Hi,
my family and I will be moving from UK to France (outskirts of Paris) for 2 years in August. There were a few issues that we would appreciate any clarity on (and others will doubtless crop up!):
- Utilities: I hear that in France it is quite common for the gas to actually be turned off at the mains when one tenant leaves and before another arrives. Is there any way of ensuring that this doesn't happen so that we have gas and electricity on arrival?
- Banking: Can anyone recommend a good bank that we can set up our local account with on arrival? I shall still be paid in UK pounds into my UK account, but want to know the best way (and the best rate!) to be able to simply transfer some of this into Euro at minimal loss into a French account. For the record, I know that there will be a BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale near us.
- Internet: What is the best way of setting up Internet for our new (rental) property? Is this something that we can expedite in advance as much as possible? Ideally we won't have to wait 3 weeks without it on arrival.
- Mobile phones: Ideally we would keep our UK iPhones and numbers (for use on return). What is the best way of finding out good PAYG or package deals in France? Can these be both with and without a new phone? Any recommendations?
- Cheap calls to UK: My wife is likely to be working from home and will need to make regular calls back to the UK. I recall years back, in the days when landlines were more plentiful, that in the UK one could simply plug in a code before entering the actual number, which could make calls to eg France or US only 1p a minute or similar. Does something similar still exist in France? Skyping is fine for family but will be a bit tricky with professional clients.
- Amazon Prime: We currently have Amazon Prime in the UK. Is there any way of 'transferring' this service to France?
Many thanks!
my family and I will be moving from UK to France (outskirts of Paris) for 2 years in August. There were a few issues that we would appreciate any clarity on (and others will doubtless crop up!):
- Utilities: I hear that in France it is quite common for the gas to actually be turned off at the mains when one tenant leaves and before another arrives. Is there any way of ensuring that this doesn't happen so that we have gas and electricity on arrival?
- Banking: Can anyone recommend a good bank that we can set up our local account with on arrival? I shall still be paid in UK pounds into my UK account, but want to know the best way (and the best rate!) to be able to simply transfer some of this into Euro at minimal loss into a French account. For the record, I know that there will be a BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale near us.
- Internet: What is the best way of setting up Internet for our new (rental) property? Is this something that we can expedite in advance as much as possible? Ideally we won't have to wait 3 weeks without it on arrival.
- Mobile phones: Ideally we would keep our UK iPhones and numbers (for use on return). What is the best way of finding out good PAYG or package deals in France? Can these be both with and without a new phone? Any recommendations?
- Cheap calls to UK: My wife is likely to be working from home and will need to make regular calls back to the UK. I recall years back, in the days when landlines were more plentiful, that in the UK one could simply plug in a code before entering the actual number, which could make calls to eg France or US only 1p a minute or similar. Does something similar still exist in France? Skyping is fine for family but will be a bit tricky with professional clients.
- Amazon Prime: We currently have Amazon Prime in the UK. Is there any way of 'transferring' this service to France?
Many thanks!
