As Title says, Hello everyone, potentially France bound in next year - 18mnths or so. Joined to get some more ideas/information. Gleaned quite a bit lurking, so thought I would say hello 
Derek
7 Likes
Hello Derek and welcome, hope you receive all the help you need and if you chasing a visa that goes smoothly.
Thank you… I`ll be asking questions in most of the forums Just in the initial stages of investigation, so hopefully by the time Im ready, I`ll have all the info I need…
Hi Derek, welcome from me too.
Which country are you living in at the moment?
Hi Jennifer,
I am in Scotland at the moment & probably looking @ 2028 for moving.
Hello, Derek. What draws you to France? Any preference over where you’d like to live?
Hi Gareth, It was a toss up between France & Spain, Its something Ive always wanted to do. I lived a long time in Germany, & visited France often.
1 Like
Hi, interesting - I’m curious, what was so similar between Spain and France for you? And why did the coin land on the France border? Ta in advance!
It really just boiled down to the fact, we prefer the houses in France.
3 Likes
I live 20 mins from the Spanish border down here by the Med and its very Spanish in feeling '(Catalan) and some of the houses but still also very French. It is however difficult to find property to buy in some villages and can reach more than 40°C in summer but saying that, good aircon works and not much need for a lot of heating in the winter if you choose the right situation and house. I lived for over 30 years previously in the far west of Brittany where it was damp and not very hot in summer and had constant aches and pains, here, no aches and pains and no wearing of heavy winter clothing for most of the year either.
Yeh, Thats sort of the area we are looking at. Want away from the dampness
Hello Derek. You will find absolutely everything you need to know - and a lot you don’t yet know you need to know, a.t.mo. - on S.F.
For example, re dampness. If you’re averse to this, get south of the Loire. Why so much butter/milk/cheese in Normandy? Lots of rain = lots of grass = lots of cows …
In fact, I’d say Normandy’s climate in Somerset/Devon. Similar to the Tweed Valley but minus the snow in winter.
Yes, you will have masses more choice in FR. Not just the properties themselves but the setting - deep country/small-large villages/towns
Having lived in ES for 5 years [Valencia] after regular, prolonged visits for 15 years prior to that, I’d say that the typical town or village one finds in FR hardly exists in ES, certainly away from the coastal strip.
When I went looking around in the countryside in ES I found that the villages, such as there were, were ‘dormitories’ for the people who worked on the land. The Spanish are very much urban flat-dwellers. Valencia, however - fantastic city! My favourite in the whole world! Blistering heat in summer, tho’.
1 Like
Hi Captaine,
yeh, it was south we were looking at… & as in the Loire region maybe.
Funnily enough, it was almeria/Valencia area we were looking at.
Derek
Don’t tell any Catalans it’s the same thing 
I love that the Catalans in Spain use Catalan a lot, that everything including university courses is taught in Catalan. My cousins from 66 all grew up speaking Catalan French and Spanish (and still do) and that’s great 
A lot of my neighbours speak it too and my grandson is picking up words at school. Same as in Brittany where my children had to do Breton in college as it was part of the curriculum and there are Diwan schools all over, some of their current teachers are friends of my kids who went down the language teaching path. Lots of the signposts, placards and other general info is in French, French Catalan and Spanish.
Our village signs come in 3 flavours - French, Catalan and upsidedown!
2 Likes
We have grandchildren living in Barcelona. Catalan is the language taught at school while generally Spanish is spoken when out and about. Having English teacher parents they are naturally tri-lingual.
1 Like
Good luck with that…
Welcome.
I thought it was the other way round. Wherever I’ve been in Cataluña I’ve only ever heard Castellano when I spoke to someone, as I can’t speak Catalan. Catalans say they are not Spanish but Catalan.
Would someone who analyses the Catalan language be called a catalyst?
5 Likes