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Everything you always wanted to know about France |
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Issue 102 is not just about property for a change. I would like to hear from anyone who can give me information or contacts about handicapped friendly places in France. mailto:tony@frepro.com tony@frepro.com My mum is back from hospital with a new hip and is free of pain for the first time in a year. Thank you to all the people who wrote about the plague of red "mites" - not spiders, these are a common pest and they are early this year, if you have a problem look up "harvest mites" in Google. If you want the most relaxing place to stay this summer, try... http://www.rentalsfrance.com/rhonealps/MAIN-568/index.html Chalet Montalbert This is open all summer and is, in my opinion - much more interesting than when it is covered with snow, (falling off wet mountains has never been my idea of fun) - fantastic scenery, walks and rides, bargain price for 6 people and the top quality, being the best duplex in the town. === There are over 1,000 articles in our archives at... http://francevoila.com/archives/ Archives Our holiday/vacation rental site is at... http://rentalsfrance.com/ RentalsFrance We advertise holiday villa and gite rentals in most parts of France, established in 1998 we are one of the most prominent and successful villa rentals sites on the Internet - and aim to stay that way. Do browse through our websites and please use the advertising links, they help pay for the site. ======= In this issue 1. Music Bus 2. To Bravely Go Where No Man has Gone Before 3. Help Line in Five Languages 4. Property Prices 5. French Health Service and the Good Life 6. Best Buy For Euro 7. Electricity In France 8. Wifi Hotspot Guide ====== 1. Music Bus I mentioned Mel Davis in my last newsletter. After an accident 8 years ago Mel is handicapped. Mel is a musician and has a dream to make a mobile studio to help others which mobility problems, he is offering the project a small fortune in recording systems and is asking for help to set up a double decker bus to be fitted out. You can read about this challenge on his site at... http://francevoila.com/music-bus/ Music Bus ======= 2. To Bravely Go Where No Man has Gone Before I am looking at buying a newly renovated apartment in the town of Villedieu les Poeles, approximately 2 mins walk from central street. Both one and two bedroom properties are available at 66k euro and 100k euro respectively including all fees. I'm just concerned how attractive to holiday renters such properties will be as I haven't seen anything similar. I wonder whether such an apartment would be more suitable to long weekend breaks rather than week by week holidays. They have no garden or balcony or garden. Do you have any similar experiences/clients? Can email photos if you wish. === Hello Tim If the are no others then there is no proven demand and there may not be any demand so I would not speculate on it. Holiday rentals need a terrace or large balcony to eat out on as a minimum. Weekend breaks are hard to sell and the marketing cost will probably be higher than the income. This is the BandB market, or for hotels - not good for apartments. Hope this helps Tony ======= 3. Help Line in Five Languages You are traveling through a country where you don't speak the language. You have a problem, someone is lost, you are stopped by the police, miss your passport or want to change your room. Even just book a good restaurant or buy a bunch of flowers. What if you could call someone (like on "Millionaire") who is fluent in the language and tell them your problem and then ask them to help or translate. Well, this service exists. I came across this brilliant and valuable service. The team speak five languages - English, Spanish, French, German and Dutch. To read the rest of this article, please go to http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/124 European help-Line ======= 4. Property Prices Hello Tony Thanks for your informative newsletters. I'd be interested to know if you have any comments on how a downturn in the property market in Britain might influence property prices in France. Best wishes Ed === Hello Ed I do not believe that "general trends" will mean very much to the implied question here - are you asking will French property sales and the prices of real-estate in France be affected significantly by the cooling off of property sales and reducing prices in the UK? My personal opinion is no - this will not have a significant affect on people who are going to make a radical decision to buy property in France or move to France to live. Therefore the trends for property price changes in France will be less evident than in the UK. Yes it will reduce the number of people buying rubbish at low prices funded by a loan on inflated house prices in the UK and thinking this will fulfill a dream - it may also reduce the number of parasitic agents and "experts" in France feeding off the gullibility of foreigners persuaded to "invest" in schemes and useless property in Europe. The UK has been obsessed by waffle about house prices and "growth" since the late 1960's - an aging population is, at present, able to unlock surplus capital and flee a decomposing country with a lying government and greedy and ineffective businesses - (France is just as bad, but the censorship means you don't have to read about it every day). The only thing certain is change, and many things will change over the next few years. Those who can afford to sell UK property and buy good property in France will continue to do so, but the "mass market" will disappear. It might mean the conversation at parties would be about books, paintings and ideas instead of how big a hut you live in and what someone would pay for it if you didn't need it to keep yourself dry. Bonne Chance Tony ======= 5. French Health Service and the Good Life Hi Tony I've just received your 101 newsletter and a great read and informative as ever. I'm so pleased for your mum not having to wait long for her hip operation and the fact she is up and about is great. Good Health to her..!! The French health service is one of the main reasons my partner and I (and Oona our dog) are moving to France within the next few years. No, I don't want to buy a great home in France near the seaside where the weather is really hot all year round and open a gite or any other business