In large cities like Nice can I find my favorite publications like Futures Mag, Active Trader, Worth, Smart Money Mag, The Economist, (Playboy) without a 80%-120% premium like I have seen in Brussels? Here I can just go to Borders and I feel like in the US(they discontinued Futures Mag though. ) Also can you get CNBC and/or Bloomberg (UK)? I still try to catch part of Squawk Box at noon and Business Center at night. I would find it hard to live without those.
So how do I get Bloomberg TV in the Nice area? My new style of trading only requires monitoring the futures on BloombergTV out of my bed here are some pics from Cap d'Antibes, dream on: http://www.lecapdantibes.com/image_gallery.asp?id=1&i_lang=2 I should not miss Santa Barbara, CA too much
If you dont use cable at all, three sats operators offer Bloomberg. Canal Satellite offers the information networks, including bloomberg, for 25Euros/mth all included. OHLC
I can get Bloomberg (UK, not too interested in the French version alas) with the cable then? Canal Satellite is Canal + delivered via sat I guess? What are the different cable tv and internet providers? I'd much rather have a cable internet connection bundled with the cable TV, I will be renting an appartment and I don't see myself buying and installing a sat dish.
Don't know about cable - never heard of it where I am (Valbonne, 5km from Antibes, 7km from Cannes) - you'll need ADSL but make sure you are in an area where it is available. I use Wanadoo (FT ISP) not the cheapest but very reliable. For Bloomberg and CNBC get Sky Digital (also gives you all the UK terrestial channels and all the footy). Many apartment blocks have comunal dish or just fire one up on the balcony yourself - I know loads of people doing this. One point - the electricity supply is NOT reliable - far more power cuts than UK and be extra careful when there are storms around - I've lost 3 satellite decoders, 2 modems and a video recorder. Also had the fuse-box fried! Surge protectors are not always good enough and a UPS is essential. Tax? Can't help you on that one - I have a 'real' job which pays the social charges - I've only been trading a year and just breaking even so I'm not too worried about tax just yet. It's true that wives and kids greatly reduce your tax bill - check the previous links. There are some 'straight' advisors here who will help you but plenty of gangsters too. Re publications - Playboy no problem, the rest could be tough although you should be able to order them through your local newsagent. Concerning 500E's a month rent on the coast? Careful - for that money it will be small (1 bed or T2 as they call them here) and in the back of the town - 700 is more realistic for a nice 1 bed place. Better deals inland a few K's. Also remember you must give 2 months rent as deposit and you have to pay the agency fees (usually about 80% of 1 months rent). Also most places are unfurnished. Here's a link to the local free-ads paper for the Riviera which gives you a rough idea: http://www.le06.fr PM me if you need more info. Hope this helps.
Thanks 998, very interesting post. Well I did some research on my own. I got some very good info from this book: Living and working in France . http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...03395/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/026-4873663-5348417 I browsed it at the bookstore so here is what I can remember (hopefully correctly). My conclusion: Laisse tomber... I think for now I'll just go to France to take vacations because the redtape and taxes seem even worse than what I thought. For starters as soon as you get there you have to register with a bunch of government agencies, the tax authorities first of course!Then an avalanche of taxes hit you unless you can claim some of the multiple exemptions that exist. But for each you have to file forms and apply etc. Income tax is only a fraction of all the taxes. Yes it appears I would not have to pay much in income tax as OHLC assured me if I file under the BNC status (benefices non commerciaux or micro-entreprise). However the funding of SS is not much different than in some other european countries. A self employed (freelance)person (I guess the authorities will establish that a trader is self employed) like a sole trader in the UK or a sole proprietor in the US has to pay SS taxes regardless of his income and BEFORE even starting activities (I think a flat rate of several hundreds per quarter applies to the lowest bracket then it's a function of how much you earn) . However thanks to a new law you MAY not have to pay these taxes until your business generates an income(don't know how to claim the exemption and don't know if the taxes are just carried forward or waived) . For information the SS tax is about 60% of the total gross income of an employed person, 35% of gross earnings paid by the employer, I think, the rest by the employee. Self employed persons also have to pay the same share (or more) of their income to SS(URSAFF).The book had no information whatsoever about trading and very little about CGT on securities obviously. But that's not over... There are 3 kind of property taxes, you have to pay a residential tax (like Council tax in the UK) whether you rent or own, then you may be liable to some of the "taxe fonciere", AND if you work from home you have to pay the "taxe professionnelle" Get this: 9% of your income! again there are deductions and exemptions but it's pretty complicated. Ooo la la!
The French and tax ... - lets just say tax laws are there as a "guide". Of course there are other options - you could always maintain a UK address and pay tax in the UK while using your apartment in France as a well equipped "holiday home". With the EC you can enter and leave the country at will and as long as you pay tax somewhere they are not bothered (I know of several freelancers in various professions working like this). You will need some kind of health insurance if you do this although it is not usually too expensive. Concerning local taxes - Tax Fonciere is only applicable if you own your own home. Taxe d'Habitation is like the British Council tax and is very roughly about 80% of 1 month's rent. Creativity is the name of the game here...
"You will need some kind of health insurance if you do this although it is not usually too expensive." Probably not: if you are covered by the NHS in the UK you can get a E112 form and get the same coverage in France. alberto