Our Tips for Retirees Moving to France - Part 1

If you read our comprehensive guide to buying a French property, you’ll be aware that without the right planning, your move could be fraught with danger. In life, hindsight is a wonderful thing and one of the key areas that many people who move to France to retire wish they’d done better is their preparation for their new life before they leave.

If you are considering moving to France to start a new chapter in your life, there are some steps you can take to make the transition easier. In this 2-part series of articles, we will discuss some important things you can do before the move.

Part 1 will focus on two key areas: learning the language and exploring healthcare options in your new location. Part 2 provides guidance on preparing your finances, coping with leaving your loved ones behind, and reminding you that France is only a couple of hours away if you are moving from the UK.

Here are our first 3 Top Tips you should consider doing before leaving the UK:

Visit your Chosen Location

There’s no reason why your integration into the French community needs to wait until your removal truck arrives; there’s plenty you can do beforehand. Once you’ve decided where you want to be, or once you’ve chosen your new home and you’re waiting for the formalities to be sorted out, it’s a good idea to make a few trips to your new town or village. Most small towns and villages in France host regular events throughout the year, such as fêtes, festivals, and celebratory meals.

These events are a great way to get to meet the movers and shakers in your new community and the perfect way to feel immediately welcome once you’re in situ full-time. To find out what might be going on, the town or village website or the Comité des Fêtes is a great place to start. If neither of these comes up trumps, the Office de Tourisme or the Mairie will give you a list. Also, make an effort to get to know your new neighbours if you’re already in the process of buying. They will be a huge support system for you when you become a permanent resident.

Get your Head Around the Language

Most people who decide to relocate to France have a bit of a grip on the language, but not a good enough command of ‘la langue Française’ when they finally land on French soil. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, get as much practice as you can speaking and listening to French voices. Movers tend to focus on grammar before vocabulary, often stressing too much on the complex French verb tenses rather than building the essential vocabulary that will stand them in great stead when (and if) push comes to shove.

For example, if you’re moving to France to renovate a property, make sure you start to learn DIY or basic building vocabulary before you move. This will make the whole process much easier. If you’re a fan of playing cards, again, make sure you have a bit of card-playing vocabulary.

There are plenty of language packages on DVD and/or online, such as Rosetta Stone or Duolingo. Also, we find watching the News helpful, as the newsreader uses everyday vocabulary and usually delivers in a neutral tone with little or no accent. If you love cinema, films and literature, watch your favourite films again in French, perhaps with subtitles if you’re feeling a little rusty.

Most importantly, if you have any health issues, make sure you can communicate, even at a basic level, with the experts who’ll need to support you.

Check your Healthcare Options

There’s much news in the UK press at the moment about how non-British residents might be dealt with by the NHS, but as a lifetime UK resident, you’ll be accustomed to going to the doctor or the hospital and knowing the ropes. This won’t necessarily be the case when you first use the healthcare system in France, so it’s a good idea to make sure you know your options before you move.

The healthcare system in France is a little complicated, but the good news is that, according to many health experts, it’s one of the finest systems in the world. Funded in much the same way as the National Health Service, the French system differs because you pay for pretty much every service you use up front and then claim your money back later. While we’ll publish a detailed article on the healthcare system later, in a nutshell, if you’re registered in the healthcare system, you can expect a refund from the state of 60-80% of your spend. For the remainder, you can either fund that yourself or take out a health insurance policy (a mutuelle) to cover the difference.

Like everything, there are exceptions to this, which again we’ll cover later, but this is generally how it works. The message for now is that, before making your move, it’s important to know what your rights are likely to be and to have your applications made to either the French healthcare system for membership or to confirm that you will be covered for a period under the UK system.