to make a living like most people who write to you. The main reason for writing is to ask if you have any information on the health service and how it works in "real life". We will not be asking anything from the French government, we will pay our way and live our life. But I would very much appreciate if there is any information you can give us that might help us get a real view of how the French health service works in reality. We are trying to gather as much info as we can so we are prepared, although I'm a bit of a realist myself and do not leave things to chance. I'm definitely not a dreamer, both feet are firmly on the ground...when I can stand up that is.................. I'm still laughing..!! Best to be prepared. We want to live a quiet life with French people and get away from most things that are British and envelop the thought of living a French life, with French food, French folk with French rules etc....!! We have bought a house within a farming community and have enough land and outbuildings for our own needs to live a French lifestyle we still have another house to sell and are still employed and saving. (My partner is employed, I am somewhat disabled and not as mobile as I used to be). Then move when the time is right and practical. Thank you for taking time to read my email and I look forward to any reply. Your cynicism and realism are both excellent qualities to have...!! Thank you again for a great read. Keep up the good work..!! Many thanks Kaz === Hello Kaz I have the highest regard for the French health service - against all logic, it works. You can come and pay for a full private insurance, at age 50 a family policy for 100% cover would cost about 200 euro a month. Obviously the cost depends on your medical history, if you come from a EEC country then the cost will be much less as you can get 70% paid by the state. The local insurance agent will help you - they all are much the same, you get their adverts on British TV already (GAN, AXA etc). After 17 years here I am not sure what the "French lifestyle" you refer to in your mail is - most French people shop in the same supermarkets as you do in the UK and eat MacDonalds hamburgers, see the same movies and the same TV programmes (Millionaire, Weakest Link etc) - the only difference I can report is that we can have a beer in MacDonalds instead of Fanta, for the same price. I don't blame you for wanting to get away from many British things - Croatian Fish and chip shops and a plague of speed cameras, but these things are coming here (in fact I quite like speed cameras - I find it a pleasure to drive safely). The traffic wardens in France are on commission now just like in the UK. Then there are the crooks who sold out the British car industry and - to cap it all - the ghastly Tony Blair and his gang. French food is mostly bland and boring, although much healthier than the average overcooked over priced British stodge - Spain and Italy have much more adventurous food and there are more 3 star Michelin restaurants in the British home counties than in the whole of France I understand. Good luck in you French farming community - I have a friend who has over a hundred different ways of describing the onions he has grown and harvested, oh how we laugh at dinner parties chatting about the soil and fertiliser. A quiet life is guaranteed. Not just cynical - but a "hard bitten" realist Tony ======= 6. Best Buy For Euro Definitely do not buy any currency from your bank, the foreign exchange shops in the high road or through travel agents. The rate of exchange you can get can be much better, safe, secure and simple, takes 10 minutes and can save you a lot. To read the rest of this article, please go to http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/126 Best Currency Deals ======= 7. Electricity In France Officially the public electricity supply voltage in France is 240 volt, but I have never found it to be above 215 volts and in the four very different places where we have lived power has been erratic and unstable. I get a lot of mail telling me the same and asking how to get the government monopoly, EDF, to improve supply. I would welcome any comments from readers about this and their experiences. === Tony Thanks for your newsletter. My wife and I are contemplating buying a property in Southwest France (Limoges region and south) and perhaps opening a B&B. Since such a project will probably require rebuilding/remodeling, I am curious to know whether American woodworking machinery can be converted to run on the French electrical grid. I've got just about every power tool imaginable and would prefer not to have to buy all new equipment. Thanks for your help. Sincerely, Chip === Hello Chip Power here is 240 volts at 50 cycles. You cannot buy a good transformer in France as 110 volts is not even used on construction sites, but you can get good transformers in the UK, a commercial one would cost about $200. However my advice is to sell all your tools in the USA and buy new here. Good power tools are not expensive, are guaranteed and will comply with all legal standards. Hope this helps Tony === Wow. Not the answer I had hoped for. I mean I'm talking cabinet type table saws, miter saws, lathe, planers and jointers, etc. I have to buy all these new? Anyway, boy do I appreciate your help. Thank you! Chip === Hi Chip You could get large transformers from the UK to run 110 volt equipment, but you may then find the power requirement to operate this would crash the electricity supply - the French power monopoly EDF is a bad service and restricts your power consumption. It is unreliable and unstable at the best of times. A number of smaller transformers - say 2.5 KW each - may be a solution and operate one piece of equipment at a time. If this is high quality "hobby" equipment then this machinery is not expensive here. If you are setting up a proper joinery operation you will need 3 phase - which means new equipment and a lot of paperwork registering to get EDF to sell you their precious electricity. Bonne Chance Tony ======= 8. Wifi Hotspot Guide I travel a lot and find Wifi hotspots a vital part of my life. I choose hotels for their Wifi service and pay the outrageous Starbucks prices because I can sit in comfort in any city center and work on my notebook. This site seems to give the best listing of Wifi hotspots with over 60,000 in nearly 100 countries http://www.jiwire.com/ JiWire ======= |
