Moving to France BlogMoving to France BlogDespite all the television programmes about expat disasters there are the success stories as well, but they don't make interesting television nor reading for that matter. Articles
Chapter Fourteen: Qualms and List
2008-03-05 00:00:00 So why was I sitting in a freezing cold hunting lodge, -8°C outside, at 10-O-Clock in the evening with 18 other very chilled people, a real log fire with pretend heat (-6°C inside), some fairly grotty cooking wine and a pizza, well dear reader the answer is "La List e". In the eight years that we have been here we have not got involved in French politics, wh ... More About: Chapter
Chapter Thirteen: The Germans Are Coming
2008-02-13 00:00:00 The move went smoothly and we settled into our ten-year renovation, building and decorating project under the supervision of my lovely wife, who I have to admit, looks very fetching in a swimsuit, hardhat and Wellington boots. Thefirst and I guess most important project was installing a swimming pool. This took priority over just about everything else including a new kitchen, a new bathroom and building a loft type room in the roof. "Being without a pool during the summer would be a nigh ... More About: Holiday , Thirteen , Homes , Chapter , Germans
Chapter Twelve: The Sanity Clause…but he doesn’t exist…does he?
2008-01-20 00:00:00 We tried everything to sort the mess out, bribery, begging, bitching and barter, nothing worked. I have never actually understood whom the estate agent works for in France other than himself. I know that the Notaire works for both parties, and from his barbed comments, at least I knew whose side he was on; ours, thank god!! He was brilliant ... More About: Twelve , Exist , Chapter , Clause
Chapter Eleven: Little Boxes On the Hillside.
2008-01-05 00:00:00 A visit to the Notairs, signed off all the money issues, price, agents commission, Notairs fees, and tax to our adopted country. We did however get one little surprise, that at the time we didn't believe to be important; our buyer was goingto have a mortgage. This bit of information was slipped very quickly into the discussion by the Dutch delegate in between our lead inspection and termite report: No the woodworm didn't start pontificating about the dangers of lead in paint an ... More About: Holiday , Homes , Chapter
Chapter Ten: Double Dutch
2007-12-11 00:00:00 Let me start by being honest, in hindsight we were foolish. OK, all right, I put my hands up; I was very stupid, believing in the honesty and integrity of estate agents. I know dear reader you would have thought over my long years dealingwith this anomaly of British society, I would have learned my lesson, obviously I hadn't. Within a couple of weeks we had visitors looking around the family castle. Some were just nosey tourists with nothing to do when it was raining; ... More About: Double , Dutch , Chapter
Chapter Nine: The Idyll Idles
2007-11-30 00:00:00 Across the last few years that joie de vivre has not dissipated but grown in stature, as have my three fantastic kids and wonderful wife. Libby (aka BamBam) now has to be told to speak English when she is at home, she thinks in French, laughs in French, dresses in French, eats in French.... ("Libby close your mouth when you eating") and is a proper little Mademoiselle.She is now fifteen and studying for a BEP (a sort of A level) in commerce in Montauban, b ... More About: Chapter
Chapter Eight A New and Perfect Life
2007-11-19 00:00:00 It is said by the local French population in these parts, that British immigrants to this beautiful area of the country have a three-year window. What they are trying to say is that the Brits leave within three years, or divorce within threeyears, or go mad within three years, or unfortunately die within three years. However once passed that three-year window they stay forever in their adopted country. We are all still here, still together, still as sane as any family that excha ... More About: Life , Perfect , Chapter
Chapter Seven: Slipper Man Cometh
2007-11-16 00:00:00 So we were the proud owners of a gorgeous home in a wonderful town in southwest France. All our furniture was in place, the brood had made camp in their allotted bedrooms and Elaine and I went exploring our new home. The living area of the house had been very tastefully decorated with a mix of Anglo-French décor and we felt we could live with that for a while, upstairs was a different matter. One of the bedrooms had huge pink rose wallpaper everywhere...walls, cupboards, doors a ... More About: Chapter , Slipper
Chapter Six: Your Money Or Your Wife
2007-11-12 00:00:00 Now lets face it, the local legal profession in France is not the fastest nor prettiest thing on two legs. Our local notaire wouldn't have beaten the tortoise, even with a head start and a following wind and with his shrunken once blackundertakers suit, stained with an exotic mixture of, a couple of months worth of lunches, the odd Ricard and a light sprinkling of powdery off-piste dandruff. Today when we see him counting his money, blessings or eggs from the market, he look ... More About: Money , Wife , Chapter
Chapter One: A Man For All Reasons
2007-11-04 00:00:00 Take one tired, brow beaten world-weary business executive with a beautiful wife and three gorgeous kids (more of them later) and pick the whole lot up from a remote desolate island somewhere in the wild waters of the English Channel…well the Isle of Wight actually…. and deposit them lock stock and two steaming baguettes in a small town in south west France. The result, I truly hope, is a fascinating and often funny insight into the clash of British and French culture, langua ... More About: Reasons , Chapter
Chapter Three: A Cheap Trip To Mars.
2007-11-04 00:00:00 I suppose at a spectacle like that it is almost impossible to tell the window shoppers from the serious players. I didn't know it at the time but this situation arises a lot with French agents based in France. They are inundated with bored or wet (it does rain in these parts..even in the Summer) holiday makers with little if any interest in actually viewing a property and no interest in actually buying one.That said at UK exhibitions I am sure that a little more finesse and a f ... More About: Mars , Trip , Cheap , Chapter
Chapter 4: Inside the Belgian Pysche
2007-11-04 00:00:00 The rain didn't stop that morning, but, the shattering disappointment did. The next property we saw was amazing, as was the one after that.Lunch time arrived punctually with the sunshine and the earlier nightmare was almost forgotten. We had a couple of good eating hours before our next appointment and made the most of it at what has since become one of our favo ... More About: Inside , Belgian , Chapter
Chapter 5 The Denouncement
2007-11-04 00:00:00 How do you break it gently to three relatively young children, their relatively old grand parents and a died in the wool, set in his ways, obstinate, black Labrador, that, within a few months we (inc. dog) will be living, breathing and GOING TO SCHOOLin France?….You do it very gently…and slowly….and carefully…and gently!!It worked…almost. First came the directors cut of the video, then came the verbal description, then out came everything we had nicke ... More About: Chapter 5 , Chapter |
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