exile
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Massif Central
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Post by exile on Apr 10, 2022 22:20:31 GMT 1
Surely the question was " would you move back to the UK " and mostley the answer is , " no , because I can't afford it ! " My son still thinks food is a lot cheaper there than here, even if the general opinion is that prices have gone up. I've noticed they've gone up a lot here too so how much is because of brexit over there or covid everywhere and what's going to happen there and here with inflation and basically, who can predict at the moment, really? I feel I need to be poised to act when all the info is in. Where is cheap to live?? For most I suspect the cost of food, fags or booze is secondary to the cost of buying a property. Fine for those who have been able to hold onto a UK property but many will have invested most of their resources into a property in France and will have sold up in the UK to finance that. If I were to return to the UK I doubt I could find anything anywhere close to what we have here in terms of property and certainly not if I were to add in relationships with the community - which under any circumstance would take years to establish.
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Post by Debra on Apr 10, 2022 23:40:28 GMT 1
I wouldn't really want what I have here over there (I'm currently looking at downsizing anyway) and the area I'm from hadn't gone up price wise since the financial crisis when I sold my ex home and bought again a couple of years ago so that isn't an issue. I think that problem will be getting worse for people who didn't retain property there, at least at the moment - it could crash again yet. It's the cost of living excluding property cost or rent that bothers me. The electricity and gas bills I'm hearing about are horrendous and I thought they'd gone up a lot in France.
As for relationships with the community - I've been a bit of a hermit for years now and certainly since I moved to my current home so I think part of moving wherever I move to next will be an intention to address that and start mixing a bit again!
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Post by tim17 on Apr 11, 2022 7:42:52 GMT 1
We currently have a big stone house sitting on an acre of land surrounded by fields, woods and vines, our hamlet has five houses with nearest neighbour being 100 metres away, to get that in the UK in our preferred county would cost north of £1 million. Our plan is to buy the complete opposite to what we have now, a semi-detached house or bungalow to renovate within walking distance of the city centre, we'll need a pot of around £400K and may have to take out a small mortgage.
I've always thought the cost of living in the UK is similar overall to France but having spent several weeks there recently many things are cheaper - fuel, food, insurance, eating out etc.
A bit like Debra we expect to be able to get involved more in the community than we do now and that's part of the reason for the move, we can often go days without speaking to the neighbours here especially in the winter and as all the other houses in the hamlet are rented the neighbours change on a regular basis so it's not easy forming any sort of permanent friendship.
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Aardvark
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Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
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Post by Aardvark on Apr 11, 2022 10:15:38 GMT 1
I guess that sort of thing is important to some people. We haven't been face to face with our nearest neighbour for over two years now. Yesterday we had a surprise visit from friends that live about half an hour's drive away. Really nice. The first time in nearly three years that anyone apart from ourselves and the dog have been in the house. Covid has a lot to answer for but we are certainly quite used to an isolated life now anyway so wouldn't be tempted to go back to UK just for the social element.
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Post by Debra on Apr 11, 2022 10:23:44 GMT 1
That's maybe ok if you're part of a couple but I've been divorced since my arrival in France and stayed to see my kids through their education and on to independence and I'm not far off that now (three down one to go!). I need to get out more or I'll go doo lally once the last has left and I've nobody at all to talk to in real life, face to face. Tim17 I seem to remember you came here around when I did unless there was another Tim in 17 talking about moving at the same time I was in 2005? Back then I'm not sure we foresaw that these kids we brought over would end up spread far and wide and the implications of that on family life in general. Gone are the days of a family all staying in the same town - though I doubt that would have happened even if we had stayed in the UK but I think we may have been in the same country, at least. I've seriously considered getting a camper van so I can just sell up, not have property maintenance to worry about and easily tour round them all and do the exploring that seems to have ended once I moved to France!
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Post by tim17 on Apr 11, 2022 11:53:51 GMT 1
That's maybe ok if you're part of a couple but I've been divorced since my arrival in France and stayed to see my kids through their education and on to independence and I'm not far off that now (three down one to go!). I need to get out more or I'll go doo lally once the last has left and I've nobody at all to talk to in real life, face to face. Tim17 I seem to remember you came here around when I did unless there was another Tim in 17 talking about moving at the same time I was in 2005? Back then I'm not sure we foresaw that these kids we brought over would end up spread far and wide and the implications of that on family life in general. Gone are the days of a family all staying in the same town - though I doubt that would have happened even if we had stayed in the UK but I think we may have been in the same country, at least. I've seriously considered getting a camper van so I can just sell up, not have property maintenance to worry about and easily tour round them all and do the exploring that seems to have ended once I moved to France! Yes it is me, we moved in 2005, I think at the time you ended up in the Charente if I remember correctly. Whilst the kids all went to Uni in various cities around the region all but one came back to live with us for a while, now though they're in Paris, Bordeaux and Guadeloupe with only the youngest close by and even he's now moving to the La Rochelle area.
