Good morning to you all… My husband and I will be moving from UK to France in November (2nd time around!) and want to search an area (going next week) for a house to buy. We don’t want to go any further south than Bordeaux, stick to the west (ish) and not any where that is too touristy… although appreciate tourism is good for the local economy… I was looking at houses to buy in the Limousin, Correze looks good on paper, as does the North of Dordogne… The sea doesn’t bother me too much, but want beautiful countryside and views etc What I do not want is higher than average rainfall… and I think this is where I may come unstuck with this area… I appreciate that if I want lovely green rolling hills then I need rain! But please… I made that mistake now living in Cornwall - beautiful beautiful place, but oh does it rain!! Any town/area recommendations would be wonderful and very much appreciated… thanks to you all. Jane
Hi Jane and welcome back to SF
We live in the Charente, more to the west of the Limousin which did have the mantle of being the second most sunny place in France. Not sure if it still the case though.
The climate is quite temperate but it does rain from time to time as weather patterns naturally change over time.
The Charente is quite flat(ish), more so the more west you go towards Charente Maritime and the coast.
We have lived here for over 10 years are retired and the area suits us well. It is far enough east to be be shielded from the worst of the weather coming in from the Atlantic and far enough west to be protected from the worst of the beasts from the east being shielded by the massif central. In both cases, the weather has often petered out by the time it reaches us.
Best of luck with your search.
Thanks for that Graham, I shall report back after my 10 day road trip next week… We are driving down from Roscoff to Brantome and stopping at every possible place on the way (south of Nantes)… so that should be interesting… What you say about the protection from the East is really interesting, hadn’t thought of it like that before… again, thank you.
Been to Brantôme quite a few times over the years - not that far from us in the Charente (1 hour journey by road). Lovely place with good restaurants and La Dronne river which more or less surrounds it.
If you want rural, with reasonably priced properties, but a decent climate and not too far from the sea, you could consider the Vendee/Deux Sevres boundary area in the Fontenay-le-Comte/Bresuire/Parthenay triangle. We had an MS in there for 12 years and only moved away further south for our final (hopefully !) home mainly because I wanted to be nearer the mountains.
nearer my God to thee?
curiously (having pinpointed those three town you mentioned… I am staying in Vouvant on the way down overnight… so will definitely check out this area… so thank you for the ‘heads up’ !
Only if you believe in a mystical being that some people call ‘god’ (non use of the capital intentional).
Ha… I don’t 
I lived close to Objat Correze for 8 wonderful years it does rain but its not that often but when it rains it is very heavy and moves on quickly
Maine et Loire is one of the drier depts, in the west of the Loire therefore not too touristy, plenty of rolling green hills, forests and rivers. Angers is an excellent city, rural property is not too pricey. The weather is in general clement but like everywhere else less predictable than it used to be. I am retired and like to cycle and can see up to 15 smaller chateaux in 35 km. Why go further south?
Thank you for that information Richard_Fysh2… It was useful… Life would be so much simpler if we HAD to live in a particular area then it would be easier to narrow down. I am sure I have been to Angers before… I shall have to definitely check it out… thanks…
Hi, just noticed your post - how about ‘La Lomagne’ area of S/West, rolling hills + low rainfall - just google it. All the best KR Nick
We’ve had our house here about 40 minutes north of Brantôme since 2007. In Dordogne but can walk into Charente and Haute Vienne from our front door. As we frequently do.
We’re in the hills surrounded by forests and lots of rivers and lakes. But it’s green for a reason. We do get rain. And lots of sun!
Happy for you to visit whilst you’re over and take a look.