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The Brits are back....to the Dordogne !!!!


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Apparently there was a report on French telly the other day that the British are buying again big style again in the Dordogne.

Some infamous British estate agent was rubbing his hands together. Imagine that. Lol.

So you have the Brits selling up because of being skint, can't make a leaving, Brexit ( and missing their grandchildren of course) and those looking for the dream, escaping Brexit and buying their houses.

Another cycle of misery ? This will all end in tears you know.

The Dordogne....what is the ###@#@# attraction for so many Brits ?. It is just plain wierd. It is making headline French telly now.

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I expect the main attraction is great countryside, vines (so French)! and reliably better weather and its within a day's journey of Calais or the Normandy ferries. I suppose people have heard of it too which helps. Maybe not as expensive as Provence? I love Normandy but "reliable weather" is rain and mist even in August. [:P]

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I used to be very friendly with Pucette who lived in the Dordogne and her winters were so cold she would put her bed in her living room in her old farmhouse. Colder than my home in the Alpes, because it really has to be very very cold outside to make a home that cold inside.

Warmer there, it was often as hot as anywhere in France in the Alpes in summer, and if I never encounter a hot summer again as long as I live, it will be too soon, the crem hopefully will be the next hottest place I encounter and I should be well out of it when I am there.

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Mac, how well you have put your point across.

But, hey, what do I know, I have only lived here for 7 years and, before that, for 3 years in the Charente Maritime and I MUCH prefer my current area.

Having said that, I do not know any of the other parts of the Dordogne, other than my own.  I was going to view a house in Piégut Pluviers and a forum member PMed me and said not to go there and I took his advice on board.

Today, I was chatting to a French friend who has a house in Paris and one near me.  I asked her how long she was staying and she said she'd stay as long as she could because she loved the life here.  She said that unfortunately she'd have to go back to Paris soon on account of the election.

I am also very friendly with a French couple from Tours (yes, Tours, ALBF) and they have bought a beautiful house here in the Dordogne and are only waiting for the husband to retire before coming to live here full time.

Think of it as a ghetto if you want to, Chance, but you of all people will know that I do not live in a comfort zone.  I like adventure and pushing out the boundaries.

I don't say it's the Dordogne per se that attracts me and I will tell you a bit about my day here and you can make up your mind whether it's as you imagine a "typical" day of a Dordogne "expat" would pan out.

Usual start, cleaning up dog mess from my poor old doggie with dementia.  Breakfast as usual, eating home-made bread, jam and some cheese.  The postie brought me 3 Raymond Queneau books ordered from leboncoin and keenly anticipated.

Some housework then a snatched snack before heading off to walk with French friends in a valley near my house.  Came home and relaxed in front of the TV with the Davis Cup; the French team won, which I wanted as I don't much like anyone in the British team.

Went to get the washing in and I stopped dead in my tracks to marvel at the beauty of the early evening.  Peaceful, calm, the sunset colourful, the mistiness of the time of  day adding an extra dimension to the open views.  I knew that the church would be lit up soon and there would be the clear half moon later on

 Glass or two of a chilled white whilst I cook dinner, saumon en croute for OH and bacon and eggs for me........miam, miam.

Will have a nice long shower soon and get into my PJs.  I have already written on another thread about Friday being my favourite day of the week.

I don't care about the sneering.  I am doing so many of the things that I enjoy and I LOVE where I live..........laugh aloud and feeling pretty damn bien dans mes baskets!

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Slowly but surely. They failed by military means.

In terms of food Mint, you are the exact opposite - I'm the one (male) going for he bacon and egg. Had bacon from the abattoir in he Uk this morning, Loved it as a change but it did rest rather heavy in the stomach for the rest of the day.

Don't understand that you seem to think that Friday is the only day to enjoy a shower.

Am sitting on the sofa with Max (our new dog got from a dogs home and renamed as originally he was the same name of our middle offspring). Our Digby (dog before Max and lasted until he was 17 yrs and had a wonderful life) had been appropriately mourned.

Near the Peak District and having the rural aspects and also having all the facilities of a city and two football teams in league football. .

The only advantage of our house in the Dordogne (seems similar to Mints and near the intersection of the three Perigord areas) over our UK house is the weather in Spring and Autumn, Too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

I think that the one major reason for going to France (dordogne) rather than staying in Uk is the weather. Northern French regions dont do it for me.
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I don't live in the Dordogne but have visited the area 4 or 5 times, and thought it a lovely area. I can't understand why albf criticises it so often. There are English people living there, apparently in large numbers in some places, but you could say the same about French people and Kensington.

