Pound at four year high against euro

When I turned my PC on this morning it told me that £1 buys around €1.28 which is a four year high seemingly.

This is still a far way from the heady days of €1.45 when I first arrived in France but it's also a significant shift that makes French property more attractive to UK buyers.

With the eurozone in such a mess I wouldn't bet against this trend continuing.

Having been in France for nine years this October I would, however, say that (in my humble opinion) you shouldn't let exchange rates be the driving factor behind your move. 

I genuinely still get a buzz from living in France.  Whether it's simple things like having the Courvoisier chateau next door to my local café or having access to simply sensational healthcare (as I experienced yesterday in my local hospital) it is the everyday positive experiences that should drive your decision making.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and roses here and I don't want to paint a false picture....I just think that the recent buying power given by the strengthening of the pound should be the icing on the cake not the filling!

www.cognacproperty.com

EU forces "U turn" on French health ban

So runs the front page headline in the latest issue of The Connexion newspaper. 

The story kicked off back in 2007 when the French government suddenly decided that it no longer wanted to pay for health care for pre-retirement expats from other EU Member States.  This had a huge impact on thousands of people and the resultant media storm was quite some thing.

This weeks U turn means that early retirees will now get access to the CMU although full details still seem unclear.

In an email today staff at The Connexion said:

More details are emerging about how early retirees can regain access to state health cover in France.  The French government has published a circular with guidelines applying to expats who move here before state pension age and are not in work.

It clarifies the different ways in which an inactive EU citizen can legally live in France through French state health insurance "in certain situations".

The circular explains that access to the CMU (couverture maladie universelle) will be studied on a "case by case" basis and applicants will have to satisfy the authorities that they have sufficient income.

France was forced to change its policy of denying state healthcare rights to early retirees after the European Commission intervened. The commission is keeping a close eye on how the new rules are applied.

We will have a full analysis of what the new rules mean in the next issue of The Connexion, out on August 1.

This is not a subject that I'm expert in (nor do I ever want to be as it seems ultra complicated and specialised) but if you think it affects you then the one thing I would say is for goodness sake make sure you seek the advice of a professional.

www.cognacproperty.com