[Robous]

Hi all, we are hoping to move to the Eymet area this year and have two main questions.

1) What is it like living in Eymet for or a family of 4 with young children ?

2) Is there much call for Handyman work, including kitchen fitting, bathrooms and general maintenance?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Others will be along with more details, but I'd be careful about assuming you can just set up shop doing handyman work. France is famous for its regulations regarding all sorts of "self-employment" and doing kitchen fitting and other sorts of residential repairs may require specific training and/or registrations.

The other big issue will be "how's your French?" It can be very difficult to try to eke out a living based solely on business with the English speaking expat community.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[DejW]

Agree with Bev.

From my experience there is not a big market for the professional handyman in France as there is in the UK. Here people tend to be self sufficient, or use friends/family , or use the qualified professionals who guarantee their work etc.

Two aspects of French. Yes you must be capable of carrying out a basic conversation in French. Second, if you do not already know French plumbing. electrical wiring, doors all tend to be diffent from the UK. Tools also. If you are serious buy a French book on bricolage, perhaps

https://www.amazon.fr/Grand-guide-b...UTF8&qid=1523857474&sr=1-1&keywords=bricolage

....you may be surprised!

My French wife has just become an "autopreneuse" and I was shocked by the amount of paperwork that had to be submitted. Welcome to France!
DejW

 

[Crabtree]

To register you will need to prove that you are "qualified" to do what you want to do eg City and Guilds/running a business for several years You will then need to go on a course in French re law and accounting but I believe an online version in different languages is being developed and you will need to get insurance to cover your work for 10 years and then you will need to be paying contributions and tax into France which can be very high Therefore having a working level of French is essential especially as you will need French customers as and I hate to say this most Brit expats want something doing for next to nothing However I am sure your quality of life will be better here

 

[95995]

I believe it's possible to set up to do 'odd jobs' that don't require qualifications and at least here it is now hard to find a 'bricoleur' to do those little things - I know a number of older French women here in Pau who are having trouble finding suitable services as the people they previously used have recently retired. Not everyone has family or friends nearby to do this stuff. However I have no idea whether you would be able to make a living out of such work. Kitchen fitting is perhaps possible as long as qualified tradesmen handle plumbing and electricals. Suggest you talk to the local CCI (Chambre de commerce et d'industrie), in Bergerac - details here https://demarchesadministratives.fr/cci-commerce-industrie/eymet-24500

 

[berkinet]

... Here people tend to be self sufficient...

Absolutely. Just look at the huge number of "Brico..." stores, home decoration outlets and building supply chains. Ironically, one of the biggest Brico chains, Castorama (which is best to be avoided if you want top quality) is owned by an English company, Kingfisher.

It is not at all unusual to find a husband and wife together on a saturday buying plumbing, carpentry or electrical supplies.

Also, there are a number of kitchen centers that sell complete kitchens from bare bones to totally over the top, including complete installation.

My guess is a competent person could pick top a few Euros doing odd jobs, like fitting a screen door or fixing a leaky faucet. But, I would think it would not be easy to make a living doing such. Which might explain why there seem to to be so few handyman type services advertised.

On the other hand... qualified, licensed, trades people, plumbers, electricians, especially masons, etc., seem to keep pretty busy.

 

[EuroTrash]

Handyman work, including kitchen fitting, bathrooms and general maintenance

As others have said, I think you need to carefully read up on how tradesmen operate in France (which, again as said, means either having good enough French language skills so you can understand the official websites, or be at the mercy of what other people tell you when you arrive, which might be right or might be wrong).

The main point here is that you decide what exactly activities you are going to do and you register for that/those specific activity code(s). You can't do any work other than the activities you have registered for. The system isn't designed to let you be a jack of all trades.

Handyman work very definitely does not include kitchen fitting and bathrooms. If you register as a handyman you're very limited what you can do. As I recall the rule is that you are restricted to small jobs that take no longer than one hour to complete and require no specific skills. I don't think you could fit a kitchen or a bathroom in one hour.

If you want to take on bigger jobs, you need to prove your qualifications/experience and take out the appropriate insurances. What insurance is needed, will depend on your activities. Most folk specialise in one activity so that they only need to pay for one lot of insurance - registering for 3 or 4 trades would likely mean paying out several thousand € per year in insurance before you earn a cent, makes no sense for a one man band on the simplified micro regime where you can't offset expenses and overheads.

Hopefully you have other strings to your bows because I'm not sure how realistic it is to hope to support a family of 4 by doing odd jobs for the expat community in Eymet. I suspect there are already plenty of Brits trying to scratch a living doing exactly that.

As to what it's like living in Eymet - well it's a a marmite place isn't it. People sometimes refer to it as Little England, and either you love being surrounded by other Brits or you hate it.

 

[conky2]

If there are as many expats in Eymet as people say, maybe you could open a poundshop?

And then open a B&B on the side. Because once your wife/girlfriend/mistress enters aforementioned establishment, the husband/boyfriend/toyboy will need to book a room for the night while he waits for her to emerge blinking into the daylight carrying bags of unknown cleaning items, which you will have to carry home.

