$500,000 for a house

[Kriss]

Could cold Red Bull work?

I thought red bull wasn't available in U.S. because it contains TAURINE which is a carcinogen, ever wondered where TAURINE comes from girls? Think about it. YUP , thats right , BULLS TESTICLES! How ya like your red bull now?

[Quinn]

Speaking of France though, It's the language barrier though.

Not to mention the humour barrier, French cannot get english sarcasm,

Not to mention that, for some unfathomable reason, they actually think Jerry Lewis is funny.

-Quinn

[MacShreach]

Slightly warming to France though. What's the population density like? Say in the countryside? The density in the countryside here is still quite high since they're building on it left right and centre, there's not much left.

Pop density is much lower than England, especially where you are. There's no pressure to build in the countryside away from the major cities, there's still plenty of property available. France has great trains and buses, communications, absolutely excellent health service, it's a thoroughly modern European State, but still life, at least outside of Paris, is lived at a civilised pace-- I called a large company in eastern France today at 1.45 local and the sweet receptionist said, can you call back in half an hour, they're all still at lunch....This is normal...

Friends drop in for aperos and stay till ten but nobody is ever on time....Lunch is still THE meal and can take 2-3 hours...Everybody bitches about the Government and the weather...Despite what you see on the telly and a bit of habitual shoplifting (it's a kind of protest) the French are a VERY law-abiding lot.

Very little crime in rural areas and frankly even the places the French shake their heads and warn you about are not seriously scary (even in Paris,) though opportunist theft is quite common in the big cities...Having said that I remember once being in a big market in an African area of a large city, which most of my French friends wouldn't go near and though I was mad to. I carelessly mislaid my wallet. When I missed it went back to the last stall thinking "That's a goner" only to be confronted by a huge West African with a grin about three feet wide running towards me with it in his hand...who proceeded to lecture me about leaving my wallet around in the market...In five years living in France I never locked the house or car doors when I was at home....

Actually the only real issue is the language. You're either one of those people who is comfortable in another language or you're not, and this has little to do with fluency....I hear what rvince says, in the south English is common (Est-que t'es francais rvince?) but to really get to know the French and make friends you do have to learn to speak the language, but as long as you make some sort of effort they'll be happy until you're up to speed, most people under 50 have at least basic English....

Things to watch...The climate in much of France is not as attractive as you may think. Summers are certainly warm but winters can be much colder than you're used to. Better in the west/south. French lorry-drivers are a bloody menace...Oh yeah, after-sales service can be iffy, some stores no prob, there's an issue, we replace it, others just assume you're working some sort of scam (don't buy electrical goods from Leclerc.) Working for an employer in France is dead easy but running your own business is MUCH MUCH more complicated and expensive than it is in the UK, even after the kind attentions of Mr Brown these last 10 years.

If you want more info Alison, PM me-- I lived there a while.