Hello folks. I’m new to this site.
We have our uk property up for sale and are committed to the move. We have spied details of a property which, on paper, would tick all of our boxes necessary and desired attributes.
It on the millevache plateau in dept 19 close to Peyrelevade.
All feedback on experience of living in this area would be most gratefully received. Internet research says .marvellous. We would like some real people pro and con info if possible please?
Thanks in advance
Hi Melody, my first reaction is “cold and wet” when someone mentions that area but I suppose it depends what you’re comparing it with and what you’re looking for 
Hmmmm I can cope with cold or warm. Am desriable of less damp, compared to midlands uk.
What I would like is warm to hot summer. No problem with thunderstorms. No problem with cold winter. Long periods of damp causes me lots of pain physically and for my tools (Goldsmith).
I would also like to know what the lifestyle experience is like. The property appears, onpaper, to suit our tick list. No point in getting excited if the area won’t suit me though 
Might not be your cup of tea…
Le climat du plateau de Millevaches est froid et humide en hiver avec des chutes de neiges souvent importantes et parfois tardives dans la saison. En été, il fait chaud mais des orages peuvent rapidement se former. L’automne est coloré et bien souvent affecté par l’été indien qui apporte une petite trêve de temps ensoleillé et très doux.
Il est important de noter qu’il pleut davantage sur la partie ouest du plateau de Millevaches (Vassivière) avec près de 1 400 mm par an contre 1 000 à 1 100 mm à l’est du plateau (Crocq).
Creuse and Correze are definitely not for you Melody.
Darn it! Had already written off Dordogne for wetness.
Okay - recommendations for where WOULD suit me gratefully received please.
It appears that France has had the wettest and most unsettled weather and the most rainfall since records began…I’m in Brittany not too far from Josselin…I suffer horrendously from the cold and Reynard’s is in our family on my maternal gran’s side so I’m maybe not the best person to generalise…but I will say that despite dire weather warnings and storm alerts we seem to have escaped the worst of it…there are a myriad of different temperatures in the Brittany region coldest in finistiere apparently…??? Just wanted to say that maybe Brittany is worth considering…??? x 
Where you find agreeable is a very personal thing. If you consider the Dordogne to be to wet for you you will have to forget about the Creuse and the Correze. The Poitou Charente does have a milder, drier climate than those areas but even so actual conditions can vary greatly within a few kilometres. I travel regularly between my home about one and a half hours inland from the Atlantic coast and the coast around La Rochelle fairly regularly and my observations are that the coast is cooler than my house during the summer and milder during the winter but that’s what you’d expect. There is no real difference in rainfall but both areas are much drier than the higher land another one and a half hours further east. If you are looking to move to a France my recommendation would be to find the area that you like first then search for the house. Buying a perfect house in an unsuitable area could turn out to be a big mistake.
The Creuse/Millevache isn’t that bad really, I’ve lived here for 15 years and haven’t gone too rusty yet, WD40 helps😂
Well Melody, looking at another thread, if you don’t like wet, consider where we are, SE 56, we are ‘gagging’ for some rain, the ground is bone dry here.
We are really in need of some rain Helen, we have only had snow ‘lay’ once in 8yrs in SE56.
I don’t think we should really use the weather 2017/2018 as any sort of guide.
In 20 years, this has been the worst/wettest/most miserable weather … ghastly.
V@markrobbins that’s what I need to hear. Not averse to rain, just don’t want it to be the whole summer without respite - which is how it has come across reading a fair number of posts. Have discounted Dordogne on the reports of rain flooding fields and it staying there. Rain is good. Just don’t want to be sat in a permanent puddle afterwards. Neither do we want to live in a scorched landscape.
Dept 19 appeals to us for the varied landscape. I’m the girl who would carry an ordnance survey map and go hunting waterfalls in the Lake District or Yorkshire dales. Hubby is ex forces so would happily tromp beside me.
Don’t mind excess cold winters. I have several sets of thermals and tog rated boots which withstood -30 waving at the Russian checkpoint, on the arctic circle side of the fence, at midnight without hassle and he even waved back. I have my nordic walking sticks.
The possibility to engage in artisanal festivals is also a big draw as I will continue my business when we move.
No offence meant when I say we don’t want to move to an area which has become heavily populated with ex pats. Having expats around is fine and good, though we want to move to France to live the French lifestyle, otherwise we may as well stay here in Lincolnshire 
The weather is not the dealbreaker. Lifestyle is .
Ha ha… Melody… sounds like you are fit for anything… and good luck in finding just the right spot. 
Not so fit anymore now the arthritis has kicked in. Still prepared to fight through it and live to spite it though 
Arthritis… mmm… surely you need dry rather than damp…or is that rheumatism?
Only you know what landscape will suit your lifestyle. I find it incredible that you link the Dordorgne department with rainwater lying in fields, the parts I know are not flat enough for that to happen. You really need to spend some time in your preferred area, the idea of no other expats around, an outdoor lifestyle and artisanal markets sounds idyllic but reality is often quite different. The Creuse is cheap and remote and parts of it are pretty but living there is not for everyone.
How well do you know France? As within departments things can vary quite a lot depending on altitude, aspect, local microclimate and so on. We live beside a cliff, and often watch the clouds swirling round it and avoiding us - rubbish phone reception tho’!
Have a look at french weather sites to get a feel for the averages, like this
http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/france
And if you don’t want/need to be in an area with other English people then look to the east of France rather than the south or west. Where we are has a more continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers (although less snow in last few years).
I’m no stranger to visiting France except I haven’t been over in a fair few years. I worked for the French for over a decade. Also we recognise that visiting and living there are two very different perspectives.
Where I got the impression of Dordogne having water laying in the field is from reading the threads on this site. It hadn’t been something i observed whilst visiting for sure. Remote is no scare for us. We had a rural smallholding before moving to our current home - and we miss having the scenery around us (plus chooks and goats).
Maybe I’ve come across as having a pious broom stuck up my own ass? Certainly unintended. Simply looking for genuine feedback on lifestyle in the areas we feel may suit us best 
I will be flying over soon enough to have wander though that still will be a visit rather than living the life so won’t give me as much feedback.
Totally agree with you and Peter. I live on the borders of north Creuse, south Indre and the winters can be very wet and long . Mind you the weather this Spring/eary Summer has been dreadful too, very wet and such a variant in temperatures too.
Having said that my little bit of paradise is very green, quiet and has lots of space, and for the moment not many British so it suits me !