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First Anniversary


Tango

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One year ago today we arrived in France to start our new adventure. 

It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride so far, but things seem to be settling down now and we hope to finally get our own place in a couple of weeks.

20201014_151936.thumb.jpg.e6df72a1d4f0914caf52dc90b8d55700.jpg

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11 minutes ago, Tango said:

One year ago today we arrived in France to start our new adventure. 

It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride so far, but things seem to be settling down now and we hope to finally get our own place in a couple of weeks.

20201014_151936.thumb.jpg.e6df72a1d4f0914caf52dc90b8d55700.jpg

If you want you can bring that bike over here for me to have, I won’t flounce I promise, hope you enjoy the next 30 years there then.👍

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1 minute ago, XTreme said:

Nice one Bob.....it's16 years for me on the 2nd November!

I can barely remember what living in Britain was like now!

Yeah but Britain fucking remembers you.🤣

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9 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

So you rented for a year? Which bits rolled and which bits coasted?

Yes, we had to sell our house in the UK before we could buy here. We "sold" it late last year, but the "buyer" messed us around until March this year before he then decided he didn't want to buy it! Fortunately it sold within a week of being put back on the market, but because of the buying rules here, we couldn't make an offer on a place until we had the money in the bank.

When we first planned to move over early last year it was for Mandy to take up a job in the European headquarters of the company she worked for. We got things in place and I took early retirement, then a few weeks before we were due to move, Mandy's company imposed a global headcount freeze, so the job offer was withdrawn.  We decided that, as we had already made the decision to move, that we'd do it anyway. Mandy volunteered for redundancy from her job and we went ahead with the move. Mandy set herself up as a freelance consultant, but work was slow. Then, a few months back, a senior director from the European headquarters phoned her and sounded her out about a new role, which is what Mandy is doing now.

The biggest thing has been in getting into all the "systems" here. The French love a bit of bureaucracy,  so getting into the healthcare system, the tax system, getting our residency permits and all the other stuff has been challenging, but we're pretty much there with it all now. 

The coasters? Well, the French lifestyle! 😎 and we're both pretty impressed with the healthcare system here so far. 

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23 minutes ago, Swagman said:

If you want you can bring that bike over here for me to have, I won’t flounce I promise, hope you enjoy the next 30 years there then.👍

Cheers mate. Unfortunately it has taken so much effort to actually get the bonneville registered here, that it's staying.......forever! 😂😂😂

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3 minutes ago, Tango said:

Cheers mate. Unfortunately it has taken so much effort to actually get the bonneville registered here, that it's staying.......forever! 😂😂😂

Thanks a lot I can’t seem to get nothing from this site, it’s a shambles I tell ya.

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12 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Nice one Bob.....it's16 years for me on the 2nd November!

I can barely remember what living in Britain was like now!

Well, Pete, it's a lot different to 16 years ago, mate! 😉😂😂

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2 hours ago, Tango said:

Yes, we had to sell our house in the UK before we could buy here. We "sold" it late last year, but the "buyer" messed us around until March this year before he then decided he didn't want to buy it! Fortunately it sold within a week of being put back on the market, but because of the buying rules here, we couldn't make an offer on a place until we had the money in the bank.

When we first planned to move over early last year it was for Mandy to take up a job in the European headquarters of the company she worked for. We got things in place and I took early retirement, then a few weeks before we were due to move, Mandy's company imposed a global headcount freeze, so the job offer was withdrawn.  We decided that, as we had already made the decision to move, that we'd do it anyway. Mandy volunteered for redundancy from her job and we went ahead with the move. Mandy set herself up as a freelance consultant, but work was slow. Then, a few months back, a senior director from the European headquarters phoned her and sounded her out about a new role, which is what Mandy is doing now.

The biggest thing has been in getting into all the "systems" here. The French love a bit of bureaucracy,  so getting into the healthcare system, the tax system, getting our residency permits and all the other stuff has been challenging, but we're pretty much there with it all now. 

