Go Back  British Expats > Living & Moving Abroad > Europe > France
Reload this Page >

Nice Apartment or more rural house

Nice Apartment or more rural house

Old Jan 14th 2016, 8:30 pm
  #1  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Hurley1's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 57
Hurley1 will become famous soon enoughHurley1 will become famous soon enough
Default Nice Apartment or more rural house

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help? having enjoyed many a holiday in Nice we are now looking at dipping into the property market there. We have a budget of £ 200-400k and are hoping to buy a home either in Nice or within 20-30 mins drive. Our dilemma is we love the convenience of a city apartment but also like the idea of a little place with a pool so are torn on whether to just buy a city apartment to see how we get on first or go the whole hog and buy a house to live in further out. It's just my hubby and I, no kids.

I know it's all down to personal choice but it would be great to hear your experiences! Does anyone live in an apartment right in Nice? How do you like it? We have seen a nice apartment there which we are currently considering just five mins from the promenade.

or

Does anyone else live further out? If so where are good areas to look at? We've viewed houses in Grasse but not sure about there. Also viewed in Mouans Sartoux, Valbonne, Carros.

we have lived overseas before so that doesn't worry us and both speak some French which we plan to improve! Our main concern is making a mistake in where or what we buy so I'd really appreciate anyone's thoughts, good or bad!

Merci Beaucoup!
Hurley1 is offline  
Old Jan 16th 2016, 6:10 am
  #2  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 331
Touraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Nice Apartment or more rural house

Personally I would go for an appartement.

I have lived in a rural house, town house and 3 times in an appartement in France. I prefer appartement living. I have just moved from a semi rural house into appartement in an up and coming suburb of Paris and I love it. Life is so much easier.

Nice is really expensive so you are really looking at 400k to buy something decent.

But buying an appartement is a complicated business.

You really need to keep an eye on charges which can vary dramatically from building to building. The older ones being the most expensive.

When I lived in Lyon, some of the appartement blocks came with a communal swimming pool or a tennis court. You may want to consider that.

Personally, I would invest in a brand new/or very nearly new appartement in an up and coming 'family' suburb of Nice rather than right in the centre. It will offer a better quality of living and the charges will be lower. Furthermore, you will pay lower notaire fees if it is brand new and you can style it how you like. Appartements can vary dramatically in the quality of renovation.

Like I said find a nice safe area on the outskirts of the city that has good transport links, good schools, good facilities and you will always be able to sell quickly and move on if you need to.
Touraine is offline  
Old Jan 17th 2016, 12:41 am
  #3  
Hostage Negotiator
 
InVinoVeritas's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,173
InVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond reputeInVinoVeritas has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Nice Apartment or more rural house

Originally Posted by Hurley1
Hi, I wonder if anyone can help? having enjoyed many a holiday in Nice we are now looking at dipping into the property market there. We have a budget of £ 200-400k and are hoping to buy a home either in Nice or within 20-30 mins drive. Our dilemma is we love the convenience of a city apartment but also like the idea of a little place with a pool so are torn on whether to just buy a city apartment to see how we get on first or go the whole hog and buy a house to live in further out. It's just my hubby and I, no kids.

I know it's all down to personal choice but it would be great to hear your experiences! Does anyone live in an apartment right in Nice? How do you like it? We have seen a nice apartment there which we are currently considering just five mins from the promenade.

or

Does anyone else live further out? If so where are good areas to look at? We've viewed houses in Grasse but not sure about there. Also viewed in Mouans Sartoux, Valbonne, Carros.

we have lived overseas before so that doesn't worry us and both speak some French which we plan to improve! Our main concern is making a mistake in where or what we buy so I'd really appreciate anyone's thoughts, good or bad!

Merci Beaucoup!
I think with your budget you will need to look further away from the coast. As a rough guide I would say more than 30 mins drive from Nice and Cannes. This also puts you outside the worst of the holiday madness at Easter and summer time.
InVinoVeritas is offline  
Old Jan 17th 2016, 6:31 am
  #4  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 331
Touraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond reputeTouraine has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Nice Apartment or more rural house

Originally Posted by InVinoVeritas
I think with your budget you will need to look further away from the coast. As a rough guide I would say more than 30 mins drive from Nice and Cannes. This also puts you outside the worst of the holiday madness at Easter and summer time.
Depends on what size apartement you want.


Programme immobilier neuf Nice (investissement, achat en scellier Nice …) | Explorimmoneuf
Touraine is offline  
Old Jan 17th 2016, 7:06 am
  #5  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Nov 2014
Location: Seine-et-Marne
Posts: 29
Clo49 is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: Nice Apartment or more rural house

Can't really tell about the choice. All I can say is that my nephew who lived in downtown Nice in a very charming and big apartment for 6 years got so fed up with, as IVV said, the worst of the holiday madness at Easter and summer time, heavy traffic, no car park all year round, moved to the Alsace area 3 months ago .... far from the madding crowd.
Clo49 is offline  
Old Jan 17th 2016, 7:32 am
  #6  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Hurley1's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 57
Hurley1 will become famous soon enoughHurley1 will become famous soon enough
Default Re: Nice Apartment or more rural house

Thank you everyone, we have seen a few apartments within our budget, up to 400,000 pounds. we are also considering places like Mouans Sartoux as its very convenient and has a nice cinema, organic shop and good restaurants.

It's really helpful to hear everyone's thoughts though.

Thank you
Hurley1 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.