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moving to corsica


jules&claire
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Hi all! we are really keen on moving to corsica full time and would welcome any information on older properties as everything on the net seems to be newbuild apartments. We speak basic french and are learning all the time!, and are looking forward to fitting into community life and ways, has anyone done similar? any tips?

cheers J&C

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  • 1 month later...

Hi,

I just joined the forums and saw your post which has gone unanswered for a while.  I don't know if you are still interested, but I could help you out with a lot of information.  I lived in Corsica for more than 10 years, bought and sold a house there, had three kids, etc.

I'll tell you stright away that there are a lot of properties available in Corsica that are sold by word of mouth.  You have to go into a bar or restaurant and just dare to start talking with the locals.  If they take a shine to you, you may find something quickly.  Be prepared for the prices.  Wow, have they ever gone up in recent years! 

There are literally thousands of unoccupied flats in the villages of Corsica.  If you go just 10 minutes up into the mountains you will see lots and lots of buildings that are unoccupied.  Many times these flats are left unsold because a lot of different family members have inherited the property and can't come to an agreement about selling.

Anyway, I don't know if you're still connecting to these forums so I'll stop there.  But if you see this and have some questions, I'll be hapy to spend some time answering.

Kind Regards,

Kim

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Hi Kim,

My partner and I are thinking about moving to Corsica to run a bar/apartments type business. We have plenty of money saved up but have no idea where to start. Can you advise me on anything? My french is fairly basic- i can get by but the aim would be to attract british guests.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :o)

Anny

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Anny,

My initial advice to you is to tred very, very carefully.  Take a vacation in Corsica and see how it feels to you.  The locals have an oft-deserved reputation for running strangers out of town (and they aren't nice about it).  Bars, restaurants, and real estate are how a lot of Corsicans are making their money and they don't necessarily like to share.

I lived there with my family for more than 10 years and never had any serious problem because we were from other parts.  However, we always paid the utmost respect to the natives, who are truly attached to their piece of the earth.  We bought a house, but we didn't buy one on the shore (these are frequently targets for bombing).  We turned the other cheek when the "bergers" helped themselves to our land to graze their flock.  I have seen the effects when you don't play the game according to their rules.  They'll make things extremely difficult in ways you can't imagine.

I have seen English people make a business work on Corsican soil, but it has been because they are doing something the Corsicans aren't (running an art gallery is one example I saw) or they have married into the island. 

I don't mean to discourage you in any way.  I just want to alert you to some of the realities of Corsica.  If you keep going with this idea, you'll soon find that I'm not the only one who will tell you these things.  Corsica is a gorgeous place and I can totally understand that you would like to be able to move there and set up a business.  If you have any specific questions, I'm ready to answer.

Oh by the way, you asked about speaking French.  My experience in all of France has always been that if you make an effort, people will try to uderstand you.  If they don't, you might not want to be speaking with them anyway.  In Corsica, they speak both French and Corse (which is a so-called dialect - mixture of Italian and French).

Kind Regards,

Kim

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  • 3 years later...
hi kim ,,could you tell me if there is any properties for renovation still going for sale ,we like the ile rousse area,we are in france at the mo and have owned our house for 18 yrs ,and can speak french,lived here for 12yrs ,registered here aswell,we came to corse last yr on way to sardinia,and luved it ,and decided to move there ,,we see on the agents list there are props for sale ,but as you say lots are sold through the marie and word of mouth ,so was wandering if you knew of any ,as we are thinking of coming out very soon now christmas is over ,,many thanks for any help or any body else that can help

 

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