We currently live and work in South East England. We enjoy English culture and the people, the South Downs countryside and the temperate weather (except the cloud and rain) - but we will need to lower our housing costs and release some capital as we move into retirement over the next 10 years.
We have considered the obvious attractions of moving to France - lower cost of housing, energy, excellent food, climate, good medical care, etc., and also the pitfalls. We are both francophiles, at least one of us is a fluent French speaker, whilst access to English-language media is improving with technology, so with BBC satellite and broadband we shouldn%26#39;t feel totally isolated in a foreign country.
The next step is a prospecting trip to France in September for a week, but where to look? Based on our own experiences of past holidays, and living in Paris many years ago:
- We prefer to use Eurotunnel via car or train - convenient and we have 2 dogs to bring with us on long stays.
- Paris and surroundings are too busy and expensive, although we would like to live within 2-3 hours of Paris or another major city with museums, concerts and good shops. With TGV services increasing, this should be possible from most parts of mainland France.
- The Midi, Provence and even the Dordogne are beautiful, but are a bit too hot for us in mid-summer, and a bit too far to make regular trips from England, as we have increasing free time.
- Brittanny and Normandy again have beautiful countryside and coastlines, but the weather is not much better than England and perhaps a bit too cold.
- On paper, the Loire seems just right for our needs, but it is not an area we know very well.
At the moment, we would like to identify a location to use as an extended holiday base to test the waters - later weekly commutable for occasional contract IT roles in England or France - and finally becoming a full retirement home. A region with some building land available, improving transport links and infrastructure sounds ideal.
Do you have any suggestions for where we should go to find the perfect porridge? Good places to look and a good hotel recommendation to use as a base would be very welcome. And no bear jokes please - this is a serious enquiry.
*If you are still curious about the topic of this posting, then you can%26#39;t have read the French edition of %26quot;Goldilocks and the Three Bears%26quot;.
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Hello
Welcome to France whenever you decide to move.
The South is not what you like because of the heat however it is always possible to trade your house/apartment in the summer for cooler climes and don%26#39;t forget cities like Nice are very much in demand. I can give more info if you like. This is where we plan to retire in 3 years.
Many people go to the Basque region for their retirement but the average age is consequently very high and the price of property in places like St. Jean de Luz ridiculously high. There is no real city and the weather is VERY humid (and sultry in summer). Of course it conveniently close to Spain and the food in these parts is very good. We contemplated this possibility for a while but decided against it.
Alsace I have seldom visited but the weather is continental hence cold in winter, fairly hot in summer. It is now connected to Paris via TGV (and travel time will improve when the line has been completely upgraded to Strasbourg). The villages are just picture perfect, Strasbourg is a very lively, beautiful city and the region is close to Germany %26amp; Switzerland.
Burgundy is lovely and connected by TGV. The climate once again is continental. You might like to visit the different areas because it is difficult to explain the differences in climate, landscape, etc. We love the area West of Tournus with its unspoilt villages if you wish to live in the country. This is Mâconnais, southern Burgundy.
The hills of Beaujolais are very picturesque but are getting somewhat gentrified and full of second homes.
The questions you may want to ask yourselves are, I think,
--what do you like (seaside, countryside, towns, cities)?
--do you want to need a car everyday for basic necessities?
--do you want to move again when you are too old to fend for yourselves?
--do you really need a big garden or do you plan to move around a bit which means the garden is a bother?
--do you want to depend on neighbours for security, daily necessities when you are away or when you are old?
Building a house in France while living in England is not a good idea in my opinion. Everything will be delayed, French bureaucracy is a nightmare, you will be overcharged for everything, and you never know if the land around your house is not going to be flooded in the next big storm. There are many old houses for sale, they have endured all sorts of disasters and survived, they are usually built properly with good materials nothing like the jerry-built %26quot;pavillons%26quot; of today which will last 20 years at most.
Try to imagine the kind of life you would like to have and then your choice will be easier.
If you have more questions feel free to ask.
