Using Our Phones in France-Help!

[DrRogerRam]

Hi,

In UK we use our iPhones with GiffGaff Goody Bags-for £10 it's 500 minutes + 1GB data.

Off to France house-hunting in January 2015 & would like to keep our UK numbers until we find a place. We have a 3 data contract that is £15 for 10GB that should be OK. We will use my son's as our UK address until we buy a place in France (or give up & come back to UK!!! & maybe buy a mobile home).

I have a Joe Mobile sim BUT would need to get that cut down to a nano sim for the iPhone AND we could not port our UK numbers to that network & that's a nuisance.

I think with giffgaff we'd have to buy credit to use abroad. However, we could port our numbers to 3 & get 600 minutes + 1GB data for a £13 monthly contract that we could use in France. I understand that's only for a holiday & were we to use our phones over there for more than a month they could end the contract-Feel At Home service. Has anyone used this for more than a month & been OK?

Another possibility is the toggle-sim. I've just spoken to the most helpful lady at Motorhome Wifi & it seems that toggle-sim maybe our best bet: order our nan sims, get a pak code from giffgaff, port our numbers to Toggle & be able to use them in UK + get a French number for calls over there.

Think I've worked out the best solution. However, if anyone has a better solution that would be good?

(As a PS we've used Globalsim here for their mobile broadband double data package & found them an absolute nightmare with their extortionate none-sense invoices-£144 for 2 months to date, including excess data of £30+VAT! Have sent them 2 emails without reply asking for clarification)

Wish life was a bit simpler, but at least my shattered tib & fib are about sorted

 

[SteveandSue]

Hi We have the Toggle sim, we have used it in France-Sweden and Germany.
All calls are 3p a min.
Would reccomend their service

 

[DrRogerRam]

Thanks, Steve & Sue, the Toggle sim seems the best bet until we find a house.

 

[Minxy]

Hi We have the Toggle sim, we have used it in France-Sweden and Germany.
All calls are 3p a min.
Would reccomend their service

I've just had a shuftie at the Toggle sim website and the call cost of 3p a minute is to either landlines or other mobile phones, and, what I didn't realise though, if I understand it correctly, is that this includes calls within the same European country (so long as you have obtained a local number via Toggle) so could be use in the UK as a UK PAYG sim normally and also abroad negating the need to have another sim.

I've just worked out that on my contract I get 100 minutes included which works out at 8p a minute, normally this would be for either mobile or landline calls but because I've been with them a while I get a 'free' ad-on so have unlimited landline calls but the contact now doesn't include this.

 

[Allanm]

We have been in France for just over a month, using 3 Feel at Home. No texts from them after a month, so I assume all is well. But I thought there was a 3 month limit, not 1!
While we were house hunting, we used Fon for Internet, it just involved wandering around till we got an SFR Fon signal. Wish I'd known about the toggle sim, sounds a good deal, we might research one, having a French number is a good idea once you are over here.
Good luck with the house hunting. We gave ourselves a year to find something but bought a house within a month! There are some really good deals around, and a lovely detached house for sale 3 doors away from us with a decent sized garden for €110k!
Allan

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[DrRogerRam]

Thanks Allan,
That's most encouraging-you found a house so quickly-I guess Brittany?

Our plan is to head further south, starting initially at Le Parc Verger as our base & then heading south for the better weather. I do have questions about the 'better' weather given that we come originally from Derbyshire so are used to cold & frost & anything in the high 30's I find most uncomfortable!

Thanks for the info about 3 Feel at Home still being OK. I think it's going to be toggle-sim since it will be a miracle if we find a house inside a month. SWMBO & I work on the basis we must agree on a house & judging by house browsing on the internet that may never happen!

Roger

 

[Steve101uk]

Could you make more use of skype as you have 10 gigs of data? just a thought

 

[DrRogerRam]

Thanks Laser. We may use Skype although I suspect we may need all our data for house hunting. Freely used Skype when we had broadband at home but now we're fulltiming data is much more expensive. Just ordered 2 Toggle sims & with our French numbers in France it's just 3p per minute to other French numbers, & the same to UK numbers & that's not OK.
Roger

 

[Allanm]

Thanks Allan,
That's most encouraging-you found a house so quickly-I guess Brittany?

Our plan is to head further south, starting initially at Le Parc Verger as our base & then heading south for the better weather. I do have questions about the 'better' weather given that we come originally from Derbyshire so are used to cold & frost & anything in the high 30's I find most uncomfortable!

Thanks for the info about 3 Feel at Home still being OK. I think it's going to be toggle-sim since it will be a miracle if we find a house inside a month. SWMBO & I work on the basis we must agree on a house & judging by house browsing on the internet that may never happen!

Roger

My Sister has a house just outside Carcassonne, it has been mostly raining for the last 2 weeks, we have had quite a few warm sunny days!
We looked at the South too, but when my sister phones and says its 40+ degrees and too hot to do anything, we decided to go further north.
I suppose it depends on what you want and your budget. We prefer it here, it's warmer than Kent and very much old time French.
We also liked the area around the midi Pyrenees but just couldn't find any suitable houses, they were either way overpriced or falling down, same as Burgundy.
We used to holiday in the Vendee area, weather is generally warmer than the surrounding areas, a bit of a micro climate, and not too far from PV.
Anyway, good luck.
One piece of advice, that everyone kept imparting to use, don't bother looking for a village with a boulangerie. Most are closing down and being replaced by large boulangeries outside bigger towns.
Allan

 

[Judge Mental]

There are some really good deals around, and a lovely detached house for sale 3 doors away from us with a decent sized garden for €110k!
Allan

I suggest you investigate the TAX implications very carefully!

