We would like to hear of peoples opinions of living in Normandy

[Moley]

Hi all  

We have been to France a couple of times, and like others enjoy the laid back lifestyle. We realise that a holiday is different to actually living in a foreign country, but we really do like Normandy (Liseaux area for example), and have thought of moving there at sometime.

When/if we do this we will be in our 50's. (5 years on from now). Our only thought of income would be B&B or gites, as our current skills may not be of any use. I work within the I.T./telecommunications market and my partner who is an ex nurse now works in admin.

What is the winter like in Normandy? Is it similar to southern England for instance?

Your comments would be appreciated.

Dave

 

 

 

 

 

[Tresco]

Hi Dave.

The winter in Normandy is pretty much the same as southern England. I used to have a holiday home in Pas de Calais, and after one winter visit, it was a no-no.

If you're serious about the 5 year thing, why only consider Gites or BBs to make a living?

If you have to earn a full time living, it seems a very precarious option, even if you were contemplating the south of France.

Having followed the stories of people running Gites and BBs on this forum, I wouldn't consider either option as being part of 'the laid back lifestyle' you have enjoyed on your visits.

Holidays are generally laid back, by their nature. Earning a living in any country isn't.

I admit I was a coward and would never have dreamed of coming here (at your age) unless I could do it without working.

You have stacks of time to get a thorough grounding in French in the meantime, and more options would be open to you if you did. I'm assuming your French isn't good...please forgive me if my assumption is incorrect.

 

[Moley]

Hi Tresco

Thanks for the feedback. Your comments are useful. Our command on the language is just above school standard, so not currently of any use, but trying to learn like everyone else.

In your opinion if our language was greatly improved, what do you see our options being? In my I.T. role I fit into the "sales bracket" so can converse well, but currently only in English.

Cheers

Dave

[Tresco]

Hi again.

I really don't know, but I suspect that running/maintaining gites, (and you would need several for a full time living at your age) you would need better than average French.

Perhaps your partner could maintain (or regain) registration as a nurse, and work in that field. Maybe not as a nurse, though I know it's possible if you are fluent, but somewhere where her nursing skills will be important. The thing is, that in the 'caring ' professions, good communication is essential here, just as it is in England.

'IT' says many things to me. Perhaps you could work 'remotely' for a British company. You can use the (quite rubbish) search function, but the issue of working for a Brit based company while living here has been discussed several times.

I've been here three years, and trust me, you don't just 'pick up' French. It's very frustrating and expensive once you get here, to learn French. There isn't quite the same culture of learning once past adulthood, it comes at a price.

You my be disatisfied in some way with your present life (though you haven't said so) but you may be facing living on a minimum wage (or less), if you don't really think this out.

That's the main thing. If you haven't got a shed load of equity, and know for a fact that you can live happily on a low income (whether through interest on savings, or low income earnings), then I would think again.

Keep learning French, but don't run headlong into anything. Keep reading the forum here, and searching the archives.[:)]

 

[Hereford]

We used to live in Eastbourne and now live in Southern Manche and we love it here but have to confess that the winter weather has been a disappointment.  We describe the weather generally as being klike that of Cornwall but not so dry! Also we do not get as much sun as we did in Eastbourne (sunshine capital of the south) but that is partly becasue we are inland and 190 metres above sea level.  Most years we have snow, sometimes quite a lot. In Eastbourne snow was a rarity.

If you seriously want better weather then you need to go a lot further south than Normandy.

I have not commented on working or earning as we came when we retired.  We do have an English neighbour whose partner has found work but at the minimum wage and finds it very tedious.

H.

[Llwyncelyn]

My only advice and this is both from experience and the heart is the three little words location............

Last winter and this winter has been really bad and everyone is going around muttering and saying how long the winter has been and yes flowers are in the garden but today on this second highest peak in Normandie the weather is abysmal.  Last year we were stuck with snow for five days this year for three.

Our fault for not obeying the law of purchase in the first place.  But we are moving and much further south than the Loire and I will never again live on a hill and thats coming from a Welsh lad.  The same Welsh lad who thinks that on Saturday night in Paris the Welsh have the highest hill mountain peak or whatever to climb and I do not think they will make it.

[Ac50]

Personally, we love living in Normandy and are so happy we have a house there. I think one thing to remember though is that Normandy covers a large area.  Where we are, close to Carentan and the sea, the weather is milder than further south, where there are more hills and higher altitude.  In winter,  our daughter who was at  university in Caen,  would leave  here in clear weather, only to phone us from Caen to say there was thick snow.   Housing, attitudes etc also change as you go from different departments.  We know a few people who make their living here looking after gites, gardening etc. and I know life is not easy for them.  I also think since P&O stopped the ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, Flybe aren't using Cherbourg airport this summer by the look of things, Brittany Ferries prices keep going up etc. tourism is not as active here as it was when we first arrived in 2001. 

 

[cooperlola]

Normandy is about 15 kilometres from here so my experience is slightly off location!  We love it here but, as said above, it's important to do a lot of homework re finances.  On 2 company pensions with no mortgage we live very comfortably but I wouldn't like to do it if finances were a struggle.  As it is, we can pop back to the UK to see friends and family, go into town whenever we like, keep animals, and indulge in our hobbies.  If we were struggling to make ends meet, I think things would be very different.