FW
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FW,
Many thanks for your welcome and the long, considered reply. It might help if I add a few more parameters in reponse to your suggestions and questions:
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; cities like Nice are very much in demand %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Doesn%26#39;t that also make them very expensive? At the moment, most of our capital is tied up, so we are looking for a low entry cost option that we can invest in later as we downsize in the UK - hence re-development in the future was one possible idea.
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; what do you like (seaside, countryside, towns, cities)? %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Countryside, but with reasonable access to seaside, or rivers and lakes for recreation (not beaches for sunbathing/swimming). Living by the sea sounds very attactive, but isn%26#39;t it all that sun, salt, sand and winter storms high maintenance for buildings/cars, and limiting for garden varieties?
Most of the other questions are very relevant to a choice of locality, but less so the region of France where we settle - unless there are particular issues with regional infrastructure that I am unaware of. My opinion of France is that it seems better than the UK in this respect, with more local shops, doctors and older people living in their own homes?
As to building in France, I would only consider doing this when I am on site and by importing proper materials and modern construction methods, e.g. from Germany. I%26#39;ve no idea if local building regulations would even permit such a scheme, but I%26#39;m getting a bit off topic for TripAdvisor!
Thanks again for your post.
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Hello again
You are very welcome. This is a problem we debate almost daily my wife and I and it is useful to talk to other people about it. We do not plan to redevelop because when we retire we plan to sell and buy within 3 months. So our problem is a bit different.
I am not sure you are fully aware of the complexities of getting a building permit in this country--you%26#39;ll need an architect or a %26quot;maître d%26#39;oeuvre%26quot; to coordinate everything. IF the land is in a protected or listed area, this will make the situation horrendous and I am not sure you%26#39;ll be allowed to import anything that is not accepted by the authorities (particularly from Germany where building styles are very different). I maintain it would be much simpler to buy a house that needs refitting and which you can restore gradually as needed or as possible financially. But that is just my opinion.
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; cities like Nice are very much in demand Doesn%26#39;t that also make them very expensive? %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Sorry I didn%26#39;t make myself clear. Nice is very much in demand if you want to trade your house with people in Germany, Austria, Finland, the American North West, etc. for the cooler summer climate. We%26#39;ve done this about 15 times or more to our complete satisfaction (I can give you some details if you want). Of course if your area is not desirable, you don%26#39;t get much of a choice.
Nice is expensive if you buy where the newly rich want to buy. There are very pleasant houses in the hills which have the same marvellous climate for a fraction of the price you%26#39;d pay in Nice itself (look up www.seloger.com in any case, they cover the whole of France). Of course I am partial to Nice but many of your countrymen flock there for very good reasons.
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; what do you like (seaside, countryside, towns, cities)? %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Countryside, but with reasonable access to seaside, or rivers and lakes for recreation (not beaches for sunbathing/swimming). Living by the sea sounds very attactive, but isn%26#39;t it all that sun, salt, sand and winter storms high maintenance for buildings/cars, and limiting for garden varieties? %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Obviously any house on the Atlantic coast is bound to suffer from winter gales and sea salt--not so bad on the Mediterranean. Here I am being partial again.
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;My opinion of France is that it seems better than the UK in this respect, with more local shops, doctors and older people living in their own homes? %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Perhaps for now but I am not even sure. More %26amp; more people are leaving certain areas of France (mostly central France but I could be wrong) and this means fewer shops, etc. My parents chose (against our advice) to retire to a tiny village in Dordogne where my father was born. There used to be a post office, shops, a baker, etc. but the population is dwindling. Now everything%26#39;s gone. My father died last year, my mother is 81 and half blind--it is sheer luck my sister has moved there (for now) otherwise my mother would have been wholly dependent on the few somewhat hostile neighbours (10 of them at most). Winter is very long I can tell you. Don%26#39;t make the same mistake.
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;I%26#39;ve no idea if local building regulations would even permit such a scheme %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
I doubt it.
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;but I%26#39;m getting a bit off topic for TripAdvisor! %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
If anybody objects I%26#39;ll pm you my email address.
Feel free to ask.
Yours
FW
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