Relocation: A question of the raindrop/snowflake the broke the camel's back

[conaero]

Max I follow your interest in France, please digress I would dearly love to live or own a home in France....your views are very much appreciated.....

People knock the French but I see nothing wrong with being fiercely patriotic and respect them for holding onto their values that the British have just let slip away (governments being the main violators)

The euro is a right old mess right now.....are we in, are we out, why does the European court overrule our justice system, why does the state encourage benefits.... its madness.

Cheap Maseratis is all that is keeping me here now

 

[Max Swell]

I love the cheese eaters But I love their country, lifestyle and attitude to life more......where else would a quadruple murder still be the subject of who was actually the target??.?

We don't procrastinate (much) and tend to get on with it ..... If we could swap countries lock stock and barrel and take our pound sterling with us I think we would have a winner?.? By that I mean they all move here and we all move there. I am sure there is deal to be done on the Euro-scene somewhere?

 

[Parisien]

Little Paris in London town.....if London were a French city it would be 6th in size!

The old adage used to be ...pre WWI to earn your money in England and spend in in France.....gambling and debauchery.......! Things have gotten more obscure now, but red-tape in France kills so many small business ventures its unbelievable...they have to pay up front 50% of an employees salary into a social fund just to start with. Their tax system is as archaic and only accountant friendly as is the UK one.

No investor type buying of homes and selling them on....a tax payable on your world wide assets if more than 850,000 euros, this maybe excluding your main residence. Potential 75% top tax band?!

Complex inheritance laws too


P

 

[Max Swell]

Little Paris in London town.....if London were a French city it would be 6th in size!

The old adage used to be ...pre WWI to earn your money in England and spend in in France.....gambling and debauchery.......! Things have gotten more obscure now, but red-tape in France kills so many small business ventures its unbelievable...they have to pay up front 50% of an employees salary into a social fund just to start with. Their tax system is as archaic and only accountant friendly as is the UK one.

No investor type buying of homes and selling them on....a tax payable on your world wide assets if more than 850,000 euros, this maybe excluding your main residence. Potential 75% top tax band?!

Complex inheritance laws too


P

Your comments reflect your avatar perfectly!

M

 

[hodroyd]

Matt,
Sorry for being the "Transporter" again, hope you did not get the shivers mate, hahaha.
Cheers
R

 

[Migliore]

Interesting to hear all your thoughts on life in the UK, originally from London 21 years ago. We sold a 2 up 2 down and bought a big home with cash to spare. Now a 2 bed unit here buys a huge mansion in the UK. I never dreamt it would be possible. Separation from family is the hardest part.

I`ve visited family on a regular basis over the years, but now I make the trip and stay for 4-5 days. I love the humour but I see it as a defence against what you are subjected too. Ageing infastructure and a huge demand for everything makes just getting around and doing things so difficult (South East). There always appears to be obstacles and stupid rules which are obeyed, maybe that`s the appeal of the French they dont appear to.

 

[philw696]

Intresting stuff guys and me for one fancies a change.
Im in my 50's now and can't work manually for ever life has been good on the whole to me in the uk but im sailing to Saint Malo from Portsmouth on the 8th of Feb to start the house hunt got some great ones to take a look at and either way will have a great holiday.
Then in March off to China for Chrysler off the back of my Toyota work nothing exciting but clean work and i can tick China off the list.
Im looking to live life like it was in my teens and i know that had its draw backs but hey nothing ventured nothing gained.
Can,t be any more crazy than buying a Ferrari 456 GTA blind and using it almost daily for 6 months and costing less than what my customers spend on modern rubbish.
Live your dreams even get on better with my ex wife now after being married for 25 years.
Good Karma.
Phil.

 

[Parisien]

Life eh Phil............great example you're setting with your daily drive....power to your elbow!!!!


P

 

[bigbob]

The S Times listed ten top locations with decent, "independent" type shops/businesses in the UK last Sunday......some lovely places, great variety and well worth keeping. I believe one of them "ousted" the Costa coffee place from thrie high street.

thats one of the great attractions of France and Italy.......very individual shops, great diversity and ingenuity
P

and Italy Unpacked showed how they keep it that way by having lower rates for small businesses. That is so obvious but explains how we killed off little shops.

 

[bigbob]

Must go and look at Oz. Friends who have moved out there list good things and bad things but there is nothing better than having a look yourself.

 

[ajb101]

Must go and look at Oz. Friends who have moved out there list good things and bad things but there is nothing better than having a look yourself.

All too true!

 

[Geofflyn]

Most systems are very similar in the round, they just have different areas which cause issues. UK personal taxation is still pretty low in the round compared with many other European Countries and you can afford to own a Maserati whereas in Australia, the government is so concerned about it's domestic auto industry that it puts massive import duties on such cars.

It's actually only a wealth tax down here by another name ( import and compliance costs) I am actually ok with it as overall it preserves jobs in the local industry and helps the economy. After all you wouldn't want everyone driving Maseratis anyway would you.

 

[Parisien]

But because the indigenous automotive industry is small......isn't every imported car heavily taxed?

Protectionist?

P

 

[Geofflyn]

But because the indigenous automotive industry is small......isn't every imported car heavily taxed?

Protectionist?

P

Nope, there is a luxury car tax at the top end but things like the new Toyota 86 which is fully imported are very affordable. More than UK granted but at 21,000 quid it's probably not that much more than you pay for one.

 

[Felonious Crud]

Less - they start at 25k here, pre-haggling (and with such a new model I doubt there are many great deals to be had yet).

 

[Ewan]

Just a quick note on Phil's comments about running a 456 GTA. I had mine for just over 2 years and 15,000 miles. In that time, servicing, repairs and depreciation added to about £40k. Add on insurance and fuel (at maybe 12 mpg) and it's clearly not a cheap car to run. It would have been cheaper to buy a new Golf each year and chuck it away at the end. But not as stylish. (and now that they are many years older i can only imagine the running costs are even worse - though I suppose the depreciation is now virtually zero which would compensate somewhat).