Coco

Idon't think Catalpa has a crystal ball, I think you have to follow her links, ask the Maire of your potential new commune and do your own research.

So what's strang about that Gay?  Having lived here for nearly 3 years now that sounds PERFECTLY NORMAL to me!

But if you had stayed where you were and got a less well paid job locally you may have cut an awful lot of that out and had more time etc. Neither of us did the journey for the hell of it.  If I'd taken a local job I'd have taken a drop of about £12,000 per year (absolutely NO exaggeration!!! ) and my husband a drop of about £5,000 and then we'd have been even more hard up than we are here because we couldn't have paid the mortgage!!  I'm afraid that's why I never have any sympathy for teachers who work in central London and say they can't afford houses there - most people CAN'T, that's usually why people commute!.  At least here we own our house outright and that's another pressure we no longer have. No, as I said before, my reasons for coming were never financial, I always knew we would be "poor" in France.  We may be poor but we's 'appy   It would be an absolute disaster to both of us if for any reason we had to return to the UK.

Back to the original question.  I think it's a mixture of several of the statements made so far.  It definitely depends, as SB said, on WHICH bit of the UK's grass you are comparing with which piece of French turf.  Coming from the overcrowded south east with a daily commute down the M1 into central London, to a rural part of Normandy I would definitely say that the French grass is greener.  HOWEVER, I do not have to go out to work for someone else full-time.  That does not mean we don't have money worries.  We run a B&B and what will probably be our last guests until next Spring, are due this weekend (that's if they don't cancel due to the riots; they've already phoned once to check if it will be safe to drive through France)  That means we have to struggle through on an extremely frugal budget and watch every penny. The work is more physical and in the summer we certainly work longer hours than we did in the UK.  But the work is also much more satisfying and 4 hours of our day isn't spent sitting in traffic jams inhaling car fumes.  I used to use an inhaler for my asthma twice a day in the UK.  In nearly three years here in France I have used it TWICE (and that's when I had the only cold I have had in that time).  So two more BIG pluses there; apparently no more asthma and one cold in nearly three years as opposed to 4 or 5 each winter!!!  We still haven't taken our form to register with a doctor into the surgery because we've never needed to go, unlike the UK when I was visiting for one reason or another at least once a month (that's about 33 fewer visits already! ) State of mind does have a lot to do with it.  What are you expecting from France?  It's not Utopia but if you have realistic expectations then you can have a wonderful life here. Yes, money is important.  There's very little you can do without it.  But I think far too many people are moving to France because of the UK property boom and thinking they will have a much cheaper life here.  My husband and I first fell in love with France on a holiday 25 years ago, when France was certainly more expensive than the UK, so a CHEAPER lifestyle was never one of our priorities.  We just wanted to be able to afford to live in France. What would make my life in France better?  If I had just a little more of that vital necessity - yes, money!  Then during the winter months we would be able to spend more time travelling around the country and visiting friends who live too far away (within France) for us to be able to afford to visit them regularly.  But that day will come! What do we miss from the UK?  Well, less and less actually.  My husband misses a decent pint of Abbot Ale and we both desparately miss a decent Indian meal and going to the pub on a Friday evening.  Although part of the joy of the pub visit was knowing that it heralded the beginning of two commuter-free days, so it may not have the same impact now anyway.  I do have to say that we are going to the UK for a five day visit at the end of this month and I really am very excited,  about as excited as I used to be about our French breaks when living in the UK.  The nice thing about it is, I know that at the end of five days I will be looking forward even more to getting back to France. Finally, gites.  Yes the market is fairly saturated but again, if you choose well and make a good job of it then they can be a success.  We have friends here in Normandy who currently have two 3 bed gites, which are already fully booked for next August, were booked for half term just gone, have Christmas and New Year bookings, as well as Spring half term and Easter bookings.  They are in the process of renovating a third property because they have to turn away so many people and these days most of their bookings are either repeat or word of mouth.  They are managing to bring up two children and run two cars on that income, as well as several trips to the UK each year.   I also know of someone else in exactly the same region who only had theirs booked for August this year. 

I keep thinking it's slowing down, then it doesn't.  We know of three Brit-owned properties round here that were on sale from January this year.  None had sold by the end of July and I expected that all three would have to drop their price.  However, all three have sold (at their full asking price) in the last 3 months (2 to local French buyers).   Some may think that's slowing down, and I suppose compared to the peak of around 2003/2004 it may be the case, when houses were selling almost as quickly as in the UK.  However, at the time we bought (1999) it was perfectly normal for a French house to be on the market for over a year (and at least 6 months) before selling.  So it seems to me that we have just reverted to the same state that things were before the little boom.  I certainly don't think that the market has "crashed" but I suppose, as some people think, if a lot of Brits decide to sell up and return to the UK, there are so many in this area now, that it could create a bit of a crash and people may have to wait a lot longer to sell their properties.

There's quite a big one on the Bayeux ringroad, near the Saint Lo turnoff.  I think the road that it's in is signposted to Saint Loup. It's like all of them, one time you'll go and it will be full of rubbish, another time you'll want to buy everything in there.

Have you tried http://www.findatradeinfrance.com or http://www.artisan-anglais.com both have listings of English speaking artisans.

I believe that this particular area of Normandy is far less populated with Brits than we are here in Manche and the further western areas.  We are ten minutes from the A84 and when we bought our house 6 years ago we were at the last junction of the motorway at that time.  Since the motorway has been completed property prices in this area have at least doubled, so if you're interested in the area, make sure you make your purchase either before, or as soon after the opening of the new motorway as possible.

Sorry, don't know why the link isn't working!

