The Homeowner's Guide to Living in France (The Homeowner's Guide to...)

199 Pages·2006·11.01 MB·English

by  Richard Whiting

The Homeowner's Guide to
LIVING IN
FRANCE
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The Homeowner's Guide to
LIVING IN
FRANCE
RICHARD WHITING
howtobooks
Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road,
Begbroke, Oxford 0X5 1RX. United Kingdom.
Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone].
email:
Contents
Preface ix
Part 1 Setting the Scene
1 The Beauty of France 3
The country 3
Comunications 4
France's people 5
Defining indefinable chic 6
How the French eat 7
Visiting the top sights of France 8
Where to live 9
2 Family Life 1
The breadwiners 1
Traveling to schol and work 12
A day in the life of a family 13
Schol activities and children's sports clubs 15
The importance of the family 16
Wekends 17
The importance of conversation 18
3 The Economy, Politics and Future Developments 20
The economy 20
Politics 2
Future developments 25
4 Buying a Property 29
Visiting and negotiating 30
Knowing what you're buying 32
Finding information 34
The buying procedure 36
Property types and prices 37
Diferent ways of buying 42
vi / THE HOMEOWNER'S GUIDE TO LIVING IN FRANCE
Part 2 Living in France
5 Day-to-Day Living 51
Improving or learning the language 51
Integration 54
Shoping 56
Publications 6
Advertising 6
How to drive 67
Living healthily 70
6 Your Rights and the Law 73
Civic obligations 74
The state's obligations 75
EC nationals' votingrights 76
Legal responsibility 76
Maternity rights and benefits 78
Using solicitors 79
Using notaries 81
Insurance 81
Mariage, divorce and inheritance 83
Banking, credit agrements and debts 85
7 Leisure Activities 8
DIY 8
Celebrations and events 91
Gardens and gardening 93
Golf 96
Sking 97
Walking 9
Naturism 10
Water sports 101
Swimming, cycling, jogging and boules 105
Adventure parks 108
8 Holidays 109
Where and when to go 10
Camping and caravaning 1
Hotels 13
Discounted holidays and travel 14
Leting and renting 16
Car hire and touring 18
CONTENTS / vii
9 Culture 120
Geting the best out of TV 121
Boks and libraries 123
Geting the best out of the cinema 125
Pop culture 126
10 Education 128
State schols 129
Private schols 132
University and higher education 133
State school posts, university posts and the professions 134
1 Employment 136
Work oportunities 137
Employment guide for Anglophones 138
CVs and covering leters 140
Employment contracts 142
Company staf benefits and basic conditions 144
12 Dealing with Bureaucracy and Businesses 147
Bureaucracy 147
Busineses 149
13 Eating Out 154
Self-service restaurants 154
New types of restaurants 15
Restaurant categories 157
Regional specialities 158
Useful Vocabulary 163
UNESCO World Heritage Cultural and Natural Sites in France 165
Further Reading 167
Boks 167
English language newspapers and magazines 168
Boks in Franglais 168
Boks in French 169
French magazines 169
Useful Websites 170
General, home improvements, food 170
Retirement, statistics, phone services 172
Holidays, leisure 173
Property 174
Employment 175
Index 176
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Preface
France is consistently the world's top tourist destination, with around 75 million
visitors annually. France is always news for the British although our tabloid press
often give it shoddy treatment.
In April 2004 the Queen carried out a rare state visit to France to commemorate the
centenary of the Entente Cordiale, having officially launched (in Southampton) the
French-built Queen Mary 2 liner a few months earlier.
Property is noticeably cheaper in France and the cost of living, including food, is
somewhat cheaper, the weather is better than in the UK and the social security and
health systems are among the best in the world.
Having lived and worked in France for the last 20 years after over 30 years in the UK
I have tried in this book to lay out my experience and understanding of France, the
French and the French way of life. I hope to help permanent residents, frequent
visitors and those with second homes in France, and also would-be first- or second-
home owners, to get the best out of France and discover often overlooked but
important aspects of it: all at correct prices. What to do, and not to do, if you want
to be liked or at least accepted, and pitfalls to avoid are also themes in The
Homeowner's Guide to Living in France.
This guide selectively considers themes behind pre-conceived ideas. My wife,
Nicole, is French and was brought up in Algeria until her family came to live in
France in 1962 when Algeria gained its independence. As a French national who has
had to adapt to living in France and as a state school teacher for nearly 40 years she
has been a remarkable source of information. I would also like to thank in particular
ix