Swapping Sussex for Ceret

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jacaly
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Swapping Sussex for Ceret

Post by jacaly »

Hi. I've just joined the forum on advice from Kate as a good starting point to begin our much longed for and eagerly anticipated move to Ceret.

We've holidayed in Ceret for 6+ years and have made the decision that we want to make the massive move!

But where to start?...... Jobs, house, a school for a 13yo boy......?

Not to mention the 3 dogs and 4 chickens!!!!

Any advice on how to start is much appreciated from you all.

Thanks

:D
alan
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Post by alan »

I have sent you a pm

Alan
Pearsonb
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Post by Pearsonb »

I have been in France since 1979 and love it here. Over that period I have seen a lot of people come and go and the main reasons people have left have been jobs and education.

This part of France has high unemployment. There are not many jobs available locally and you will be expected to have good French. There are some jobs possible serving the English speaking community. See the article about the Sausage Man for a great example. Finally, there are people like me who have jobs on the Internet. I only make about thirty euros a month in France but pay charges on my worldwide income so that I can live here.

Each child is different. My three were all born in France and were bilingual. One loved school in France. The other two were so unhappy that we ended up sending them to sixth form in England. The boy was at a state boarding school but even this 'cheaper' option cost us about ten thousand pounds a year. But other kids I know have loved French schools and hated English universities. Difficult to give general advice.

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Post by tia »

Hi, I think the first thing to think about is how to earn a living, unemployement is very high here but not impossible to find work ( as long as you can speak some french and are flexible). Next concern would be for your 13 year old, unless he is bilingual then at that age it is going to be pretty tough and he needs to be really motivated. My kids were born here, we moved to the uk when my daughter was 8 and came back when she was 15, she hated school here( and she was bilingual) and has now gone back to the uk. My son was 13 when we came back and he was ok. Each child is different. After that plenty of houses for sale or rent here so no worries finding something in that area. I would say that if you do not try it you will never know, and if it doesn't work out and you decide to go back then you will at least have tried .
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opas
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Post by opas »

Welcome to the forum and the area, most of the general stuff has been covered by the other posters on this thread.

The difference being the other posters children were born and educated in France, mine were UK born . Our move was made when the youngest was 5 and eldest just turned 10.
The youngest girl fitted in from day 2 (first day at school she cried all morning) Our eldest girl is an August baby and had just turned 10 when we arrived, it was hard for her. She was in last year junior school (UK) and final year of primare here, she spoke some french thanks to us having a tutor in UK, but no where near enough to fit into her lessons.
I would not have left our move any later, we said if we were moving it had to be before senior school.

Eldest is now a mobile hairdresser and only returns to UK to visit family and shop at Primark!
Youngest is in 1er and studying social care

I wish you lots of luck .
-----------------------------------------------
Debeneur.
property management, changeovers, garden maintenance, no job too small. Highchair, travelcot, pram hire.
jacaly
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Post by jacaly »

Thanks for your posts!

All help & experiences of living in the region are greatly appreciated.
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Santiago
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Post by Santiago »

I can only repeat what others have said above.

If you are dependent on earning a living locally, it's going to be tough and should be your top priority. Like anywhere, if you have a very desirable skill or profession, you should be able to find work.

13 is a difficult age to move, especially to a foreign country. Your son is going to need a lot of support, especially with language at school.

All this is pretty general. Perhaps if you gave us more information and had some specific questions we could help more.
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