anyone in st maixent l ecole?

[booboo]

Hi, my partner and i are looking at buying a town house in maixent and what people thought of it?

Regards

[Gardengirl]

Have you read Sweet's small nice town wanted at the top of the posts? I assume it's the same place.

I know nothing about it, never heard of it before that thread, but it sounds very nice. And there's a contact for you; he obviously likes it a lot!

GG

[booboo]

Hi, thanks for that,have just read through it.

[valB]

We live about 30  mins away and we go there a lot, we like it. Good Supermarches, the Patio Restaurant is good and a  Mc Donalds if you like that sort of thing ( we don't but then we are oldies ). [:D]

[JohnRoss]

There are quite a few restaurants in and around St Maixent L'Ecole, list here http://www.gralon.net/restaurants-france/deux-sevres/restaurants-saint-maixent-l-ecole-32456.htm#  . La Marmite is my favourite but have tried L'Auberge du Cheval Blanc, Restaurant de l'Abbatiale, La potée Ose and Le Logis Saint-Martin which was a bit expensive. Abbatiale is ok as are the others but a set lunchtime menu. A good second choice for lunch after the Marmite would be the Auberge in St Georges de Noisné, good meal and price, which is only a 15 minute drive to the North of St Maxient and failing that the Cheval Blanc.  Bon Appétit Bien Sûr...........................................JR  

[booboo]

Hi thanks for the replys, no mac donalds is not for us either..

Johnross you very kindly answered a question about heating a house with wood, I was going to pm you (as I didnt want to go off topic on someone elses thread) and ask what a stear of wood is? as we measure here by the cubic meter.

Thanks again

[JohnRoss]

Hi booboo my understanding is that 1 stere is 1 cubic metre of wood with lengths of 1 metre. I gather if the logs are cut to 50cm, which is the maximum size many wood burning stoves will take, then in fact 1 stere may be 0.8 cubic metres. I assume that shorter lengths have smaller gaps between the logs and stack closer together. The wood should be at least 2 years old before burning, i.e. not green wood as this gives more soot. Split logs burn better than whole logs and I am seriously thinking of buying an electric log splitter for this winter. We paid 45 euros a stere, cut to 50cms, from a local farmer this Summer. We have a Supra Orlando Ollaire Turbo stove which works well and the electric turbo fan  makes a big difference. You can get tax relief on buying an approved stove but I am told this will disappear next year.........................................JR

[booboo]

Hi Johnross, thanks again for replying, the information is really helpful.We are hoping to be in france on the 18th of this month weather permitting this side (not too much snow) to look at the house, its my sisters, she bought it ten years ago and has never used it only too check up on it, So she does not know anything about the winters there as she has not been at that time. The winters get very cold here, at times we have minus 25 and it is too much for my partner Chris, I dont mind it so much as its very beautiful here and I like snow, We pay here for four cubic metre of beech trunk cut at one metre lenght and split into eight aprox... delivered 230 euros, for oak, four cubic metres, they deliver the whole trunks and cut them up when they arrive into one and a half whole lenghts for 120 euros. We dont have logs as such apart from the ones we collect from the forest ourselves, so its chain saws and axes for us, Chris cuts up with the chain saw and I split it with the axe. It would be interesting to know how much they sell those log splitters for your side, I know we can get them here but I have never looked at the price. Anyway thanks again.....

[JohnRoss]

Hi I bought a hydraulic type log splitter from Bricomarché this weekend as they had them with a 10% discount at 154 euros, discount goes on the loyalty card.  Don't know how long it will last but so far, touche du bois, it works well at 1500 watts and produces 5 tons on the ram which pushes the log against a wedge. It can take logs up to 25 cms in diameter and 52 cms long and maybe a bit larger in diameter  if not too hard. I used to use a wedge splitter on the end of a fibre glass handle which worked ok but not good if you have a dodgy back like me. I paid 45 euros a stere this Summer cut to 50 cms and delivered from a local farmer who also runs a firewood business. Good luck to you in your endeavours................................................JR

See http://www.bois-chauffage.net/stere-bois-chauffage.html for reduction factor for logs less than 1 metre length. 50cm logs 1 stere comes out at 0.8 cubic metres for the reason I gave i.e. smaller inter-log spaces

[MsgrChris]

Messieurs;

Have been in St.Maixent house hunting as well. Small, charmant, old town is built of limestone. pretty much everything in the way of basic services. On a major train spur so getting owoay is comparatively easy.

V.pouv.resp aussi en Anglais, auf Deutsch, in Italiano ancor. Whatever is easiest.

[JohnRoss]

When we looked at locations close to St Maixent l'Ecole, more info here http://www.saint-maixent-lecole.fr/, in 2001 we were told by the house agents that St Maxient was on the way up whereas Parthenay, a small town just to the North of St Maixent, was not. Not sure how true this was but there has been some new housing built around St Maixent over the last 10 years. We have noticed several shops closing down in both towns but we have been told that some in St Maixent are due to them being run by army wives whilst their husbands are attending courses at the NCO school in town and then they move on at the end of the course.

There is some light industry on an estate on the outskirts of St Maixent and the site seems to be slowly expanding. The number of restaurants seems to be increasing and there are at least three supermarkets available in the town. Another site at the top end of town also seems to be expanding with new shops opening up. Niort is not that far away with a large shopping zone on the outskirts. All of which leads me to believe that there is slow but steady growth going on. If the army were to quit St Maixent things might be quite different however..........................................JR 

PS You might note that most of this thread is over a year old