2005 has been a strange year in many ways. Prices have certainly stabilised a bit here in France after the UK-like price inflation in recent years that has followed the arrival of low cost airlines. Once again it has been a year of long dry spells, causing water shortage problems and hosepipe bans. It is certainly been a stop / start year, but one where I have reaffirmed which side of the English Channel I wish to live! So what of the future?

New Year - New Technology 1

Something that we have subscribed to and would recommend to our clients is a service called Skype. This is a simple programme to run on your PC (using a headset and microphone), enabling you to call anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world for free, whilst connected to the internet. There are some other useful things you can do on Skype that arent free (but theyre pretty cheap, actually). This service is ideal for talking to Estate Agents such as ourselves, enabling us to communicate between each other without watching costs, and of course your friends and family (whether here in France or in the UK). It really is a "win / win" deal for everyone concerned.

New Year New Rules

April 2006 was scheduled for the introduction of new Pension rules in the UK. Rules which planned to allow some pension funds to buy a home in France. This was potentially an opportunity to be explored, but as a massive anti-climax the Chancellor mentioned after a speech that SIPPs will be prohibited from obtaining tax advantages when investing in residential property. This therefore scuppers many people's plans to invest in this area. If things change we will alert you via this column. Many clients will be disappointed by this news.

New Year New Faces

The Allez-Français name has grown significantly since the business was launched in 2001. A lot of the clients are introduced to us by recommendation from existing clients, although we still advertise in specialist magazines. In order to spread our workload, we have a young energetic couple joining our small team, Hayley & Marcus Spain. They will also be living in our village and have the same high standards of customer service. Gradually during the year ahead they will deal with more clients as they settle in.

New Year New Routes

As mentioned above, travel to France has changed so much since we first arrived in this area. None of the current regional airports here were operating flights to the UK, now more an more open each season. The latest announcement concerns flights to Angouleme in the south of our area, but we already benefit from flights at La Rochelle, Poitiers and Limoges (roughly an hour), plus Bordeaux and Nantes (roughly 2 hours). See here for further details.

New Year New Resolution

Perhaps in 2006, if you dont already own a piece of France, you will make a firm resolution to do so. With the extra encouragement given by pensions, the new flight routes and the continuing demise of the quality of life in the UK, now is as good as time as any. France has something for everyone, speak to us about how we can help you fulfil that dream in 2006. If you have already made the move and have friends or family about to do the same, please introduce them to us. We will give them the best possible service and help them start a new life.

New Year - New Survey

If you are thinking about making the love to France, please take a few minutes to take part in a survey currently being undertaken. The research is being done by Marie-Martine GERVAIS-AGUER at Université Montesquieu Bordeaux. If you have ever thought about living in France, this survey can help to provide a better service to British people. All you need to do is click on: http://beagle.u-bordeaux4.fr/ifrede/britsurvey

New Year - New Technology 2

One of the frustrating things about living in rural France is the lack of broadband availability, especially in our line of work! Until now that is... but Allez-Français is happy to recommend new technology using satellite systems to overcome this problem, no matter where you live. You could wait for broadband to arrive chez vous, but you may could waiting quite a few years. Due to an old copper based system, the coverage is very limited & many countries have been slow to upgrade their systems. Did you know that it costs telecoms companies over $100,000 a mile to run fibre optic cabling? If you do not have access today, it may take at least a few years for it to come to your area. Why not take advantage of our service today without the long wait that you also endure from your dial up connection? Contact us for further details.

And Finally ...

Thank you for your interest in our business. We hope that as 2005 gradually closes that you enjoy good health and happiness where ever you are. Life is too short to waste. Bonne chance et Joyeux Noël!

Bridget and Peter Elias