[davidpowell71]

Hi
Dear all,

We are planning on moving to France and would welcome any advice on the following:

Are proprties in certain areas of France cheaper than others.

The climate in France: are areas of France hotter than others.

Are prices on the properties negotiable, Notaires fees.

Are there certain area's that have a higher population of ex pats, as this would be important to us.

The French health system.

We have 3 children ages 10, 2, and 3 months any advice rearding the childrens schooling, the language barrier at schools and also child benefit in France is it similar to the UK's.

Would it be wise to bring our cars over or sell up and buy in France. Is there car tax, insurance and MOT like in the UK

Any advice on taxes payable.

Employment in France what is it that we need to know. I am a qualified chef, although this not something that i would necessarily have to do.

Any other info that you think we'd need to know.

Thanks in anticipation of your replies.

Dave

 

[Bevdeforges]

Wow, your questions really cover a wide range of information. I'd strongly recommend that you check either a library or your local bookstore and find a book called "Living and Working in France" by David Hampshire. The same publisher also has two other titles "Best Places to Live in France" and "Buying a House in France" that will answer your housing questions. (Small disclosure here: I worked on prior editions of all three of those titles, so am pretty familiar with what's in the books.)

Employment is the big determining factor in making a move. Finding a job is going to be difficult unless you speak decent French at a conversational level. Having some sort of job and paying into the system is the key to qualifying for benefits - health care, child benefit, and all the rest.

You should definitely consider making some exploratory runs to different areas in France that you might want to live in. There's nothing better than exploring an area in person if you want to get a feel for your employment chances and how you "feel" about the region.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Joppa]

As for healthcare, if you have made sufficient NI contributions in the past three years, you can apply for E106 which will give you and your family cover under the French state system for up to 2.5 years. Beyond that, you need to be working and contibuting to the scheme as a member (you are deducted around 7% of your pay for this) or take out a private cover. For up to 3 months, you can use EHIC as a visitor. Under the French system, you normally pay the charge in full and then apply for reimbursement from local sickness insurance office (CPAM), which normally returns up to 70% of the cost. Most residents have a top-up cover (mutuelle) that reimburses you up to 100%.

 

[Veronica]

As for cars, unless they are left hand dirve (which I very much doubt) it would be silly to take them with you.

Veronica

 

[jojo]

Hi
Dear all,

We are planning on moving to France and would welcome any advice on the following:

Are proprties in certain areas of France cheaper than others.

The climate in France: are areas of France hotter than others.

Are prices on the properties negotiable, Notaires fees.

Are there certain area's that have a higher population of ex pats, as this would be important to us.

The French health system.

We have 3 children ages 10, 2, and 3 months any advice rearding the childrens schooling, the language barrier at schools and also child benefit in France is it similar to the UK's.

Would it be wise to bring our cars over or sell up and buy in France. Is there car tax, insurance and MOT like in the UK

Any advice on taxes payable.

Employment in France what is it that we need to know. I am a qualified chef, although this not something that i would necessarily have to do.

Any other info that you think we'd need to know.

Thanks in anticipation of your replies.

Dave

I doubt very much if you'll qualify for any child allowance if you havent paid into their system - in fact I'm not even sure France "does" child allowance. I know that I'm not eligable to claim in Spain for my kids, cos I dont work here - in fact I'm not eligible to claim for anything at all! - I think, apart from the UK, most of Europe is the same??!!!

As for working in France, well we wanted to move to France instead of Spain and investigating it, we found that the French tend to look after their own and tend to employ french over british, but you could try. You'd need to send your CV to relevant companies who you think would be interested in your line of work. Obviously that would need to be in French.

International schools would be english speaking, but costly and the french schools I'm sure would take your children and they'd pick the language up fairly quickly

As for the temperature in France, well you've got the north which is lik ethe UK and the south which is hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter, according to my friend who's retired in the south

What makes you want to move to France???

Jo xxx

 

[Guest]

Hi
Dear all,

We are planning on moving to France and would welcome any advice on the following:

Are proprties in certain areas of France cheaper than others.

Yes

The climate in France: are areas of France hotter than others.

Yes

Are prices on the properties negotiable, Notaires fees.

Yes, and either yes (there are notary fees), or no (not negotiable)

Are there certain area's that have a higher population of ex pats, as this would be important to us.

Yes

The French health system.

It is pretty good.

We have 3 children ages 10, 2, and 3 months any advice rearding the childrens schooling, the language barrier at schools and also child benefit in France is it similar to the UK's.

They have to learn French, and yes.

Would it be wise to bring our cars over or sell up and buy in France. Is there car tax, insurance and MOT like in the UK

Buy a left-hand drive in France, it's safer. And no, yes, yes.

Any advice on taxes payable.

Depends on a whole variety of factors relating to your unknown situation.

Employment in France what is it that we need to know. I am a qualified chef, although this not something that i would necessarily have to do.

If you don't speak French you'll struggle to find any.

Any other info that you think we'd need to know.

Pretty much everything, by the sound of it.

Thanks in anticipation of your replies.

Dave

Look, I'm not trying to be funny, and you've had some very polite responses so far, but you should first take the trouble to read up about the basics on a country, so you can ask the sort of questions that will really help you to know if a move is the thing for you.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Beyond that, you need to be working and contibuting to the scheme as a member (you are deducted around 7% of your pay for this) or take out a private cover.

Just to clarify - total deductions from a regular pay check run about 20% for all the various social insurances (called "cotisations" in France). This includes retirement and "allocation familiale" which is a form of child assistance. The first year in France, you're expected to provide on your own for your eventual income tax bill the following year.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Joppa]

Just to clarify - total deductions from a regular pay check run about 20% for all the various social insurances (called "cotisations" in France). This includes retirement and "allocation familiale" which is a form of child assistance. The first year in France, you're expected to provide on your own for your eventual income tax bill the following year.
Cheers,
Bev

I know. It's just the health care element of deductions (around 6.8%). Total social security deductions will be much higher, but many agree it's money well spent.