 

[baldilocks]

If this all sounds too difficult and you then think of changing the country to Spain, Be aware, it is about the same here although, you might get away with it for a while but, eventually, the tax people will catch up with you and will require that you are registered as "autonomo" and require that you pay for Social Security (260€ per month, irrespective of whether you earn 1€ or 1,000€.) We get lots of Brits arrive here as electrician, plumbers, roofers, tilers, etc. having qualified at the university of Ryanair on the way over and they generally leave tears in eyes of ripped-off customers either because of incompetent work of disappearing with several thousands of Euros paid as a deposit 'for materials.'

 

[Robous]

Thanks all for your points of view and Intel. I do have a few strings to my bow, (more of a harp than a bow), but I can always fall back on my chiseled looks and glowing charisma. I will find some work, I am not too proud. We are just after a better way of life, in a warmer climate and not so 'rat racy'.

 

[EuroTrash]

Thanks all for your points of view and Intel. I do have a few strings to my bow, (more of a harp than a bow), but I can always fall back on my chiseled looks and glowing charisma. I will find some work, I am not too proud. We are just after a better way of life, in a warmer climate and not so 'rat racy'.

Well you have a great sense of humour so that will stand you in good stead
But please don't be under the illusion that there is no rat race in France, or that it's easy to find work just as long as you're not too proud. Unemployment is currently around 8.6% nationally which is more than double the UK's 4.2%, and Eymet is not an economically thriving town. The latest figures for Eymet put local unemployment at 15.8% in 2014 which was above average at that time
https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1405599?geo=COM-24167
and also show average household income as being low, with only 44% of households earning enough to pay any income tax. Chiseled looks and glowing charisma are valuable qualities, but I'm not sure how much money there is washing around in Eymet to show due appreciation and take it from me, looking at an empty bank account and bills to be paid, takes the shine off the good life. Overall France isn't a cheap place to live.
Only you know what other strings you have, but with kids in tow it would be very unwise to move basically in the hopes that something will turn up when you get here. Healthcare is absolutely essential if you have kids and it isn't "free" here as it is under the NHS. You also need to plan ahead and ensure you are ticking the boxes so that the family will be allowed to stay after Brexit. Living under the radar with an income below the threshold for legal residency isn't going to remain an option indefinitely, and Brits who have been living here outside of the system for years and who know they won't qualify for a carte de séjour when the time comes because they don't have sufficient income, seem to be already starting to head back to the UK.

You sound resourceful and I'm sure you can do it but you need to plan properly and do it right, because coming here unprepared can end badly, as too many Brits have discovered to their cost.

 

[DejW]

To Roubous who started this thread...don't be discouraged.....there are always ways!

Here's a few ideas

1 Get your conversational French up to a reasonable level...essential if you want to get established.

2. Think about contacting kitchen/bathroom fitters and offer to work for nothing - just to learn the ropes. I've no idea if this is legally possible, or the fitters will want to play ball. From my limited experience the big kitchen/ bathroom people (Schmitd for examle), use local independent fitters to do the work. They are often one man bands because employing people in France is a major distraction from the real work.

3. If you have any qualification (C&G etc) then look at how to get them translated into the French equivalents. Unlike the UK, France values certificates at 99%, experience at 1%.

4. Be prepared to network in bars and weekday restaurants with white vans outside at lunchtime. It's here that a lot of business is arranged by local small artisans. Clearly you need a little more French than "can I buy you a drink?"

5. When you have moved get business cards printed (not sure what to print, different question!). Offer do odd jobs for local neighbours, the Mairie. Some mairies have support programmes for the sick and elderly. Even if you did not charge for this charity work it will get you known.???, Just put yourself about. Don't expect quick results, might it might work.

Good luck!

DejW

 

[baldilocks]

To Roubous who started this thread...don't be discouraged.....there are always ways!

Here's a few ideas

1 Get your conversational French up to a reasonable level...essential if you want to get established.

2. Think about contacting kitchen/bathroom fitters and offer to work for nothing - just to learn the ropes. I've no idea if this is legally possible, or the fitters will want to play ball. From my limited experience the big kitchen/ bathroom people (Schmitd for examle), use local independent fitters to do the work. They are often one man bands because employing people in France is a major distraction from the real work.

3. If you have any qualification (C&G etc) then look at how to get them translated into the French equivalents. Unlike the UK, France values certificates at 99%, experience at 1%.

4. Be prepared to network in bars and weekday restaurants with white vans outside at lunchtime. It's here that a lot of business is arranged by local small artisans. Clearly you need a little more French than "can I buy you a drink?"

5. When you have moved get business cards printed (not sure what to print, different question!). Offer do odd jobs for local neighbours, the Mairie. Some mairies have support programmes for the sick and elderly. Even if you did not charge for this charity work it will get you known.???, Just put yourself about. Don't expect quick results, might it might work.

Good luck!

DejW

How about hanging around at Bricolage or places where kitchen units, or similar are sold and pitch for assembling/installing?

 

[DejW]

yes, yes,...limited only by imagination and audacity.

DejW

How about hanging around at Bricolage or places where kitchen units, or similar are sold and pitch for assembling/installing?

