can't stand this place anymore
Discussion
A common lawyer said:
Setting up a company is ridiculously complicated compared to the UK. After it's set up, the real pain begins, paying someone 1,100€ after national insurance (but before tax) will cost a company 2,225€. Unreal.
And they wonder why young people cant find work AND why the French are leaving France by the droves. apparently. I feel really sorry for the young French, no prospects or hope and their government carries on like France is an island with no trading borders to compete with.
Friends of ours recently retired. A year before leaving for the country they gave written notice to their cleaning lady. After they left they were taken to court by the cleaner for not having followed the full paperwork process and claiming back earnings, holiday pay, damages etc.
It all got a bit bizarre when she stupidly claimed in court that she also was making a claim for missed cash payments.
It all got a bit bizarre when she stupidly claimed in court that she also was making a claim for missed cash payments.
This exact thing happened to our hairdresser who ran a small salon and 2 gites in the Haute-Vienne. He sold up in the summer and went back to Ireland and the cleaner who cleaned the gites at changeover time has taken him to court for not adhering to the full notice period and she won and he has had to pay her a years money plus all the cotisations on that pay and fines. He had to move very quickly and thought he had done the right thing in giving as much notice as was possible, plus an extra payment in lie of notice and also loads of stuff from the gites and house that he wasn't taking with him.
There is no loyalty with the French,it's always about the money.Even if you have above board all along the way.
My 2 teenagers go to an English school,in Lot et G. and will take IGCSE's and then A levels and university in the UK or elsewhere after that.They will not be educated in France at all.
Why,you may ask. Simple their prospects would be very limited as no matter how well they integrate they will never be French and as we all know they look after their own first.
I wonder if in 10 years there will be hundreds of expats whose parents were living the dream, claiming benefits because they can't find work and don't have the level of English to find work in the UK.
My 2 teenagers go to an English school,in Lot et G. and will take IGCSE's and then A levels and university in the UK or elsewhere after that.They will not be educated in France at all.
Why,you may ask. Simple their prospects would be very limited as no matter how well they integrate they will never be French and as we all know they look after their own first.
I wonder if in 10 years there will be hundreds of expats whose parents were living the dream, claiming benefits because they can't find work and don't have the level of English to find work in the UK.
Generally we enjoy living in France without much to complain about but today was a classic.
We went to the nearby shopping centre to get a couple of nice 10 x 7 photographs framed with a mounting border.
None of the ready made frames were the right size so we went to the custom frame counter.
The guy took a ridiculous amount of time to measure the photo and border, then he spent ages tapping away at his calculator.
The final figure????? 110 Euros
The Mrs says "For both?" Man replies "No Each"
We both both burst into hysterical laughter and said no thanks.
We then went to buy a new iphone cover for the Mrs nezw phone. She spotted the one she wanted but the racks had a lock on them.
There were 4 desks 3 with people serving customers and one with 2 servers chatting to each other. The Mrs managed to get thier attention and asked if they could unlock the rack so she could buy a cover. The free guy interrupted the guy with the customer to ask where the key was. They found the key and then started to bicker about who would actually get off his ar$e and serve us.
The Mrs went ballistic and screamed at them that about customer service and we stormed out.
We went to the nearby shopping centre to get a couple of nice 10 x 7 photographs framed with a mounting border.
None of the ready made frames were the right size so we went to the custom frame counter.
The guy took a ridiculous amount of time to measure the photo and border, then he spent ages tapping away at his calculator.
The final figure????? 110 Euros
The Mrs says "For both?" Man replies "No Each"
We both both burst into hysterical laughter and said no thanks.
We then went to buy a new iphone cover for the Mrs nezw phone. She spotted the one she wanted but the racks had a lock on them.
There were 4 desks 3 with people serving customers and one with 2 servers chatting to each other. The Mrs managed to get thier attention and asked if they could unlock the rack so she could buy a cover. The free guy interrupted the guy with the customer to ask where the key was. They found the key and then started to bicker about who would actually get off his ar$e and serve us.
The Mrs went ballistic and screamed at them that about customer service and we stormed out.
