01 October 2015

So You Want to Live in France

Soooo.  You have read about it, dreamt about it, and (oh, so tentatively) planned it...

You want to live in France!

What do you do? How do you go about it? Well, you talk to people. You get solid advice from those who know all the ins and outs. Moving to another country is *stressful* and full of unknowns; you want to talk about every little detail with people who know what you're going through, *and* can help you solve your problems and allay your fears.

Enter Renestance! Dennelle and her team are there to help! We met Dennelle yesterday (in person, finally :-) - she's sharp *and* very nice); she had helped us with a tricky insurance issue** with our rental apartment before we got to France. She contacted the landlady for clarification, when we couldn't (due to both time differences and the language of legal documents), and researched insurance companies and rules for us. This extra layer of information gave us some confidence and relieved a lot of anxiety about our reception here.

Please note: we have no incentive for touting Renestance, other than helping those who are interested in making their move to France easier. Having had the help of an immigration / how-to-live-here association in Costa Rica, we definitely know the value of this type of organization.

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** Liability for French vacation rentals are covered by your typical French renter's (or owner's) insurance. So, many French owners expect that you have this coverage, that extends to their apartment when you rent it. However, neither English nor USA rental insurance companies expect to cover your vacation rental in France. And, they simply won't offer this coverage. So, you can be in a catch-22; you can't get insurance on an apartment that requires insurance. That's the answer. But, this is France - people are practical (and used to catch-22 situations); you can't get the insurance, but you're here. Life goes on. (More later on whether our landlady will be willing to rent in future to people from either England or the USA)

Turns out - it's easier if you are actually moving to France; then the French insurance companies will write you a year's contract...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Ah, what a nice surprise to see this! It was great to meet you and Rick and hear about your adventures. I'm glad you found Renestance's participation helpful, even if we couldn't solve the catch-22 in the end. Our goal remains to help people realize their dream of moving/retiring to France, and I really appreciate the insights you've provided that assist us in that goal. Best regards, Dennelle