experience.
Start your
research by checking out some of the online expat sites that are a mine of very
useful information and have very active forums where you can find the answer to
just about any question you can think of. Two of the best I have found are the
“Survive France Network” (http://www.survivefrance.com/)
and “AngloInfo” (http://dordogne.angloinfo.com/
for the Dordogne version).
Where do you
really want to live? In the countryside or a town, village or hamlet, totally
isolated or with near neighbours for that ‘cup of sugar’ moment? We met a chap
some months ago who told us that when he and his wife moved over to France they
moved from London suburbia and fulfilled their dream of being totally isolated
on a quiet Dordogne hillside. After two years they were going stir crazy and
were fed up with only each other for company – they sold up and bought a house
in the local town!
Think about transport links back to the UK - lots of flights from the regional airports in France are either summer only or they have a restricted winter schedule. If you expect to have to return on a regular basis look into the alternatives – rail can be a good option using the excellent high-speed rail network in France; alternatively you can always drive but consider the length of such a journey.
Learn the
language; it still amazes me how many people we meet who have lived here for
many years and still speak very little French. It can be done if you want to
limit your experience to only meeting other expats and ordering your food from
Tesco. Nothing wrong with either of these but what a lot you miss out on and
how incredibly rude and arrogant not be able to engage with the local people in
their own language. Children will pick up the language fairly quickly, but it
will be very difficult for them to begin with and can take up to 18 months
before they are totally happy in school; the older they are the more difficult
it can be for them to settle in.
Think
carefully about what your living costs will be in France; wine may be cheap
(hurrah!) but food can be pricey. It does get cold here in winter and unless
you have your own wood and a chainsaw, heating costs are likely to be as high
or even higher than in the UK. If you need income beyond your pension or your lottery winnings, think carefully about how you are going to earn money to live. In rural France there is already high unemployment and if your language skills are limited it will be very difficult for you to find even a part time job. Setting up a business is not as simple as it is in the UK and you need to think carefully about what you are going to do. Just because you were a bit handy at DIY does not mean you can call yourself a builder in France! Tourism related businesses are very popular (gites, chambres D’hotes etc.) but remember that the season is limited to only four, possibly five months of the year. Also look into the taxes that apply to businesses as they can be very…….well, taxing.
Healthcare
in France is excellent but the healthcare system is very different to the UK,
even once you are ‘in’ the system you have to pay for each appointment before
being reimbursed and you may want to consider having a ‘top up’ health
insurance policy since not all costs are covered. It can take many months to get yourself
registered in the French healthcare system, even longer if you go about it the
wrong way! Again, do your research carefully about how to go about it properly
