We are a retired couple aged 63 and 72, currently living in southern Spain. After 7 years of suffering intense summer heat, dust, flies, arid countryside and witnessing animal cruelty, we have decided to search for somewhere with a less punishing climate, greenery, friendly people and a good health service. Having done some research, we have hit upon Lower Normandy (possible around Domfront) as a place which is definately worth a look at. Having read lots of comments on this forum site, there seems to be a mixed opion of life in France (to be expected - lots of people love Spain!)
However, if there is anyone out there in a similar situation to ours, we would be grateful for any comments/advice etc.. Hoping to hear from someone soon. Best wishes, Barbara

Hi, We are almost the same ages 72 and 64. We dithered about moving to Spain or France (Back to France I should say) Spain is lovely for a holiday but living in France is much more pleasant. The houses are more varied, the countryside is greener and despite what some may think the french are really nice. The whole structure of France is more sophisticated and organised too. Make the effort to learn(and speak) french. Good luck

Hello Jorgi, thanks for your quick reply, it is good to hear from someone of our own age. I wonder if you would be good enough to give us a few facts regarding the cost of living (how does it compare with the UK for instance?), the health service (this is very important as Peter has a few ailments and we have heard that France is amongst the World Health Organisation's list of best providers), things to do and just how much does it rain really? Thanks again, Barbara

Hi there Barbara
although we are slightly younger than you, when we moved to Normandy we had lots of friends come to visit. Although originally from UK, we met 2 sets of friends whilst living in Namibia. They came to visit us in Normandy and fell in love with the place, to the extent that when they retired they bought houses and moved here. They are both further south than us and love every minute. Listening to what they've been up to, it's hard to believe they are late 60's, early 70's. There is also quite an active British expat community around Coutance/La Haye du Puis, which organise meetings etc. As far as healthcare is concerned, I'm a registered nurse in UK so can comment from experience on the health care here. The few times we've had to use it, I have been very impressed. One of our retired friends had to have surgery at the hospital in St Lo and her treatment was excellent, especially as she does not speak much french - the lady who came round with library books even found some English ones for her. Little thing I know, but it made her feel so much better.
There is also a large teaching hospital in Caen, attached to the university. Not sure about other towns but if we want to see our GP here, he has open surgery every morning from 8.30-11.30 am. You just arrive and take your turn to see him. If you want an appointment, these are made for afternoon surgery from 5-7.30 pm. He also makes house calls.
We find the weather here is more like the Channel Islands than south of England, and we are about a month ahead seasonwise. Saying that Suisse Normandy gets it's name from it's scenery, and is much colder and can get more snow, in winter. We are further north and I love the climate here, we don't get the extremes you get further south. We also have lovely sandy beaches and lots of greenery. Spring time is wonderful, lots of blossom on the apple trees - good cider country here - which also go well with the local pork
A couple of things I would suggest you check if thinking of buying in France though. Firstly, the inheritance laws here. I know they are proposing changing the situation between husband and wife, but it is something you will need to look into, especially if either of you have been divorced and have children. I would also suggest you check to see if the new electricity lines are going to be positioned close to where you are considering buying - you can do a search for Ligne THT / High Voltage Electricity Pylons – ++Southern Manche++ This is going to affect house prices in certain parts of Normandy as it will have visual and noise implications. There are 3 proposed routes as far as I'm aware, mainly around Villedieu les Poeles and St Pois.
Good luck with your decison
Val

Hello Val, thanks so much for the info., it helps so much to have it from the horses mouth so to speak. Which part of Normandy do you live in? We are driving up in September to have a general look around as I don't really know which is the most suitable area for us. We love the coutryside but do not want to be isolated, we need to be within reach of shops etc. bearing in mind that we are not getting any younger.We would like to come up sooner but our first (and probably, only, grandchild) is due any day and we shall be in the UK for two weeks from the 22nd so have to delay our visit until after our return to Spain. Had we hit upon this idea before we booked our flights, we would have driven to England instead and could then have killed both birds with one stone. Best wishes, Barbara

Good luck with the impending arrival .....may it all go well
Let us know when He/She is born ....any excuse for a drink of bubbly

Cheers

Kate

Hi Barbara,
we are in Manche, close to all the D-Day beaches. Lots of fairly large towns around here, many with good rail and ferry links. I think you are very wise to look for something that wouldn't be too isolated, especially for doctors, hospitals etc. Is it too late to cancel your flights? I know the P&O ferry runs from Santander to Portsmouth. On the way back LD lines run from Portsmouth to Le Havre. We drove down to Spain (Zaragoza) last year. It's a lovely road down (apart from the bit around Bordeaux but only because it's so busy). We stayed at Biarritz over night and had a great time.
Have you also thought about the area around St Malo? There is also a ferry from there to Portsmouth as well as flights from Dinard. You might want to look at www.logic-immo.com and www.nota.fr to get some idea of what is on the market at the moment. I don't know if it's the same in Spain but if you see a reference to F1, F2 etc this usually refers to the amount of rooms in the property. It doesn't include kitchen or bathroom (I stand to be corrected) but refers to rooms such as bedrooms, lounge, dining room etc.
As Kate says, let us know when the new grandchild arrives.
Val

