Moving to France Or somewhere else abroad to live

[2rocketman]

I notice that a few posters on here are talking of relocating abroad. I would love to move to France but not sure if it is an option for me in reality. We go every year to the south for a month or so on holiday, there lifestyle seems fantastic.  We have saved so much waiting for house prices to drop I've started thinking it would be a very big chunk towards a property abroad. I have looked at the Isle of Man as well.  It's not only the house prices in this country that are a downer it's the shift patterns,  unpaid overtime, only using contractors through agencies so they can use and abuse the workforce. It just seems to be getting worse for everyone I know. Life in England is just becoming very expensive for a poor service. Every move you make is heavily taxed. Crime is getting worse and widespread. Just can't help but think sometimes I could be happier somewhere else. I like to hear of other plans?

[DeepLurker]

A late reply, but I'll post it anyway for anyone else reading this thread: we moved from London to the South of France 3 years ago. A big part of it was cost of living - we're far better off now. As a couple (both working) London was great. With a kid, it became impossible.

I don't regret for a second our move. However - the grass is not always greener on the other side. France has big issues: the bureaucracy is far, far worse than even the worst description that you've ever been given of it. The job market is difficult - you need to speak good French, have relevant recognised qualifications. Renting a place can be a nightmare - anecdotally I've been told that 80% of rentals are now covered by "Assurance Loyer Impayés", which is basically landlord insurance against non-payment of rent. And if you haven't already got a permanent full-time job with a local company and completed the "période d'essai" (trial period) - then you'll get told to go away. So basically you're stuck with choosing from the worst 20% of the rental market.

If this sounds negative - well, I want to be clear that it's not a walk in the garden. But we're here, and we're happier than we were in London. For us, the upsides are really worth the aggro. But YMMV.

 

[dugsbody]

18 hours ago, DeepLurker said:

A late reply, but I'll post it anyway for anyone else reading this thread: we moved from London to the South of France 3 years ago. A big part of it was cost of living - we're far better off now. As a couple (both working) London was great. With a kid, it became impossible.

I don't regret for a second our move. However - the grass is not always greener on the other side. France has big issues: the bureaucracy is far, far worse than even the worst description that you've ever been given of it. The job market is difficult - you need to speak good French, have relevant recognised qualifications. Renting a place can be a nightmare - anecdotally I've been told that 80% of rentals are now covered by "Assurance Loyer Impayés", which is basically landlord insurance against non-payment of rent. And if you haven't already got a permanent full-time job with a local company and completed the "période d'essai" (trial period) - then you'll get told to go away. So basically you're stuck with choosing from the worst 20% of the rental market.

If this sounds negative - well, I want to be clear that it's not a walk in the garden. But we're here, and we're happier than we were in London. For us, the upsides are really worth the aggro. But YMMV.

 

Which part of South of France if you don't mine me asking? Even a rough are is fine.

We intend to move to Europe when certain things align for us and are interested in both the South West of France (near Biarritz) or Cote d'Azur (lots of choice there). Property is pricey in some locations though but if you are prepared to live a bit out of town you can get really good value in many locations. It'll be a bit of a lonelier life though as we're used to the vibe of London.

Other areas for us are parts of Spain, Portugal, Germany (eg. Lake Konstanz area). Still too many options but I like to gather inside information where I can. 

[DeepLurker]

On 01/07/2018 at 17:57, dugsbody said:

Which part of South of France if you don't mine me asking? Even a rough are is fine.

We intend to move to Europe when certain things align for us and are interested in both the South West of France (near Biarritz) or Cote d'Azur (lots of choice there). Property is pricey in some locations though but if you are prepared to live a bit out of town you can get really good value in many locations. It'll be a bit of a lonelier life though as we're used to the vibe of London.

Other areas for us are parts of Spain, Portugal, Germany (eg. Lake Konstanz area). Still too many options but I like to gather inside information where I can. 

We're near Bordeaux.

Biarritz is nice - very nice. Whole Basque coast is nice actually. I'd be happy to live there myself. It's a bit of a mixed bag though: houses are expensive, some roads are gridlocked in tourist season. Big cultural contrast between the poncy Parisian "immigrants" and the Basques. The Basques are very proud of their culture, with a strong will to keep it alive. Downside is they can be strong willed in other areas!

The job market is fairly restricted - it's not London! But if you've got a job, then there's lot to do. Go in with the mindset that from San Sebastian to Hossegor as basically one conurbation, lots of towns with very different vibes.

[dugsbody]

17 minutes ago, DeepLurker said:

We're near Bordeaux.

Biarritz is nice - very nice. Whole Basque coast is nice actually. I'd be happy to live there myself. It's a bit of a mixed bag though: houses are expensive, some roads are gridlocked in tourist season. Big cultural contrast between the poncy Parisian "immigrants" and the Basques. The Basques are very proud of their culture, with a strong will to keep it alive. Downside is they can be strong willed in other areas!

The job market is fairly restricted - it's not London! But if you've got a job, then there's lot to do. Go in with the mindset that from San Sebastian to Hossegor as basically one conurbation, lots of towns with very different vibes.

Great thanks. I mentioned Biarritz as first choice but realistically if we're planning on a move in a reasonable timeframe we can't afford it. We also really like the town norths of Biarritz, such as Hossegor, Seignosse, Capbreton but those too are expensive. The less well-to-do villages such as Tarnos, Tyrosse etc are decent value and there is still proximity to the beach with cycle paths everywhere. It's really a lovely area and more "French" than the Cote d'Azur which is now very international. Having said that, you just sometimes can't beat the scenery and weather on the Cote d'Azur.

Bordeaux is actually a very nice city and provides a bit more for a younger family I would guess. I'd very much consider it as an option and some of the surrounding villages seem affordable. 

Do you mind me asking, do you or your partner still work and is this in Bordeaux if so?

Edited July 2, 2018 by dugsbody

[DeepLurker]

23 hours ago, dugsbody said:

Do you mind me asking, do you or your partner still work and is this in Bordeaux if so?

We work for companies based in Bordeaux. For a while I was working remotely for a UK company, but to be frank I got a bit tired of being self-employed - the administrative hassle was never-ending.

[south_bound]

Hi, I'm a bit late to the party, mainly just browse on here every now and then.  I started looking at this website 10 years ago when looking to buy a house near London in what was supposed to be a downturn which never happened in that area.  Then moved to the south of France (small town near Marseille) and couldn't have hoped for it to work better.  OK, so as said above the bureaucracy is a nightmare at first, well every time you need to interface with the government but more than made up by the way of life.  I work and need to travel back to the UK and further but as long as I get back for the weekend I am happy.  4 bed detached villa, big garden, pool, 45 mins to the beach in summer, couple of hours to the ski in winter, 4 hours drive to Italy or Spain, whats not to like. Social charges and taxes are high, especially under the previous government but if you can get over that then you're ok.

[WilliG]

Sounds great. I just returned from my trip to France and now I can say that I'm fond of this country! During my trip I became a regular customer at one local massage parlour here https://sweettouch.fr/info/body-to-body-massage in Paris. I've never tried so amazing massage before, awesome feelings! People, architecture, cuisine...everything is just perfect. Maybe one day I'll move to live there too.

[dugsbody]

Errr...