France - warts and all! I want to hear all about it!

[2ManyPimms]

Could someone give me the low-down on life in France? The good the bad and the ugly? I've become increasingly disillusioned with the UK recently and am quietly entertaining the thought of moving the family to France. My husband, who has been pushing for this move, does not know this - I dug my heels in and refused to go for so long. He paints France as being shangra-la. Heaven on earth. That sort of thing. I need reality. I need to know what I may be getting myself into.

Can anyone help?

I've managed to more or less put myself off..

bureaucracy
paying tax even though your income might not justify it
too many brits driving up prices and down income
the government
unemployment levels
anti english feeling
racism

Zip - Is the anti-english sentiment a localised thing (for instance, the Dordogne (sp?) where there is a heavy english population?). I worry that DS and DD would be bullied for being English.

We're very happy here. In the very far North and still work part time in the UK (about three hours door to door to Central London).

Good sides are:
property is v cheap,
schools are v good,
countryside is v lovely,
people are v friendly,
folk of all ages seem integrated into the community
very low population density. we lived in London and this has made a huge difference. there is enough space for the number of people and it is fantastic.

Downsides are:
the bureaucracy,
the feeling that you are never quite at home dealing with any sort of emergency,
being far away from family and friends
lack of multi-cultural life. not sure if it is racism, but there is certainly a parochial feel to the rural bit of France where we live. i think we will need to be careful to ensure that ds and the new baby have a better attitude than some of our neighbours.

There is no anti-Englishness that we have come across in this part of France at all. This bit was occupied in the second world war and people are if anything quite pro the brits. We know an English family whose little boy is at school here (our ds is too little yet) who is very happy and hasn't had any trouble at all.

Where do you want to move to 2ManyPimms? I think that´s important to know. I´ve lived in a few different places in France and they were completely different.

I'm completely with Lummox - no longer live in France but still miss it! I also echo Zippi's down-sides though - the tax thing is a pain, especially as you often pay income tax 18 months after you earnt (and therefore spent!) the money. The system definitely takes a lot of getting used to and you need to grin and bear a lot of the infuriating bureaucracy.
I found the only way to truly integrate was to work with French people but then we didn't have school-age kids there so that may have made a difference!
You do need a reasonable level of French though to cope with all the paperwork.
Also remember some idyllic rural spots can be very miserable in the winter! So I would pick a large village or medium-sized town with lots of activities for the kids and enough expats to make you feel a bit less isolated but not so many that you are prevented from integrating! What sort of work do you do?

I love living here. Administration, les impots, cigarette smoke, dog poo and crap radio stations are the downers.

On the upside - housing, schooling, culcha, seafood, skiing, beaches, weather, wine, medical services, child friendly attitude, shopping......

Depends where though. Brittany currently has a reputation of being particularly unwelcoming and the Dordogne is heaving with YaYas outshouting each other at the markets, but other than that, you can really take or leave the Britpack.

Where do you think you would like to go?

Normandy rains but is cheap. Bordeaux is sunnier but more expensiveGascony is great but has windy windy roads that always seem to have drunken tractor drivers on them, the Charente is currently the new Dordogne, the Lot is too far away for me (what would you do all day?) and Paris is just divine but it rains a lot and parking is a mare.

Thanks for all of your replies! It seems bureaucracy is big on the list of downers. I lived in Switzerland for 8 years and understand completely!

DH is in a position to retire but only if we move to France. Because we aren't tied to a job it leaves us completely open to suggestions. We have a house towards the coast outside of Bordeaux. Ideally, I'd like to be away from that area and still use it as a get-away. Then again, what do I need to "get-away" from if I am living in France??? Agreed on the medium size town/village comment....otherwise you are twiddling your thumbs from November thru March!

funny... I am french, and I am planning to settle in the UK where DH has a job... I am actually very happy to live my country, its strikes and constant moaning... yes of course, food, weather, health service, prices and childcare is much better in France, but for a 30something like me it is impossible to make real money and I just can't stand the french attitude to change ... Of course, if you are settling in France to retire, pas de probleme !

Take into consideration the poor grasp of english among the french, and also that people in certain parts are starting to get pissed off at rising housing prices driven (partly) by english buyers...

Bonne chance !