There's going to be a public debate on 24th October in Saint Lo.  Details of time and place can be found at http://www.debatpublic-THTcotentin-maine.org

Well when I started looking for a mason, carpenter and roofer in this part of Normandy back in February I was told December was the earliest start date.  I have finally managed to get a start date of October (well so I'm led to believe at this moment in time!)  Is your husband only marketing himself to Brits Helmarion?  If so, he's really limiting his market.  Has he tried Yellow Pages or the local newspapers?  Or leaving cards at immobiliers and notaires?

Not had her micro-chipped then Ray?

I have a supply of an excellent map, provided by our local tourist office, giving all the markets in Manche, both regular and summer.  List below of the area you're interested in: Barneville-Carteret - Saturday.  Summer market Thursday and Sunday Portbail - Tuesday La Haye du Puits Wednesday St Germain sur Ay - Thursday. Summer market Sunday Lessay - Tuesday Creances - Sunday Pirou - Sunday.  Summer market Wednesday and Friday Gouville - Friday.  Summer market Sunday Coutainville - Tuesday and Saturday Le Passous - Thursday Montmartin sur Mer - Wednesday Hauteville sur Mer - Sunday.  Summer market Tuesday to Saturday Coutances - Thursday Hope that's useful.

Edit: just noticed your in the NW, probably not so warm! Heat got to your brain Fantine?  This is the NORTH WEST forum!!!

Well it wasn't 32 degrees YESTERDAY Fantine, only about 25, but we had our share of it last week.  30-35 degrees all week - UNBEARABLE.  Glad we're in the NW

I've also been asked by the BBC to round up French people who'd be willing to be interviewed for Broadcasting House about their reactions to all these little boats, and Live 8 in general, so that should be fun. I haven't really heard anything more about this since the idea was originally mooted by Bob himself.  But WHO exactly are these "little boat" owners?  Do they have insurance to carry their European guests?  What about weather conditions for small craft, busy shipping lanes etc?  It all sounds terribly risky to me and I would worry about being involved in this (albeit for a very good cause) from the point of view of encouraging people to partake in a VERY, VERY risky event.  There are a lot of foreign naval vessels in the Channel at the moment, following the Trafalgar celebrations.  Won't these small vessels just create an unnecessary hazard?  Having been in the Merchant Navy for 4 years, frequently sailing up and down the Channel, I know how busy/dangerous it can be.  I don't know that this is something that should really be encouraged. Sorry to sound like a Killjoy, but no point in trying to save millions in Africa if you're going to risk the lives of 100s in the Channel, for what is, in effect, little more than a publicity stunt!

[quote]I think they've probably got him by the valseuses, which is sad, because I didn't think that was a money-making site. Shows how careful you have to be - how often do you find, when Googling a topic, t...[/quote] ....know what you mean Dick.  I've noticed on one of the B&B hosting sites that another B&B, not a million miles from me, has lifted my text more or less word for word and put it on their own site!!!   Sorry, totally off topic I know.

Hi Monika We're about 35 minutes SW of Bayeux.  Maybe we've been unlucky but whenever we've visited Suisse Normande in the summer it's been cloudy or drizzly or very damp.  Now autumn is a completely different matter.  Clear blue skies and beautiful, beautiful rust, gold and yellow trees!

Monika The work at Mont St Michel hasn't started yet.  I believe it's scheduled to be finished in 2009! And yes Joan, the suisse normande is very pretty, especially in the autumn when the tree colours are spectacular, but the only problem with the area is that if it is a bit cloudy it can be miserable there, even in summer, because very often you are right in the middle of the cloud, so it can be VERY damp.

Hi Joan As Catherine said, Ouistreham is the name of the port at Caen (about 45 minutes from us) and is served by Britanny Ferries, about 2 hours shorter crossing than the St Malo one, unless you're planning the fastcraft but then there is also a fastcraft into Ouistreham during the summer months. The countryside around here is really beautiful - in fact, without fail, everyone who steps out of their car at our house comments on the lovely scenery.  There are plenty of campsites in the surrounding area, which appear to be (never done it myself) pretty cheap and well served (not big clubhouses or pools, but usually in nice quiet, country settings).  The Normandy beaches are stunning, and apart from August, usually pretty deserted. Several nice towns with good markets within a half hour's drive, Villedieu des Poeles, Avranches, Coutances to name but a few.  Have a look on the map.

I suppose with the fastcraft going to Cherbourg from Portsmouth there's not a great deal of time gain by flying from Southampton to Cherbourg and of course you also then have to hire a car and can't load up with lovely French goodies to take home. Now other UK airports to Cherbourg, that's a different matter and considering that the cotentin, Manche in general and western Calvados are both at least an hour and a half to either Dinard or Beauvais, I would have thought that there could well be demand for flights into either Cherbourg, or better still (for us!) Carpiquet (Caen).

"Swings and roundabouts" are words that spring to mind Joan.  You could cross at Dover with http://www.speedferries.com for well under £100 but will then have between a 2 and 3 hour drive to get to Normandy.  Alternatively you can pay a lot more to sail into Le Havre or Ouistreham, from where you can spend your holiday literally minutes away from either port if you so wish.  Of course, I'd like to recommend my own B&B but advertising rules prohibit it, but if you're interested send me a private message and I'll give you our details!

That's interesting.  What about the apartments in Paris that offer B&B - there are quite a few and I have to say, they look lovely.

Hi Carol I have a French friend in the village who teaches French to English people and may be able to help you if you want to PM me.  

Ah well, if you already live here you should be in a good position to keep an eye on the notaires etc and get in quick!  If I hear of anything I'll PM you (we often do, via our guests!)