Making the move to France
April 22, 2007 by Tony · 9 Comments
I have a lot of mail I am in the process of answering about making a move and deciding which country to move to.
Television programmes and newspaper features have been promoting many “opportunities” and featuring places all over the world from Patagonia to St Peterburgh – France and Spain get a lot of coverage as these are the two most popular destinations for a change of lifestyle.
The reasons people have for a change of climate and culture are complex, if things don’t look so good at home then perhaps the grass will look greener in another country – but any decision must be made with facts, figures and a lot of “reality checks”.
Here is an exchange of mail I had today. I am most concerned that somewhere they have got figures for property prices in France which are no longer realistic.
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Hi Tony, thanks for the information and assistance.
I think it would be best if I explained what we intend dong, the motives
behind it etc.
South Africa is a beautiful country but crime and violence has spiraled out
of control. It has got so bad that people are scared to go into towns,
scared to travel, scared when they draw money at ATM’s, scared in their own
homes.
To give you an idea what I am talking about, there were 22 000 people
murdered in South Africa last year (Yes 22 000!)
52 000 women were raped in the same year. One child gets abducted, kidnapped
every six days and is rarely found.
House break ins which inevitably lead to murder have become so common that
everyone almost expects to get hit.
Me and my family decided it was time to move to Britain, my son leaves in
three weeks time, but I have friends in France and Spain that lived in
England first and seem to enjoy France more with it’s milder climate etc. We
have all grown up surfing, which is a big part of our lives.
Whilst speaking to family and friends of mine about moving across to England
or France,they too said they would like to do the same and we got talking
about buying a farm in Europe somewhere and France seems to make the most
sense because we can farm but at the same time some of us are going to still
have to work in England until the farm can sustain us and France is close
enough for us to work in England but go home to the farm on weekends,
holidays etc.
So far 6 families have said they would like to form a syndicate and do this
with us but it looks like this might increase to 10 or so families.
We all have European passports so I don’t think there is a problem on that
side of things as far as living in France goes.
Sorry to ramble on but it’s best that you understand our backgrounds and
motives, what our idea is and maybe it will put you in a better position to
find what we are looking for.
The nearer the coast the better but we also understand that the nearer the
coast one goes the more costly property is, so that is not the number one
requirement.
We would like to farm strawberries, fresh produce or anything of that
nature. No animal farming as we are all animal lovers.
There are quite a few families who would like to join us but right now the
budget would be in the region of about 300,000 euro, not much but we should
be able to increase this once a few more people commit themselves to joining
us.
At the end of the day we need a farm that can house ten families that will
work the farm. I understand that you don’t get farms with ten houses but
that brings me to another question. Would the authorities allow one to build
a couple of small houses on the farm? I have seen that most farms have at
least one house plus other forms of housing on them so we might only need to
build 5 or six small houses for the rest of the families.
In other words we want to purchase a farm collectively, run it as a
syndicate or co-op and all our names go on the title deeds.
Our budget is around 300 000 euro right now but will increase when we get
commitment from a few other families.
Thanks very much
R
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Hi R,
It would seem a sound move to get out of what seems to be a deteriorating situation and move to a safer environment.
A farm suitable for your wishes, in the areas of France I have experience in, with space for up to ten families would be a hamlet and prices for this now start around 1.5 million euro and would need at least as much again to make it habitable. I am afraid that 300,000 euro will buy a small villa or a nice village house for one family
Building restrictions are very strong and getting planning for additional properties would mean buying land with existing planning, this costs from 90 euro per square meter with services and building costs are about 1000 euro per square meter for a fair construction.
The best offer I have which would suit you is a gite complex, suitable for 5 families already and with building land for up to five more homes and about 5 acres of farmland near Montpellier, this is a very good price at 1.43 million euro.
http://www.coast-country-france.com/french-property/2850.html
Can you increase your budget?
Best wishes
Tony
Hi Tony!
I have just read with interest the letter from South Africa.
We have a property in DEUX-SEVRES , part of Poitou Charente.
This area is off the beaten track as far as tourists go and so, although property prices have increased in recent years, prices are still lower than other areas of France. It is predominamtly a farming area, and has the second longest hours of sunshine next to the Mediterranean.
Perhaps you could search that area for Farms?
