Shard

Well that solves it - no need to buy a breathalyzer set! Especially if the fine is only €11 for non-compliance.

EuroTrash

To be precise, the fine is 0€.

Tweedpipe

In a previous post I mentioned that a French consumer guide did a comparison between 12 different Ethylotest products widely on sale, and a number were considered useless.

More previous comments re breathaliser kits:-

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...t=breathaliser

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...t=breathaliser

HolidayHomeHunter

Thanks for the advice everyone....the visit went well over the weekend, I really liked the area in general, although didn't get anywhere near any beaches as I was too busy looking at houses!
I agree this year seems to be a good time to buy, and we are looking long term, for holidays rather than investment to be fair, if the prices go up a little it's a bonus.
The euro is the only doubt factor...but as a few of you say no one can predict that!
I've shortlisted 4 properties (out of 14 viewed!) to go back and see again with the better half in a couple of weeks, then we will probably sit for a couple of months and see what happens, if anything new comes up, or any prices are reduced. They are fairly spread out from St Jean d'Angeley, Aulnay to Angouleme, and one near Chef Boutonne, so if anyone has further advice on those areas feel free to post it!
We are too late for this Summer so realistically can sit back till December/January....and still get completed on somewhere in time for Easter.
Fingers Crossed!

HolidayHomeHunter

I did carry all the gubbins from Halfords too..including 2 breathalysers

bigglesworth

Just a thought but proximity to plans d'eau is probably a useful consideration for a holiday home. Angouleme for example has the Nautilis centre. But many smaller towns have lovely ones too

HolidayHomeHunter

That looks pretty nice!
We are planning on either finding somewhere with a pool, or space for one I think though, I know there's maintenance, costs etc that come with that, but I think worth it
We have kids, as do a few of our friends who will most likely come and use the place so it will be beneficial to be able to just relax in the garden while the kids splash about!

HolidayHomeHunter

One of our other criteria is to be within 45-90mins of the coast so days out to the beaches are still an option, but would be an actual 'day out' rather than, just nipping to the beach.

bigglesworth

Hmmm - just remember if trying to get to the beach in les grandes vacances, just getting to the coast may take up much of that day out?

The plans d'eau themselves can be absolutely lovely this is the website of a restaurant on one near us

http://www.le-rejallant.com/?lang=gb. The picture is pretty realistic, there is a large bathing area. Over at Mansle they have canoeing and kayaking etc.

We are putting a pool in ourselves, but without substantial additional expenditure, it is only realistically usable 4 or at a stretch 5 months. Using before June you do need to heat somehow, and you need to retain the heat after September.
So we will be installing an abri to retain heat, which we HOPE will push it up to 7 or 8 months, and then try with either solar or ground source to add another month or two.

HolidayHomeHunter

Now that does like nice!
I think if we end up getting a place without a pool we will go for an above ground option initially....to see how often we realistically use it. With a view to either an inground pool at a later date, or creating a decked area around a above ground....not sure yet to be fair.
We will mainly be visiting in June/July/August/Sept, and possibly Easter/Xmas so the bulk of the Summer hopefully would be useable...and good enough weather!
So are you in the Ruffec area Bigglesworth?
That's pretty close to where we are looking.
What's your verdict on the weather/rain/seasons etc around there?

bigglesworth

Yes we are. I have to say the weather the last two or three years has not lived up to expectations, but we did come from the Dordogne, so it is still an improvement.
Summers and autumn have been lovely. And autumn can last pretty close to December. Winter has been cold. Springs have been disappointing - we are always told about the February people spent sitting outside for lunch. But that is a few years ago now.
The trick here is to be prepared for the weather. It can be cold, very cold. But it is generally not damp at the same time. The last three winters we have had several weeks in January, and some in February which were very cold indeed and a fair bit of snow.
So we learnt that the one thing not to do is let the house get cold. We have good wood burners. MASSES of insulation - everywhere. And oil fired central heating just to be sure. (Renewable energy for heating seems far more advanced, but if the temperature drops too low, little of it seems to work.)
We are also learning (slowly) how to work the shutters. There is far more of a science to it than you might think. We watch our neighbours and try to angle them the same way. We air the house whenever we get the opportunity (with all the insulation, damp can be a problem).
And we get through it all pretty happily. This last Spring was a bit tough, basically because it did not really stop raining till end June. (That is not to say there were no nice days- there were. But when you are trying to knock the garden into shape, you need a bit more than the odd few days).
And we have the great good fortune (well we planned it that way) of being close to Ruffec. - LeClerc, Intermarche and Lidl- plus a decent market with excellent fish and chicken. So easy access to the UK by road rail or plane.

suppleberry

That's interesting. I always thought the Dordogne had better weather than northern Charente. Is that not the case ?

bigglesworth

Certainly not in our experience.

The Charente is reputed to be the second sunniest part of France.

HolidayHomeHunter

See that is what I keep reading, and what attracted me to the area, as well as the fact it's only 7 hours from Calais......and the prices of the houses!
But then when I've Googled 'weather in Charente' it seems to only bring up the bad stuff!

From what I have read Dordogne gets more rain early season.....but can be hotter in peak of Summer.
I'm happy in the mid 20's anything higher every now and again is a bonus, was about 26c last weekend when I was in the Charente, perfect :-)

So I'm just trying to find out from people who actually live there what it's like 'in general' over the months before I jump in with both feet and buy somewhere

EuroTrash

Outside of French holiday weekends...