Forum Survive France

MoulinSarlat: I wasn’t suggesting they shouldn’t get their public pension, I was suggesting perhaps they shouldn’t get the state pension on top. However public sector pensions are sized with the expectation of also getting the state pension. You could envision this not being the case but getting from the current position to one where only those without separate provision for personal/workplace pension recieved a state pension would cause a lot of people real pain financially.

You asked about Leboncoin, and mentioned the SPA, David. I did find a dog in the SPA lockup, previously. He’d been there for over 6 months, poor fellow, a lovely labrador. I filled in their pages of stuff online, and said I was interested in this particular dog, please could I have a rdv to come to see him. They refused. We had another old dog in the house at the time. ‘They’ said that the lab couldn’t accept another dog ! ! ! . . . . With leboncoin their animal section covers everything to do with dogs (and other animals) - for sale; new litters; stud dogs; re-homings fora small payment; and ‘dons’. The site has photos and a standardised set of information. You message the owner direct, and off you go.

Welcome Michelle and great to hear all about you (we’re a little bit north of you in southern Manche)

I wasn’t suggesting they shouldn’t get their public pension, I was suggesting perhaps they shouldn’t get the state pension on top.

Are you normally able to send email from the phone?

David_Spardo: I transposed the opening line to cudget buts, no idea why I did it and even less why I am stilllgggling about it. It’s bard to heat a good spoonerism.

MoulinSarlat: public sectors workers getting both is crazy! Why in heaven’s name do you think that public sector workers should make contributions (over and above what everyone contributes for a State Pension) and get nothing for it? Historically public sector pay was significantly lower than the equivalent skilled job in the private sector precisely because the public sector pension was seen as a big bonus. No longer. I spent the last 10 years of my working life dealing with private sector people paid 10 times or more as much as I was, and ended up with a pension that was minute compared to theirs. And my contributions were not insignificant. It is a myth that the public sector pensions are gold standard, and final salary index linked pensions have gone completely.

Ancient_Mariner: Yes, the pneumococcal vaccine. Worth bearing in mind that when you have it, like we have, that like other jabs it’s not all encompassing. A close friend who has been inoculated got whacked with pneumonia this summer.

John, I am unaware of all of the circumstances but, according to my acquaintance, they are all capable of work and could find some form of work, if they chose to. He has largely disowned many of his family members, as he is very resentful that any proportion of his taxes should be supporting his work shy siblings. I was brought up on a council estate with forty houses on our street. I was personally aware of four people claiming benefits as supposedly unable to work, yet they all had side hussles doing cash jobs, including slab laying and landscaping. This was in the city of Peterborough, which was certainly not an unemployment black spot. If one extrapolates my experience across the country, it is perhaps a measure of the potential extent of the problem. Whilst respective governments have wrestled with the problem of illegal immigration, I cannot help but feel the generous nature of our benefits system is in some part responsible for our country being such a popular destination.

Even though it’s not the first time I post something here, I have never introduced myself properly (shame on me!) My name is Michèle, I’m Swiss and in 2025 I moved from central Switzerland to Mayenne France. It was a decision done very quickly. Living in Switzerland became just too much for me so I decided to move to France and just did it, and here I am. It was one of my best decisions ever. While Switzerland is a beautiful country it became just too small. I’m a person who enjoys her own company. While I like people I also like to spend time just with me, myself and I (and my two dogs). In CH this is basically not possible anymore. I was not one of the lucky ones who could live on a country side farmers property and finding a affordable home on the countryside without very, super, near neighbours is for one almost not possible and two if so, not affordable. So I decided to move to France. Why France? Well, definitely not because of the language I liked northern France since I first visited years ago. For me it’s hard to explain.. I just like it. So I was like, why not France? Well then, France it is. I found a nice place in the department of Mayenne, with lots of land and no close neighbours at all. Heaven! The hardest thing to learn was to not hurry all the time. Patience is key. As a Swiss, hard to swallow:-) So yeah, here I am, living a happy life in France.

Hi there Time is running so fast, unbelievable! I just wanted to give a quick update just in case anyone else is in the same boat right now. I hade some great concerns when it comes to duane. I moved with a lot of stuff from Switzerland to France. And with a lot of stuff I’m not talking about furniture and clothes but more of the handy things like tools and machinery. I did all the necessary things like inventory list and all. I was super nervous once reaching the boarder because I was just not sure how things will work out. At the end, it was all for nothing. The people at the boarder (Swiss and French side) where super nice. They checked the inventory list, asked a few questions and that’s it. They didn’t check anything. It could have been pure luck… I don’t know. I guess it really depends on the people on duty. In my case, everything run smoothly and I was in French within the hour. It could be completely different for someone else. I don’t want to tell you to just bet on good luck. You would definitely have your paper work done properly. Eg. if you don’t you will probably never be able to register your car in France. At least now without paying taxes. To everyone else who is moving from Switzerland to France. I wish you the best! Might the same people working the duane that day.