Having nightmares staring at maps and guidebooks. What we want is just a nice 3 bed bungalow, walkable to the baker and 15 mins drive fto a sandy beach. Or a house with a bed/bath on the ground floor. The house agents are totally useless ;they don’t even know if there is a bus service. We are early 70s but realizing you don’t stay young forever and we have to think of later on i.e. not driving.
There are zillions of villages on the map but I can’t find any guidebook whicht tells you what kind of of place it i s, such as ‘quaint’ or ‘messy’ or even ‘dangerous’ in certain parts of town; We would love to live in the city - but with a garden - but our 280000€ budget wouldn’t buy a lamp post!
Any ideas PLEASE. We have sold up and can’t visit properties because we have a son in hospital in Paris. We are staying in an apparthotel in Pornic -an hour from Nantes - whilst we are homeless which is where we have family. That means I’m just left with the net and it’s toooo complicated!
The Yello bus service around La Rochelle is excellent but as you say the house prices in the centre can be eye watering. There is also the rail service that goes down the coast. The coastal strip is lovely but inland tends to be bland. You could easily do a day trip from Pornic to get a feel of the area.
Aytre would be cheaper and out towards Marans cheaper still.
Gosh I didn’t realsise the prices were so high around that area.
In our region that sort of money would get you almost everything you need and still have a lot left over.
Sadly we are a long way from the beach but do have gorgeous countryside, lakes and some lovely small towns.
The sum I mentioned is what we have to spend but to find our ideal home would cost another 150000 within half an hour of the seaside ! That’s why we’re looking at villages inland but there are so many. This is our retirement home but it would be easier to buy a campervan…
Have you looked at leboncoin.fr? Sorry, can’t give information on the area but perhaps reading the local newspapers online will give you an idea of the ‘feel’ of what goes on (crime, etc.). Good luck
Marans is inland on the Sevres Niortaise. I’ve never come across any smelly swamps. Do you mean the fascinating Marais Potevin?
I spend a lot of time in La Rochelle because I sail from Les Minimes but have no wish to live there because, as Ann has pointed out, your money goes sooooooo much further just a bit inland. I did consider buying a flat in the old town once, that was surprisingly good value but of course no garden. There are great parks though and the coastal walks are very easy.
It’s impossible to make recommendations because the conurbation changes so dramatically within a few hundred yards. You really do need to go there for a couple of days. It’s well connected by public transport, look at the https://yelo.agglo-larochelle.fr/accueil website. I’ve certainly never come across anywhere I’d consider dangerous.
It’s a great town where you can get everything, a huge range of shops, restaurants, museums, theatres and other cultural activities. Every time I read posts about how France is dead in the winter I think about La Rochelle where the restaurants and shops are thriving for twelve months of the year. In fact, over the years, I’ve eaten outside in every month.
Saint Sulpice de Royan might be your answer. If you go into the SeLoger website and search your requirements you will find a few really nice villas within and under your budget - ignore those mentioning construction. Hope this helps.
Hi Joyce Ann, l thought this link to the site of the Mairie might give you at least an idea of what this pretty little village, that markets itself as the ‘gateway to the ocean’, is really like.
Hi Joyce Ann, That looks great - a little over budget but, as you know, the French have a habit of asking far too much and will normally accept a reasonable offer after a bit of haggling - so in this case 250 is nearer the mark.
I’m sorry the link l posted doesnt work - in answer to your question its a very nice medium sized town with all the amenities you could wish for, Doctors, Dentists, Bank etc. Try this link;
If you are looking to pay toward 500,000 for a retirement home anywhere in rural France and having trouble - then you can afford to have all the arrogant realtors working for you. I did a little searching further south - around Cap Ferret and saw gobs of homes in that price range within hundreds of meters of the beach. I admit I didn’t linger or search much as I only want to down size and invest much less. My thoughts are more how to be within 30 minutes from 2-3 large hospitals and some genuine competition between specialists with hopes of finding ones who know what they are talking about - which is a difficulty in rural France. Why not rent for 6 months in a couple of places and become familiar with the market?
