Moving back to Europe

[tulak]

I made an offer on the condo and it was accepted! I got it for a very good price for the area but it is a project... It looks a bit scary at the moment. And I took delivery of my car. I am so happy with it!

Congrats!

Hard to believe it’s already been a month. It’s great to hear that everything is coming together so well.

Personally, I think a project is a great way to go, especially if you got a good price. This way you can remodel it to your liking and make it feel more like home.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Here you have it... fully loaded A3 Sportback Quattro 2.0 TDI

Oooohhh, that’s a pretty car.

 

[Bestwifeever]

 

[W2R]

I made an offer on the condo and it was accepted! I got it for a very good price for the area but it is a project... It looks a bit scary at the moment. And I took delivery of my car. I am so happy with it!

Yes!!! What terrific news. I guess since you got the condo for such a good price, you could always hire a little help with the tougher repairs if necessary.

Bet you're glad now that you did all that decluttering, since you decided on a 550 sf condo. That's really all the room that most single people would need or want.

Very nice looking car, too.

 

[socca]

I live near the Swiss border.

I do hope you get a chance to head down to my old stomping grounds near Nice. I lived there 20 years ago, and it was fabulous: culture, climate, scenery, food, women - what more could you want?

Ironically, the worst time to visit the French Riviera (IMO) was exactly when European tourists poured into the area - July and August. It was hot and overcrowded. The other 10 months were delightful.

So ... in the 20 years since I last visited has Nice / Provence been overdeveloped, or are there still some relatively well-preserved areas? I could jump on a plane and have a look for myself, but you're a bit closer. At my advanced age I have no trouble letting others do the groundwork while I watch with interest from afar.

 

[aja8888]

Here you have it... fully loaded A3 Sportback Quattro 2.0 TDI

AUdi TDI !! Very nice! (and Quattro too!)

I've had about 1/2 dozen TDI's over the years. Those are a dying breed here in the U.S.

 

[Ronstar]

Car - check. Condo - check. Congrats FIREd!

 

[deserat]

How's the skiing? And great bounce back - sounds like things are going as well as possible for you. I'm sure your previously rusty French is back in fine form - now the English can get rusty ;-)

 

[Gumby]

Here you have it... fully loaded A3 Sportback Quattro 2.0 TDI

Bien joué!

 

[tmm99]

Wow! It sounds like a fun adventure, and it's exciting! Congrats on finding a condo so quickly. (And your car looks fabulous!)

 

[FIREd]

In our most recent visit to France, it was a longer stay than previous trips, and we stayed in Airbnb so had the chance to do a bit of grocery shopping, and we enjoyed it. Some food items were not expensive at all; of course everything looks cheap when you compare to what one pays in restaurants. I was impressed with what wine one could get for 5 to 10 euros. And we liked all kinds of pâté and terrine, and they were so inexpensive.

You have been away for almost 20 years, I think. Has much changed? I know you have been back to visit every year, but perhaps there are changes that only reveal themselves in everyday's life.

So far, no big surprises. But I left France during the early days of the internet era, when every single administrative task still required filling out tons of paper forms. Everything seems to be a lot more streamlined now. For example, I was able to get my car registered online and received my registration by mail within 2 business days. In the olden days, I would have had to queue for hours at he nearest "prefecture" to get my car registered.

 

[FIREd]

I’m a big fan of simplification & downsizing (we cut our living space in half during each of the last two moves so, we’re now living in 25% of the space from 8 yrs earlier). I don’t know what European residential decor is like these days (it’s been 25 yrs since I lived there) but, you would likely benefit from watching lots of episodes of “Tiny House Nation.” The space saving and multipurpose ideas they employ are brilliant! It’s available on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=tiny+house+nation+

A 550 sqft condo is considered quite spacious for a single person over here. Newer 1-bedroom condos are actually down to 400-450 sqft on average, and they are often occupied by a couple, sometimes with a small child.

My new condo features a full eat-in kitchen (with room for a table large enough to sit 6), a full bathroom, a living room, a bedroom, and a large walk-in closet. There is no real need to resort to clever space saving measures.

 

[FIREd]

Yes!!! What terrific news. I guess since you got the condo for such a good price, you could always hire a little help with the tougher repairs if necessary.

Bet you're glad now that you did all that decluttering, since you decided on a 550 sf condo. That's really all the room that most single people would need or want.

Very nice looking car, too.

I am glad that I ruthlessly decluttered. I feel like I have a clean slate and I am now free to redesign my life from top to bottom.

 

[FIREd]

AUdi TDI !! Very nice! (and Quattro too!)

I've had about 1/2 dozen TDI's over the years. Those are a dying breed here in the U.S.

The market share of diesel vehicles is eroding here too (the VW emission scandal did not help). But I think that 1 vehicle out of 2 sold in France is still diesel-powered.

 

[FIREd]

I do hope you get a chance to head down to my old stomping grounds near Nice. I lived there 20 years ago, and it was fabulous: culture, climate, scenery, food, women - what more could you want?

Ironically, the worst time to visit the French Riviera (IMO) was exactly when European tourists poured into the area - July and August. It was hot and overcrowded. The other 10 months were delightful.

So ... in the 20 years since I last visited has Nice / Provence been overdeveloped, or are there still some relatively well-preserved areas? I could jump on a plane and have a look for myself, but you're a bit closer. At my advanced age I have no trouble letting others do the groundwork while I watch with interest from afar.

