yvonne

Just to update and say we have found somewhere to rent in the Mayenne that will take us and the dogs. Just need to finalise the sale of our UK home now and we'll be off to La Belle France !

We will be retiring to the Pays De la Loire this year. Our UK home is under offer and the legal stuff is progressing well. We want to rent somewhere in that area or Normandy / Brittany from approximately the end of September for around 3-4 months to allow us time to search for our new home. We have seven Belgian Shepherd dogs so need a rural place with a paddock for them to exercise in . Our dogs are crate trained and we will be bringing these with us .They are never left unsupervised and we will ensure that they will do no damage to the property. You can find out more about us and the dogs here : www.simplesite.com/grondemon

Thanks for your replies - I guess I'll have to wait untill I can assess what soil type I'll be working with and be prepared to dig in lots of compost etc. I'm going to give it a go but substitute some plants with others . If it works I'll let you know !

Hi all - we will be moving to the South West ( either the Dordogne or Lot regions ) later this year. I love gardening and our one here in the UK is full of the classic English Country garden plants. Could I recreate this look in our new French home ? . How do Delphiniums, Foxgloves, Aquilegias etc do in the South West, I'm guessing that roses and Lilies would do well but what about things like Hosta 's ? Or should I forget about this and go for a mediterranean look ? If so can you suggest plants that do well in this region ? Thanks !

Hi all , with our UK house now being under offer it's time to think about the logistics of moving ourselves , our 'stuff' and our 7 dogs across to the South West of France. Has anyone used a Pet travel company that they would reccommend ?

Thanks Val, that's really useful information. Our plans are to rent initially for around 6 months to give us time to find the right place. We would need a very rural place with around 1 hectare of land, a decent sized outbuilding or garage and no near neighbours in any area of Aquitaine up to €250,000 to buy or € 800 per month to rent. The property does not need to be big but it does need to be in good condition.

Thank you Tina & Norman - that's good news

Thank you to everyone who has commented on my post. I guess we'll have to be prepared for colder weather than we had thought. We have incredibly recieved an offer on our UK house just one week after putting it on the market so things are progressing a bit faster than anticipated ! . We would like to go down the renting route but have a big problem. We are breeders of Belgian Shepherd Dogs here in the UK and have seven of them . We would need to find a rural property to rent with a barn or stables that could be used as kennels for the dogs - how feasible is this ?, and is there an agency that specialises in this type of property ?

Hi all , it's been a long time since we started to think about a permanent move to France , but finally our UK house is on the market and we will be moving to France as soon as it's sold. We are thinking about the area around Cahors but are open to other suggestions. We have visited in late Spring and in the Summer and loved it but can anyone tell me what the average Winter is like in this area ?.

We are planning to retire to France this year. My husband will be in receipt of the UK state pension by the time we move. Will he be entitled to the Carte Vitale and if so will that also cover me too ?

Thanks to you all for your thoughts ...we've just returned from the French Championnat held at Marseilles and folk there said this Spring has been horrible so I guess even in Provence the sun cannot be guaranteed ! ....but I still reckon we'll have more of an out door lifestyle than here. We are returning to France later this year to have another look around and will certainly be renting first if we decide to make the move ....hubby was happy to practise his 'franglais' at the show and during the breed club ' get together' afterwards ( the wine helped ! ) Avec mes amities Yvonne

Hi John Thanks for that .. renting first is a great idea but our problem is that we have 7 dogs and that might prove a bit of a problem when looking for somewhere to rent ! . We don't want anywhere too big but will need a bit of land to excercise the dogs on

Hi ...hubby and I have finally retired and the old dream of moving to France has resurfaced but before we burn any bridges I'd be grateful for any advice etc from those that have already done it ! . Firstly finances ....we will have roughly 250,000 euros with which to buy a home and about 2,400 per month to live on , is this realistic ? We will have a fairly healthy 'rainy day ' pot for any unforeseen emergencies but don't want to dip into this for normal living expenses. Secondly ...where ? ...I know the weather can be variable but we'd like warmer Summers and more of an outdoor lifestyle , we were thinking of the South West ( the Lot, Charente, Gers etc ) but are open to any suggestions. We don't want to live in an English enclave and like rural rather than urban We have done some research about health insurance top up payments , is there anything else we will need to be thinking about ? . I speak and write fluent french ( mum was French) but hubby does'nt though is happy to learn , we already have many friends in France via our hobby ( we breed and show Berger Belge dogs) and I have relatives in Provence, Normandy and the Limousin so would have a network to 'tap into ' once we make the move . I'd be grateful for your honest thoughts and suggestions Thanks

Thanks for the replies - my hubby is the one who is 60 and we have both paid our NI up to this year as employees - as for working of the two of us it would be me that stood the best chance of getting work but given the level of unemployment in France I guess it would be very difficult to find work and we are not counting on this as I do think we could manage on our pension with some back up savings 'just in case' - When we looked last year it was the sheer difficulty of finding health isurance for my husband that was the main stumbling block - I know  we could wait another 5 years or so and then be eligible for the French helath system but five years is a long time !! .   Can anyone help to solve our dilemma ?  ?   Yvonne

Hi   I'm not sure where to put this so excuse me if this is not the right place. My hubby and I have been considering a move to France for over 5 years now - my mum came from Provence and I spent many happy months there as a child with my French relatives - we seriously looked at making the move last year but hit  a problem as my husband had a heart attack 8 years ago and is on daily medication and  we were worried about the cost of private health insurance . Mu mum died last year and I miss speaking french to her and the whole french way of life so much that I'd like to give another go at moving there.   Here is our situation - we are 55 and 60 respectively - and are fit and active ( hubby has had no further problems at all ) - we have a yearly pension of £18,000 and on the sale of our UK property will have a cash pot of around £325,000 - we would be looking to settle around the area area near Cahors - I have relatives near there and it's not quite as hot as Provence ( or as expensive ! ) - I understand and speak fluent french although my hubby does not - we already have good friends in France as well as my relatives.   Of course my relatives and friends say " come " - but I'm still worried about the cost of health insurance and the general cost of living given that we have a restricted budget to live on - I'd be grateful for your thoughts on the feasibility of our dreams ?   many thanks   Yvonne