ALTHOUGH retirement is the usual reason behind a move to France, there are increasing numbers of young families heading across the Channel.
Some may be taking up a new posting with work, while others are looking to set up a new outpost completely and move across lock, stock and barrel.
I RECEIVED an email recently from a single parent who is looking to head to France with two young children.
And although I sent a reply I though it would most probably be much more enlightening if I ask readers of the site for any advice, hints and tips.
FRENCH bureaucracy has a reputation for being a tangle of red-tape and procedures, that can drive any sane person over the edge.
One of the things you soon realise is that a utility bill opens more doors than a passport and that it is vital to photocopy any official piece of paperwork – usually three times.
During the ‘National Disability Week,’ arranged by APF (Association paralysés de France’ the subject of integration of disabled people in the work place was high on the agenda.
Jean- Christophe Parisot, a new ministerial delegate in the ministry of Employment and Disability Integration, is the first disabled person (a tetraplegic due to myopathy) to become a political scientist and has at hand the figures relating to the number of disabled people employed by the ministry. Of the 40,000 disabled people employed, 22,000 are teachers, making Education the highest employer of disabled people in France. The figures correspond to 3.17% of disabled people, whereas the law passed 11 February 2005 proposed 6%.
PARIS and fashion go hand in hand, but what is it actually like to be involved in this world?
In today’s podcast I chat with model Anina who was plucked from a New York health food shop to stride the catwalks of the world.
More than 400,000 disabled people travel by trains in France each year and it is the objective of SNCF to improve the accessibility and services for the disabled by 2015.
The need to provide better services for the disabled has led to a new project “Access More”; a new free service that will allow people to better organise their travel.
TAKING your hobby or pastime with you to France is one of the best ways to ensure you find your feet quickly and easily in your new home.
Whatever it is, music, sport or handicrafts, most groups will welcome a new recruit with open arms, something I’m sure the Spinners and Weavers of South West France would do.
GAINING an understanding of the financial arrangements of a move to France can be both a challenging, and re-assuring, thing as it helps answer a number of questions.
But one of the things that is difficult to work out is how far your income, which may be lower than you are used to, is likely to stretch.
When we moved to France we only had our Volkswagen Sharan people carrier.
Travelling backwards and forwards to England with my wheelchair and buying items for the house, we decided the best thing to do was to keep the car. We wouldn’t have recouped our money on the car so we reregistered it in France.
Other people have followed the following series of events and found the process fairly pain free! One couple had a brand new English car and didn’t want to sell it; finding it suitable for their purposes.
My husband wrote his manual for reregistering your car in France. This is for the Cote d’Or but bear in mind it might be a little different in your department but the basics are the same.
I RECENTLY asked for your thoughts on what you should ask of estate agents, especially in light of the handsome commissions some earn from property sales.
There were some very in-depth and thoughtful replies which are well worth pointing out so you can take a look yourself.