Moving to Lyon - lot's of questions...
Discussion
Hello,
I received the news last week that I will be starting a job in Lyon early next year (roughly March). My wife and I intend to move out there together. I have never done an international move before, so am not sure where to start! If anyone has any advice on the following, it would be gratefully received...
1) Accommodation.
We have owned a house before but are renting at the moment, so we have a reasonable deposit that we could use if we decided to buy. However, having done a bit of research the French equivalent of stamp duty/notaire fees seem very high (unless I've misinterpreted), so this might be best saved until we know whether we'd like to make the move long-term or not.
The idea of renting for a short time to get a feel for the place seems to be tricky as I understand the minimum tenancy term you'll find would be 1 year?
I will be working at St Exupery, so ideally would like to live near a Rhonexpress stop for commuting. Are any of these areas pleasant to live in? Any other area recommendations or local information would be great.
Is it worth using an expat service to help you move? Neither of us speak much beyond the absolute basics of French (we will be learning, but obviously that's going to take some time), so help seems attractive from that point of view, but if language skills are all that's required, then I have a sibling with a French degree who might be useful.
2) Car.
Is bringing a UK car over a mistake? Is there a useful online resource for finding out about tax, registering, MOT equivalents etc?
3) Tax.
I don't have my contract yet, but my salary is likely to be EUR40-50k. I can't quite work out what we will have left to work with after income tax, social security, etc in order to plan for what rent we could afford. Is there a French equivalent of listentotaxman.com that I can use?
4) Medical jobs.
My wife is a GP, but as stated before, does not speak French (yet). Does that qualification open up any relevant jobs locally despite not being able to speak French?
Apologies for the brain dump, and thanks for any help you can provide.
I received the news last week that I will be starting a job in Lyon early next year (roughly March). My wife and I intend to move out there together. I have never done an international move before, so am not sure where to start! If anyone has any advice on the following, it would be gratefully received...
1) Accommodation.
We have owned a house before but are renting at the moment, so we have a reasonable deposit that we could use if we decided to buy. However, having done a bit of research the French equivalent of stamp duty/notaire fees seem very high (unless I've misinterpreted), so this might be best saved until we know whether we'd like to make the move long-term or not.
The idea of renting for a short time to get a feel for the place seems to be tricky as I understand the minimum tenancy term you'll find would be 1 year?
I will be working at St Exupery, so ideally would like to live near a Rhonexpress stop for commuting. Are any of these areas pleasant to live in? Any other area recommendations or local information would be great.
Is it worth using an expat service to help you move? Neither of us speak much beyond the absolute basics of French (we will be learning, but obviously that's going to take some time), so help seems attractive from that point of view, but if language skills are all that's required, then I have a sibling with a French degree who might be useful.
2) Car.
Is bringing a UK car over a mistake? Is there a useful online resource for finding out about tax, registering, MOT equivalents etc?
3) Tax.
I don't have my contract yet, but my salary is likely to be EUR40-50k. I can't quite work out what we will have left to work with after income tax, social security, etc in order to plan for what rent we could afford. Is there a French equivalent of listentotaxman.com that I can use?
4) Medical jobs.
My wife is a GP, but as stated before, does not speak French (yet). Does that qualification open up any relevant jobs locally despite not being able to speak French?
Apologies for the brain dump, and thanks for any help you can provide.
Initially rent a house ,lets are 1 or 3 years depending if it is furnished or not.If you are employed you will automatically get a Carte Vitale ,I'm not sure if it will cover your wife. We moved over in 2009 with 8 and 10 year old children and I was the only one with school French but you manage and muddle through,most people are very understanding.Your wife being a GP I would have thought she could find work but will need to speak French,I think PH'er Driller will know more on that.
The best thing you can do is trawl the web and sort the wheat from the chaff and there is s
t loads of chaff and downright wrong info but some good help out there.
Anglo info is ok but take it with a pinch of salt.
The best thing you can do is trawl the web and sort the wheat from the chaff and there is s
t loads of chaff and downright wrong info but some good help out there.Anglo info is ok but take it with a pinch of salt.
It's not that difficult - but then I did have a French Mrs to help me! I can't understand why anyone is a landlord here as the tenancy rules are a lot more tenant friendly than in the UK.
I've downloaded their free tax guide which seems fine, and blevin franks also publish a book about living in France https://www.blevinsfranks.com/France
As mentioned Angloinfo is useful, but as ever with the internet, you never know how competent the person posting is.
I bought and registered a UK car over here, it's relatively painless, (though not free) for which search in this forum.
Just got back from a long weekend in Lyon, where the food in the bouchons was wonderful and the city looked nice in the winter sunshine, though it is ringed by some dodgy suburbs.
I've downloaded their free tax guide which seems fine, and blevin franks also publish a book about living in France https://www.blevinsfranks.com/France
As mentioned Angloinfo is useful, but as ever with the internet, you never know how competent the person posting is.
I bought and registered a UK car over here, it's relatively painless, (though not free) for which search in this forum.
Just got back from a long weekend in Lyon, where the food in the bouchons was wonderful and the city looked nice in the winter sunshine, though it is ringed by some dodgy suburbs.
I can see st exupery from my bathroom window. I have lived in and around Lyon for almost 10 years. The rhone express is expensive... Anyway it depends what you want from life. Lyon is a great city and it is fantastic to live in the centre and enjoy the restaurants,parks,riverside etc. depending on your working hours it could be a nightmare to get to the airport. Have a look at leboncoin.fr - it's the gumtree/Craigslist of France. I would rent but you may need help from your new employer as you have no history in France, they can be a pain in the arse for paperwork etc. Bring your car from the uk, don't panic, pay extra for your insurance in the uk to cover you in Europe then settle in. Cars are much more expensive here. Also look at blablacar or covoiturage car share schemes that are very popular, also try Airbnb with their long term solutions.
Cars are no more expensive in France than the UK with the current exchange rate,plus you will be able to sell it for a much better price.Second hand prices are on book price and that is it,there is hardly any room for movement and people don't expect there to be.
Realistically the only place to sell a rhd is anglo info to other Britsites.
Realistically the only place to sell a rhd is anglo info to other Britsites.
Gassing Station | France | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff