Which part of France did you move to and why??

[ericd]

Hello everyone. As mentioned by someone in a previous post, nobody bar a few exceptions actually mention which town they live in and why. I guess the fear is that unwanted forum members might suddenly appear for a cuppa and stretch their welcome a tad too far....[;-)].....To the exception of one or two members who have already advertised their request for '"pond clearing volonteers"'............Sorry i don't eat pizzas.

I just thought it would be a nice idea to locate people and their reasons for being their, so here i start, hoping others will follow:

Near Laguepie 82250, saw the house on the internet last November, went to visit in January and that was it. Being used as holiday home at the moment but we are busy bringing it up to standards as we intend to retire there.

 

.....Over to you now......

[Cacknanty]

Near Nolay, Saone et Loire, because it is about as far as I can comfortably drive South in a day from home in UK. The roads are quiet, just 1/2 an hour from the Autoroute.

It is also in the middle of Burgundy wine country. The food can be exceptional. The countryside pleasant and lots to do. The people are reasonably friendly.

I can be in Switz, Italy, Sth France, Spain in 2-3 hours (maybe a bit longer for Spain).

I won't be retiring there, we can't get to grips with the lingo.

In hindsight, we should have gone further south, probably below Lyon for the better weather. Its damn cold in the winter.

In a nutshell, that's it.

Cheers

Nigel

[bubbles]

Near Perpignan, 66440

Close to a blue flag beach or 3 (5 minutes! - how close is that?)

8km from the airport with Ryanair flights to Stansted.

20 miles from the Spanish border.

Views of the magnificent Canigou (which still has snow on it today)

Easy access to ski-ing - pop to Font Remeu for the day if you feel like it. (not in June, obviously)

Great Catalan feel, friendly neighbours, a scattering of English/Irish fairly close by.

Nice easy house to run - neighbours all around but feels private and we have our own 6x3 pool.

We've really enjoyed being here for the past 21 years both as part-timers and full time retirees.

Selling up now to go back to England so have put it on the market.

Sort of hope nobody buys it too soon so we can enjoy one last summer here.

[pachapapa]

Deux-Sèvres....profound....cheap....cheerful.[;-)]

[misplacedperson]

Oisans. Skiing/boarding.

Could do without the bloody cyclists though. [:)]

[Doodle]

Hi

Near to Lassay Les Chateaux (53), actually wanted to be in the Orne (61) didn't realise the house we chose was in the Mayenne department until we put an offer on it! Chose this area at the time because it was to be a holiday home for a few years before retirement. We lived 40 mins from Portsmouth and wanted not too long a drive from the french ferry port so that we could manage week-end visits. However, as soon as we'd signed the promise de vente and returned to the UK, my husband's employer moved us to Devon which turned our plans upside down as suddenly it was a 2 -3 hour drive to Poole or 30 minutes to Plymouth with a 4 hour drive from Roscoff. After 3 years of Devon living we decided to take early retirement.

Chris

[KathyF]

Between Brecey and Mortain at the bottom of Basse-Normandie, a few miles from Brittany. Summer visitors only and we chose it because MOH won't fly and we didn't want a long drive south or summers that are too hot for us. [:)]  It suits us very well and we're off there again for the summer in less than a week. [:D]

[andyh4]

[quote user="Cacknanty"]. In hindsight, we should have gone further south, probably below Lyon for the better weather. Its damn cold in the winter. [/quote]

 

Nigel

being further South does not make for warmer winters.

 

0.5m snow the last too years and 2009 the harbour in Marseille started to freeze during the winter.   For milder winters you need to head to the west coast or South Spain.

[Gardengirl]

Hi misplaced. My English neighbour and a friend have gone for a week cycling around your area. They did Alpe D'Huez and les Deux Alpes on Monday, Croix de Fer on Tuesday, Galibier and Lauteret yesterday. I think it's bad enough driving those, with cyclists whizzing past on the way down!

We've holidayed at Venosc for about the last 15 years, and love the area; we enjoy walking in the Ecrins national park around there, and from St Christophe and La Berarde.

We nearly bought a restored stone house in the Drome but ended up buying a modern apartment 5 minutes walk from Uzès in the Gard. For a small place there's plenty going on generally, and a lot of concerts, festivals etc. We love all the Roman sites in the area, enjoy the food and wine, enjoy exploring nearby villages and mostly like the weather throughout the year. Today is a bit miserable with strong winds; the Med coast is having a tough time just now too. We don't stay for July and August, when the heat and tourists reach about the same proportions!

[ViVienne]

near L'isle Jourdain 86, again as far south as we could comfortably drive in 1 day and affordable prices.

[tom]

In department 03 near Lercy-Levis the first port of call we could afford , plus the people are friendly.

[Polly]

Laguepie ... we had lunch there, late 1990s, and the café owner wanted to know if we (a) knew the local famous Brit Chris Patten or (b) wanted to buy her auberge

[ericd]

It takes us 2 days to drive down to our place and understand why some of you (especially from the Southern Counties) restrict their choice to a full day drive from Blighty.

[mint]

[quote user="ericd"]

To the exception of one or two members who have already advertised their request for '"pond clearing volonteers"'............Sorry i don't eat pizzas.

[/quote]

LOL, Eric, I don't eat pizzas either (or at least, I only eat them when I am in Italy).  It was only a mild joke and I wanted to contrast champagne and nibbles with something exactly opposite such as beer and pizzas.  When will I learn to curb imposing my sense of humour on others?

Well, as you see from my name, I should be in the Charente (16) but now I am thinking of 19 (Correze), 79 or even 86![:-))]

We ended here because I promised OH, in a rash moment, that he could come out , see a house and buy it and that I wouldn't ever complain about it if that was what he wanted.

Well, it was difficult, we were both working, we had the dog and we'd already spent all our holidays for 2 years coming back and forth, staying in hotels and B & B's and visiting houses with estate agent. 

 OH was desperate to come out to live and he caught me at an unguarded moment.

So, he came, he saw, he made an offer and we bought and here we are!  So, did I keep my promise of "never complaining"?  You bet I haven't!

So, why do I want to move?  Well, I don't dislike the area exactly.  Just that, Eric, y a pas bezef (sorry, can't do accents at the moment)

I loved dept 22 and also 56 in Brittany and I adored 61 in Basse Normandie  and was very taken with 72 in the Sarthe but now I have become used to the nice weather here, I am not sure I particularly want to be in the north again.

If I won the Euro Millions lottery, I'd go and live in Haute Savoie (74) so that I can walk in the mountains in the summer and x-country ski in the winter.  At my first visit to 74 last year, I just fell in love with the mountains.

Next month, I'll get a chance to see the Pays Basque and I might just love that, don't know.  It's very hard in France:  as OH always says, in France, the last place you visit is always the nicest!

[Swissie]

The Swiss Jura near 25- because I was born and 'bred' there, just love the simplicity, the wonderful cold winters and bright colourful autums and hot but not too hot summers.  Mountains + lakes- Burgundy down the road, and the Alps an hour away. Property is very reasonable in price, practically no tourists apart from true nature loving ones. Near a TGV to Paris line and Motorway 8 hours to Calais. And lots of friends here.

[Gemonimo]

Gironde - 33350. A hop, skip and a jump from St. Emilion and all the good Bordeaux.  And I just loooove good wine!

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

36 Indre, tried to be as central as possible.

Plus if it was good enough for royalty, it's good enough for me!

[nectarine]

We were 36, Indre, near Crozant. Beautiful place but, my goodness, did it rain a lot. Now in Lot-et-Garonne and there is a difference in the weather (she says, as today we have had hailstones the size of dice coming down and storms!).

[NormanH]

The 'golden triangle' of the Languedoc,  south if the  St Pons- Bédarieux road, ( to  get the Mediterranean climate)  and  north of Narbonne to avoid the winds.

If you add east of the Pézenas- Bédarieux road to avoid the rain over towards Montpellier you will find a nice micro-climate.

This tip was in one of Roger Pilkington's boohs about France ( see the end of this article)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/roger-pilkington-548302.html

and still holds good [:D]

[Sprogster]

As far south as possible! Even so, the winters on the Med are surprisingly long, wet and cold.

My advice to anyone considering moving to France for a better climate is think again, as disapointment looms!

In my opinion the climate has been deteriorating and if this is sustained climate change, another country further south may beckon in winter!

[bubbles]

Thoroughly agree, Sprogster.

We thought we would be happy all year round in the south of France - until we retired here.

It's fine if you are the outdoor type and love to ski but we love the warmth and not just the blue skies.

We started off by spending a winter month or two in Spain but that too can be cold.

Added to that, it is dark at 4 o'clock.

Then we discovered Tenerife and would recommend it to anyone who loves to be warm and wear shorts and t-shirts even in winter.

I know there are those of you who hanker after the change of seasons. In that case, where we are in 66 is perfect - at least usually it is bright and sunny.

(not today unfortunately)

[Sprogster]

I agree bubbles, in that southern Tenerife is the furthest north you can be and realistically expect a warmish winter climate. Otherwise, you are looking at countries in the southern hemisphere like OZ and SA, or the southern Caribbean.

Many Brits buying houses in France have totally unrealistic expectations as to the weather and it is one of the main areas of disapointment I believe for those who have moved.

[bettyboop]

Haute Vienne 87, empty roads, lovely and green, ok cold winters, but not too hot summers which suit us. Very friendly,helpful neighbours, 6 hrs to Calais, 20 mins from motorway, 2hrs from ski-ing and 2 hrs from coast.

[lulu]

56 Brittany. Meandering through the streets of a pretty town one day four years ago, saw a rather ordinary looking place for sale (not in the market for a holiday home at the time, but hey-ho) viewed it..viewed it again and bought it?!?

Met some lovely people - French and English. Moving out soon where we will remain whilst renovating and then..who knows?

Why are we moving? The chance to renovate an ordinary looking place and turn it into a lovely house. Living in France is on the bucket list. If we miss the rugby and the sailing too much, we'll move South West and buy a live-aboard!