Anyone know about Uzerche or Vigeois?

[MCMAHON]

Been advised about properties for sale in the above areas.  Does anyone know what these places are likel.  Thanks for help in advance.

[Suninfrance]

Uzerche has an old town on the hill and a river running through it. Quite nice. Don't really know about Vigeois.

But ..... we bought in the same general area (Arnac Pompadour) and love it. It's green, and rolling.

We bought our place through www.francehouses.com and they were very helpful all through the process.

We e-mailed them from England and told them when we were coming, and they arranged a whole day with us showing us houses. Very nice couple, Pieter and Wilma Van den Berg.

Pieter sorted out all our paperwork and came to the Notaire with us when we signed for the house. It all seemed so easy.

We moved here permanently on 1st July and are loving it.

Good luck with your searches.

Jan & Ray

[Thedunnes]

Uzerche is our local town. About 10 mins away.

I rate it very highly.  It was a pain in the neck for a long time as the N20 ran through it causing horrendous traffic problems until the A20 opened a couple of years ago.

If I was buying another property I would look vary carefully at Uzerche.  It is a very interesting place, full of history with a medieval centre, but it has not yet "happened". My neighbour pointed out ruefully that a few "pointless" shops were begining to appear to satisfy the embrionic tourist market, but they are few and far between. 

Very definitely worth a look.  An excellent site has been put together by a local.  Can't remember the address but there is a link on our site.

Stephen

www.forsac.co.uk

[The Vigeois Two<P><STRONG>J & F<STRONG><P><P> <P>]

Hey The Dunnes! We have a house and two small cottages here in Vigeois and its great! We love it! Beautiful 12th century church where we hope to get married, the famous Vieux Pont, the beautiful Lac de Poncharal, plus Tabac, bar, hotel, restaurant, pharmacy, boulangerie, pattiserie, Hairdresser, tourist office,Post Office, two doctors, Old folks' home, and the Cultural Centre! a whole range of events and festivities throughout the year - what more could you ask for!

Enjoy Life

 

The Vigeois two

ps check out www.vigeois.fr

 

[MCMAHON]

Hi Vigeios Two

I am still looking round for a property and would be interested to hear more about the area and how property prices are going there?  Did you buy through an agent or how did you discover your properties, where did you get any help?  Any help you can give would be appreciated.  Is it best to buy a place to do up or one ready to move into in your opinion?

[The Vigeois Two<P><STRONG>J & F<STRONG><P><P> <P>]

Hello Again!

 

I am writing from sunny Vigeois looking across the valley of the Vezere. My fiancée and I bought our house here a couple of years ago for a VERY good price. I found the house through an agent who has unfortunately now retired but still has her ear to the ground! We also recently bought two old workman's cottages just behind the church in what you might call the 'old part of town' and we are currently restoring them. There are many empty properties here but they are not always for sale as they are usually left empty due to someone's death. The family then canot always sell for tax reasons. You will also find many 'older' properties both in towns, villages and out in the country. This is due to another French phenomenon; French people tend to prefer new houses. This does lead to VERY LONG waits for builders and other tradesmen.

 I would recommend a visit to the area to have a look around. Vigeois and Uzerche are both accessible from the A20 at exit 45. It is very easy to get to from Limoges airport where you will also find car rental companies (Hertz, Europcar and Avis). When you leave the airport head towards Brive following the blue roadsigns ( blue indicates autoroute or motorway).

 Uzerche is a slightly different kettle of fish as it is a town that was once more important than it is now! It is built onto a hillside and some properties enjoy great views across the Vezere valley. There are houses for sale now on the main street into the town. These front on to the street but have beautiful views across the valley from the back. There is a VERY pretty mediaeval part of the town which is stunning. The mystery of Uzerche is why it is not more popular. Personally we love visiting it but have never found anywhere that we would want to buy.

 Here in Vigeois we have a nice garden, a great view and all the important amenities close by. As for buying a house it is the same as anywhere - right place right time! That's what happened for us.

