France Property & Living
La belle France is the number one overseas destination for escaping Britons! Paris alone is estimated to be home to 20,000 Brits with other estimations from official sources guessing that France is home to up to half a million British expatriates. The official number is hard to calculate because so many people in the UK also own property in France.
The reason why France is so popular could be because it is highly accessible from the UK mainland. After all, the new Channel Tunnel rail link has Lille a mere 90 minutes from London for example, and cheap flight operators like Ryanair and BMI Baby offer flights to destinations across the nation for just a few pounds each way. Or it could be because France is a nation that truly offers something for everyone's tastes...
You have the Pyrenees and Alps for mountain lovers, the Mediterranean coastline and stunning climate in the south of the nation for sun seekers...you have legendary cities such as Paris, Bordeaux and Marseille to charm culture lovers and sophisticates, and then the French countryside is simply unrivaled in its beauty and diversity.
If you've fallen in love with France and want to call it home we don't blame you! Whether you're looking for an affordable retirement location, somewhere to buy property abroad or a country that you and your entire family can call home, Shelter Offshore can and will guide you through every aspect of living in France and buying property in France so that your move abroad is a smooth and successful one.
Our Latest France Property & Living Articles
Strong Euro Affecting Property Buyers in France
Published on 23 April 2008 - Category: Property Abroad » Property in France
The value of the pound in relation to the euro has fallen by around 16% in a year, and there are fears that the discrepancy between the two currencies could become even more acute. The strong euro is now affecting property buyers in France and elsewhere throughout the eurozone.
Buyers are finding it harder to raise mortgages, they are finding they have to put an even bigger deposit down to secure a property and what’s more, they are finding that, even though house prices in France are not rising rapidly, they are paying more for their French property thanks to the weak pound.
Moving to Live in France? How to Learn French
Published on 26 April 2008 - Category: Living Abroad » Living in France
So you want to live in France do you? You and a lot of other Britons equally fed up with their working lives or bored in retirement then! In fact, the dream of living in France is shared by high numbers of Brits because the nation is so accessible and because the cost of living and way of life are so attractive.
But, there is one drawback with going to live in France and that is the fact that you have to learn to speak French. Well, you could try and get by without doing so, but you will fall at the first hurdle and find that living in France is actually a chore and a bore at best, a nightmare at worst and not exactly what you had planned. So, if you’re moving to live in France, here’s how to learn French!
Property in France for Euro Commuters
Published on 11 April 2008 - Category: Property Abroad » Property in France
On November the 14th 2007 Eurostar moved to its new home in London at St. Pancras station and meant that another twenty minutes was taken off the journey time from the UK to Paris. This was exciting news for all those contemplating the realities of Euro commuting and either living in the UK and working in France, or perhaps better still, living in France and working in the UK!
The twenty minute shorter journey time between the capital cities of France and England is not where the exciting news stops however, thanks to the fact you can now link up to some of the fastest and most efficient train services across Europe once you arrive in Paris, property in France for Euro commuters can be purchased in regions as far away from the UK as Alsace and the Rhone Valley for example.
Good News for Expats Living in France
Published on 10 April 2008 - Category: Living Abroad » Living in France
Clearly Sarkozy’s new found friendship with Great Britain is a good thing in terms of encouraging greater, deeper and more lasting links on all political and economic levels – but we’re not a political website so we’ll leave that discussion right there! Suffice to say, Sarkozy seems to be a good thing for Franco-British relations…
And he is also a good thing for us expats too! The good news for expats living in France is that Nicolas has done a U-turn on his policy to scrap free healthcare entitlement for early retirees who had chosen France as their relocation destination of choice.
Adding Value to Your Holiday Home in France
Published on 29 March 2008 - Category: Property Abroad » Property in France
If you’ve invested in a property in France and you want to profit from it by letting it out to the tourism market for example, or if you have a home in France that you now want to get in as profitable a position as possible to resell, there are a number of things you can do and techniques you can adopt to add value to your real estate, either in the form of rental income or the asking price chargeable.
Adding value to your holiday home in France need not cost the earth either which is good news! You first have to decide whether you want to let the property out to paying guests or if you just want to resell and reap the financial dividends.
Helping Your Child Learn French before Living in France
Published on 04 April 2008 - Category: Living Abroad » Living in France
If you’re thinking about moving abroad to live in France or you have a holiday home across the Channel for example, it makes a lot of sense to help your child learn French before living or holidaying in France. And what’s more, there is now more proof than ever that children who grow up speaking more than one language have a far better understanding of language full stop.
This ability relates to a process called metacognition and this is what you will be helping your child develop if you teach them French before they move to live in France and then keep assisting with their French language development once you have relocated – whether permanently or just for the summer holidays!
- Further:- Property in France Articles
- Further:- Living In France Articles