Mark

Can anyone offer advice on where I really should avoid, and where I really should consider (I'll understand if you don't want to reveal your own little idyll!).  As I've described in my Living France blog http://www.livingfrance.com/blogs/marksblog.asp (shameless plug, sorry), I'm looking at anywhere between Cauterets and south of Foix.  It would ideally need to be within 30 minutes drive of a ski resort.  I'm hoping that this factor should reduce the search to pockets of locations adding up to no more than 100 sq kms. Some local knowledge would be HUGELY valuable to me. Thanks, Mark

Isn't it just a matter of marching on the spot in a ridiculously over the top homage to Larry Grayson for the verses and then making the shapes of the letters with your arms and legs during the chorus?  Sounds easy, but I'm assuming you won't be doing this sober.  Could end up spelling SNCF.

What exactly is a white road?  The same concept as a green lane in England, ie avaiilable to the public whilst not actually being a public highway as such?

On a similar note, can anyone give a brief description of how one registers for a pitch at one's local market?  Is it simply via the Mairie?   Thanks.

Hi, I am moving to France in October, and have just bought a LHD Land Rover in readiness.  I've received the CoC to fill out from Land Rover France.  Would it be best to fill it out now or wait until after the move, or doesn't it matter?   Thanks, Mark.

I've heard talk on this forum before of a definitive guide to raising chickens.  There seem to be several options on Amazon, but could someone give me the title of the one that everyone seems to think is the best please?   Thanks.

Going back to the 'somewhere near Geneva' idea, what about Annecy?  Absolutely adorable and would fit the romantic bill.  I wouldn't want to put you off the out-of-season Sarlat idea though.  I was there last May/early June and it was surprisingly quiet, and consequently by far the best of my many visits. 

Hope you didn't suffer too much in the process of discovering about the water! 

Ha!  Yes, it is big but that means there's lots of places to choose from!  Seriously, we're in the process of narrowing our search down by looking on the Internet, considering favourite places from my own travelling experiences, and cheaper less fashionable departments which could now be opening up more to tourism by way of the budget airline effect (although maybe I'm too late with this idea).  We will then move across in December and make a concerted search in a chosen smaller area.  I have considered the Tarbes area, for instance, on the basis that gite income would be more likely to be earned in winter as well as summer, and that would be one, among several other, income streams.   Admittedly there's lots more research to be done in the next 8 months, which will no doubt fly by. 

Thanks.  I'll check the Western France thread.  We're hoping to stay in the Vendée whilst looking for a house in the South West (don't ask, but there is some logic behind it!) so at least the ferry costs won't be an issue.  Overnighting in Formule 1 motels whilst down south shouldn't break the bank. I was also wondering if I could expect prices to be cheaper when looking 'on the ground' (estate agent windows etc) than on Internet sites, or are they much the same?   

Apologies if this is in completely the wrong place but this is my first time here so be gentle with me!  I am looking to buy a house in France and wondered if, as in England, it is accepted practice to offer less than the asking price initially.  Thanks in advance... Looking forward to ploughing through the huge amount of invaluable information held within this forum, maybe discovering where I should have put this query, and asking loads more dumb questions as a result of not reading the FAQs properly!