Kulchur and Bouncing Harlequins
January 30, 2008 by Tony · 2 Comments
Kulchur – Canto the Third
I am a big Harry Potter fan, but in all the books and films, there is one thing which I am glad is only a magical fantasy (at present), the thought of a newspaper having animated pictures is something I consider bad news.
I study the way people use the Internet – the “hot zones” of a page and the acceptance of animation, pop-ups and a sqillion other things which will affect the way a page is considered and used in the few seconds a web designer has to get the attention of someone visiting the site. Currently animation is not rated as being a good thing. If I want a video or flash I prefer to have the choice to activate it and so do most people it seems – the current fashion for flash animation is a nonsense perpetrated by web designers.
I respect the “great” pages – like Google news and other major sites, and anyone reading my notes knows my respect for Craigslist. These are sites which work, with not an animated gif, moving image or scolling text in sight. One of the worst sites I ever saw actually had a bouncing Harlequin jumping around the page to bring your attention to features and links – their branding works as I remember the horror of seeing this weird image, but I cannot remember what it was about or what the site was for – I often went there to remind myself of the absurdity of their bad design, but they sure lost the plot as I have no idea after many visits what it was for and have forgotten the url now – the only thing I remember is that it was a French site and something to do with France.
So perhaps this is a French thing, flashing animation is still de rigeur used on many French sites and by French designers. An excellent site about Herault which I found today, about tourism in our department, is spoilt by flashing words and blinking spots – but it is still a very useful site.
I once tried to make an interactive map of information sites in France for each department – if each of the 95 departments had a website like this – and I am sure that most do – it would be a breeze to make a useful linking structure around a main map – but search as hard as I like and this very good site I found today does not have links or any information how I find the neighbouring departments of Gard, Aude and Lozere.
I could sit and Google for a few days to select a group od sites, but it just seems sensible to me for a local tourist office who spend a fortune on these sites, to at least say to their colleagues a few kilometers away “hey, how about exchanging links” – but this is another cultural blind-spot (read my earlier cantos on Kulchur).
Still Herault Tourism is a useful site and if anyone can tell me of similar ones in othe rdepartments I will make that map.
Portable Soup
January 29, 2008 by Tony · 25 Comments
My aim is to build a strong and useful Internet community for everyone who travels and needs accommodation or who has accommodation and offers it to others.
Ther are a lot of sites like Travelocity, Tripadvisor, LastMinute, Wayn etc – or rental sites like vrbo, HolidayRentals, A1Vacations etc – but these are not really communities like Facebook or “open” sites with a lot of lateral linking like Craigslist. So I am going to build one.
I have a great start – a community through my blogs and newsletters, ten years of experience plus over a thousand rental properties on my rentals sites. It is a good start, but a small one. There is a long way to go.
I have also designed a good logo and now I am announcing the name of the new site.
www.PortableSoup.com – the is no website on that url yet – I have only just registered it – I may design the www.PortableSoup.mobi site first for the iphone etc, but you are the very first person to hear of this groundbreaking site and the new name – ummmmm, what do you think?
Two pints of Champagne and a Packet of Crisps Please
January 28, 2008 by Tony · 7 Comments
My birthday is next week, but as I am in the UK then we “celebrated” at home today when I got back from Paris.
At 63 I really do not expect or deserve any presents so getting stuff is tear jerking and Carole gave me a book of the photos of W. Eugine Smith and his Philadelphia project of 1955.
Having just got back from Paris – I was thinking of my recent blogs about digital photography – and then to see a master who worked with large format cameras – or with “miniature cameras” but only having a few rolls of film a day, followed by hundreds of hours in the darkroom to complete the initial visuliasation – and then to compare this to the wappy snappy digital masses simply pointing and expecting to get a “memory” from vague zapping is – at best – sad.
I sincerely believe that a 1 dollar disposable camera with 24 exposures using real film that costs real money to develop, is better than a wunderkind digital behemoth costing a thousand times more which can take sixty zillion “images” for absolutely nothing – you end up with a flash card full of – ummm not much more than – nothing. Add to this a digital camera which must “compromise” what it “sees” to an algorythm of efficiency so the definition of the leaves of a tree are reduced to a jpeg mish-mash – this is OK for a memory snapshot – but – photography it ain’t
So, this evening -after two bottles of Champagne – two cakes (one from my mum and one from my daughter Clio) – a happy homecoming and looking at real photographs from W. Eugine Smith ( not photoshop dreams) – I am going to relish Adams, Frank, Brandt, Bailey etc and rediscover photography (again)
Amazon.com or Play.com
January 28, 2008 by Tony · 2 Comments
I have started to put Amazon links for books and stuff from some pages as I am reviewing some books – but the recent nonesense about the French authorities penalising Amazon for giving the French booksellers competition makes other options perhaps more interesting – can anyone else comment about their experience with Play.com
Hi Tony,
Glad to hear you’re enjoying your country walks. I have just been reading your ‘as always’ interesting newsletter, and would like to point out to anyone who doesn’t already know that although it’s very nice for you to extol the virtues of Amazon, that Play.com sends DVD’s and books and anything else they sell to France post free, no matter how small the order is.
