Foreign Exchange for Individuals

Myself, my wife, and my daughter (David (57), Linda Jane (56) & Abbi (30)) have always been a very close family and so we pooled our resources, sold up in the UK (we all lived in Derby) and bought a large property (comprising a large 5 bedroom family house, together with a farmhouse (which is now in the final stages of renovation) - all set in 2.5 acres (10,000 sq. metres) of land in Pouillon in South West of France, close to Biarritz.

The decision to leave the UK was mainly determined by the lack in value of our pensions, a major shortfall on our endowments and the many hours traveling to and from work for all of us.

My wife was a teacher at a special needs school, I was Head of Technical Operations for Chelsea Digital Media (The internet and TV arm of Chelsea Football Club) and my daughter worked as a software specialist. I was away in London for 5 days a week, living out of a suitcase which also had a major bearing on our decision.

Our plan was, and still is, to offer holiday accommodation during the peak school holiday periods and for the rest of the year to offer various courses and breaks to supplement our income.

The major subjects for the breaks is to offer video and photographic holidays on a weekly basis to keen amateurs who want to further their hobby whilst having a relaxing holiday in the south of France. These courses have been endorsed by Lord Attenborough who I worked with on a number of video projects at Chelsea FC. We are also offering guitar courses as well as specialist spa breaks.

(Please see ‘breaks’ section on website for content details – www.photo-vacances.com)

We will in the near future also be offering Golf and fishing holidays.

As far as difficulties are concerned we have not had many. We have found the French people in this area to be extremely welcoming and happy to help us.

Although there was a lot of bureaucracy involved in the initial purchase, renovation, and permission for things such as pool building, extending drainage systems etc – the only real problems were forecasting realistic budgets (prices differ greatly from those in the UK ) – and getting to grips with the language.

The main advice we can give is to make sure the area is right for your requirements; you have enough money to see the project through and to have a basic grasp of the language before you start.

From our personal points of view it has been a decision well made.

CD: Why did you choose to use Currencies Direct?

The Utals: A recommendation from a friend

CD: Did you approach your bank about arranging the currency transfer?

The Utals: Yes but their rates weren’t as good.

CD: What would you recommend about Currencies Direct’s service?

The Utals: Everything – friendly, efficient and very helpful.