 

[EuroTrash]

How about hanging around at Bricolage or places where kitchen units, or similar are sold and pitch for assembling/installing?

Are you being serious? If so, I have to say I really don't see it going down too well with the local trades community if they see or hear about some unknown Englishman touting for trade on their patch (and since Brits do have a bit of a reputation, they may well ask themselves whether that person is registered, and ask the store manager whether he's happy about his customers being targeted?).

Imagination and audacity are all well and good in their place but getting up the noses of the locals isn't the best start for a newby, IMHO. However what a lot of handymen seem to do is put notices on supermarket noticeboards and in shop windows, giving their siret number and details of the kind of jobs they will take on, with a series of tear-off slips along the bottom with their telephone number on. There's no problem with that, nobody will take offence and it probably works, in fact I have taken a few tear-off phone numbers over the years.

 

[baldilocks]

Are you being serious? If so, I have to say I really don't see it going down too well with the local trades community if they see or hear about some unknown Englishman touting for trade on their patch (and since Brits do have a bit of a reputation, they may well ask themselves whether that person is registered, and ask the store manager whether he's happy about his customers being targeted?).

Imagination and audacity are all well and good in their place but getting up the noses of the locals isn't the best start for a newby, IMHO. However what a lot of handymen seem to do is put notices on supermarket noticeboards and in shop windows, giving their siret number and details of the kind of jobs they will take on, with a series of tear-off slips along the bottom with their telephone number on. There's no problem with that, nobody will take offence and it probably works, in fact I have taken a few tear-off phone numbers over the years.

So that's not a good idea, then. Just trying to come up with possibilities. We don't use them at all, and only use qualified local tradesmen with established businesses, but then, this is Spain and there have been too many cases of dodgy Brits ripping other Brits (and some Spanish) off "I shall need an advance of X,ooo € for materials", and he has gone the next day together with the dosh, or the work is so bad and illegal (no permiso de obra) that it has to be taken back to original state thus costing the client three times as much as it should. We won't even use a Spanish guy who will not give a receipt, well in fact he won't work for us because we want a receipt. We have very good tradesmen here who work legally and even sort out the proper licences with the council for us.

 

[EuroTrash]

So that's not a good idea, then. Just trying to come up with possibilities. We don't use them at all, and only use qualified local tradesmen with established businesses, but then, this is Spain and there have been too many cases of dodgy Brits ripping other Brits (and some Spanish) off "I shall need an advance of X,ooo € for materials", and he has gone the next day together with the dosh, or the work is so bad and illegal (no permiso de obra) that it has to be taken back to original state thus costing the client three times as much as it should. We won't even use a Spanish guy who will not give a receipt, well in fact he won't work for us because we want a receipt. We have very good tradesmen here who work legally and even sort out the proper licences with the council for us.

That's very much the culture in France too. There is a clear red line about using unregistered tradesmen and in fact French law criminalises the person who uses unregistered workers rather than the unregistered worker themselves. The onus is on the client to check that they don't engage or pay anyone who hasn't provided the correct paperwork, and it's the client who can be fined if they do. Of course it does go on but not openly, people have to be discreet.

But also, France is very hot on unfair competition. For years after the auto entrepreneur scheme was created the old established tradesmen were unhappy about auto entrepreneurs because even though obviously they were registered and paying cotisations, it was perceived as being a mickey mouse regime. Hence why the rules have been tightened up and AEs are now obliged to prove their qualifications, go on courses, join the chambre de métiers, print their insurance details on all their devis and invoices, etc etc. At first they weren't required to do any of this but the artisans kicked up a fuss about unfair competition and unprofessional practices and bringing their trade into disrepute and all the rest of it, so these obligations were basically introduced to make auto entrepreneurs more accountable and keep the other artisans happy. Which is why I don't think artisans would take kindly to a johnny come lately popping up touting for trade at shop doorways.

 

[Keri22]

I know nothing about the Dordogne, but up here in Brittany there are a smattering of brits - the greater concentration being inland rather south of where I am - who are tradespeople. I recently had one do some heavy work/landscaping in my "garden", really a small field in the back of my house. I needed an old block wall removed, big stones moved, old fridges and god knows what old metal removed from hedge down the far end, general smoothing, gravel collected and spread. The price was reasonable and I am happy with the work. He is registered. Having sold his landscaping business in the UK he came over with his family 3 years ago. He brought his mini diggers, other landscaping equipment, trailers etc. He is not short of work. Its the mini diggers that swing a lot of it and people who want patios. His French is not bad.

 

[berkinet]

Key take-aways...

...He is registered... ...He brought his [equipment]... ...His French is not bad.

 

[EuroTrash]

To berkinet's list of significant takeaways I would add

Having sold his landscaping business in the UK

Of course the OP may currently have an established handyman business in the UK and he may have good French and all these caveats may be totally unnecessary, but he hasn't said so and the fact he's chosen Eymet of all places, strongly suggests he prefers to keep it in English. All we know for sure is that he's drop dead gorgeous and oozing charm, but he's disqualified from working as a gigolo because he has a wife/partner and kids.