Happyeater

Another area to look at once we get ourselves sorted. Thank you, Emma. April 3rd and its been snowing today and is bitterly cold. I need some warmth!!

Thank you all so much for the helpful advice. The Vendee is somewhere where I think my wife and I would love and therefore we'll explore it as soon as is practable. There seems to be a variety of types of living accommodation which is great with a price to suit. Just hope the fishing is good too??? [:D] 

My wife is far better than me at fishing too. Drives me mad, not fair either. Something about pheromones or something. I knew it would be something that had a 'moan' in it anyway. I don't mean it if you're reading this, dear.....honest. Hope you get moved one day soon, Bunny. Also hope hubbies frostbite isnt too serious.

Thank you Angela. My wife can't put your book down!!! Good advice, much appreciated. With us getting a little older now (42yrs old) we're really looking forward and thinking, "Where do we want to spend our time, when we have more to spend". The kids are 13, 12 and 8. Famly holidays will only happen for the next 4-5 years before the big ones don't really want to spend time with mum and dad. We'd like somewhere close 'ish' to be able to go and 'chill out' for a while. The Vendee seems ideal and is commutable by air. I love to fish but the fishable days in the NE are fairly few without thermal gear, we had half a dozen BBQ's last 'summer' and days where we sat in the garden could again be counted on one hand. The beach isn't too important, nice river or forest walks or even around lakes are great. Spending time in France would also bring challenges, like learning French! Again, thank you all for the advice on questions you've all probably been asked many times.  

Again, thanks for all of the advice. My wife is already studying the maps and looking up the suggestions. I suppose the only way is to get across and have a good look around. We will look to try and visit quite soon. Any recommendations on estate agents? We've found a few on line and the houses do look decent value for money.

Thank you for the reply. A year ago we bought a 2 bedroom apartment over looking the Black Sea in Bulgaria. That one is in an apartment block with 24 hr security, alarmed and connected to the Police. Even still, I worry a bit because its empty for 9 months a year, we bought it as an investment and will look to sell in a couple of years to buy somewhere else. The security in France too is an important issue as we'd have to leave a lot of stuff there. Perhaps a property with an attached, smaller Gite to rent full time would be an idea? Someone on site permanently may be ideal?  We ordered a book called 'The Vendee' off Amazon and it arrived a week or so ago. I haven't seen it yet as my wife won't let go of it. Just before this last week end I was sent to WH Smith to buy a large A-Z of France Atlas so my Mrs could see where everything in the book is!! One of these days, I'll get to see what's in it.

Hi everyone. This is my first post on here, I'm delighted I've found this site. Spent the past couple of hours trawling through the many various posts and its mind-blowing. Anyway, my wife and I fancy a second home in the Vendee (weather and access the main reasons). We live in NE England and the idea of long week ends and nice breaks really appeal. We plan to visit the Vendee soon to see what its about and look at areas which will be a good base and safe. This leads me to ask, where are the 'better' areas to look with security and access being as important as having nice local shops etc? I do worry about leaving a house empty and wonder if the place is likely to be still intact when we return. For information, we have three children (14, 12 and 8yrs) who would love to fish, horse ride, quad bike, walk in beautiful country etc. We have a dog too. Ideally we would either drive down or fly in to a local airfield (hope to have my PPL soon). Thank you for any help, advice is gratefully recieved.