Foxy

Hi June, Lovely to hear from you. Unfortunately, since we sold our house in UK, our email situation has been all over the place. My old email address is registered with the forum, and as I am no longer with that provider (greenbee), therefore I can't send out answers to your replies on the forum. Perhaps I will ask Jill Cousin if she can give me your email address or phone number, so that we can get in touch directly. Bye for now, Best wishes, Foxy

Hi June, My wife, Valerie, and our Golden retriever are now staying in a lovely gite in Vesly. We are here for another month,  and wondered if you would like to meet up for a drink and a chat.  We have already been in to see Jill Cousin at Gimazane (What a lovely woman) and driven round some of the houses she got out for us. Let me know if you would like to meet (No pressure ) Best wishes, Foxy  

Hi June, Sorry I haven't answered your message before, but I have been off-line for about 3 weeks. Very nice to hear that you love living near La Haye du Puits and that the local French and English are  friendly and welcoming.   We have now sold our house  in Essex, and completion is fixed for 24th October.  We are going to rent again in Vesly (near La Haye) for a   short while and hope to meet people while we are in Normandy. I will definitely contact Jill Cousin during our stay. Changeing the subject!!  I recently heard that some old friends of ours, who moved to Nord Pas de Calais some years ago, were not allowed to put their house up for sale for the price they wanted, because the Mayor refused them permission.  They had spent quite a lot on the property over the years,and considered that they were asking a fair price. I have not heard anything like this before now.  Surely the Mayor doesn't have any control over property prices in his town or village ? Have you heard anything like this while you have been in France? Looking forward to hearing from you. Best wishes, Foxy  

Many thanks to TinaB, Framboise and Cathy for your replies. I havn't been able to thank you all up to now, as we have been over to Normandy again for a few days. Very helpful thoughts and advice. Much appreciated.  Our house is up for sale  and we are getting quite a bit of interest!!  Best wishes to you all. Foxy

I expect  this question has probably come up on the forum many times in the past, but I will ask it again anyway. My wife and I (fairly active mid-sixties retirees) have been thinking about relocating to France for quite a while, but would rent for , perhaps, six months, before committing to buy a house. We have finally narrowed down our favourite areas to Manche or Calvados, not too far from the coast, if possible. Last year we rented for a month near to La Haye du Puits, and very much liked the feel of that area. I speak enough French to get around but my wife would be a complete beginner. We are starting to learn from courses on the Internet, and would enrol for classes when we get to France. My real question is:- How difficult is it initially to involve yourself in a local community, without speaking fluent French? Obviously we would like to meet other ex-pats, but would really want to get to know as many local French people as possible. We realise that the social scene in small French towns or villages is not the same as England (No Pub), and when you drive through small towns etc, you hardly ever see any signs of life. Is there anybody there? We would really love to hear from others on the forum about their experiences in trying to integrate and making a go of living in France.