The best age to move to France

My wife and I moved here in 2020. We had been considering buying a house in France for several years having spent many holidays here.

We probably jumped earlier than planned because Brexit put a deadline on us if we wanted to be protected by the withdrawal agreement. That has worked, we both now have our Carte Vitales and Carte Sejours

We bought a house to renovate with a £30,000 renovation budget which has already been blown. So my advice would be to double any figure you come up with at least. On top of that the house we bought didn't turn out to be such a bargain. Unexpectedly the swimming pool didn't just need a new liner, the foundations are shot - so another 25k € needed there and the roof is leaking another 30k € required there.
So 18 months in we are a bit stressed to say the least.

On the plus side, France is a beautiful country we have some lovely places to visit from where we are, the Mediteranean can be enjoyed on a day trip as can the Atlantic.We have made friends in two local bars,and we are quite well known in the community already, because we make an effort to mix in and accept and return any invitations.

My wife Sally is only 5...something and I am 6...something, so not young but not even middle aged in our own view.

My only wish is that we had moved here in our 30's. Why live in a cloudy place when you could live in a sunny place.

Move South, learn French, work and then enjoy !

Hello Markcurran,

Thank you so much for taking time to reply to our questions.

Your testimony will surely inspire people. 

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team

We moved late 30s40 we weren't sharp enough for french ripper offs we didn't communicate enough with other ex pats mind you at 69 some french still try to rip of ex pats

There are wolves in every country and city. When you are in a new territory you have to be careful who you pick. The professionals in France are controlled by many rules. And they will follow them if you are all understanding the same thing. Written contracts are the best for repairs and improvements. And you need to check people out that you hire for work and ask others for advice. But there are many very good people. If you ask a person that goes around the rules to save money you may not get what you wanted. It is very hard when your language is different. Choose your friends with care. Pay attention and get written bids and contracts. Read and understand anything you sign. Speed is not your friend. And information from other Expats is not perfect either if they won or lost. They may have been the problem in the project or not even if they got a good job done. I have worked on both sides of this kind of getting things done and I have passed up on many bad customers. And many bad contractors. Even small jobs are worth paying attention to the people involved. That is how you find keepers. You must understand what you want to be done first. And write it down.  Translate it to French and back to your language. And get some people to read it. This is a very important step to getting what you want. The languages do not translate everything as well we would like. Mechanical things are hard to translate to non mechanically savvy in your native language. Electrical, car, masonry, welding, plumbing, fireplace, roof, boat, truck, and computer all have their own language. Oh! and government!!  Patients and Preparation pay off.

Yes I have met many bad ex pats I agree

@Markcurran 

Thank you for sharing your story.  I am working (you know two steps forward, ten steps back) to move my mom and me to Bordeaux.  There are many complications, and many considerations but I fight for every inch and am relentlessly tenacious.

I'm nearer your wife's age, so I feel buoyed by your experience (well maybe not the "Money Pit" reenactment...) so thanks.

@Cheryl good morning Cheryl, from a purely administrative standpoint I would say that the type of VISA you're applying for can influence your move. A student visa is relatively easy to get whereas a "long term tourist" visa (visa when you're retired for example) is much more complex (more paperwork involved and a costly compulsory insurance policy). Therefore I would say it's "ideal" when you are a student, or going to France with an employment contract (a French one) that's probably going to be the most simple situations when you're on your own. Then there are many types of "familly visas" but they pretty much all involve one of the partner to be French or living in France.

Hope that helps a bit?

@Cheryl, me and husband moved here from sunny South Africa, so it has been a move to a worse climate unfortunately. For us the move wasn't so much something we had planned and looked forward to but rather a necessary move as we no longer had work in SA due to fall out from the pandemic. We are late 30's with children, my husband is French. So what do we think of the country so far?

Well, admin, this country is crazy for the paperwork. Took us three months to get my husband and kids onto medical aid (they all have french nationality) and mine is still being processed (Im an EU national). To compare, I called my medical aid in SA yesterday to remove husband and kids from the package and we managed to do that in a 10minute phone call with no paperwork to fill in or anything, done (and they emailed me the confirmation straight after).

Also, since my husband is still on his trial period (3-6 months here in France usually) at his work we have been unable to secure a rental property which means he stays at a camping close to his work and I am currently living with the kids at my in laws, this is also not great. The estate agents here are very difficult, and this is the first country I've been in where the renters have to pay the agents fees instead of the landlord.

I dont know if moving here was the best idea, I am hoping the improving weather will change my mind and looking forward to my husband finishing his probation so we can finally settle somewhere together. For an ideal age to move here, maybe a bit younger, if you do not have children you have a lot more flexibility and can avoid a whole lot of additional paperwork. In any case, plan on at least 6 months to get all your papers in order and settle, moving here is not a quick fix.