Hi we are thinking about moving over to France to live and my man's trade is carpets is there a call for English carpets fitted by a english carpet fitter in France? He would come to your home with samples for you to choose from, he will measure the area and provide and fit the carpet within 28 days or to suit? Is this a good plan?

Europe is less reliant on carpeting than the UK. Nobody I know in France (or Germany) has carpets.

One test of viability is this: Can you do this successfully in the UK, where you speak the language, understand the legal requirements of running a business, and have all the contacts? NO? Then why do you think that you'd be more successful in a country where you don't speak the language, or are familiar with the red tape around running a business?

No problem if there is some key extra factor that applies abroad, but you have to be realistic.

Sorry - this sounds a bit critical/brutal, but I find it frustrating myself just owning a holiday home abroad, and not speaking colloquial French. Even after a few years spent studying the language, I still can't really 'have a chat' with locals in the same way that I do her in the UK. I can handle specific transactions/situations - shopping, restaurants, attending an owner's meeting, standard documents, asking the Concierge to do something etc. But even translating the village newletter takes a couple of evenings, and casual or ad-hoc conversations are a real frustration. I don't think that I'd be able to adapt quickly enough to the demands of running business, even 'though I'm quite quick on the uptake. So this is what I meant by by comments.

quote:

Originally posted by msej449:
One test of viability is this: Can you do this successfully in the UK, where you speak the language, understand the legal requirements of running a business, and have all the contacts? NO? Then why do you think that you'd be more successful in a country where you don't speak the language, or are familiar with the red tape around running a business?

Very true. I went from employment in the UK to self-employment in a country where I did not speak the language.

I managed for several reasons - local connections, in a "business" profession (which helps in many ways), ongoing UK business.

The language is a pre-requisite (as I mentioned on the other thread). Investing in an intensive course will pay for itself, and save you years .