9th January 2011

New year, fresh start. We're house hunting. Nothing wrong with our present house - it's just in the wrong place. So, we're looking to move nearer to Toulouse. It's interesting what this exercise reveals. French ads have much better practical info., e.g. square metres of each room and land area, type of heating, amount of annual taxes etc., a refreshing change from the typical English ads: '....a deceptively spacious.....'. Most French houses for sale, though, don't have a recognisable For Sale board outside (some have a board on the wall, but most have nothing). This means you can't go round and look from the street but must make an appointment first. If you're like me, you know just by looking at it whether it's for you or not. A good plan when relocating within France is to try and stick to the same Departement (they're pretty big). This way you don't need to re-register the car, nor with the local CPAM (health) and prefecture, and can easily arrange a transfer of your bank account to a nearer branch. I've discovered that most French don't use expensive removal firms, they hire a 'U-Haul' or similar - but you have to be fit to do that or have amazingly good friends! Him indoors says he remembers a removal firm in the UK where a settee fell off the back of the van - the police had to 'recover' it!!
Some things never change!

1 comment:

SueC said...

remember you have " amazingly good friends " when the time comes!