Abbott said:
Generally we enjoy living in France without much to complain about but today was a classic.
We went to the nearby shopping centre to get a couple of nice 10 x 7 photographs framed with a mounting border.
None of the ready made frames were the right size so we went to the custom frame counter.
The guy took a ridiculous amount of time to measure the photo and border, then he spent ages tapping away at his calculator.
The final figure????? 110 Euros
The Mrs says "For both?" Man replies "No Each"
We both both burst into hysterical laughter and said no thanks.
We then went to buy a new iphone cover for the Mrs nezw phone. She spotted the one she wanted but the racks had a lock on them.
There were 4 desks 3 with people serving customers and one with 2 servers chatting to each other. The Mrs managed to get thier attention and asked if they could unlock the rack so she could buy a cover. The free guy interrupted the guy with the customer to ask where the key was. They found the key and then started to bicker about who would actually get off his ar$e and serve us.
The Mrs went ballistic and screamed at them that about customer service and we stormed out.
That has set me right off reading all that, classic examples.We went to the nearby shopping centre to get a couple of nice 10 x 7 photographs framed with a mounting border.
None of the ready made frames were the right size so we went to the custom frame counter.
The guy took a ridiculous amount of time to measure the photo and border, then he spent ages tapping away at his calculator.
The final figure????? 110 Euros
The Mrs says "For both?" Man replies "No Each"
We both both burst into hysterical laughter and said no thanks.
We then went to buy a new iphone cover for the Mrs nezw phone. She spotted the one she wanted but the racks had a lock on them.
There were 4 desks 3 with people serving customers and one with 2 servers chatting to each other. The Mrs managed to get thier attention and asked if they could unlock the rack so she could buy a cover. The free guy interrupted the guy with the customer to ask where the key was. They found the key and then started to bicker about who would actually get off his ar$e and serve us.
The Mrs went ballistic and screamed at them that about customer service and we stormed out.
Where's my medicine?
smifffymoto said:
There is no loyalty with the French,it's always about the money.Even if you have above board all along the way.
My 2 teenagers go to an English school,in Lot et G. and will take IGCSE's and then A levels and university in the UK or elsewhere after that.They will not be educated in France at all.
Why,you may ask. Simple their prospects would be very limited as no matter how well they integrate they will never be French and as we all know they look after their own first.
I wonder if in 10 years there will be hundreds of expats whose parents were living the dream, claiming benefits because they can't find work and don't have the level of English to find work in the UK.
Sorry but that really is not the case at all in our experience, my wife opted to stay in the UK when her parents went to Brittany in 1990 or thereabouts her brothers were 7 and 8 and spoke zero French, they went to the local village school which was only French speaking. My 2 teenagers go to an English school,in Lot et G. and will take IGCSE's and then A levels and university in the UK or elsewhere after that.They will not be educated in France at all.
Why,you may ask. Simple their prospects would be very limited as no matter how well they integrate they will never be French and as we all know they look after their own first.
I wonder if in 10 years there will be hundreds of expats whose parents were living the dream, claiming benefits because they can't find work and don't have the level of English to find work in the UK.
Within a year they were fluent and were part of the community playing in the village football teams and so on. They both found the system worked excellently for them, one becoming a teacher after getting his degree then going into industry as a trainee manager for a large factory he is doing brilliantly. The other won a scholarship to a very good private school and was the youngest bank manager for CA currently in the south of France. Suffice to say he lives rather well, both are completely bilingual and have nothing but great prospects ahead of them.
I think it is all about how well you integrate into the community and see yourselves as part of the community as much as it is about how others perceive you.
Having lived for a while in an expat community in Spain I would say that they are the worst as they are so insular, children only sent to English schools, speaking little local language and treating it as England in the sun. I couldn`t wait to get away.
I have to agree with M4A, our daughter went through part of primary, secondary and lycee here and got a bac ES. She got a breadth of education that she would not have got in Britain and developed an acceptance of the rigours of study. Then a 2.1 in international business at a UK university.
She and all her French friends have found jobs in France but many of her UK university pals are stuck without meaningful employment.
