rod70

Hi everyone

New to the forum. My wife and I are in our 70's and want to have a quiet old age in a nice big garden. Think France can offer us that better than UK. Any tips for us would be very much appreciated.

Pica

Hopefully you're considering buying a house as well as a garden )
Welcome, this place can become addictive.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
The biggest tip I can give now is to make sure your French is adequate, particularly for medical consultations/hospital stays. Seniors (I'm one, too) tend to consult more often as they get older, and there's more likelihood of falls or serious ailments. No fun if you can't communicate, and I know of several "older" expats who returned to the UK due to this lack of communication on the health front.
But come over to the France forum, and ask away!

rod70

Yes Pica we do intend buying a house in Loire area. I am amazed at the number of lovely properties there are for sale with so much land at very reasonable prices. I have spent days looking at them trying to get a feel for the sort of property that would suit "2 old codgers."

DMU thank you for the valuable advice about the language, wise words, which I will attempt to live up to.

Thank you both for responding and the welcome.

Pica

I hope you're both fit and up for lots of garden work-it gets very demanding and wearing during the summer months.

BEVS

Hi and welcome to BE. As you have already seen , our French bunch are a happy, caring sharing lot.

I will move this topic into the France forum for you as I feel you will get a better respsonse in there and it will save you having to write your intro again.

All the best.

I had my own eyes set for France but took a wrong turn and ended up with a large garden in New Zealand.

BEVS

Nectarine

I'd suggest renting first so that you're not committing to something which doesn't eventually suit your needs. Whilst the attraction of a lot of land is understandable- coming from the squashed UK - it can be hard to manage. I'd look for a house with a smaller manageable garden which backs onto fields so that you have the space, without the work. Also reasonably close to a town, perhaps on the outskirts, so that the car isn't always essential. There's plenty of English speaking services and hospital staff, and also many Brits in the expat community who are willing to help translate. But perhaps you need a fact-finding trip over and stay in some gites to get to know the areas. Beware, despite thinking that the south of France is Mediterranean warm climate, it can get flippin' wet and very very cold in the winter, so consider that especially since the Winter Fuel Allowance has now stopped! Hope this advice helps.

cyrian

Hello Rod
I strongly suggest that you consider renting a property rather than buying.
Renting is much more common in France than in the UK and the properties are normally unfurnished.
Renting can be quite usual throughout the social spectrum and home ownership is not regarded as a "social badge" as it is in the UK.
The reasons for suggesting renting are as follows:
You would not have "inheritance" issues when you both die.
You would have freedom to return to the UK should your circumstances change.
If you have problems e.g. with noisy neighbours then you can just move.
You don't have to get the location right first time.
Renting is generally cheaper than in the UK.
I am just suggesting that you consider this as an alternative.
Good luck

EuroTrash

Renting would also give you chance to find out whether you actually like France or not - which you don't mention in your post.
France is different from the UK in many ways and no matter how much you love your house and your garden, you do have to go outside your front gate on a regular basis. If you find you feel uncomfortable talking to your neighbours, doing the shopping, going to the doctor and the chemist, dealing with the bank and the tax office and the local garage and the chimney sweep and all the other things that are part of living here, you won't feel relaxed.

Maybe you know France well and speak good French in which case the above will be irrelevant, and in that case, no doubt you'll put me right.

Touraine

I have lived in the Loire valley for nearly ten years and OH most of their life. If you have any questions regarding certain areas just ask.

Whilst renting is good advice, in reality it is quite difficult/near enough impossible for expats to rent property without an employment contract.

If you go down the 'buying' route, make sure you buy a house that you can resell. The fact that houses look cheap is because their value is based on demand. In the more popular areas of France houses are nearly as expensive as the UK.

InVinoVeritas

As far as tips are concerned, "don't" is the one that springs to mind!

But seriously, you have provided far too little information for anyone here to give an informed opinion.

Eurotrash mentioned that France differs from the UK in many ways and that is something of an understatement. For a retiree who will have no ability to earn an income, the tax treatment of a pension and the entitlements to services are hugely important and require detailed scrutiny. You really don't want end up worse off in a foreign country.

cyrian

The Loire is 1000km long - which areas are you looking at?

dmu

The OPs are both retired and will presumably obtain Statements from the Pensions Office indicating their regular Pensions. The only issue would be if their joint Pensions aren't 3-4 times the rent.

Touraine

I did not now you could do that. If that is the case then renting is the way to go.

rod70

Wow what a terrific response to my post. Thank you everyone.


I am concerned though that InVinoVeritas advises that we don't. I assume he or she means don't move to France. However, there is no real explanation as to why and we would appreciate some expansion on why not. Is it our age or what?


Yes, we aware how important knowing the language will be for us to get on in a foreign country. We are also aware how important it is to be aware of houses that may not resell very easily. We will certainly be looking at renting initially and get to know the market a bit better.


As far as knowing exactly where we want to buy that is a difficult one. Again we would be grateful for any advice on where to avoid, if that is possible. Appreciate it is a big country.


Touraine could you expand what you mean by 'if that is the case then renting is the way to go' not fully clear what is meant by that.


Thanks again everyone for responding, very much appreciated.