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[Allanm]

I suggest you investigate the TAX implications very carefully!

We just got letters from our bank telling us we might be better off taxwise transferring our savings to a French bank as a non resident.
Neither of us work, Mrs A gets a pension now and I will get the first 2 of my pensions paid from Feb next year. We may well be better off moving there full time then and paying tax in France.
Allan

 

[Judge Mental]

We just got letters from our bank telling us we might be better off taxwise transferring our savings to a French bank as a non resident.
Neither of us work, Mrs A gets a pension now and I will get the first 2 of my pensions paid from Feb next year. We may well be better off moving there full time then and paying tax in France.
Allan

I wish you well but please seek advice......France a basket case economically! taxes among highest in Europe if not the highest. Just google tax implications of living/buying property in France and be prepared for a long read! London now full of french desperate to get away from their draconian tax system.....

 

[yodeli]

We just got letters from our bank telling us we might be better off taxwise transferring our savings to a French bank as a non resident.
Neither of us work, Mrs A gets a pension now and I will get the first 2 of my pensions paid from Feb next year. We may well be better off moving there full time then and paying tax in France.
Allan

There's the "expat forum" on which you should find all the answers you're looking for.
Quite a good forum. They know a lot (except may be about Nannies in France hence me interfering once or twice)much more than a resident even as we never wonder this sort of thing... just used to have big surprises (not the best ones by all means!!!)when it comes to taxes and money stuff whatever THEY call it!

Amicalement

Frankie

 

[Parcverger]

We are looking forward to your arrival, and there are plenty of good quality properties for you to see in the area. On the question of looking further south, the comment on the heat in the Carcassonne area was correct - we have a couple locally who stayed here when moving from there because of the heat, and you can chat with them if you wish.

Our wifi has improved apace recently whilst the work to give us a much higher speed internet connection is going on, and we now have a very steady signal The work should be finished in February or March, so maybe you will not need to worry to much about UK linked systems.

On the tax comment, we are not the only couple who have moved here from the UK who have found the tax we pay to be lower here than it wan there. Everyone's situation is different, and there is advice available to run through your circumstances and make sure that everything is organised sensibly

Bob
www.parcverger.com

 

[spitfire]

I wish you well but please seek advice......France a basket case economically! taxes among highest in Europe if not the highest. Just google tax implications of living/buying property in France and be prepared for a long read! London now full of french desperate to get away from their draconian tax system.....

Having lived in France for 11 years I would disagree with you on the tax issue . I have certainly not paid more in France than the UK and actually less . Yes the country does have economic issues but what country in Eurooe does not abd I am including the UK in that comment . Healthcare and quality of life us second to none . The French who have left for the UK are often young and often too people setting up a business. Much easier in the UK than in France where the beaurocracy is terrible . General day to day shopping is more expensive but not as bad as it used to be compared to the UK . The UK prices have risen in the last few years. Retired in France is a joy but not for everyone .

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[DrRogerRam]

Thanks Bob & Spitfire,
We can't wait to get there. I've gone for a couple of togglesims & we've got 30gb per month monthly contracts with 3 that should stand us in good stead whilst we are house hunting. The info about Parc Verger wifi is great-our Huawei mobile router switches to wifi automatically when available.

Not worried about tax-my accountant is very good!

What is a real pain at the moment is sorting out co-ordinates on my Snooper sat nav to actually find ParcVerger in the first place!!! I guess that needs another thread. We are booked on the Eurotunnel on 2 February 2015 & intend to use sites, France Passion or Aires depending on what's available. Have experienced the motorway in Paris-they could turn that into a scary fairground round (mad motorcyclists banging on the side to tell us to move over & lots of Victory signs!!!) & so will avoid like the plague.

We are having to wait 'cos we've got a new dog, Rocco, the miniature Schnauzer & the vet has advised us to leave it a while after he gets his passport. He loves being in a house & a garden 'cos he can race around-not too much room for that in the Hymer!

Really looking forward to France.

Thanks & Merry Christmas

Roger

 

[Pilote87]

Hi Roger,

If you click on the PV web site (link on his page) you can see the GPS co-ords.

If you are heading directly for the Limousin and PV then, for us, the easiest route is A16 towards Abbeville, A28 to Rouen, then, depending on time of crossing, lunch at Pont de l'Arche, N154 / N12 to Dreux, N154 Chartres and Artensay then N20 Orleans and Vierzon. A20 to Limoges sortie 28 (just after Beaune-les-Mines service area). We have used various aires de service close by that route depending on the timing of the journey.

If you need any further info then please PM me.

John

 

[Wicketter]

We followed Bob's direction on the Parc Verger websites and found it with no problem. Just be careful and read his directions regarding which route to use if you have a large rig! Wish we were there now!! Never mind next year is coming soon!

 

[DrRogerRam]

Dear John & Lesley,

Thank you SO much for your help-full comments, advice & route. I think my problem is that with anything vaguely scientific or mathematical I am so THICK (as 2 short planks) I do not get it!!!!

I do have a doctorate but that is in psychotherapy practice-a whole different ball-game!

I do observe the adage 'doctor heal thyself'-dead handy when having pins pulled from my broken leg so I'm sure I can get a grip on Snooper coordinates.

Apologies for my late reply but ran out of mobile data last night & 3 charge about 12p per meg when you exceed their allowance!

Thanks again,

Roger

 

[Tandy]

There's the "expat forum" on which you should find all the answers you're looking for.
Quite a good forum. They know a lot (except may be about Nannies in France hence me interfering once or twice

Frankie,
Out of interest which forum ?
Did a Google search and quite a few were listed

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