There's not a huge difference in youth unemployment figures between France and the UK, but of course, regional variations can tint perceptions.
Steve
edit:spelling
She and all her French friends have found jobs in France but many of her UK university pals are stuck without meaningful employment.
There's not a huge difference in youth unemployment figures between France and the UK, but of course, regional variations can tint perceptions.
Steve
edit:spelling
My kids are 14 and 16 and have done 4 years in the French system in Ariege,if you dont know it,its like the wild west down there.Ambition is zero.
I dont disagre there are successes but your children went through the system a few years ago.
I have to try and hedge my bets now and for the future,with an economy with zero growth and a country stuck in the 70's as regards work practices and not much chance of dramatic change in the near future,well not within 5 years i have no problem with the decision we made.
The world is a very big place.
I dont disagre there are successes but your children went through the system a few years ago.
I have to try and hedge my bets now and for the future,with an economy with zero growth and a country stuck in the 70's as regards work practices and not much chance of dramatic change in the near future,well not within 5 years i have no problem with the decision we made.
The world is a very big place.
It's not alright it's f
king dangerous especially with the way the arrogant tts here use it. If you gad to design a traffic junction with a view to causing as many accidents as possible you couldn't do better priorité au crash.
Not to mention that it's a pain in the arse. You're on a major road wanting to make progress but no, you have sliw down to dead sliw every block because there might be a tt with an agenda about to zoom out infront of you to "forcer son priorité".
king dangerous especially with the way the arrogant tts here use it. If you gad to design a traffic junction with a view to causing as many accidents as possible you couldn't do better priorité au crash.Not to mention that it's a pain in the arse. You're on a major road wanting to make progress but no, you have sliw down to dead sliw every block because there might be a t
t with an agenda about to zoom out infront of you to "forcer son priorité".Edited by Driller on Monday 24th November 16:16
Is it Loudun,?
There they have even changed the priority on a roundabout so that circulating vehicles give way to vehicles entering.
Disturbing driver complacency is at the psychological level often works well in road design. Giving foreign drivers a loaded gun and asking them to play Russian Roulette is about the equivalent in road safety terms as PaD.
Bizarre
There they have even changed the priority on a roundabout so that circulating vehicles give way to vehicles entering.
Disturbing driver complacency is at the psychological level often works well in road design. Giving foreign drivers a loaded gun and asking them to play Russian Roulette is about the equivalent in road safety terms as PaD.
Bizarre
Hi,
There are many subjects that upset me in this country, but getting back on one's word sadly isn't limited to France.
Éric Masson
smifffymoto said:
There is no loyalty with the French,it's always about the money.Even if you have above board all along the way.
Some people, regardless of their origin, will always try to get as much money as possible from something they sell. (I had this problem 2 years and a half ago as I was looking for an Elise, I contacted a UK based seller via PH classifieds. First contact was good, I didn't even discuss on price. 2 hours later as I was arranging a transfer for deposit, he recontacted me stating that he meanwhile had been proposed a better offer and declined).There are many subjects that upset me in this country, but getting back on one's word sadly isn't limited to France.
Éric Masson
I was hoping that you weren't reading this thread, but I'm very impressed by your coolness under fire Éric. I am embarrassed
by some of my fellow immigrants' comments.
We all have things that we don't like about the country that we live in and fortunately in the EU, with it's freedom of movement, we can go elsewhere.
Steve
PS I'm not too keen about new PAD as a traffic calming measure..........
by some of my fellow immigrants' comments.
We all have things that we don't like about the country that we live in and fortunately in the EU, with it's freedom of movement, we can go elsewhere.
Steve
PS I'm not too keen about new PAD as a traffic calming measure..........
rdjohn said:
There they have even changed the priority on a roundabout so that circulating vehicles give way to vehicles entering.
Effectivement those variations on "normal" roundabouts are a hoot but pretty intimidating if you're new to the idea! Visiting the top of the Arc de Triomphe is almost worth the queue just to have the overview of Place de l'Etoiles and the vehicular chaos! It must promote an amazing number of insurance claims. Here's one video among many:http://youtu.be/_BP_2t85soM
Gassing Station | France | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff