Calling any OSers living in France

mioliere

Champsy - I'm lucky - my Emmaus is just five minutes drive away! I was thrilled to find it.

Jackie0 - Hope everything is well with you?

I had to be talked into moving here because of leaving the family - it's why it's taken us four years since we bought the house to make the move, and TBH, I would move back like a shot - wet weather and all! One of the carrots offered to me to get me out here was that, if we get the house finished and sell up, we will try and buy a smaller place here as a holiday home, and another house in the UK to move back into. I think I'll have a harder job now convincing DH because he loves it out here for all the right reasons, but I do think we'll end up coming back. The way of life is much better here, apart from the rise in prices of some things, but family is more important than location. It sounds as if your brother is very happy with his life. The health care is meant to be very good; I've only needed a couple of prescriptions since I've been here but that has been very straightforward, and you get 70% of the charges back. I think it's a good idea that you have to pay €22 euros for an appointment with a doctor, but you also get 70% of that back, too. I think having to pay up front prevents people going unnecessarily. I was impressed with the pharmacy - as soon as they typed my presciption into the computer, it came whizzing down a shute straight to the till! No being asked to come back in twenty minutes! Our local hospital is wonderful - like a little cottage hospital (our town is about 11,000 strong), and with plenty of FREE parking, as in the rest of the town. We never have to pay for parking anywhere. As you say, there are pros and cons and, ideally, I'd get my family to move out here - then I'd have the best of both worlds.

KathyXX

morganlefay

I'd second that about the pharmacy - in the summer I realised I hadn't brought enough of my diabetes pills and tried to get an appt with doctor - nothing available for a week, by which time I'd have had just one tablet left. So I went into the pharmacy and explained the problem to the pharmacist who, for the princely sum of €3.70 gave me a pack of the tablets. I said that in UK she wouldn't be allowed to do that and that I was v impressed, and she said she wasn't allowed to do it either but she could see I was genuine ! makes you realise what a nanny state we have here sometimes ! (yes I know they specialise in beaurocracy - but in a different way). I've had several friends who've had cancers of various sorts treated in France and it does seem that they are quicker, the hospitals cleaner, and the food darn good. But we can't move there permanently because like Mioliere I would so miss the family. Gotta go an cook the mince now........

Zombies

just joined the forum and found this thread

Have lived in France for 5 years until recently, bought a property in England, have a little place in the Dordogne but have lived in other regions of France

Do like France, especially renovating properties, not having the regualtions like in England you can do what you want (as long as its done right!)

Did find prior to us moving that cost of food in supermarkets had gone up a fair bit, as did petrol and diesel and oil for central heating but hosues are cheaper now than a couple of years ago.

Zombies

amy_lou_4

I lived in Quimper, in West Brittany, from September 2008 to April 2009 as an English Language Assistant and I didn't find food to be that expensive then, I was spending about the same as at home. Me and my coloc's cut costs by cooking together twice or three times a week, we even got to use the training kitchen at our lycée to make a huge Thanksgiving dinner for all the assistants in the area, towards which they all gave some euros. And having lots of parties meant we always had some wine or cider lying around that people had left
I went to Leader Price every few weeks for basics like pasta and tins, the ham and cheese were pretty good but the earl grey was DISGUSTING and I will always remember it. Otherwise we went to Carrefour every other week on the bus that cost only €1 to go anywhere in town within the next hour- wonder if that is still true!
I miss the big frilly lettuces with muck on them, the rillettes, different varieties of Boursin (cranberry and black pepper), and Maggi packet soups (Chinois with mushrooms and wontons in it)! We used to go to the crepe lady in the market every Saturday too for a jambon-fromage, that was a lovely cheap treat.
I wish Eurodif would open here, I want more of their little wooden Christmas decorations.

I hope to be moving to Normandy in January for a job but I can't talk about it in case I jinx it!

morganlefay

Good luck with that job amy_lou ! my daughter lived in France as a teaching assistant for a year as part of her degree. She was in le Mans which is pretty dire except that she had really great friends and now misses rillettes hugely too !