Kate45

We will be there 2 weeks ...OH's firm have hired us a car and he will meet me at Montpellier airport when I arrive.....it will be very interesting.

RedMonsk

Good luck with your reccie!! Let us know how you get on!

Hi Sharon - 2 years! I bet you are getting impatient though. I know that now we have made a decision, I want everything to happen yesterday!

I was hoping to go back there in October half-term to show hubby the area, but he rightly says that we should wait til we sell our apartment in Bulgaria. That way we will be in a good position, should we see a house we like!

Shame though, we could have stocked up on booze for Christmas!!

AIRGEM

Hi Kate

I'm new to this thread and site, am so interested in all the chat about moving to France for a better life. In fact I've lived here for 30 years and more! and now looking to move from the Paris area to the south, either Montpellier or Perpignan or somewhere between. I too plan to recce in Oct or November to see the area in the "off" season, as I hope to make this my last stop, (retired now). I shall be looking for English speaking contacts, not for the language but more for the social and cultural aspect. French people are not as gregarious with foreigners as "incomers" are. I'm told that there are many other nationalities in the area too, Dutch, German, Swiss as well at Brits. My own interests are writing and golf, so I'll be looking for some local courses.

I shall follow your postings with interest as you will be looking in the same areas. I wish you lots of luck with your search. Will you be renting, like me, at least to start with? I see the rentals are so much cheaper than in this 5Paris) area, and there seem to be plenty available (from the website i'm using) although I shall not be moving until next Spring (May 2008).

Kate45

Hi Airgem
Only 12 days now and I'll be on the plane ....on my way for the recce.......
My brain is fried from all the research and mind changing about areas ...for us it will come down to schools as our children are at a tricky age, although I am confident they will be ok as they all want to do this ....we currently have friends who are trying to convince us to check out Grenoble as well....Brrr.
Yes we will be renting ...my OH has been looking at the Massane golf club ...so I will post for you when we have looked at it ...they did send him the brochure and it looks impressive although quite expensive 2200 euro per year
Good luck

Kate

AIRGEM

Hi Kate,
Thanks for your reply - you must be very busy getting ready to leave. Please don't spend time replying to me while you are away - about the golf course. I do appreciate your offer though, but I'm sure you'll have so many things to do while you are over here. The more I explore the ex-pat site, and a local Languedoc forum, the more excited I'm getting about going down to check it out. I have been in France (Ile de France) for over 30 years, but want to move away from the big city now, get somewhere warmer and as I don't have to worry about finding work any more, I can look in the less populated areas. I have friends in Perpignan and have seen lovely photos of their area - so I shall start there and explore maybe as far as Montpellier.
I have spoken to a local estate agent in Bezier who was very friendly and she speaks English, so if you need her contact nos. let me know. anyway, bon courage for the packing, look forward to seeing your postings.
Airgem

Reggie from Treignac

Hi everyone planning to move to France!
We have been here since last October (early retirement) and really love it. We're in the Limousin region as we couldn't afford anything further south.
A good site for research is www.frenchentree.com
There's a lot of practical information and also regional sites, so you can concentrate on the areas you're interested in.
Bon courage to all of you.

KOFFY

It's not all gloom and doom and especially in sunny Languedoc, my wife and I have lived and worked here for 18 years in the Aude. I am an estate agent and my wife is a district nurse. We were in our early thirties when we came, we have brought our children up here and have no plans to ever go back and live in the UK or anywhere else for that matter. The first 2 years are the worst ..If you survive those you'll never go back. My advice is to 'just do it' and renting is a good idea.... I wish we had done it.
There's loads of work in France in the building and property business its less well paid than in the uk but then it's cheaper to live here.
So don't waste anymore time asking people what they think about your idea to move here...just start packing.

RedMonsk

Thanks Koffy, that is really encouraging to know!

AIRGEM

Hello Koffy
Thanks for your posting about the Aude. I'm planning to visit this region and the PO in October with the plan to move in the Spring 2008. I would be looking for a long term rental. As you are in real estate I would like to contact you for advice and help locating somewhere. Can I contact you in October when I come down (from the Paris area). Where abouts in the Aude are you? I'm thinking of somewhere between Perpignan/Narbonne/Carcassone.
thanks for any advice you can offer

Kate45

Perpignan has just become a possiblity for us as OH's firm are looking into schooling and tutoring for the kids ......can't wait to have a look at all this in person .....

4Kemps

Ooooh, Kate, Perpignan is lovely. I only holiday'd there some years back but I thought it was a gorgeous area.

Can't wait to hear how you get on.

Sharon

artemis

Hi Kate just thought I would let you know that we did not much like Carcassonne. The grassy river banks were covered in dogs' things and as our local councils are very strict about people collecting it whilst they were walking their dogs it came as a bit of a shock to me. The town itself was very built-up and full of cars. I can't say what the surrounding villages were like as we did not visit any. The church was gorgeous though I'd love to know what it is like further south near Nice etc.

val50

Hi Artemis,
I think where ever you go in France you will find the French don't clean up after their dogs We have to dodge mess on the streets of our small town and on the beach.
Where we are in Canada at the moment, I saw a bag stapled to a telegraph pole last night when we went for a walk. Obviously some dog owner hadn't picked up their mess so a disgruntled neighbour had - attaching it to the pole with a very strongly worded note:curse:

AIRGEM

Hi Kate, I too would love to hear what yu think of Perpignan - it really appeals to me from what different people say. I'm planning to visit in October, look around and at different rental properties. I like the idea of having the sea and the mountains so nearby. The countryside looks quite exotic with lots of palms and cedars. I'm told it can be very windy along that coast though. It's just a hop across the border into Spain. Not far from wonderful city of Barcelona too. As a small time globetrotter myself the connections to Paris, Uk and the US are also good.
Hope you have a wonderful and fruitful trip over here.
Airgem

cupoftea

Watch out for the winds over towards Perpignan. They can be horrific, I've been once to the coast near there, it was awful and I would never go again. The winds are called 'la tramontane' and 'le mistral', you could find out more about which areas are worst affected by doing a google search, as there is a lot of information available on the subject and both winds are frequently mentioned on the Meteo. Not trying to put you off, but we didn't have any idea about such things when we bought our house and I am so relieved we didn't go to an area like that by accident as I would have had to move.