An amusing and insightful glimpse into an ex-pats life in France

My Choice, Your Choice - helping you to find your perfect place in the sun

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A Letter From France

"By Nom de Plume de Normandie"

Letter 5 - What's it really like?

Here are a few words on the realities of living in France and is it always the “rosey’ picture you get on TV programmes.

First, there is a very good monthly English newspaper, produced by an English, husband and wife team that gives all sorts of useful and mainly factual, information about modern French life. It is well worth subscribing to this paper, delivered by post, as includes all sorts of details about things that concern ex-pats and provides a useful "bridge". See: http://www.connexionfrance.com

Second, the French are not the best self publicists. In fact my opinion is that they are their own worst enemies when it comes to creating a good image and publicising their business attributes.

This is particularly borne out by the outward appearance of shops and supermarkets, which in UK terms might reasonably be described as needing a ‘good scrub’ or a serious revamp. In the main, the exterior of public and private building fare no better.

Your only solution is ‘not to judge the book by its cover’ but to simply find out the truth by "going inside".

On a personnel level the French don’t push themselves nearly as much or as hard as the British. A fact noted to me by the French manager of my local mini-market.

In their defence I would guess the high taxes and history of France lead to a philosophy that says "I know the inside is good; it’s up to you to trust me and find out"

In the main I have found the average French person to be honest and trust worthy. However as with "image" the concept of blindly good "Customer Service" also lacks a degree of ‘zing’ to it. If you expect company employees to fall over themselves to get and retain your custom you are in for a bit of a shock.

Yes, they will deliver, yes, they will provide quality products etc, but in their own time, and, sometimes only when pushed into it.

Sadly, some of the worst offenders are the big internationals rather than the smaller family owned organisations.

Artisans are a law unto themselves. Whilst standards of workmanship are usually good their ‘project management’ skills are often poor or non-existent. It is not uncommon to have to chase several times to get them to provide quotes or to start or complete the work, and they will often only offer superficial advice.

The reasons for this are not at all clear, but it is said that there is a great shortage of skilled artisans, so I suppose they may have to prioritise their work based on urgency, and, they can pick and choose.

However once the work is completed the final account will arrive "promptly" often on the final day of completing work….

Whether it is generally cheaper in France compared to the UK is rather dependent on where you live. I believe a rule of thumb would say if you live in the southern half of the UK, or London, then France is cheaper. If you live in the Midlands or North of the UK then it may be the same or more expensive.

TVA (VAT), varies according to the work and whether, if it relates to work on your property, it is your primary residence. When formally accepting the quote you are usually asked to sign a declaration as to your relationship with the property. Since this is part for the tax laws there is no way of avoiding it.

Some works can be set against income tax payable in France as it might relate to eco-friendly schemes examples include; wood burning stoves and modern efficient heating boilers come within this category.

I have a fridge magnet which states "You are no-one until you’ve been ignored by a cat". The same is true of French artisans… A French acquaintance of mine has often confirmed this to me, which may account for the thriving DIY business, which produces many useful and quality products.

The Health Service, reputed to be the "best in the world" is, sadly, also very bureaucratic and takes a bit of experience to understand. Any medical consultation, procedure etc is almost always accompanied by paperwork that the patient has to deal with. Healthcare, in some of its forms, is not "free at point of delivery" as in the UK. Refunds have to be applied for, which can depend on your status, income and insurance cover. If you have "top-up" health insurance, this often means 2 letters have to be sent each time to obtain a full refund.

In summation, if you expect to live in France and get the same or better levels of service to those in the UK you may be disappointed. If you just want an overall better quality of life and are prepared to downgrade some expectations then life can be very pleasant without so many of the social pressures associated with a small overcrowded island.

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