DaveLister Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 As some of you may have gathered, I am now finding the south of France too hot to comfortably live in all year round. I am considering either buying or renting a smaller property in Brittany. The idea is that I will retreat " up north" in the summer. My question is to all of you second home owners on the forum. What advice would you give someone looking for a 'holiday home' in France? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherbanana Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Property taxes going up sharply. Only worthwhile if you are there for several weeks. Brittany can be very wet, even in summer. Normandy a better bet, maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveLister Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 N'ah, I'm a Breton in my blood 😁. I reckon I'd be spending at least July & August there. Probably going up for a week at a time in other months. Quite fancy seeing rain again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurier Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Can I ask whereabouts you are in the south of France? We are in Normandy which we enjoy but I always had a yen to go a bit further south if and when we downsize. Now, am not so sure,with the heat and humidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveLister Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 I'm in the foothills of the Cevennes. Low enough to keep the heat and far enough inland to miss out on the sea breezes. We've not had any significant rain since February so it's become a bit of a dust bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 (edited) Brittany isn't necessarily wet and it can be hot here - it was very hot in July last year. This was the temperature outside our kitchen door on July 18th 2022 at about 5.30 pm. We are in postcode 56310. A good source of historical weather data for just about anywhere going back 14 years https://www.timeanddate.com/ Edited September 14 by Harnser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
menthe Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 The many times I have been in Brittany, I have always found that 56 is considerably warmer than 22. Have you found this also, harnser? I believe the wet part is Finisterre and we were warned about that by a French friend when we were househunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlebitfrench Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 (edited) Not sure Brittany is good idea. It is far too touristy in the summer and taxes will be a nightmare. The area is far more interesting in the Autumn or early Spring. But not in the summer. You will go mad. Also, it is far too far to drive on a regular basis from where you live. Must be at least 7hrs to Rennes or Nantes. Our holiday home is 3.5-4 hrs away. And it is a chore to drive. I think that is the max to drive on a regular basis to make buying interesting. That said, the house/area was cooler than Tours this year and there was plenty of rain. So going North does not necessarily mean less cold in the summer. Our house is 1 hr North West of Lyon near Charolles. Needed a blanket to sleep at night even during the canicle. Edited September 15 by alittlebitfrench Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveLister Posted September 15 Author Share Posted September 15 I know Brittany very well. My family came from there and I have relatives in the vicinity to where I'm thinking of setting up shop. I was more interested in the mechanics of running a second home in France. How do you run the day to day managing of a property remotely? Do you pay an agency or rely on neighbours. What types of property should you avoid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 24 minutes ago, menthe said: The many times I have been in Brittany, I have always found that 56 is considerably warmer than 22. Have you found this also, harnser? I believe the wet part is Finisterre and we were warned about that by a French friend when we were househunting. Pretty much true about that 56 is warmer than 22 - probably due to the high ground - the "Mur" = Wall that runs roughly east/west along the middle of the Brittany peninsula. Drought last year, no drought this year, although the prefecture is trying to talk up a drought as we have had 2-3 weeks without any significant rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 14 minutes ago, DaveLister said: I know Brittany very well. My family came from there and I have relatives in the vicinity to where I'm thinking of setting up shop. I was more interested in the mechanics of running a second home in France. How do you run the day to day managing of a property remotely? Do you pay an agency or rely on neighbours. What types of property should you avoid? Things that spring to mind are:- If no mains drainage avoid fosse systems that rely on electrical power to function - power cuts etc Avoid properties with a lot of trees, arborists are a lot harder to engage than a regular guy to keep the grass down and the garden tidy. Make sure whatever you buy has a good tight roof - old slates crack and leak, no tiled roofs north of the Loire! Most local gite owners will do keyholding and regular inspections for a modest charge. Etc Etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now