Dreamweaver<P>"Strangers are only friends you havent met yet

Hi Katt, We are also in 24! Where are you looking to buy? Just interested as we have kids and they always like to know when other english speakers will appear.

Hi there, we are new here too but for new years we have invited by our new french friends (who don't speak any english) to a very french new years party and it should be a blast as we have found them all fun, charming and friendly. We do live in the Dordogne but if you find nothing that takes your fancy down there, you are more than welcome to join us up here (and our french friends of course). We have lots of room too.

Thanks for that Alcazar. I have also sent you an email. So the summer season is started now?

We are currently looking at property (to buy) in this area from afar and would just like to chat with a "local" to see what the area is like, beaches, schools, tourism, living etc. Have already searched the web and looked at info but would rather ask someone at the "coal face".

Thank you all for your replies. Its nice to know that there are people out there! It really looks as though we will have to bite the bullet and make a prelim trip and have a good look around the areas that we are interested in - Aquitane, Languedoc, etc (South anyway). Any other suggestions gladly accepted.

Have been reading on the posts and it all seems a bit of a minfield for foreign buyers. We are coming to France to live and want somewhere nice, with good schooling, lively and a lovely area. We think the South is for us but have no real preference yet. Who will sell us a house and who can we trust to not get ripped off? As we are so far away its not so simple to just "nip across" so we are appealing to the knowledgeable masses in these forums. Anyone have a 4 bd + house for sale? Am I allowed to post that? Paul NZ    

Ok I am a newbie here! I have read thru all your posts on this subject and it has made us more confused than ever! Our situation is that we are in New Zealand and we are currently searching for a house to buy in France. This is getting incredibly confusing for us. We just want to find a nice house for our family where can live and enjoy life and school for the next couple of years. Our experiences are that many of the french agents that have been in communication with us "appear" to be  honest. We are experienced property buyers and sellers here in NZ and the ethics seem about the same. The hardest thing for us is that we cannot just "pop over for a visit" as many of you can. We have very good (English) friends in the Dordogne who have tried to help us but have come up against stiff opposition from some Agents. An english company who has "agents" all over France refuse to give us the address of a property we want to research - they replied that this was "illegal" in France due to Privacy laws. Well, when the wife heard this she went ballistic! Emailed them straight back and gave them the obvious. We just want to buy our house in France - Who can we trust? and where should we go - the South appeals to the wife. We want fun and action and to drink wine and socialise and don't wish to be stuck in a small hamlet. Any suggestions please! Paul NZ