mariepope

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RedMonsk

Hi Marie

This sounds like a very intriguing proposition! Whereabouts in La Gironde are you? How close are you to schools?

We are in Berkhamsted, is that handy enough for you? Could you possibly email photos of your house? Will speak to my husband tonight, but it sounds like a good idea!

mariepope

Hi RedMonsk,
Glad you're interested.
Can't e-mail you as I haven't notched up enough posts. See if you can e-mail me and I'll be able to reply.
Cheers, Marie:

Awineor2

Hello Kate and everyone else,
I have just read this thread with great interest as everyone sounds so informative, helpful and friendly. Really looking forward to hearing what you have to say Kate upon your return.
We are originally from the UK and emigrated to Australia, at the time we also visited NZ as either place was an option, having lived there for 3 years we came upon the usual problems of it being soooooooooo far away from family and so we now live in the Middle East until we find somewhere in Europe where we feel we would like to settle. I have just returned from a 1000 mile drive (felt like Shirley Valentine), one week trip to Italy and decided against it for various reasons, our hearts are now set on SW France though neither of us now it, from what we have heard it sounds like it could suit our needs and the needs of a 16-12 and 3 year old. We are looking in the triangle of Bergerac, Bordeaux and Agen - not sure why - it just sounds nice, so any info would be greatly appreciated from anyone who can offer any. We are looking for house with a little land, but not totally rural out in the middle of nowhere. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and if we all end up over there perhaps we can start up our own little circle of expats. Look forward to hearing from anyone and hearing great news from Kate.

gordon-bocquet

You sound very positive and as I am now resident in that trangle I would like to give you a couple of words of advice.
If you find a nice old house which suits you DO EMPLOY preferable an English speaking surveyor for a full survey. The equivilant UK profession does not really exist here or they are hard to find, but it is a necessity. Many good folks have bought without surveys and reallly regret it after. For example there is
wood rot here in bucket fulls and not all the vendors are honest ! I have had my experiences on two purchases now.
If you need a recommendations for guys who cover Aquitaine let me know.
Secondly, the market here is "flat" or falling in my view so it is now a buyers'
market so don't hesitate to put in a reasonable offer (after the survey results !) and don't let any agent bully you. There is a fantastic selection on offer now.
Good luck and you will will surely get much more positive advice from the
local contributors. By the way it is possible that Agen will have a low costs airline using the airport in 2008 with routes to UK, Morocco etc.
Bocquet (Agen, lot et Garonne)

Awineor2

Thanks so much for the advice, it is all very much appreciated. I am now just waiting to visit and hopefully take it from there, looking at agencies, there does appear to be a great selection and fingers crossed with good advice we will hopefully get it right.

onlyonebrenda

I'm also in your triangle. Welcome. You might like to have a look round Perigueux or Castillon both of which have a busy social life including youngsters. I don't know Castillion well but I do know Perigueux probably has better schooling than the local villages. Funding for schooling can be a bit arbitrary depending on the whim or political allegiance of the mayor according to a local head.
Perigueux is on the main Paris/Limoges/ Bordeaux railway line (French trains are excellent and cheap) It is also on the route National 21. It is surrounded by stunning countryside. If you choose to live in a nearby village your children are likely to be bussed to local sporting activities at heavily subsidised rates. Where I live the village fêtes and events in the summer subsidise the football club. A friend near Chalus was asked by his son for 50€ (about £35) to join the local junior rugby club. He was picked up from his remote house by coach and came back with his own pair of boots, the following week he will get a shirt and the following week he will get the shorts. Two professional coaches come to a nearby village to train the youngsters. No further payments are required. Sounds pretty good value to me.

scaredycat

Hi, I'm another one looking at moving to South West France, preferably Charente/Charente Maritime.

We spent some time down there this summer in our motorhome and looked at quite a few houses. We're considering driving down in the car next month and renting a small property for a month so we can get a feel of the place out of holiday mode.

