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Missing France :-(


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It's a funny thing isn't it?.......

We have some friends with, what they refer to, as a 'second home' near Toulon. However, they generally only spend time there between April - September, the remainder of the year being spent in the UK.

I've never really understood this. I would have thought they would have wanted to spend time at their 'second home' no matter what the season. It just seems to me to be like one extended holiday during the summer for them.

That being the case, I wonder why they don't spend the majority of the Summer months in the UK and the rest of the time in France - thereby avoiding the busy tourist periods.

Just thought I'd put it out there........

Chiefluvvie

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Well, Chiefluvvie I think it all depends on the type of property one has. Many second homes are beautiful old stone houses however, unless they have good insulation and efficient heating then they may not be very cosy for Winter visits. If the house is in an isolated position then one can be there with very little local entertainment in the Winter. Living in a small town in the U.K. there is plenty of activity on offer.

Personally I like the Spring and September / October visits when it is pleasant weather, not too hot and not too busy. The house can be let during Summer holidays to pay the expenses. With better heating we may well visit more in the Winter but I find I have plenty to keep me occupied whichever country I'm in, it's the best of both worlds for me.[:)]

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We feel the same as Hoddy.  Although our house is in Normandy and therefore easily accessible, the cost of travel means that we prefer to make one long visit a year, rather than spend a fortune on fares. We therefore spend the summer there (mid-June to mid-September) which is when there is lots going on and we will be sure to see those friends who are second-homers like us as well as our local friends. As we have no central heating, winter there doesn't appeal at all, so we winterise when we leave and open up again in June.
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A lot of modern houses in the South of France are built as holiday homes for use in the spring/summer/autumn and are therefore designed to keep the inside cool. Correspondingly, they can be a nightmare to heat in winter and in the sub zero weather experienced recently can be virtually uninhabitable!
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Interesting replies - I guess it's the subtle difference between a 'second' home and a 'holiday' home then ?

It just makes me laugh when my friends refer to their place in Toulon as 'home' - when they are in residence of course. The fact is - they are simply - 'on holiday', the same one every time!

As for 'a lot of modern houses in the South of France' being built as holiday homes - utter rubbish! No idea where that one came from Sprogster!!?? Most 'modern houses' in France are built with top-notch, eco-friendly heating, cooling and insulation systems - even starter homes!

Sound like some people may simply have bought badly........

Chiefluvvie
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I can see we are heading for the Full time against the Part time discussion here[blink]

Your friends are talking about their holiday place as "home" because it is indeed their home albeit a second home! One can be very happy having two homes [:)]even if it does mean that you have to cut the grass and do the house maintenance in two different locations / countries. On the other hand if you are on holiday in a hotel or guest house then it is pure "holiday" without any of the daily chores.

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I really can't see what is worrying you Chiefluvvie.

We bought our very old house many years ago; thick walls, small windows and a perigordine roof. It was just habitable. The first thing we did was to get the mains supply connected as I didn't fancy the water from the stream.

Since then we've made improvements when we've felt like it.

We thought we knew what we were doing and to some extent we did although nothing prepared us for the friendly welcome we had. While we are there we feel very much 'at home'. Is there something wrong with that ?

Hoddy
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??? not sure what you're on about here......especially you JK ! Maybe you're replying to a different thread...?

I guess it's about the fact that I only call one place 'home'. Therefore I don't really understand how anyone can have more than one place they call home at one time.....? is that possible????

No big deal - just a perception issue ......

Chiefluvvie
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Unlike the UK ....Many parts of France that depend on tourists for a living choose to close down from the end of September to Easter. By close down ...I mean shops that remove all their goods and pull down the shutters .Restaurants that stack the chairs and do the same .  Places just die for the winter leaving open  a couple of supermarkets that are on reduced  hours  .  Like many with second homes in  "tourist " parts France I prefer to be there when the place is "open " for business .

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[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]??? not sure what you're on about here......especially you JK ! Maybe you're replying to a different thread...?

I guess it's about the fact that I only call one place 'home'. Therefore I don't really understand how anyone can have more than one place they call home.....? is that possible????

No big deal - just a perception issue ......

Chiefluvvie[/quote]

Well I have no difficulty calling two places "home" one is in England the other in France.[:)]

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Chiefluvvie, where I am on the coast is very different from the Luberon, as most houses are holiday homes and the towns like Ste Maxime and St Tropez pretty much closed for the winter.

As for insulation standards, a lot of houses here are designed with open cathedral ceilings to dissipate heat, but as a result are a nightmare to heat, because you do not have an insulated loft, just a few centimetres of insulation between the ceiling and roof tiles. Also French insulation building requirements are not as tough as the UK.
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Actually.... the Luberon is a huge holiday area and I certainly haven't noticed any discernible difference between houses here an those down on the coast - about 1hr away!

Ste Maxime & St Tropez closed for winter? So how on earth do the approx 20,000 permanent inhabitants of these 2 towns cope? I guess it's a bit like Skegness and Bognor is it?

Closed for winter....honestly......

Chiefluvvie

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Our home in France is our home. Our home in UK is our home. Both are well-loved and we are comfortable in both, and we spend just about equal lengths of time in both. We have closer links with our UK home as family live close by and we've lived there for longer, but we refer to both places as home. Neither is a holiday, apart from there's no garden to cope with in France!  [:D] We have cleaning, maintenance etc to do in both homes - which reminds me - when my back is a bit better, these windows are in dire need of cleaning; this low winter sun shows it up dreadfully!

I've also just remembered, while my husband had parents still living in Yorkshire, that was also referred to as 'home' by him and his brother - so they had 2 homes, even then, all those years ago!

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