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Everything you always wanted to know about France |
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Roots
Our daughter Clio was granted French Nationality yesterday, we moved here sixteen years ago when she was three and she has grown into a beautiful French woman. It is a big year for her - she got her baccalauriat, has moved to her own student accommodation in Montpellier and is now a French citizen. Her studies are in International business, she is totally bilingual in French and English and speaks fluent German - I am not writing this just because I am very proud of her (I am of course) - but next year she is looking for a 6 week internship overseas (USA, UK Canada - anywhere really) with an English speaking International corporation - so if anyone can make an introduction for her in an international company somewhere in the English speaking world - please let me know mailto:tony@frepro.com === Still basking in the double whammy for Renault F1 - I am having fun telling our French friends that the Renault F1 is designed and built in the UK - their reactions vary from from disbelief to sheer horror - I eventually tell them the engine is made in France - well some of it. Alonso is liked and respected by the whole team and the constructors. He passed my son driving up the M40 the other day, he drives a Renault Megane (Alonso that is, my son drives a Clio) he recognised Tony and waved to him as he went past. It made his day (my son that is). I got this link from a reader - it is worth seeing - http://www.furorecars.co.uk - I bet I will never see one registered in France === I got a fantastic response to my request for help or a partner to work with me on the websites - for anyone wanting more information about my aims I have put a page about this at... http://1stpropertysearch.com/proposal/ This could be the next Google === Endless rain here this week - so log fires and roasting chestnuts, which leads me to another attempt at a haiku as sun turns to wine vines shrug off their dripping leaves chestnut fires crackle ======= Cost of Living in France (and anywhere) Tony I wonder if you would be able to contribute a few quotes to an article I am writing on the cost of living in France? The article is about the property costs people are liable for after theyve purchased their property ie property tax, utilities, insurance etc. I wanted opinions from someone living in France, on how French costs compare to UK costs. Regards, Karen === Hello Karen According to the "official" statistics and some of the comparison websites - the cost of living overall in France is about 25% less than an equivalent in the UK - I find this hard to believe, but if I consider housing and heating in this equation than it is probably reasonable. ( http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html for example) Overall property costs - taxes etc are lower - or I would suggest that you get more for your money - a much larger house her costs less to run, especially in the south wher the "heating season" is much shorter (November to March and only in the eveings). Living in France is cheaper - especially if you put health and education into the equation - if you can measure quality of life then in most cases people will find France better. The big big problem is earning a living - wages are lower, taxes (indirect) are higher and earning a living is very hard. Tony ======= Long term rental Agreements Vacation rentals have a simple short term contract and both owner ande renter are protected, but longer rentals in France are fraught with problems for owners as renters have very strong rights Hello Tony How are you doing? On your website have you any thoughts/advice/information about renting property in France. We rent our appt in St Tropez to a young lady and have drawn up a contract which she has signed for a 12 month period with 3 months notice to be given by either party. The income goes straight into our bank accountin St Tropez. What are the implications of long-term letting in France and tax implications for us here in the UK. Im reading the inheritance tax articles with interest! Kind regards Michele === Hello Michele You can only rent for 6 months (you can do this twice) or for a 3/6/9 year lease - anything else seems to be illegal and no contract can over-ride this - be careful not to get a tenant who cannot be evicted. Ideally never have a French tenant unless you are prepared to permanent have the property as a rented unit All income must be declared in France and your local tax office will advise you as to whether you can pay the tax in the UK on the income under the double taxation agreement. If you pay tax in France then any threshold will be included in your UK tax levels, this can be a big disadvantage for both tax regimes. Inheritance, gift and wealth taxes are a minefield - someone has to pay for the health and education services - as well as the 15% of a civil servant we each pay for. Bonne Chance Tony ======= There are over 1,200 articles in our archives at... http://francevoila.com/archives/ Archives Some Recent Articles http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/266 Robbery at service stations and parking areas http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/265 Using your pension fund for buying overseas property - problems ahead http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/264 Advice on Treating Lead Paint http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/263 More on Car Registration http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/260 Channel 4 Needs You http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/259 Lead, Termites and Asbestos in French Homes http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/258 Inheritance in France - this can affect you http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/256 Out Of Date Passport - a Cautionary Tale http://www.fblog.com/?q=node/view/254 Using your Pension Fund to buy Property in France === 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. I do try to reply to all mail, most is about property or living in France. I publish comments in this newsletter which I believe are of interest and may help find answers for people wanting to come to France. By linking the points I make to our weblog at http://www.fblog.com FBlog I hope readers will go to the adverts which help support our overheads. Our business is our advertising sites for property and rentals at http://rentalsfrance.com/ RentalsFrance http://francevoila.com/ France voila Please make use of these sites (and do visit the adverts). What's New, Comments and News http://Fblog.com/ The France Weblog |
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