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Veem
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Post by Veem on Apr 11, 2022 12:01:25 GMT 1
Debra, didn't you live in or near Confolens? I think I remember you posting about a source for getting knitting wool. If I'm right, then you're allowed to marvel (as Biggles does frequently) at my ability for remembering forgettable details! The ease of being able to buy wool and knitting patterns is something I miss from the UK.
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Post by Debra on Apr 11, 2022 12:41:27 GMT 1
That's maybe ok if you're part of a couple but I've been divorced since my arrival in France and stayed to see my kids through their education and on to independence and I'm not far off that now (three down one to go!). I need to get out more or I'll go doo lally once the last has left and I've nobody at all to talk to in real life, face to face. Tim17 I seem to remember you came here around when I did unless there was another Tim in 17 talking about moving at the same time I was in 2005? Back then I'm not sure we foresaw that these kids we brought over would end up spread far and wide and the implications of that on family life in general. Gone are the days of a family all staying in the same town - though I doubt that would have happened even if we had stayed in the UK but I think we may have been in the same country, at least. I've seriously considered getting a camper van so I can just sell up, not have property maintenance to worry about and easily tour round them all and do the exploring that seems to have ended once I moved to France! Yes it is me, we moved in 2005, I think at the time you ended up in the Charente if I remember correctly. Whilst the kids all went to Uni in various cities around the region all but one came back to live with us for a while, now though they're in Paris, Bordeaux and Guadeloupe with only the youngest close by and even he's now moving to the La Rochelle area. Yes, that's me. I now have one in Angouleme, one went to La Rochelle for uni but came back and is now on a training course leading to a job in Niort so he'll soon be gone again and one in the British Army, posted to a worrying area at the moment. My youngest is about to go to lycee and would like to go to La Rochelle for the AbiBac there but if he does he may have to go interne because I'm not sure I can sell up fast enough to move there and I'd need to sell more than one house to afford La Rochelle! If I could have afforded it at the time I'd have moved there when one son went to uni there but I'm looking again now and it's still as expensive as ever. If I move there I'll end up alone there since my youngest wants to do the AbiBac so he can go to uni in Germany. It's brilliant to have bilingual kids and in the case of my youngest, trilingual and maybe even quadrilingual by the time he finishes his education and it's marvelous that they have so many opportunities, having mostly kept their freedom of movement, but it makes the empty nesting stage harder than it would have been had we stayed in the UK, I feel.
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Post by Debra on Apr 11, 2022 13:00:24 GMT 1
Debra, didn't you live in or near Confolens? I think I remember you posting about a source for getting knitting wool. If I'm right, then you're allowed to marvel (as Biggles does frequently) at my ability for remembering forgettable details! The ease of being able to buy wool and knitting patterns is something I miss from the UK. I'm in La Rochefoucauld now but I did live inbetween here and Confolens for a while and that's where our lycee de secteur was so I came close to moving there a few times so it may well have been me. I ended up moving where I am now because I eventually ended up with all three of my older kids at lycees in Angouleme - one of which my youngest may end up going to if he doesn't get accepted for the AbiBac program at either La Rochelle or Poitiers. He wants to continue with his German studies but also learn Russian as his third foreign language and there only seems to be one lycee in each department that does LV2 German and LV3 Russian. Personally I'd rather move up north nearer to my mother and where it's cooler in the summer but my youngest is even harder to convince of the merits of that than the older ones were! From some of the attitudes he's learned at school there seems to be a north-south divide in France just like there is in the UK.