Best Regards
Pat Wildig
Hi Tony,
Glad to see you’re up and running again, and in good health, I hope! I can’t say what the emigration headaches would be for these people from S. Africa, but they might be interested to hear that in many parts of rural America $300,000 to 400,000 will still buy a large farm, with little or no restrictions on number of homes built, as long as the minimum standards of safety and health are met. Jobs are plentiful, also, if you don’t get too far into the “sticks”.
Regards,
Bob
hello R, I lived in SA for 40 years.moved to england and now on the French med 200 meters from the sea, what heaven. I feel for you, send me a reply through this web/blog site phone number and i will make contact . the best of luck, i know what you going through.min dae
Hi K, Pat, Bob and others that commented on my questions. Sorry its taken so long to reply but I only found the blog site now.
You can reach me by writing to tony through this site please.
Things are really bad in South Africa as far as crime is concerned, its not just the crime but the extreme violence that accompanies it. These criminals cut your throat or blow your head off just for a cell phone.
I am so glad that my son has managed to get out of here and we are going to follow as soon as possible and France seems to be the best choice for many South Africans. Any people that are thinking of coming to South Africa for the world cup soccer, think carefully, you have less chance of dying in Iraq than in South Africa.
Any info that you can provide will be greatly appreciated as living in fear every single day of your life is no way to live.
Ja K min dae boet, min dae
Hi R, the French are very clickish and look after their own, it would be hard to crack into the the work market, and the language is something else. Bournemouth on the south English coast, is quite mild and, to me, had the feeling of a way of life close to SA. i also used to surf . Which town, Province do you live in? Don’t give up friend
Hi K, I live in Durban, on the Bluff.
I realize the change is going to be a challenge but I would certainly learn French before coming over. I don’t know why but my heart seems set on France. I think I would probably base myself somewhere in Englnad first and then start doing fact finding missions to France Speaking to my son last night (he’s been in Britain for a couple of weeks now) is just pushing me harder to leave as he was telling me where he lives he can walk around ay anytime at night without the threat of being attacked.
When I come across i will bring you some castle Lager!
Cheers
Rake Jeeves
Where were you originally from in S.A., what made you make the move?
hi rake, i lived for many years in EL, and 3 years in PE.not a long weekend would go by without us going to JBAY.those were the days. however, we must live in present and future and not the past, otherwise we could be branded Whenwees(zims)ha ! ha!, having said that, a few good things have come out of sa, as you say, castle larger, biltong , dried wors, and believe this or not, a week ago i made my wife and i, a plate of maltabella and mealie meal. and last night, we had a BARBI here on the med, with english friends and we flattened a bottle of mrs balls chutney. oh !! and one more thing, there is no better english or french word to sustitute “SLAPGAT” ha! ha! Why did we leave ??, years ago in EL i used to read a finance mag, and in it one week i saw a quote ” when the zims left zim for sa, they called it the Chicken Run, when peaple started to leave sa for overseas, they called it the Owl Run, because only the wise were leaving ” how true that seems hey. one does get the feeling, that when you live in europe, that you are in the centre of the world. its great.ask tony for my email address, and i will corresond with you direct. cheers for now, and vas byt, K
Howzit Keith.
Ja those JBay trips used to be the most amazing, care free trips with perfect surf that a surfer could wish for.
I havn’t surfed there for 4 years, wave is still perfect but crowds and building have spoilt it.
You are right about the wise leaving years ago, I myself was caught up in the propaganda that “it would never happen to South Agrica” how wrong we were.
It’s not just a stream of people leaving South Africa for Europe, Aus, N.Z. now, it’s an avalanche. Not a day goes by where I dont speak to at least one person or family that is leaving or in the process of leaving.
A guy that I work with’s elderly mother woke up at midnight the other night with 3 people around her bed and one of them tugging at her finger to get her ring off. Needless to say when she woke up they assaulted her terribly.
Another freind that works with me was held at gunpoint 3 nights ago, tied up, assaulted etc etc. it goes on and on.
anyway going for a surf now, will get your email from Tony.(Tony if you read this email, please send me Keiths email, thanks for a great site)
Thanks
Rake
hi rake. i have quite a few photos of me surfing at jbay, fond memories. we live in a little villiage in the south of france on the med. its great, last august, the beautiful clear blue sea reached 26 degrees and no sharks, what a pleasure,but the sea is like a huge lake. but again last year in very rough weather, 4-5 ft waves popped up and i caught 10 waves on my paddldle ski. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh , majic. it would be intersting to know the current stats of SA how many people have settled in SA and how many people have left SA in the last year. can you find out. dont give up on your dream,what is your profession?? cheers.