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What's the best thing about living in the languedoc?


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[quote user="Quillan"]

It is winter.

On Friday the weather was fine when we sailed on Saturday it was gusting force 10 along the coast. The water was almost at road level in the marina, another few feet and boats could have floated on to the road.[/quote]

There were high winds with damage on the coast here in East Languedoc over the weekend.

I'm obviously a wimp. I wouldn't go out if force 10 was forecast ! Unfortunately weather changes, and I've been caught out a few times.

Beaufort Force 10 (Storm) :

Wind : 48-55 knots (88-102 kmh)

Wave height : 9m    

At sea : Very high waves. The sea surface is white and there is considerable tumbling. Visibility is reduced.

On land : Trees uprooted. Considerable structural damage.

Peter

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One thing I had never heard about, when we moved to Languedoc, was the famous "entrees maritimes".... which can bring rain when the rest of France is under brilliant sunshine. 300 days of sunshine per year, well, hmmmmmm.....not quite.

I also did not quite expect the winters to be so harsh, with sub-zero temperatures that killed many of my plants[:)] And I didn't expect that I would find the summers TOO HOT either!!![:'(]

As for the "best thing about Languedoc" for me, it has to be the light. Wonderful pink, bright and cheery light in the winter most days.

And also the diversity of scenery. The sea, the mountains, the rivers and the valleys - all fabulous for the naturalist (flora, fauna, geology).

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[quote user="Mpprh"][quote user="Quillan"]

It is winter.

On Friday the weather was fine when we sailed on Saturday it was gusting force 10 along the coast. The water was almost at road level in the marina, another few feet and boats could have floated on to the road.[/quote]

There were high winds with damage on the coast here in East Languedoc over the weekend.

I'm obviously a wimp. I wouldn't go out if force 10 was forecast ! Unfortunately weather changes, and I've been caught out a few times.

Beaufort Force 10 (Storm) :
Wind : 48-55 knots (88-102 kmh)
Wave height : 9m    
At sea : Very high waves. The sea surface is white and there is considerable tumbling. Visibility is reduced.
On land : Trees uprooted. Considerable structural damage.

Peter

[/quote]

Indeed and on Saturday the waves were going over the sea defences and going in to the gardens of the apartments. The marina is well protected, we were going to go back and check the mooring but a friend who stayed on his boat (mad fool) in the marina said it was OK if not a bit bumpy.

Only ever once been out in a force 10, that was quite enough for me thank you. One of those rare occasions where you kiss the pontoon when you get back. Never again. Even an 8 gets me going these days.

As to July, August and September, well in August it's to hot for me down there but then I'm working here so have only been down once or twice in that period. If its 30 in Quillan you can add another 5 to 8 degrees when you get down to the coast although if you get that gentle breeze it's not so bad so they say. End of September is nice but then everything is closed apart from a few odd restaurants but then I like it when there are few people around and it's still like high summer in the UK. You get miles of beach all to your self.

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[quote user="5-element"]

One thing I had never heard about, when we moved to Languedoc, was the famous "entrees maritimes".... which can bring rain when the rest of France is under brilliant sunshine. 300 days of sunshine per year, well, hmmmmmm.....not quite.

I also did not quite expect the winters to be so harsh, with sub-zero temperatures that killed many of my plants[:)] And I didn't expect that I would find the summers TOO HOT either!!![:'(]

As for the "best thing about Languedoc" for me, it has to be the light. Wonderful pink, bright and cheery light in the winter most days.

And also the diversity of scenery. The sea, the mountains, the rivers and the valleys - all fabulous for the naturalist (flora, fauna, geology).

[/quote]

Don't forget the romantic Cathar Castles or a bike ride along the canal. Old town like Miripox and of cours La Cité at Carcassonne although I guess adults prefer these sort of things more than kids.

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5-element - great post! I agree with avery single word.

The winters here are glorious, tourist free, crisp and cold.

The best time imo is the spring. Warm, sometimes even hot, our garden green and lush with everything in my veg plot growing like mad. March, April, May - superb months here.

The worst for me is July and August when it's too crowded and our garden gets burnt to a crisp - I hate it then. Autumn comes as a relief for me.[:)]

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The view of the Pyreneese mountains in winter months makes it all worthwhile.

I don't find people here any more or less racist than back in England, though in our village even the northern French can be referred to as foreigners.

I don't pay that kind of attitude any mind. [:D]

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Best things: weather, food, wine, house prices, people, travel connections, history, mountains, coast.

Downsides ... countryside is rather arid in Jun-Aug, it's pretty quiet (with a couple of exceptions) culturally compared to other places.

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Actually - I know I will be shot down for saying this as it is an outrageous generalisation - I don't like Languedocians as much as, say, Francs-Comtois, Medocains, Perigourdins, Lyonnais, even Parisians. I have found people around this way more unfriendly than elsewhere in France. I am not sure why, although a local (born and bred) woman friend explained to me that it is because the climate here is so generous, so people are more exposed as they are outside all the time, so they keep themselves more to themselves. I was not convinced. Maybe it is something to do with the downtrodden occitan culture, to be turned in on itself?

