Why it makes sense for some people in some circumstances to move to France.

[Dick Large]

There are circumstances in which it would be sensible to move to France. If you are nearing the end of your working life you will have probably paid off your mortgage or be very near to that stage.

So here is my concept. The cost of living is higher in France than in the UK and the various taxes are very high. But the population of the UK is 4.2% greater than the population of France which has 2.275 times as much land as the UK. So the cost of buying land is much cheaper in France and this is one of the factors that makes the price of houses in France much cheaper than in the UK for comparable houses in comparable settings.

I have in the past lived in France, partially for 7 years and then fully for 5 years. I speak French competently, still study life there and have friends there. If your house in the UK is worth £300,000 you could sell it and move to a similar house in a similar setting in France for not much more than £100,000 worth of euros. All that you need to do is have a decent search of the numerous French estate agency web sites. On many of them you can select an option to show all text in English. There are also specialist estate agencies that are in the UK that sell property in France. Thus your gain of £200,000 will seriously make up for the French high cost of living and high taxes. I have seen French houses at a price of 40,000 euros that could be made to be quite respectable, given a further spend of 20,000 euros. These are not difficult to find.

My 7 years of partially living in south west France were in the village of Tillac in the département of Gers, which is number 32 on the map below. My 5 years fully spent in south west France were in the small town of Maubourguet in the département of Hautes-Pyrénées, which is number 65 on the map below.

[frenchlion]

.I live in France and it is true that if you want to live far from the main cities you can find very cheap properties to buy.....but why would a patriotic Brexiter for example,want to live in France and be ruled by faceless unelected bureaucrates in Brussels?

[davee59]

.I live in France and it is true that if you want to live far from the main cities you can find very cheap properties to buy.....but why would a patriotic Brexiter for example,want to live in France and be ruled by faceless unelected bureaucrates in Brussels?

Argent mon ami!! Allez les blues.

[frenchlion]

Yes when it comes to argent patriotism goes out of the window!

[Dick Large]

Personal life circumstances and finances dictate these things, as detailed in the first post. A lot of people want to live away from the main cities, this is no negative matter. In the UK I would not want to live anywhere near London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast etc. My own life in England has largely been on the periphery of a town of 30,000 population a long way from the main cities.

Whilst I do not think that Marine Le Pen will win the next election it cannot be entirely ruled out. Maybe the electorate will hold its nose and vote for the only candidate that would take France out of the EU, Le Pen. That would not mean that the electorate was racist, merely keen on getting out of the EU, so it would tolerate 4 years of Le Pen, for the greater good. So it is slightly possible that France could leave the EU but not likely. So anyone who is anti-EU may well go to France, believing that its membership of the EU could cease or that the EU could totally collapse. But I suggest that the best circumstance for a UK person to live in France would be someone nearing retirement with a mortgage almost paid off, who sells his / her UK property and can thus be comfortable owning a French property of similar quality relatively cheaply. With the extra money in hand that seems sensible.

I was disappointed with Sarkozy's recent legal demise because to my mind he was the last French President to be a genuine character, unlike the present buffoon who pompously struts the EU halls of power whilst France has a lot of problems.

[frenchlion]

In the build up to the last presidential election Le Pen radically changed her Frexit and ditching the euro concept that she was touting for years knowing that the vast majority of French are pro European and nobody wants to revert to the Franc. During the Presidential débat between Macron and Le Pen she was completely laminated by a far superior brain. I will never understand how anybody could vote for somebody who’s only programme is immigration. Somebody who for decades supported old man Le Pen,a racist and for whom the gas chambers were only a “point of detail” in WW2. She has changed the name of her party from National Front to National Assembly in a bid to break away from her old man’s original party to try and make it more respectable but you can pour gallons of Chanel No5 on a dog’s
turd....it will smell nicer but will always remain a piece of shi t. Le Pen President will be a disaster for France.

[Dick Large]

Yes, that's interesting. At the moment the racist has gained more support according to recent opinion polls but she will not get close to a win. It is a sad state of affairs that she even reached the last two Play-Off Finals. It remains to be seen what her stance will be on the European Union as the date of the election approaches. If she feels that it will increase her support through being the only one to offer it she will return to an enthusiastic Leave stance. She has expressed enthusiasm for the UK's result. Opinion polls show increased support for Leave, not enough to get close to a win in a less-than-likely referendum but more than enough to be of significance.

[frenchlion]

As the Socialist party has all but disappeared the traditional right has never replaced Sarkozy (and Sarko appreciates Macron) the far left are.....the far left....there is only Le Pen left to challenge Macron again. I think Macron will win but the margin will not be as comfortable as the last time. Having said that, nobody predicted Macron a year before the last election

[Psaw]

I fully support the notion of big cities being bad places. I lived in Birmingham and Stoke for thirty years. When walking my dog at night, if i couldnt do it sooner, id leave my wallet at home. Brum isnt like a living hell, but Stoke was.

When in hell, there is the idea that all you need to do is walk out. But Brummies wont, they dont kmow anything else. Stokies that did leave would be back pretty sharpish, because living away from Stoke would be like moving to France.

I despised Cambridge when i left, you only get perspective when you live elswhere, that applies to everything. I love it now, it has its own atmosphere and buzz. There is no industry, no sense of menace. The streets are narrow, the buildings ancient. It is relaxed.

My mothers family are from north eastern Italy near the slovene border, my mother was slovene. I have enquired to property prices there, strangely it is expensive, and a bit too remote.

Unless you can speak it would be difficult to integrate. The sun, the mountains, the food are still a big draw. Everyone in the vicinity would be a relative of some sort. The nearest town Cividale would be a grand place to live.

Dick, living that far south in France, dont you miss the weather? Ely, thank god, has the highest sunshine hours in Britain, but that isnt nearly enough. Living in Carlisle must be grim weather wise. When i can, im playing with the idea of spending summertime abroad but being based here, Cividale Sorrento, Benidorm, yes Benidorm, then over to the Usa, California way or Phoenix.

Keeps me going, probably never happen.

[Dick Large]

Frank,
It is several years since I was in France. I did live there half the time for 7 years and full time for 5 years.

I am not settled anywhere at the moment, a year or two here, a year or two there. Thus there is no conflict between my belief that Macron is a pompous arrogant buffoon and France is a UK enemy, whilst pointing out the financial merits of moving to France for someone who is nearing the end of his working life and nearing completely paying off his mortgage. That person can buy a house of equal quality and equal setting for a third of what he would get for his UK house. It just needs a good search on the various estate agency web sites, most of which have an English option. So the financial gain would be of considerable use with regard to the high cost of living and taxes in France. Have a look at Asda / Morrisons and compare their prices with those of the French supermarket chains.