Hello again Val (and Kate - don't know where you popped up from, but it's very nice to meet you). Thanks again for the advice Val, I shall follow up your suggestions. We can't really cancel our flights in favour of driving to the UK as we would not be able to reclaim the costs (more than 400 euros at this time of year). However, we are planning to put our property on the market this week hoping that there will be some interest, the market has been very slow around here for the past 18 months. At least that will be the first positive step to our moving to France. I wonder if you are a gardener? One of the things I really miss about the UK is my lovely cottage garden which I had in Sussex. I have a great garden here, but it is necessarily full of plants which can withstand the heat and dryness, tough plants really, not like the pretty flowers I used to grow. Also I have a large veg. patch which I cannot use any time between the end of May to about November time, because of the heat and lack of water. What are the conditions like for growing flowers and veg. in Normandy and are there plenty of garden centres (my great weakness, along with shoes!) Also, can you tell us the truth about the weather, I have read that it rains often but not for long and just how cold does it get in the winter? Looking forward to hearing from you again. Best wishes, Barbara.
PS
Our new little grandson will be very special as our son and his partner have been together for 23 years, finally deciding to get married a year ago in Mauritius (it was a lovely experience) and then announcing the new arrival in May. As Jane is 40 they did not want to tell us any sooner as she had to undergo loads of tests etc. to ascertain that the baby was OK. She has been absolutely fine, fit as a flea, no stretch-marks, and still working at her business. She did have one or two episodes of morning sickness but chose to ignore them and went for a run!

Hi Barbara
what a wonderful story, made me all choked up. Please let us all know when the baby arrives. You must all be so excited.
Will try to answer your questions as best as I can.
Gardening - my big passion. We lived in South Africa/Namibia before we moved to France so know what you mean about trying to grow things in hot, dry conditions, although I was very proud of my herb garden there! Moving to Normandy was like a dream come true. We originally bought a large old farmhouse, close to Utah Beach, with just under 2 acres. The old man we bought it from told me you can just push a stick in the ground and it will grow here. I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. The thing I love most of all is the seasons, very defined here, but about a month ahead of UK, so we have had daffodils blooming in January before the crocuses! April the banks are full of primroses and the blossom is on the trees. I have geraniums still growing from last year, this winter was not so cold but wetter. At the moment I have a pear tree just about to drop fruit all over the grass, buddleia in flower, roses, lilac, prunus, sage, lavender (a mass of flowers on that) rosemary, thyme, hydrangea,clematis, st john's wort to name a few growing well, not to mention the marigolds, petunias and geraniums in the window boxes! As for veggies, well have only had a problem with tomatoes and potatoes with blight, again probably because we are so close to the sea. Grow raspberries and strawberries, figs, olive tree (no olives yet though) The brassicas do well here, as do lettuce and radishes. Leeks are a local thing, usually so cheap to buy I don't bother planting, but they do well. Gawd, you've really got me started now. There are big garden centres all over, a nice one in St Lo and a couple at Cherbourg. Point Vert, which has branches all over Normandy is also a good supply of plants and garden equipment. I get a lot of my plants though from the supermarkets here, and neighbours. LeClerc, Auchan, Champion start stocking the shelves from April. As to the truth about the weather, well the first year we were here my son asked me in October when the rainy season would stop! He was used to having rain for 2 months of the year and then nothing until the folllowing summer. As we live so close to the sea I think we are generally warmer than further south. Our eldest was at university in Caen and often in January she would leave home in clear weather and phone us to say there was snow when she got back to Caen. We have had small snow falls one or two days, around February, but it lasts for such a short time, it is a bit of a novelty really. Suisse Normandy though do get more and it lasts longer. I find February/March to be probably the worst months here for rain and it can go on for days on end. April, May and June are often very warm and sunny, although not quite hot enough for the beach. July and August can get very hot - just not this year! September can also be warm enough for the beach, October/November cooler but still lots of sunny days. We do get frost December/January but not often. I like to think it's good for the garden anyway as it kills off all the bugs! I remember the first year we were here, we went to the Christmas Eve church service at St Mere Eglise. Came out at midnight with the bells ringing in the background, a full moon shining on the frost in the fields as we drove home. A magical night.

Oh Val, now you've almost had ME in tears, it sounds idyllic!! Can't wait to get there to have a look. Keep in touch, I feel like we are friends already. Best wishes, Barbara

Hi Barbara, thanks for that. I think we are going to have to arrange a Normandy meet up soon, there seem to be more of us by the day!
I have just sent you a private message. I was talking to a friend of ours earlier who has retired to the Maine et Loire region, as they were worried Normandy might be too damp for them. It might be worth you looking at too? They are also keen gardeners, and grow all their own fruit and veg.
Val

There are indeed more of us by the day! I'm just back from 3 weeks in Normandy, where my wife's family originate and continue to thrive. And I bought us a little prezzie...a house in Isigny-sur-mer. We'll be using it as a maison secondaire for a few years, then retiring there in the not too distant future.

BTW we presently live and work in Toronto.

I'll be on this forum quite a lot in the next little while I think.

Welcome .....look forward to information sharing .....looks like we will have to have a meet up somewhere next year.
good luck

Kate

Hi there and welcome,
what a small world! We are just down the road in Carentan. Isigny-sur-mer is lovely (sell the best ice cream in the world there)
My OH is working in Canada at the moment, in NS. so sounds as if we have a lot in common:
Sure you wont need much help if you have family in the area but let us know if there is anything.

Much appreciated val. Creme d'Isigny, ice cream and Camembert are definitely main draws. Looking forward to being neighbours (eventually).

Novo.