We have a place in a lovely small town in the Gard which has large numbers of tourists, it's a real little town though, but no doubt some would be sniffy about living in our town.

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Think of it as a ghetto if you want to, Chance, but you of all people will know that I do not live in a comfort zone.  I like adventure and pushing out the boundaries.

I was answering the specific question about why so many, not all, choose to live amongst high concentrations of their compatriots and made the comparison with areas that others, not myself, call ghettos.

 

The only place that I feel relaxed and at home around where I live is in an immigrant ghetto, Amiens Nord, I went there Sunday morning and its been at least 6 months since I was last able to, but I am not an Arab or Muslim, I feel at home because there, all of us of many varied nationalities are immigrants, I am not treated as an outsider.

 

I wasn't in the Dordogne either,  I can see the attraction.

 

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I don't know that many people who have gone back because they're broke. There has always been a strong association between the English and Aquitaine. All the bastitde towns were originally built to keep out the marauding English. Eleanor of Aquitaine married the English king to bring peace to the region and it was the English who originally planted the vines in Bordeaux. What you are seeing now is what Theresa May said would happen but in reverse. Everyone rushing to get out before the ship sinks. The association where I learn French has been inundated with new members, so perhaps the new generation of immigrants are different and want to integrate?
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What sinking ship Lindal, nobody knows how it will all pan out. And if we are worse off then I will live with that if I can. As our income for the most part is from France, we may end up moving back, as we have to have that. It won't be abandoning anything though, just making sure that we can eat and heat. IF all our income was british, then no matter, we would stay, the climate here suits me.

And if you think I am blinkered to this, then it feels like you are more than equally blinkered to all the bad from the EU and federalisation and worse still expansion over the past years.

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Richard51, if I were to move back to the UK, the Peak district would be one of my hotspots for househunting.

What would attract me would be the walking[:D]

I'd never understand "weather"!  We lived not an hour from here but nearer the coast and whilst the winters were just as cold, the summers were nowhere near as hot.  In fact, the summers were very disappointing, often rainy and very cool.

Where I am, it could, and often does, rain for days on end but then we'd have a dry spell of sometimes weeks to the dismay of farmers.

All I can say is, thousands of British and other Europeans who have moved here must all be wrong in their choice if the Dordogne is so terrible?[;-). 

There is always some snootiness attached to popular areas in any country and the sneering ones are often the very ones who don't live there and know next to nothing about those places.  For example, if I were to move to Italy, it would be Tuscany and, if to Spain, it would be the Costa Brava.  No doubt more will come on now to pour scorn on my choices.

 

 

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I have been to the Dordogne and it has grass, trees, a large river and stoney houses. Very much like the rest of France.

It is very nice but not outstanding. That is what I don't get. It has a distraportionate attraction.Chancer is right, it is all about the comfort factor. But these people are wrong in moving to the Dordogne just because everyone else does. That is not a reason to move. It will end in tears. The only thriving businesses in the Dordogne is estate agents and notaries. I bet Notaries even have a sweep stake on how long people will last before selling up again. The Gites get odds of 1. Lol.

The French moving to the UK don't all want to live in Sussex.

Anyway, the Dordogne is a cliche in France as well as the UK. British behaviour when moving abroad is quite bizarre.

Judging by the number UK reg cars stuck on the motorway in Tours today heading south you be glad to know they are all on their way.
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 I just love the mountains, the peaky ones the best.......so there are few places that stir me as much as seeing them. But of the few places, then the first is the Cote Granit Rose in Brittany, and I love the sea as much as I love the mountains.

The next area is in Belgium between Liege and Bastogne, I think that that area is truly beautiful.

I see programs on tv and the people say look at that view and seem enchanted with it, and my thoughts are often mixed between, well pleasant enough, to very ordinary, to awful.

I have seen the Dordogne on tv and it looks very pleasant, I am not sure if we have driven through it or not, as we would have been heading for the west coast........... living in the mountains means that I had to have a good dose of proper sea from time to time......... which was not that pond to the south!

I could never move to the Dordogne, no mountains and no sea... wouldn't do for me at all. And one of the reasons I would never move anywhere where there are other brits is because I think that I could end up being expected to sort things out for people or translate.  I made sure that we lived in a village where we were the only brits and I would do that again. And frankly making friends for me does not depend on what nationality someone is, just if I take to them and ofcourse them to me.

