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We are planning to part time retire next year to France.

We will have my public sector pension plus other various income streams.

Location is the issue. Our budget for property is not high, but doable...
Criteria for location is


Happy for warm summers and cool winters but not the -10 or lots of snow
Good area for tourists
Reasonable distance for coast - not for us but for guests
Accommodation with Land - no more than 1-2 acres

I am thinking of Southern Brittany husband wants further south,

Any thoughts:fingerscrossed:

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Others will also welcome you. Your winter temperature is the issue in Southern Britanny; it's a bit like the English climate.
France is a big country, as a very general rule the further inland the lower the prices and VFM; coastal areas more costly 'cos the French love them to. Lots of second French homes in and around us. I can only suggest you research, research and then some. What sort of summer temperatures do you fancy? Upwards of 35 degrees to plus 40, then south is the route. Lots of Brits down south. North more like UK, but that is a general rule. Suggest you try to pin down an area and then visit. :D

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Welcome back:thumbsup:

Are you planning to part-time retire or retire and live part-time in France?
You want to consider ease of travel to and from the UK for yourselves and guests.
South Brittany is nice with a warmer and sunnier climate than the channel coast.
The Vendee and Charente Maritime are also delightful.
The weather this winter has been exceptional with heavy snowfalls and very cold temperatures.
We chose Touraine because of good transport links; a climate that is not too hot or too cold; interesting because of the chateaux and history of the region and of course with good food and wine.
To be honest we could have chosen several areas which would have been equally acceptable.
You may want to consider how much you would want to rely on a local expat community to socialise with and provide support when you come up against french bureaucracy.

Good luck

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thank you both very much good starting points.

we will be partly working from home so not an issue

To be honest I don't mind the hot summers but do not want freezing winters as such.... English winters are ok. We will be on a limited income so have tp be sensible about heating costs and travel to and from UK

I think all things considered we keep coming back to southern Brittany but will carry on researching:thumbup:

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I will be stunned if there is somewhere in France that doesn't freeze up in the winter. We are in the South/Southwest and a week and a half ago it was -18 here and held at that for quite a few days, We have had another year were folk were building snow men and sledging on the beach.

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We have a house in south Deux Sevres, in the Poitou Charente; we have had this for over 9 years and love being in this area. It benefits from the milder winters (though we did have a bit of snow this year and some chilly temperatures); it claims to be the second warmest part of France after the Med coast. We are less than an hour from the coast - La Rochelle, Chatellailon Plage, Ile de Re etc and about an hour from Futuroscope plus innumerate other attractions that our visitors love to go to including the lovely Marais Poitevin. The house prices here are quite reasonable once you get away from the coast.
The area is well served by transport with flights to La Rochelle and Poitiers each about an hour away or Eurostar via Lille and then TGV to Poitiers or other towns in the area. The road system is very good as well, having the A10 running through the region. If you need to get back to the UK transport may well be important! Flights can still be bought for reasonable prices to this area (just booked one £28 at the start of the easter break).
We would highly recommend this area which has plenty of interest and touristic attractions if you want to visit them, but also has lots of places without all of that! And... everything in between!
If you are unsure - come and have a look! We did and we love it!:thumbsup: