saluit a’ tout les mond
there is a magazine back in the uk called french property news (fpn) it is a monthly and has some really good advice and lots of propertys for sale sogives a good idea on house prices all around france.
it is available at news agents and only about a couple of quid.
bon chance
chris
Just a couple of points about France.
Don’t go overdrawn on your French bank account, at least not without permission. It’s a VERY big No, No, over there.
Also, I’m not sure whether it applies to the whole country or just Brittany, but they have recently introduced some updated regulations relating to septic tanks. If you choose to buy an older property that is not connected to mains drainage, you may find yourself landed with a hefty bill to update the system, and have the entire property lanscaped into the bargain.
Yeah old sour puss here,do all that while finding a driving jobmaybe call this thread trucknet france 
or espanol 
Good advice there Krankee, the banking system is a tad more strictly enforced than over in the UK, so people are generally more careful with their funds (most, tho’ not all of 'em)
As you say many of those dirt cheap properties in Normandy and Brittany have no services and it costs a small fortune to get them installed. If Glenn is looking for somewhere in this area then there’s the added advantage of numerous biligual agencies used to dealing with Brits, in fact there’s a new property mag just for this region in both languages. Like Froggy said elsewhere you still need a reasonable grasp of French to make things work, but at least in this area people are fairly accustomed to having foreigners (Brits, Cloggies, Belgies) trying to speak their language. And finding truck driving work in this region shouldn’t be too difficult either … once you get the administration sorted
Et voila, trucknet.fr est en route, allez-y les gars
Hi Craig,and everyone out there.I have had no luck with finding work in France.I e-mailed Transportes TSA in St Martin Au-Laert,in French,and a bit of English,introducing myself,and explaining that i want to come and live in France,and really want to learn the language fluently.I received no reply to my e-mail,even though on their site I am sure they welcome applications from Brit drivers as their work is specifically to ‘Grande Bretagne’.
I did receive a reply to another e-mail that I sent to Transalliance,saying that she would put my application into the hands of the right person.Since then,I have had no other correspondance.The same thing happened with Nobbys.I am wondering if any of the companies are that keen on ‘foreigners’ coming out to take a Frenchman’s job.What do you think? Or,am I being paranoid?
Thanks,Glenn
Glenn, sorry to hear that you’ve had no response from TSA - don’t know how keen the French are on e-mail and the web, after all there’s no version of Trucknet here.
It’s probably better to take the advice of Keith (KW) and others on this site who will tell you to actually go and visit a company. It shows you’re keen and willing to make the effort.
Keep trying 
Craig
Glenn,if you realy think the last bit of your posting is right,why do you want to live in France? 
hello guys,i just found this forum.i gave up hgv driving 3 yrs ago and went into the taxi game,however i realise how much time the people in brussels spend changing laws and generally making life more difficult in the haulage game.on this thread i see reference to a fimo cert? excuse my ignorance,but what is this.i did european work for 25 years.i would hate to not get any new qualifications as i do miss the driving to some extent and could decide to go back to it anytime,it is crazy though all these new laws,when i was a child,my father had a haulage buisness,he never wanted me to go into it,he said it was for the uneducated,i dont think anyone would get far nowadays without being computer literate,and aware of hours and weights law etc,i am not planning to move to france but would not like to miss the boat .[excuse the pun],regds
Froggy,maybe I shouldn’t have phrased it like that.I want to live in France because I like the culture and the people.It’s also a less work orientated way of life.I just think it’s rude not to reply to something that somebody has enquired about.A straight reply should not be too much to ask.
Glenn,
well how is this for a weird one
i have got an interview this afternoon with a company who transport wood, as in trees out the forests and then the after products planks etc etc.
now for the interesting bit, he says this is a job sans fimo??
and we are talking an artic with lorry mounted crane!!
so he says this is sans fimo as it is a private company transporting its own goods not for hire and reward is this right■■?
if so could this be a way in for us non fimo holders??
what do you guys think?
chris
The only job I managed to get ‘sans FIMO’ turned out to be for a pretty dodgy company. As far as I know it’s a legal requirement for all trucking jobs, but you may be exempt from it if the company only runs trucks on its own forest roads.
Whatever it is I hope the interview goes okay Chris, let us know what happens.
A plus,
Craig
Chris how did you hear about the job,not sure about private land,but on the road the fimo/fcos comes into play with the insurance ,good luck with the job but why does this guy not need one of 2 Fs and everyone else does.Glenn,I asked you also a straight question,me Im here for the sunshine and the cheap wine and cant speak spanish.French culture can take or leave that,less hours less money and some people like a 2hour lunch break but thing with that is you dont get paid for it and also they pay you off the tacho try that one in UK.Just dont think it will be never never land when you get over here.
Well, we are just about done…
We are moving in about 4 weeks to just north of Gueret (Centre) and have a house bought…
Biggest problem we have now is either finding a 7.5 ton truck to buy at a sensible price… (Sounds daft but will work out the cheapest way to do it… so far!!) or someone that can move all our stuff for sensible money…
Biggest problem is the ferry from the Isle of Man to UK… £66 per M each way…
Been trying to get a 20/40 foot container, but again nobody is interested!! dont need most of the gear for a few weeks so not worried how long it takes…
Got a mortgage with the Abbey national in France, (Credit agricole took 3 weeks to even reply!!) found the local bank Credit Mutual, had an english speaker and had accounts set up in 15mins…
The red tape is fun…!!! and it seems there are several ways to “skin a cat”… so ask questions… lots of them, even if they seem dumb…
Looking forward to getting out there, but need to find out more info regarding the tax situation and NI contributions… would like to speak with a good accountant that can tell us all the stories (by the way we are not “minted”, pretty poor actually… cant afford to live in the UK!!!)
Please feel to PM me if you have any usefull info!!
ahh froggy a great question one which i have just asked 
he says you only need a fimo/fcos if you are driving for the likes of tnt, nobbies,tsa etc as they are moving other peoples goods as i will be moving my bosses own goods the 2 f’s dont come in to play
interview went ok and had a play with the hiab, its a bit like playing the piano with hands and feet both working the controls
the only down side is its a wagon and drag with a dolly drag ie 2 axles at the back and a steer at the frount, it took me an hour to do a smple reverse 
only ever driven an artic and have artic mentality, will have to teach my self how to drive all over again or get him to sell it and buy me an artic
chris
So we take it you’ve got the job then ■■
glenn,just been on the french drivers union site and it states you must have by law a fimo or a signed legal document stating that you have been driving 10 or more years and the you only need a fcos,try a web scearch it might be a good place to check out your french.Froggy
Chris,
Congratulations if you’ve got the new job. Got serious doubts about the FIMO thing though. Mind you I wasn’t asked for it (FCOS) when I started and had never heard of it till I got stopped in a Ministry check. Then my boss shot me onto the course before I turned another wheel!
Glenn,
Not surprised to hear about your lack of success with French companies. When I came here to live I wrote (not e-mailed) to 13. Only 2 replied (Nobbies and Beaugier) both in the negative and I was then offered a job outside the newsagents one Sunday morning by the boss of the local firm. Just the same as anywhere - right place at the right time. Best of luck though.
Si,
Can’t help much with the transport. I had a bloke from Sussex bring my mini-digger on a trailer behind his 7.5 tonner en route with a removal to Alicante. Charged me about 800 Euros (£600) COD but would think that, unless he has a tip in the IoM (unlikely), he would charge you a fortune for that leg. However if you are stuck send me a PM.
Have you considered coming to Gueret and hiring a van? That way you don’t have to return it to the UK. Same goes for buying. Have you thought how hard it would be to sell a right ■■■■■■ here when you have finished with it?
Not surprised to hear about Credit Agricole. They are crap but I have little choice, they are the only bank in my village.
Can’t tell you much about tax - I apparently never earned enough to pay any! In fact I got a rebate every year of about 80 odd Euros to make it worth my while not going on to the dole!! Mind you if I’d been younger with kids and a mortgage things might have been more desperate. NI is detailed into every little item you are paying for; unemployment, retirement sickness etc and I thought was reasonable considering the health and benefit systems here, about 23%.
If you want to talk when you get settled, send us a PM, Gueret is about 160 kms north of here.
Craig,
Ca Va jeune homme? John Vasey has invited me to his welcome bash in July.
Sounds a bit far to go for a party even though I have accommodation nearby but if I do maybe we can dine at Hautvillers again? That’s if you’re not going yourself of course.
Salut, David.
Cheers Bonditram
Well sell it… even if I throw it away it will be cheaper… if it can make the trip back to uk then I will sell it… (Might have a handle on a Renault, that may be easier to sell for parts!!)
Tax, well we have to see…
Hire/buy a van in France?? I did think about it, but its still the ferry and fuel both ways… (Still have to get it to the UK to pick everything up!!) as I said, a 7.5 ton is £600 each way on the IoM ferry… + double the fuel 2 channel tickets and a flight… then i have to find a truck and get insurance… would be a pain and costly I reckon… by the time I did that it would have cost 3 or 4 days and the same amount of cash as buying in the UK…
I look at it this way, save £600 on the ferry, £200 quid on fuel and another £200 on the channel ferry. + a flight… thats £1000+… take that off the price of the truck… = £500 for a truck, isnt bad… even for spares… or to throw away…
I will send you a mail when we get there, if thats ok…
Only 2 weeks till I finish, then a week of packing and sorting (mostly packing the truck) Just hope this Renault comes up ok…
I am worried… about all sorts… hpe I can get a grip on the red tape, well enough not to have to pay loads of tax etc… (wife and 2 kids so should be ok…)
froggy:
Chris how did you hear about the job,not sure about private land,but on the road the fimo/fcos comes into play with the insurance ,good luck with the job but why does this guy not need one of 2 Fs and everyone else does.Glenn,I asked you also a straight question,me Im here for the sunshine and the cheap wine and cant speak spanish.French culture can take or leave that,less hours less money and some people like a 2hour lunch break but thing with that is you dont get paid for it and also they pay you off the tacho try that one in UK.Just dont think it will be never never land when you get over here.
i heard about the job via a friend, but managed to smash the truck up on the first outing
think i am going to go to tnt and do the fimo as they are willing to sponser me through it.
hope it all goes well si, and if there is anything i can do to help pm me aswell
chris
Go on do tell there as to a tale in that one,what happend,and no one will laugh,honest,it can happen to anyone. 