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Idun, the Dordogne is nice but IMHO Wiltshire or Dorset are nicer. It is the same type of landscape but without pubs. I can understand why some 'francophile' people like Mint would want to move there but lets be clear many move there through trend rather than a committed reason. You have to be completely French mad to survive. ...and like tourists....Which I don't. So three days was enough.

I am like you, if I wanted lifestyle change I would head for the mountains. Skiing and walking. Bliss. Ho hum, it ain't going to happen.
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The sinking ship comment was what I have heard people say who have recently moved. It doesn't apply to me because I left long before the referendum. I think the issue is that if they move now then they will be able to stay after brexit, under the same terms as the rest of us. Wait until the UK leaves and if freedom of movement is restricted it is likely to get more difficult. My only decision is whether I leave any assets at all in the UK or whether I cash them in and bring them over to France.

I like the mountains for a holiday but never been attracted to live there. My brother used to have a house in the alps. It was packed during the winter and high summer but outside of those times it almost seemed to shut down. I live right on the border with the Lot et Garone, which is much less affluent than the Dordogne. There are actually more British people living in the towns in the Lot.et Garone than the Dordogne but people seem to forget about them.

I do sometimes miss the sea as I used to live in a seaside town in UK. However the beautiful beaches of Arcachon are only 1.5 hours away if I ever the time to go
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We could have lived somewhere as you state, but chose not to. The valleys are sufficient for us, easy access to the mountains and skiing in winter and summer too or just getting some cooler air.  But the sea, I could never live more than about half an hour from the sea anymore and the closer the better.

Re people saying such things........ pinch of salt as far as far as I am concerned. They will usually know trois fois rien about France when they move. And some things are so different, that I doubt that it has even crossed their minds that it could be so different, isn't just the language or the food.

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With all these things I think in the end it depends how flexible you are and how prepared you are to adapt. I love my life here, but it isn't anything like I imagined it would be..just as well really. Some people will adapt and some won't. Several of the more recent arrivals are mixed couples,, in that one partner is English and the other French. Met, married and lived and worked in UK but now coming to live in France.
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ALBF wrote:

The French moving to the UK don't all want to live in Sussex.

No, it seems most want to live in London. While it would never be for me, I kind of understand that - and especially since it maximises their work possibilities. So intended or not, there is the same herd instinct.

Those Brits moving to the Dordogne perhaps do not need the same work opportunities. Some may even be rejecting the stress of life working at the coal face of modern business - and why not.
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Mixed couples or both British....There is a belief that the Dordogne is a field of dreams. It's not.

Those moving with kids are signing their life away.

I said before we could sell up and move tomorrow (only 2.5 hrs away) with a very large budget. Could easily buy 4-5 Gites and do this that and the other but it will never financially work. We would undoubtedly end up having to move back to reality France a lot less poorer or even broke.

Why people think moving to the Dordogne from the UK is a good idea is beyond me. I just don't get it.
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Well because despite your doom and gloom predictions it does work for some people and they actually quite like it. The latest lot, though are Parisians..got fed up with life in the city, moved to the Dordogne with their young kids..running gites. I agree it's not everyone's ideal but for some people it works.
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Well most people round here (French) live on the SMIC and that's considered 'enough'. You can easily make the SMIC with gites and bear in mind most people doing it don't have a mortgagee or rent to pay. May not be everyone's idea of a good life but if I had a choice of that or a job in the local factory on the SMIC it wouldn't be difficult.
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[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]It is not sustainable. Your Parisian friends have another income. I know the cost of bringing up kids in France and the income from gites is not enough. For sure.[/quote]

 

Probably not unless there is somewhere with gîtes that has an all round tourist season, we actually do have that here but I am dismayed at the closed mentality of those, usually the French it has to be said, that can only think of creating gîtes and running them on the traditional Saturday - Saturday model, the average stay here is 1.25 nights and with the exception of the school holidays one single person (usually a contract worker) or a couple (usually a Saturday night), gîtes are turning their back on 98% of the market.

 

With the right CDH/meublé (possibly a gîte) you can earn up to €82K (double that for a couple) with a very low rate of taxation/social charges, nonetheless many follow the advice of the so called experts and opt for a fiscale regime that not only means they pay at least 3 times more déductions but also cop for the CFE and any other taxes that an enterprise is subject to, they also get clobbered for capital gains when they sell the property.

 

Plenty of people do make a living but whether it is a good living dépends on their expectations I guess.

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