The big rush to move to France
Posted on March 23, 2021
During the month of March we have seen a large increase in the number of enquiries from families planning to relocate to France so we thought that we’d have a closer look at why the big rush to move to France.
“France has always been a major destination for British expats, in fact we estimate that more than 20,000 Brits emigrate to France every year, but in the past month we have seen a huge increase in the number bookings from clients moving from the UK to France” explained Matt Burden Director at ClickMoves who specialize in home removal services to France.
There are many reasons why France has always been popular with British expats, its sunnier, more relaxed, close to home, and of course the fantastic food and wine. Interest has been further bolstered by popular TV shows such as “A new life in the sun” and “Escape to the Chateau”, which have encouraged many intrepid expats to sell up in the UK , and buy property and start businesses in France. But most recently we’ve seen some other factors come into play.
ClickMoves believe that there are four new influencers driving the numbers emigrating, by removing the barriers previously preventing people from moving to France.
- The COVID pandemic has had a huge psychological impact on many of our lives, and particularly for some who have spent lockdown re-evaluating the course of their futures. Of those, some have come to the conclusion that living in France now presents a better option from the perspective that life is for living as opposed to living for working.
- Working patterns have also changed during the COVID pandemic with both employees and employers adapting to the working from home environment. With good WiFi, and a decent laptop, Zoom has allowed us to communicate visually and effectively irrespective of ones location. So the opportunity to live in France and continue earning a salary from a career in the UK, is a real possibility.
- The Stamp Duty Holiday has also played its part in making it easier for families to finally make their move to France. February 2021 saw a 50% increase in home sales, so many home owners have been released from the COVID holding pattern to finally complete on their French property purchases.
- BREXIT has also caused a major shift in the thinking as half of the UK voting population wanted to remain in the EU. ClickMoves doesn’t think that this factor on its own would cause an exodus of Brits relocating to France, but combined with the other dynamics BREXIT could be “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.
As we begin to exit what has been a very difficult year, it seems hard to imagine that life will be the same in the years to come and for many, a new life in France brings with it excitement, and a fresh start.
ClickMoves is an international moving company providing door to door removal services from the UK worldwide at affordable rates. So if you are planning a move to France or anywhere in the World, feel free to contact ClickMoves enquiries@clickmoves.com