I am always struck by the more open and friendlier attitude of people whenever I travel anywhere else in France, in contrast.

 

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I'm not shooting you down at all 5-element as people fall into pretty much the same categories wherever you happen to be and you'll meet all types. In my experience most people that we've dealt with while buying our house here and having the various jobs done, have become friends. That includes the people from whom we bought our house and with whom we spent last New Years Eve. Maybe it's something to do with the downtrodden culture I'm from!!

I also think though that we can be lulled into a "false" sense of friendliness, mistaking French good manners and politeness for something more.

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"most people that we've dealt with while buying our house here and having the various jobs done, have become friends."

I wonder if that's because you have been spending money!

Although further to the East, the characters in Marcel Pagnol are not far from the ones here.

As one Northern French person put it to me 'they know where the water is, but they're not telling us'...

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[quote user="groslard"]"most people that we've dealt with while buying our house here and having the various jobs done, have become friends."

I wonder if that's because you have been spending money!



[/quote]

Unfortunately for them and for us...that's all there is, there is no more!!!

Perhaps I should have said we bought our house years ago.

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[quote user="groslard"]"most people that we've dealt with while buying our house here and having the various jobs done, have become friends."

I wonder if that's because you have been spending money!

Although further to the East, the characters in Marcel Pagnol are not far from the ones here.

As one Northern French person put it to me 'they know where the water is, but they're not telling us'...

[/quote]

lol

I've read some Pagnol (scripts for films and other stuff) He got it right about the peasant hate for anyone from another region and distrust for people even from the next village.

I wouldn't call people from here unfriendly, but they are often mistrustfull and sometimes rather narrow minded.

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Unsurprisingly I think all my friends are "friendly".  I'm reserving judgement on those that aren't my friends until I get to know them better.  Though I think if one is looking for friends, Raindog's advice about not "calling them unfriendly" (especially to their face) is a good idea.

Depending on when you meet me and how you treat me I can be very friendly [kiss] ... or NOT![:@]

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[quote user="Ian"] Raindog's advice about not "calling them unfriendly" (especially to their face) is a good idea.


[/quote]

Hum, excuse me, I was unaware that Raindog was actually giving any advice about calling people unfriendly to their face or otherwise.

Were you giving me advice Raindog? I thought you were describing how it is for you, more than advising me. I do welcome Raindog's view, as he said elsewhere he has a French wife, and I am myself one of those: a  French wife, which means I have had the advantage of living in various areas of France, and then inevitably, making some comparisons.

I  made the initial comment that I found people around here more unfriendly than in many other areas of France.  This is an observation, one that I am loathe to make, as it leads to the kind of generalisations that are usually very subjective and often inaccurate.

I should perhaps have qualified my remarks to say that, outside the small town where I live, in the pretty neighbouring villages, one seems to get more welcoming neighbours than here - but here there is definitely a core of locals who do not want anything to change, and who are hostile or at best, indifferent, to those who move in from "outside" (read - from anyhere more than 15k away).

By the way, it is not just my opinion, but also that of our mayor, who would dearly like the region to be open to the rest of the world and to embrace diversity. So in the end, I admit that I was speaking mainly for my immediate area. Obviously others, who live different lives, in different parts of Languedoc, will have a different experience.

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[quote user="Ian"]Raindog's advice about not "calling them unfriendly" (especially to their face) is a good idea.

[/quote]

Christ, where did I say that?

Have I been posting under ale again?[8-)]

edit: oh no, I see now - it was a general observation, not advice. Probably bad grammar on my part? [:D]

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Aude Best Place to Live in France

The best place to live in France is Aude, in the region of

Languedoc-Roussillon, according to a recent survey of quality of life

factors carried out by French weekly magazine L’Express.

The Tarn and Vendée tie in second place, with the

Pyrénées-Orientales in fourth place, and Herault, Aveyron and the Gers

(Gascony) all share fifth place.

The selection was made using seven factors, with points awarded to each factor to determine a ‘quality of life’ league table.

The seven factors were:

  1. i. Proximity to the coast
  2. ii. Proximity to mountains
  3. iii. The cost of housing
  4. iv. Average temperature
  5. v. Days of rain
  6. vi. Level of crime
  7. vii. Cultural life
----------------------------------------

Just read that somewhere.

I was talking with a neighbour today, he's a 'local' but has travelled the world and lived in Paris etc.

He agrees with the idea that folk around here can be a bit closed - cold even - when compared to folk from other regions, as does every other non local I speak to. (I should point out that he instigated the conversation after a trip to Carcassonne; he mentioned that people were very warm when they recognised each other in the street, but not to other passers by).

Having said all that, I'm from Manchester originally and whilst people are generally friendly they also like to steal your car and - you know - stab you and stuff!

And surely a Londoner would find the Aude a breath of friendly fresh air? [:)]

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