It can be 1 DVD or 1 book, or in my case when our son wanted two of the biggest heaviest books I’ve ever seen (one was called Ocean) for Christmas. Play.com sent them post free and very promptly. Our postlady really deserved her Christmas box this year when I saw her staggering down our drive with a huge sack like Santa. anyway just thought I’d let you know. Of course you probably already know, but it deserves a mention for those people who are still paying Amazon postage.
kind regards Chrsitine Tyler
Northern Lights
January 26, 2008 by Tony · 2 Comments
We live in the South of France, close to the Mediterranean. We moved here nearly 20 years ago, it is home. I regularly travel, but I am always surprised of the big difference in the length of the day for even a three hour train ride North.
It hit me again this morning when I woke up at 08:30 and it was still dark outside, but his meant I was able to watch dawn arrive and shougle the “city of light” into focus.
The apartment I staying am in is on the banks of the Seine, directly opposite Notre Dame cathedral – I am doing some business with the owners as it not a luxury I would normally enjoy.
You can see this apartment and book it yourself the next time you are in Paris from Chez Vous
all these, any many more Paris apartments will soon be on my new site at www.allrentalsfrance.com which is the beginning of my new plan to make an open community for evreyone who travels and needs a place to stay.
Oh to be in Paris
I am a simple soul, I still find it amazing that I can casually hop on a train after lunch and be in Paris in just over three hours – not only that I am travelling at nearly 200 miles per hour and can plug my laptop in, work on the phone and wander down to the bar for a fesh coffee.
The French rail system is good, clean cheap and reliable – except when they are on strike, but they are always polite.
I am Paris to develop some new Fractional Ownership and Rentals opportunities – for nearly two years I have been researching the legal and finanacial implications of shared property ownership in France – the complexities of Ineheritance, wealth and property taxes combined with the tax authorities understanding of the tax application to a business as opposed to a private not commercial individual are racky waters and I believe many people may be sailing too close to a lee shore. But carefully structured, Fractional Ownerhsip is a brilliant way to own a pied a terre in Paris.
I know that owning shares in a propery and sharing the use of it with a few other like minded people is a brilliant way of using and even investing in real estate – but – it is a luxury purchase, it should not be considered an investment to give you income, you have maintainence costs and service charges and in France it is very unwise to have other paid rentals in the property. It is more like collecting fine wines or luxury classic cars, you get a great deal of pleasure and possibly very good capital appreciation, but you will not earn from them unless you sell them.
I have a very nice apartment to offer in Fractional Ownership – I will try to get details online later today – but contact me quickly if you are looking, this one is going to sell out fast
Oh to be in Languedoc
January 24, 2008 by Tony · 4 Comments
According to government figures, the cost of living in France is about the same as the Uk and a bit higher than in the USA – but these are “average” figures, if you ask me about living in Languedoc, then there are savings on property prices – food costs and heating local taxes etc – so the cost of living in the department of Aude (11) which has just been voted by l’Express as the best place to live in France – can be about half of that of living in most places in the home counties in the UK.
What is not considered are things like the quality of life – the safety, politeness, culture, sunshine and family values – things like reduction in stress, empty roads, the best health care in Europe and great education (up to university anyway).
It is not all bluebirds – every weekend I have to put up with lycra clad christmas trees wobbling three abreast on their silly bicylces, roads full of Dutch camping cars full of Edam and Gouda every summer, dog poo on the streets and no pubs. Oh yes – and there are French people everywhere.
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Hello Tony,
We haven’t e-mailed you before but have been receiving your blogs with great interest for some considerable time now.
We are a couple in our mid 50′s who are getting close to our own long held ambition to move to the Languedoc region.
Initially we would be looking to rent for 3-6mths later this year with a view to finding a suitable property to purchase.We would be looking for a 2-3 bedroomed town/village property (as opposed to city/coastal)in the region of 150-200000 euros and wonder if you could help us get a rough idea of the comparative cost of living.
