French Life-expat France

Big freeze receding!

Boris — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:46:39 +0000

For anyone who thought the south of France basked in eternal sunshine – you are wrong! This week I think we had more snow than we’ve had at any time during the last 10 years (perhaps 15 centimetres?) and startlingly cold temperatures. Last night it was minus 16 centigrade which is pretty cold for anyone [...]

How to win a French election

Boris — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:59:28 +0000

Poor old President Sarkozy isn’t doing so well in the polls at the moment and it is possible he will lose the forthcoming Presidential elections. Given that the other candidates don’t seem ideal to me I thought I would offer some handy hints to anyone else thinking of standing: 1) Promise to create 200 000 [...]

All cars in France must carry alcohol breath tests

Boris — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:57:07 +0000

You are probably aware that all cars in France have to always carry a bright yellow waistcoat and a warning triangle in case of night time emergencies. But one new rule that has perhaps received less publicity than it could have done is the requirement that drivers in France are now obliged to carry an [...]

Six implausible France predictions for 2012

Boris — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:57:48 +0000

Better late than never I thought I’d better ‘put my cards on the table’ with a few predictions about the things that will affect France and the lives of French expats this year… 1) March 2012: the euro crisis will fizzle and disappear overnight as Germany and other countries finally relent and allow countries in [...]

Exploring France by train

Boris — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:36:45 +0000

We all know that France has an excellent train system, the TGV, that whistles passengers from city to city at high speed and in great comfort. What you may not realise is that not everywhere in France is on a TGV high speed train line and things don’t always run quite as smoothly as the [...]

Who knows how to celebrate best – France or Britain?

Boris — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:57:49 +0000

We have all long ago agreeed that there are some things from the UK that expats can’t manage without. Or perhaps it was just marmite and mince pies? So following a week of Christmas and New Year over-eating and festivities and I thought a reminder of what we have to celebrate with in France, and [...]

Five reasons to move to France in 2012

Boris — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:04:27 +0000

In these troubled times any talk of selling up and moving to France has reduced quite a lot. Apart from anything else it is now impossible to buy a studio flat in England for £50k, sell it a month later for £250k, and hope to live for ever on the profits in some quiet part [...]

Like naughty children at Christmas?

Boris — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 05:30:43 +0000

How I miss the pleasures of having small children around at Christmas – the squabbling and bickering, one taunting the other, the other making rude gestures… So in the absence of small children I have taken to watching the news instead, to see the latest instalment in the childish behaviour of French and British politicians. [...]

Trip to London

Boris — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:50:08 +0000

We just had one of our (exceptionally rare) trips to England, for a couple of days of self-indulgence, and stayed in a hotel in central London. Although I worked in London for many years, and have visited it at many other times, it’s almost the first time that I’ve visited as a tourist and definitely [...]

Make a living online in France?

Boris — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:00:08 +0000

A long time ago I wrote a post about the kind of jobs that expats in France do or might consider doing to help make ends meet (see expat work in France). But times and ideas move on and recessions turn up unexpectedly so I thought I’d suggest a different idea. This is something I [...]