The winter seems somewhat shorter but I'd be hard put to suggest that it was warmer.  If I were worrying about turning up the central heating when I was cold, or putting a couple more logs on the fire - because I was concerned about the cost - I would be miserable on some days.  We were able to insulate our house properly and double glaze it so it's always cosy and warm.  I think the older we get, the more important such comfort becomes so it's worth considering.  A huge rambling house which may come within your price range could seem wonderful on a sunny day but avoid them if you cannot afford the upkeep.  It's no surprise that more and more French people want to buy modern little houses when you go to some of the older ones in the winer.  Brrr....  We saw our house for the first time when there was snow on the ground in February and it was so warm!  It has not dissapointed.

If you need a real social life, avoid living in the middle of nowhere - peace is all very well but isolation is not, especially if you are not used to it.  It doesn't bother me but it's a real issue for some.

Consider a long-term rental first.  Then if you aren't satisfied with the location then you can still try somewhere else, or even go back, as some certainly have.  This life is not for everybody.

Learn French.  Not just phrasebook stuff but good conversational French.  I have spoken the language for years but my O/H is still struggling even though he did it to A level years ago.  If there's anything technical/financial/healthwise to do, he still does not feel confident to cope on his own. If you have to deal with builders/customers and even your local tax office, doctor etc, you'll get on much better if you can talk to them properly and understand what they are saying to you - that's the rub!

It sounds daunting but if you stick at it it can have its rewards.  But it ain't utopia here, it's a country like any other with its positive and negative sides.  Bon courage.

[Furry Knickers]

Dear Dave,

I have a little wooden house in that part of Normandie, and I think it is just wonderful! Beautiful countryside, beautiful people and those gorgeous cows! We are only half an hour from me favourite place in the whole wild world (Honfleur) and the fabulous Deauville is the same distance. In Lisieux you have the annual tree fare and they have the Donkey Fare and annual Tart Parade close by,  and it is very handy for the ferries too if your loved ones ever want to go and visit you.

It is cold and wet in the winter, but so is the Dordogne and Charente! Mrs Gupta has a house in Monpazier in the Dordogne, and she had  her pool froze up on several occasions, and burst pipes too! If you want milder winters, then get down to the med!

Too many British people have this idea of running gites and B and B's, why do they all go down that route when the place is saturated with the things? You need to broaden your ideas on what people want out there! Mrs Gupta now lives there and makes a good living selling her artificial false cats and her designer clothing for the more sophisticated French dwarf, in the local weekly markets. She has discovered a huge demand for hot Yorkhire puddens that she sells from her kitchen, and has 4 firm orders for her new range of Yorkshire Terriers! I think it would be great if she could combine both these Yorkshire favourites, and create Yorkshire Terrier Puddens!

I hope this is of some help from someone in your chosen area (you could even visit us for tea and brack and a look at me pug if you liked)

[kiss]

 

 

[Tresco]

[quote user="FurryKnickers"]I hope this is of some help from someone in your chosen area (you could even visit us for tea and brack and a look at me pug if you like[/quote]

You are honoured Moley/Dave. FK doesn't offer just any old 'blow in' a look at his Pug.[:D]

[Furry Knickers]

You're right there, Mrs Tresco!

A man's pug is a thing to treasure for as long as they are together in this old world (me mammy always said that to me)  You do know that you can look at it any time you want to, as you are me favourite blue rabbit in the whole wild world! Was I telling you about me new pet salmon? I got him last tuesday, and I called him Dave! (what a coincidence) but I called him Dave after that Salmon Dave lad, he was a singer in the 60's and had a big hit with 'I'm A Sole Man' That was a lovely song based on a true story about Dave's love affair with a flat yellow fish that he met while on holiday in County Mayo in 1963.

"a small man with a small pug, is bigger than a large man with a small pug"  (as they say in County Kildare)

[kiss]

[Cassis]

We haven't been here that long and we are inland and to the south, near Alençon, also at 200m (quite high for this region), so I don't know what it's like near the Normandy coast.  All I can say on the basis of 3 winters here is that overall they are about the same as we experienced living in Bromley (Kent).  The highs and lows seem more extreme - I have never seen freezing rain in Bromley like we did last year here, but neither have I sat outside in my shirtsleeves slurping wine after a good walk on a January Sunday afternoon in Bromley, as we have this year here.  I don't know if this is normal or if it is global boiling that is to blame. 

The locals say that these last two winters are not normal - last year's seemed to go on a long time, well into March - but other forum members said the same thing from many other parts of France last year. This year winter is still to arrive - but we had snow in March in 2005 so it could just be lurking in the wings.

Summers here we love - we get the odd downpour, and we get cloudy days, but in general the temperatures seem just a few degrees warmer than the SE of England and sunshine levels higher.  It rarely gets to hot to be able to sit outside comfortably (at least in the shade) and in the sun it is normally bearable unless you are working hard.

All that said, I would never have moved to anywhere in France for the climate.  I don't think it is perfect anywhere.