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Post by limousinlady on Apr 11, 2022 14:39:56 GMT 1
Debra, didn't you live in or near Confolens? I think I remember you posting about a source for getting knitting wool. If I'm right, then you're allowed to marvel (as Biggles does frequently) at my ability for remembering forgettable details! The ease of being able to buy wool and knitting patterns is something I miss from the UK. Off topic but ...... Veem, if you ever get to Bellac, there is a Centrakor (nr Netto) which has a good supply of wool, inexpensive as well as expensive. It has a better stock than the Centrakor in St Junien. Since becoming a 'Nana' in December, I have become an avid knitter again. I mainly download patterns from the internet - Sirdar & Lovecrafts websites do free patterns. Also Action have wool, though it is pot luck. I know Confolens doesn't have an Action but there is a store similar to Centrakor behind Intermarche, which you probably know of course.
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Veem
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Post by Veem on Apr 11, 2022 15:32:03 GMT 1
LL - Thanks for the tips on where to find wool and patterns. I'm not sure I could actually knit anymore because my eyesight is not what it was especially since having cataracts done. Somewhere I still have my knitting bag with all sorts in it so I'll perhaps have a go. I've seen wool for sale in a small shop in La Rochefoucauld, but can never decide how they differentiate between the plies in France.
Once I started on knitting a garment I would do almost nothing else but sit and knit until I'd finished. I used to mostly do it whilst watching TV in the evening. I don't wear glasses for TV, however I would now need them to see my knitting!
I've been to Bellac maybe 2 or 3 times in 18 years! I could have a look in the shop behind Intermarche in Confolens though. Thanks again.
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Post by limousinlady on Apr 11, 2022 16:20:16 GMT 1
LL - Thanks for the tips on where to find wool and patterns. I'm not sure I could actually knit anymore because my eyesight is not what it was especially since having cataracts done. Somewhere I still have my knitting bag with all sorts in it so I'll perhaps have a go. I've seen wool for sale in a small shop in La Rochefoucauld, but can never decide how they differentiate between the plies in France. Once I started on knitting a garment I would do almost nothing else but sit and knit until I'd finished. I used to mostly do it whilst watching TV in the evening. I don't wear glasses for TV, however I would now need them to see my knitting! I've been to Bellac maybe 2 or 3 times in 18 years! I could have a look in the shop behind Intermarche in Confolens though. Thanks again. That is when I knit in the evening and peer over the top of my closework glasses to watch the tv. We live in the centre of the triangle, Confolens, St Junien and Bellac. St Junien preferred for shopping, then Bellac. We very rarely venture into Confolens except when OH wants to visit the Hope Charity shop.
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Veem
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Post by Veem on Apr 11, 2022 17:25:31 GMT 1
LL - Thanks for the tips on where to find wool and patterns. I'm not sure I could actually knit anymore because my eyesight is not what it was especially since having cataracts done. Somewhere I still have my knitting bag with all sorts in it so I'll perhaps have a go. I've seen wool for sale in a small shop in La Rochefoucauld, but can never decide how they differentiate between the plies in France. Once I started on knitting a garment I would do almost nothing else but sit and knit until I'd finished. I used to mostly do it whilst watching TV in the evening. I don't wear glasses for TV, however I would now need them to see my knitting! I've been to Bellac maybe 2 or 3 times in 18 years! I could have a look in the shop behind Intermarche in Confolens though. Thanks again. That is when I knit in the evening and peer over the top of my closework glasses to watch the tv. We live in the centre of the triangle, Confolens, St Junien and Bellac. St Junien preferred for shopping, then Bellac. We very rarely venture into Confolens except when OH wants to visit the Hope Charity shop. You mean, you don't go to The Chip Shop? Mind you, because of Covid, the weather and the fact they cannot serve meals inside any more, we've only been twice in the past 6 months or so. We're hoping to make that average substantially higher once the weather allows outdoor dining!
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Post by limousinlady on Apr 11, 2022 18:04:20 GMT 1
That is when I knit in the evening and peer over the top of my closework glasses to watch the tv. We live in the centre of the triangle, Confolens, St Junien and Bellac. St Junien preferred for shopping, then Bellac. We very rarely venture into Confolens except when OH wants to visit the Hope Charity shop. You mean, you don't go to The Chip Shop? Mind you, because of Covid, the weather and the fact they cannot serve meals inside any more, we've only been twice in the past 6 months or so. We're hoping to make that average substantially higher once the weather allows outdoor dining! Oh the Chip Shop - I forgot that! But still only once in a blue moon.
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Post by Debra on Apr 11, 2022 19:23:49 GMT 1
The chip shop is one of the main reasons I keep thinking of excuses to move to Confolens
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