I plan on going to the Riviera in late May, just before the hoard of European tourists descend on the place for the holidays. Generally, coastal areas have been overdeveloped, but there are still some well-preserved areas inland.

How's the skiing? And great bounce back - sounds like things are going as well as possible for you. I'm sure your previously rusty French is back in fine form - now the English can get rusty ;-)

I am waiting to have full health insurance coverage to get back on skis after 20 years! We've had loads and loads of snow at higher altitudes this year. But ski resorts at lower altitude (below 6000') are struggling.

 

[tulak]

A 550 sqft condo is considered quite spacious for a single person over here. Newer 1-bedroom condos are actually down to 400-450 sqft on average, and they are often occupied by a couple, sometimes with a small child.

My new condo features a full eat-in kitchen (with room for a table large enough to sit 6), a full bathroom, a living room, a bedroom, and a large walk-in closet. There is no real need to resort to clever space saving measures.

That's impressive. I looked at 500-600 sqft apartments and they all felt too small. Unfortunately, where I live a lot of these units are cookie cutter with not great floor plans, which might explain the difference. It could also be that the appliances, etc, tend to be bigger in the US, which end up requiring more space. Europeans are much better about utilizing smaller spaces.

I ended up renting a 720 sqft apartment, which is comfortable. I'd probably be hard pressed to go much smaller, but I realize that's a personal preference. I suspect at some point I'll buy something, at which point I'll look around 1000-1200 sqft. Yikes, that's double your space!

 

[haha]

My apartment (condo) was built in the 80s, and it is one of the larger 1 bedroom units in my building at 670 sqft. The units larger than mine often have 2 bedrooms, and are on 2 levels. If I could live as close to city center as I do now, and pay the same for a larger unit, I would. But given reality I feel fine about what I have. Houses in Seattle have sold off in price a bit lately ( I think), but well-designed units in central Seattle are holding up in price or still climbing. Some are occupied by couples as FIRED found in France, but so far when a child is born most move, likely somewhat farther out to find the space they think they want. A family who has one unit in the string of "townhomes" across our shared driveway have a son who looks to be about 5, and I think they might well be stayers. I do not know much about public schools in Seattle, and my guess is that school is a bigger issue for parents than space. I think that Seattle-city has a majority of housing occupied by renters.

I would like to stay put here until I move to a graveyard, but not everyone has this luck I know.

A small living space is certainly a motivator to keep down stuff build-up.

Ha

 

[FIREd]

The average condo/apartment is only 670 sqft in France. Such condo usually has 2 bedrooms and is normally occupied by 2-3 people. I grew up in a 1,150 sqft condo (2 adults, 2 kids, 3 bedrooms) and it was considered quite large by French standard. Condo sizes have been shrinking in recent years in response to increasing real estate prices and more people remaining single and childless. Those older 1000+ sqft condos are becoming harder to sell.

Furniture and appliances are indeed smaller in Europe (18" wide dishwashers and washing machines are quite common in condos).

 

[Scuba]

Glad to hear your new life is coming together so well! Congratulations!!

 

[FIREd]

Update:

On Friday, I signed a letter of intent to purchase my new condo, a full 2 weeks after the offer I made on it was accepted by the seller. The signature had to happen at a notary's office (in France, notaries are officials performing a role equivalent to real estate and estate planning lawyers in the US). It was quite a formal signing ceremony, with the seller and his real estate agent also present. Next, I have to wait. The town were I am purchasing the condo has two months to exercise its preemption right. The town indeed has a right of first refusal if it needs to acquire more housing for low income residents. It happens rarely I am told, especially because I am buying in a pretty upscale area. Generally, the town gives its answer within a month and the notary think that we could be closing during the second half of March. Meanwhile, the notary will do some research (on the seller and the property) to make sure that the title is clean. Closing costs amount to 8.6% of the transaction amount (I have to pay those costs) and the realtor fees amount to 5% of the transaction amount (the seller has to pay those fees). The annual property tax on my new condo will be pretty low (about 0.4% of the purchase price).

I am starting to shop around for a new kitchen and new flooring.

 

[MichaelB]

That’s quite a purchase process. Good luck finalizing it and also with the kitchen.

 

[Vacation4us]

That’s a low property tax rate compared to the US. Congratulations on your purchase. Hope all goes well for you in your new home.

 

[Alan]

Congratulations on your new place, I hope it all goes through as planned.

The "property" tax on our place here, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 stories detached house works out to ~0.7% which is also a whole lot lower than where we lived in Texas. Here the houses are put into "bands" depending on various criteria including size and location, and classified A through H and then the local council tax is a fixed sum regardless of the actual value of the house. Our house is band E.

 

[REWahoo]

...which is also a whole lot lower than where we lived in Texas.

Go ahead, rub it in! Might as well pour on some salt while you're at it.

 

[Jerry1]

Furniture and appliances are indeed smaller in Europe (18" wide dishwashers and washing machines are quite common in condos).

First, congratulations on your progress. I can’t imagine doing something like you’re doing, but it sounds very exciting - a fresh start to be sure.

Bolded above - an 18” dishwasher. In remodeling our kitchen, we were trying to get every inch of cabinet space we could. The installer recommended an 18” dishwasher. We hate it. Why we gave up a standard dishwasher for 6 inches of cabinet space I’ll never understand. Seemed like a good idea at the time. At least we did get a Bosch and are very happy with its performance. But, thanks to you I now know that we were being very European. That sounds a lot better, than being stupid. Thanks!