 If you want to know more drop us a line on [email protected] or [email protected] and we can exchange numbers if you wish.

 best Wishes

 

The Vigeois Two

[MCMAHON]

Hi Vigeois Two

Thank for all the information about the area.  You seem to have settled into the French way of life very well.  Do you think it necessary to speak French as my French is very limited and wondered if this would be a problem when looking for properties.  Are there may English in the area around Vigeois.

Thanks once again for all the help.

Best wishes

Lizzie

[The Vigeois Two<P><STRONG>J & F<STRONG><P><P> <P>]

Dear Lizzie,

 We have both settled well into living here but perhaps the fact that we both speak French and work for a trans-European company certainly helped us settle in here. We have got involved in village life - but, once again, speaking French certainly helps although there are non-French speaking British people who live in the area.

 We have found that only having French radio and Tv certainly helps with the language and other cultural waypoints ie it is no use trying to discuss Eastenders or the British election with your local tabac owner although he will be very pleased that you are taking an interest in Brive rugby or the French referendum on the European Constitution or even the latest reality series on french TV. All films on French Tv have subtitles (in French) which we have found to be a great great help! But now, after a year or so, it has become second nature to think in French. Alot depends on how willing one is to change and adapt. I would certainly recommend the effort.

 There are a few British people in the Vigeois area - around 8 to 10 couples - and they are all very nice and welcoming.

 Obviously, each person needs to consider his or her reasons for moving to France. It is not the land of milk and honey, although there are some very positive sides. If you are going to be looking for work here then I would suggest you reconsider as it is very difficult to find. france has around 10% unemployment (UK has around 4%). Income taxes and social contributions are VERY high compared to the UK but public services are excellent - which proves the old adage "YOU GETS WHAT YOU PAYS FOR"!

 Property prices are still good here but, once again, it depends what you're looking for. How much do you want to spend? What type of property do you need? New or to be refurbished? When do you want or need to move? Let us know at [email protected] and we'll see what's around! We have no desire to act as agents or anything like that so don't worry!

 Take care

 

The Vigeois Two

[Ian Hoare<br>All the best<br>Ian<br>La Souvigne Corrèze<br>http:www.souvigne.com]

Hi Lizzie

I've not answered before as we live 40 km south of Uzerche.

BUT you asked

>Thank for all the information about the area. You seem to have settled into the French way of life very well. Do you think it necessary to speak French as my French is very limited and wondered if this would be a problem when looking for properties.

Short answer. YES, if you want to come to live here. You will be astonished at how well people can make themselves understood when they are trying to tell you houses, and how badly they speak english once you move! Seriously. You can - lots do - move here with inadequate French, but you'll miss out 90% of what it is to live here, if you don't make learning it your first priority. And your second should be practicing what you've learnt.

Most of the people I've seen who have found moving out here an expensive disaster didn't speak french and didn't make the effort to learn. ALL those who've made a success of integrating into the area have become more or less fluent according to their linguistic ability.

> Are there many English in the area around Vigeois.

Sorry, but that question makes me very uneasy for you. Although there are a number, most didn't move here to make a community of english speaking expats. So don't count on finding your friends amongst the other emigrés.

[Terry_Liz]

[quote]Hi Vigeois Two Thank for all the information about the area. You seem to have settled into the French way of life very well. Do you think it necessary to speak French as my French is very limited a...[/quote]

Hi Lizzie

We bought a house two years ago over looking the river in Vigeois.  We discovered the property on the internet so did not go through an agent.  Vigeois is very convenient in its location in that you can visit a variety of places and not have to travel very far.  The train station in Viegois is also very handy to get about should you not feel like driving.  You can get connections to Paris or Toulouse.   We have very good neighbours who are extremely friendly and helpful, they are French.  We have also been told that there a quite a number of English people owning properties locally but do not know many of them. 

Hope you manage to find a property and have as much enjoyment as we have in owning our house.

Best wishes

Terry and Liz