My OH is all for the move but, although I really want to live in France, I'm having a problem with the 'for sale' sign going up outside our lovely home that I've lived in for 29yrs!
I'm sure there must be other people who felt this way?

dreamcatcher

Hi and welcome Scardcat

scaredycat

Thank you dreamcatcher. I've been following this forum for some time now while we've been considering our move and have found lots of the threads really useful.

onlyonebrenda

Hello Scaredycat
I knew myself well enough to know that if I had a place here and one in England it wouldn't matter which one I was in I would be worried about the other. Yes it was a wrench to leave my lovely home and friends but somehow at a very deep level it felt the right thing to do. If I'd stayed where I was I would have still had some good times but it would have been a case of the law of diminishing returns. Do I miss it? Yes but not in the sense of wanting to return. I realise before I came here I had a slightly patronising view of ex-pats being sad creatures who were always pining for home and couldn't afford to return. The other day I suddenly realised that I felt quite ok about growing old and eventually dying here.
I tried to plan everything down to the last detail before coming here then realised that was impossible. Make sensible plans by all means, plan what you can, definitely work on your French BEFORE you come here but finally you have to just hold your nose and dive in. I hope sharing this helps. Good luck.

treskillard

Yes I would too assuming I had loved the place - what is the problem? A fear of losing something precious? Or of not finding anything as precious? Or guilt? I've felt this way myself at times - guilty about leaving their home and moving. Guilty at having the choice or at leaving people and/or situations behind that others can't so easily leave.

scaredycat

Thanks for your comments. I think my problem is that I've raised my family in this house and now that they've grown up and left home I'm suffering from 'empty nest syndrome'. It's been a year now so I should be able to make a fresh start and look to the future but it means letting the past go and it's difficult. Another problem for me is.. what if I don't like it and I want to come home? I'll have burned my bridges. This feels like learning to walk again and stepping out into the unknown. I lack courage.

dreamcatcher

Hi Scaredycat, I think its a good idea to rent a little place for a month just to get the taste,the Charente is beautiful, and the people to.I know its difficult to let go sometimes but thats as natural as you can get.I know like onlyonebrenda that I couldnt have 2 homes on the go,I would be worried to death abut the other oneCannot imagine that.Mind you never been in that postion.What town is the nearest you been looking at?
PS you dont lack courage,its just the unknown.

Chris'nJulie

Scaredycat,

I'd owned my house in the UK for almost 25 years before we moved to the Limousin. It was my first and only owned home - I'd rented previously.

I did loads of renovation work on it, and substantially changed it - twice in those 25 years, and it was home to 2 marriages (consecutive, I hasten to add!). It took a year to sell, and in the meantime we'd identified an area in France which appealed, and visited several times before actually buying a French property. It was all quite a nerve-wracking experience, but eventually everything came together.

So when the time came to leave, I reflected on the work that I'd done, the expense involved, and the happy (and unhappy) memories it held, and contemplated the new start with some misgivings.

However, when I considered the reasons for moving away to another country, it occurred to me that it was an opportunity to re-start my life with new challenges, but without the encumbent millstones I experienced in the UK - crime, disrespectful youth, the nanny state, rubbish and wanton vandalism in the streets, traffic, and a weak and ineffectual government.

Now, after 8 months of actually living here, I don't regret a single thing. Just about everything is more or less as I expected, and I am slowly learning a new language. We've also brought all our home comforts with us to make the transition more comfortable (3 cats, Sky radio and tv, furniture, etc.)

The UK is about an hour away should the need arise to visit (the present Mrs. K has family over there and will visit regularly), but personally I have no intention of returning permanently, despite the inconvenient changes in the French social security system!

All things considered, this is probably one of the better things I've done in my life!

The hardest part is making the decision to commit - then following it through. If you keep your sights firmly on the future and the reasons for taking such a step, the rest will follow naturally.