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Chris_
412 posts
75 months
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Part-time in Charente Maritime (near St Jean d'Angely). Bought in 2005 but no immediate plans to make it permanent. It's a lovely area with decent weather and some great beaches near by I would also suggest doing a recce in the middle of winter as well. What looks like a quaint, bustling village in Summer can be a cold, miserable ghost town in January. I would also recommend renting to begin with. It can take years (and cost a small fortune) to sell a house in France and you don't want to be stuck somewhere if it does not leave up to your dreams. And finally, get signed up to French lessons asap. The better your language skills, the easier it will be, and the greater the chance of integrating and generally being accepted. Anglo info is a useful source of local information once you have narrowed your search Good luck!
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Janosh
572 posts
36 months
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Hi guys, I'm based in Chamonix  We're lucky enough to have amazing roads in every direction! 
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Caractacus
Original Poster
2,408 posts
94 months
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Hi Chris Thanks for the info and especially for the link. That site is full of excellent info  Cheers, C.
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Froggy porker
3,788 posts
110 months
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Another nice thing about living in France - Le Mans 24 hour race is even more accessible! I'm going to miss that annual treat....
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Craigyp79
291 posts
52 months
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Just outside Calais, so not really that far from Blighty, working in Dunkerque at the moment.
Not the best of prettiest part of France but love having Europe within easy reach.
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Caractacus
Original Poster
2,408 posts
94 months
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I'll tell you what, guys. If we end up in France, there shall be a French PH Massive BBQ put on at some stage - entry by PH Smiley only
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magooagain
612 posts
39 months
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Charente PH here. I would be up for a meet / BBQ !!
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smifffymoto
1,058 posts
74 months
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Ariege soon to be Dordogne.
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Johno
7,141 posts
151 months
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Le Vesinet, west Paris . . . 78
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Sortie 10
523 posts
121 months
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Often to be found in the Haut Doubs, south of Pontarlier. Peaceful, fortunately largely undiscovered by the Brits (go on, admit it you've never heard of it!  ), great scenery, friendly locals & sensational driving. Will try and get there in the next month
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smegmore
1,695 posts
45 months
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I also live in the Vendée, started in La Roche Sur Yon and then moved to Aizenay early last year.
I like it here, conservative small French town and the locals are very hospitable if you speak French.
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JnP
310 posts
26 months
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Moving to Rennes in a bit (35) in île-Et-villaine Bienvenue en France !! And I'll happily try to come to the BBQ
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mikey77
329 posts
57 months
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Been here about half an hour north-west of Limoges on the Haute-Vienne/Charente border for ten years.
Lovely but where next?
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Chris_
412 posts
75 months
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mikey77 said: Been here about half an hour north-west of Limoges on the Haute-Vienne/Charente border for ten years.
Lovely but where next? Hi Mikey, you're not too far from me and we have been thinking "where next?" if we were to move on. The favourite at the moment is the other side of Toulouse. The areas of Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales seem to have it all; close to the coast, good transport links, hot in the Summer, easy access to skiing in the Winter. The prices seem to be about double those of the Charente though 
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Vintage Racer
11 posts
14 months
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7 years now in the North Dordogne (Saint Saud Lacoussiere - 24470) and love it. Time for a change though, so if you fancy a nice property with 12 acres, stables, woods and a lake, let me know? Next stop is Italy for a few years! Good luck with your search Cheers Glynn 
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Caractacus
Original Poster
2,408 posts
94 months
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Vintage Racer said: Good luck with your search
Cheers
Glynn Hi Glynn, If there were two additional gites I think you'd have a sale! Lovely property. Still looking at a property recce in Sept - can't wait! Cheers, C.
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sider
1,667 posts
90 months
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Forgive my noseyness all!
But..... what do you all do for a living in France?
My wife and I really love it out there - stay regularly in the very south near the Spanish border - great mountains and right on the med - and also stayed very north last year, near Etaples.
We're not big into cities.
I have a desk-based job and have thought about 'freelancing' myself to work from over there via Skype and internet/email. But i can't help but think that if work dried up, what would i do? Is there anything obvious or do i need to start reading wine making books?!
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Perik Omo
82 posts
17 months
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Me, I retired early although I was working (freelance) for year whilst here for a large American group so could work anywhere as long as I was contactable and attended daily 'phone conference. Bored!! Don't make me laugh, I've just finished two solid days repairing stonework on the top corner of a barn that had collapsed due to poor (read none) maintenance by the previous French farmer owner, the barn is very old and appears on an 18th century map of the hamlet. I've got enough outside projects around the property to keep me busy for the next two years. Not to mention inside decoration that's going to be required in the next year or so as it's been 4 years since we last did the walls and they're getting a bit grubby.
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black11s
209 posts
109 months
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I'm typing this from Bordeaux.
I would move here in a flash if I could only persuade my ex-wife (I have a 10 yr old son equally desperate to move here).
The irony is that she's French!
If you're considering moving here full time, you really ought to check this region out too. Its a decent size city, so has all you could ever want (I'm a Londoner so need my fix of shops, bars and restaurants), but its 45 mins to the coast, 2 hours to the slopes in winter, and you can easily pop over to Spain when Les Grenouilles start to grate.
I lived here 15 years ago as a student and the beauty of the place doesn't wear off. Every day it takes my breath away.
Spending a week here with a TVR has been quite an experience too. People stop in the street where its parked and take photos!
Anyway, must get off to enjoy an appero in the sunshine.
A bientot.
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Dick le Dog
14 posts
10 months
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This advice from Chris should be read and re-read :
'I would also suggest doing a recce in the middle of winter as well. What looks like a quaint, bustling village in Summer can be a cold, miserable ghost town in January. I would also recommend renting to begin with. It can take years (and cost a small fortune) to sell a house in France and you don't want to be stuck somewhere if it does not leave up to your dreams.'
I moved here in '93, and thankfully I did a bit of homework first. Eventually I worked in the property business for a while and agree with renting first. Where property is cheap, it is for one reason or another. This may seem obvious, but I have met folk who would not accept advice and lived to regret it.
I finished my first house, sold it and bought this little fermette (€32000 at the time) twenty-five minutes from the sea, and twenty from Saintes. Back in '93 France seemed a bit empty compared with UK, but I soon discovered several specialist engineers etc. then in '94 I discovered Nogaro. I'd already found Le Vigeant, and now a new circuit has opened in the south of the departement, circuit de Haut Saintonge so along with Pau Arnos we're well catered for here .
First post here, sorry for rambling on but be aware that it is a biggish country which changes a lot as you move from one area to another.Don't get carried away with vast properties in hectares of land which seem cheap because unless you are young it won't leave you time for seeing the rest of France .....or Italy, Spain etc.
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