We live in a 3 bed semi in Kent and our monthly utility outgoings ie: rates £110 water rates £45 gas & elec £50 telephone inc broadband internet £45 total £250.
As early retirees we were surprised by the recent change in the law in france regarding health cover for expats.We realise we will now have to fund our own health cover but despite trawling the net,can’t seem to find an insurance company who have taken these changes into consideration.Are you able to point us in the direction of any companies that now cater for people like us.
It is a great site-keep up the good work.
Many thanks Bob & Jody
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Hello Bob and Jody
Wow – that is a real “ball of string” question – but I will do my best to give an answer.
You can buy a nice, 2 bed village house in your budget – the monthly direct costs will be in the region of 250 to 300 euro a month for the items you list (local taxes, heat, electric, phone etc)
A supermarket trolly-full will cost about the same, but the quality will be at least twice as good – if you fill it with wine it will cost very much less than the UK price.
Eating out is less than half the price of UK (and better, except you can’t get a decent Indian) – travel about a third of the price (and clean, fast and reliable).
Fuel is about two thirds of the price of the UK.
Unless you are working, health insurance will cost you about 90 to 150 a month for 100 percent cover (depending on your personal condition) – once you are in the system you have a few companies to choose from approved by the state – we use GAN
When you want a home here, please come and see me first to give me a chance to earn a commission (so I can pay my own rates and taxes etc) – I can also find you a rental.
Hope to see you in Languedoc
best wishes
Tony
One Life is Not Time Enough
It hit me straight between the eyes today when chatting to my daughter Miranda on Skype – she is in Vienna and went to the Albertina Museum – only later did she realise that she had only visited one small part of the museum and one exhibition. I explained the joy of discovery and that you could go to somewhere like that every day of you life and still discover new things.
Then it occured to me that I could discover a new cheese and a new wine every day in France – so I am going to try to write a daily record of this, for pure research purposes only of course, and blog it on my other test-bed blog at www.FrUK.eu and here is todays experience.
I have always said that life is one continuous voyage of discovery, but I suppose I have not really thought much about what this means – now I have a mission. I will of course increase my exercise routine and test the wines in moderation.
If anyone would like to join me in this scientific project I could develop another site I have at www.Winorati.com so we can all share notes on cheese, wine, the universe and everything.
I must away to fill my glass.
All Rentals France and Other Stories
After two years in the doldrums, I relaunched a property rentals site AllRentalsFrance.com just over a month ago on December 15. I plan this to be a start in my new vision for a large community social network of people offering and using accommodation worldwide. As this includes most of the people on the planet it will be a big community.
It has been heartwarming to get a lot of encouragement and support from clients and friends who used my services before and the great news is that I am not making any charges, fees or commissions to anyone using my sites, including AllRentalsFrance.com , the websites will be supported and developed from other advertising such as the Google ads you can see on my blog.
It is early days for this venture and I have a lot to do to catch up and get back to where I was two years ago. If you ahve a blog or website, please mention me with a link, it really helps.
Some owners of vacation rentals have a kudos page or “livre d’or” where guests can write comments – I will be adding this as an option to all pages, but in many ways a blog can do this better.
If anyone wants to write a blog, not just property owners, I am happy to help – there are a lot of excellent ways of doing this, I like and use the WordPress.org system or, if you do not have your own website you can use their WordPress.com service – both are free to use.
One of my first villa advertisers is writing a newsletter – I am publishing this for him as an entry Paraisette newsletter – this could include links to maps, videos, photos – and make it into a blog.
I can also help anyone by setting up a blog for them on one of my sites if they wish – in fact if you have a special interest or product – work with me on a blog and we could share any advertising revenue it gets – I will host it and set it up, but it can be your blog.
It does not have to be about France- I just happen to live there – it can be about anything of interest – Contact Me and let us get a new business going together.
A French Restoration Book Review
A French Restoration (The Pleasures and Perils of Renovating a Property in France) is the story of three years of effort to turn an unihabitable property into a home – in 2001 a couple planning to retire to France started their mission to find their dream. This book is both amusing and enlightening for anyone thinking of buying a “ruin” in France to turn into their home – I know, I did the same thing ten years earlier.
There is a lot of sound advice in this book and many myths are exposed – I was easily able to guess who the ghastly British estate agents are. I do not agree with some of the comments about medical costs and taxes in France, but overall a very useful book for anyone thinking about “doing up” an old French property.
You can read this book online at A French Restoration
You can see more books on my pages at Books