HI, When we purchased our home in Normandy we looked at what would be best for us, ie do you want to use it for weekends as well as holidays if so you dont want to be too far away from the ports as you will spend most of your time travelling. We have a house near Tessy sur vire, even though we are neary Cherbourg and Caen, we actually prefer going to Calais and driving down which takes about 4 hours once in calais. We are pleased with the area we are in reminds me of Devon and we are not too far from the coast. As regards to whom to buy from see my post regards Notaire info. We purchased our house thru an english estate agent but we are looking for another and this time we will do it ourselves as you seem to save money in the long run. You should be able to get what you want for the money you have but I would recommend getting an english solicitor to look into everything for your its worth the money once you have found your property. Regards Jeanie