The coasters? Well, the French lifestyle! 😎 and we're both pretty impressed with the healthcare system here so far. 

so can you just stay there permanent now  Bob , or do you have to apply for visa's every 5 years ?

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1 hour ago, Six30 said:

so can you just stay there permanent now  Bob , or do you have to apply for visa's every 5 years ?

We've got 5 year residency permits which, when we renew them, can be 10 year ones or we could then apply for citizenship if we wanted.

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On 14/10/2021 at 21:28, Tango said:

, we could then apply for citizenship if we wanted.

good luck with that! :rofl:🙄

3 of the people  I work with and have been here for years started the process but have given up.  2 others are struggling on, 1 person I know has succeeded ( it took over 2 years form submitting the request with it's attendant dossier.  

I have been working on my dossier seriously for over a year now and am still awaiting on official document from the UK general registry Office, which I will then have to have translated by an authorized translator. I will then, and only then be able to organise to attend the language test and after that can begin compiling the french documants that are time senditive.. ie have to be issued within the last year, 6 month, month or whatever. it is soul destroying...

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9 minutes ago, MooN said:

good luck with that! :rofl:🙄

3 of the people  I work with and have been here for years started the process but have given up.  2 others are struggling on, 1 person I know has succeeded ( it took over 2 years form submitting the request with it's attendant dossier.  

I have been working on my dossier seriously for over a year now and am still awaiting on official document from the UK general registry Office, which I will then have to have translated by an authorized translator. I will then, and only then be able to organise to attend the language test and after that can begin compiling the french documants that are time senditive.. ie have to be issued within the last year, 6 month, month or whatever. it is soul destroying...

Ah, yes, French bureaucracy stepped up to another level! 😂😂

Good luck with it anyway. Hopefully you'll get there in the end.

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26 minutes ago, Tango said:

Ah, yes, French bureaucracy stepped up to another level! 😂😂

Good luck with it anyway. Hopefully you'll get there in the end.

At our age what's the point of taking a different citizenship Bob.......we won't get much mileage out of it.

And in my case, I can't renounce British citizenship (which I'd have to do here) because it means I'd no longer be Welsh. That's never going to happen!

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15 minutes ago, XTreme said:

At our age what's the point of taking a different citizenship Bob.......we won't get much mileage out of it.

And in my case, I can't renounce British citizenship (which I'd have to do here) because it means I'd no longer be Welsh. That's never going to happen!

We are only resident in these countries for as long as we're still welcome, Pete. This could be revoked at any time. Citizenship gives you permanence. Look at the people from other countries who have lived in the UK for decades and are now facing deportation. It could happen elsewhere if the wrong government gets in.

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Just now, Tango said:

We are only resident in these countries for as long as we're still welcome, Pete. This could be revoked at any time. Citizenship gives you permanence. Look at the people from other countries who have lived in the UK for decades and are now facing deportation. It could happen elsewhere if the wrong government gets in.

Won't happen Bob......France and Spain are never going to leave the EU and go rogue!

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54 minutes ago, MooN said:

good luck with that! :rofl:🙄

3 of the people  I work with and have been here for years started the process but have given up.  2 others are struggling on, 1 person I know has succeeded ( it took over 2 years form submitting the request with it's attendant dossier.  

I have been working on my dossier seriously for over a year now and am still awaiting on official document from the UK general registry Office, which I will then have to have translated by an authorized translator. I will then, and only then be able to organise to attend the language test and after that can begin compiling the french documants that are time senditive.. ie have to be issued within the last year, 6 month, month or whatever. it is soul destroying...

Phil (in France) has done it Chris, I could give you his number if you want some help.

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On 14/10/2021 at 16:32, XTreme said:

Nice one Bob.....it's16 years for me on the 2nd November!

I can barely remember what living in Britain was like now!

Don't think you're missing much tbh

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26 minutes ago, XTreme said:

At our age what's the point of taking a different citizenship Bob.......we won't get much mileage out of it.

And in my case, I can't renounce British citizenship (which I'd have to do here) because it means I'd no longer be Welsh. That's never going to happen!

Its already happened....except the renunciation was the other way round 

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