Hi there

Me and my wife are very seriously looking into moving to france and at the minute we are in the research phase.

Our situation is as follows:
We own 2 horses and my wife wants to continue teaching dressage so we are looking for a property with some land either with facilities that can be converted or something that is allready established.

I will need to find work which I understand could be tricky because I am in sales and at the minute my French is poor however I aim to get to a very decent level within the near future.

We are looking for pointers in 2 areas please.

1) We are looking for pointers on location if possible, in terms of climate we are not to fussed as ideally a bit less rain and a bit warmer but its not the be all and end all.
Also a region that has an interest in equestrian sports would be benificial we understand that The Loire is not a bad place to start, and it offers quite good value for money.


2) Work oportunities for myself, I am prepared to pick up new skills and learn what ever it takes to make it happen but if anyone has other ideas that would be great. I am aware that I might need to do something very similar to my current role in the UK initially however I am also aware that sales is very much based on communication and me not being fluent in French will be a major blocker.

I had thought about the Gite idea but it might not be a stable source of income.

If anyone has any ideas that would be really useful.

Thanks in advance

The Parks

Hi there and welcome to the forum
In our area of Normandy, I know dressage is very popular, especially in the areas around St Lo and Coutances. There is also a very large school at Auvers which might be worth contacting
http://www.auvers2007.com/auvers2007en/index.php
I would however, suggest you do a search on Google to find out more - there are many articles, such as this one, that might help
http://www.frenchentree.com/france-n...e.asp?ID=23716
If you go to jobcentreplus you can search for jobs available in your field in France
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/index.html
you should also look at the ANPE website in France
http://www.anpe.fr/espacecandidat/ni...serCriteres.do
It might also help if you do a search on here for employment/jobs in France
Good luck

Thanks very much for that we have found it really helpful.

We will keep you posted.

Thanks Again

Pompadour in the Correze (Limousin) is the site of a race course and the Harras which is a national stud place with some superb animals, the white Arab stallion presented to Chirac for example. You still get Annual horse Fairs round here at places like St Yrieix la Perche and you still see the large Shire/ Percheron type breeds although they're getting rarer.