Kate - glad to hear it is working for you. I am just thinking about all the options at the moment. My husband isn't convinced of this one. But it could be a simpler/less commitment option than an actual house.
Sarah - i will definitely be cautious about what I sign up for. Am super careful with the small print whether in English, French or whatever. That's why it takes me so long to make any decisions. ;)
I've never lived on a campsite but have been told to be very careful, particulary if buying rather than renting! Don't sign anything you haven't completely understood, in the knowledge that French legalese is not easy to decipher, even if you're fluent.
We bought our mobile home in Litteau in 2007 and we now spend up to 9 months a year there My son has worked for Siblu for over 12 years and before we bought we had visited most of the sites and we found the one at Litteau in Normandy suited us the best We started with a basic mobile which we used to sublet This helped to pay most of the site fees but when we retired we decided to upgrade to a better model We found the English model far superior but you need to pay more for comfort We love the life and we never regret buying We have a very busy social life there with lots of English and French friends and find it quite cheap to live The season only lasts 9 months so we still have our home in the UK
My son is now working in sales at Litteau and can arrange a free 3 night taster visit should you want to have alook round There is no hard sell and you get to look at the site surrounding areas and use all the facilities It is only a 45 min-1hr drive from Caan and Cherbourg and is in a beautiful location I hope this is helpful to you
There are a couple of mobile home operators in Uk that also manage sites in France. I looked at doing same as you a couple of years ago. The permanent sites often have a social club/restaurNt as well. The 2 months offsite, could be a good excuse to go to Spain or back home to visit family!
I started out by looking at mobile homes on the UK sites on East coast of Essex, to get an idea of size and accommodation. Sad thing is I don’t remember name of companies running the sites and/or selling the Homes, I can relate to what you want to do though. A camping magazine or Internet search will get you started. Happy hunting!
Ah, gotcha. Sorry, I got confused. If you have a specific area in mind, have you thought about renting somewhere for, say, a year? That would allow you to see the area in all seasons, help your decision making etc and possibly be a cheaper option if (pure guesstimate) you found a monthly rental for €500 with all the mod cons in place. Mind you, I suppose that would be "lost" money as you wouldn't be able to sell on so it's a bit swings and roundabouts.
We lived in a 32' American motorhome with 5 dogs for 8 months after we sold our last home and found our next home and it was very easy but having said that the motorhome had aircon, Sat Tv etc so life was not to bad, particularly during the heat of summer (do not forget you are basically living in an oven!!!).
At those prices you would be better off financially buying a used caravan and then renting a long term plot but I am not aware of sites that open all year round.
Elaine - yes they do have a season. On the website says that most sites are available for about 10 months of the year.
Valerie -No, and yes. it's more of a lower cost/lesser commitment way of getting to know an area and to find out if living in France is definitely for us. I wouldn't want to do camper van/basic caravanning. We have a tourer caravan (which we don't tour with) and I find that a couple of days at a time in that is more than enough. These are mobile homes- which means I don't have to fetch water and empty loos etc. :) I am not a natural camper.
I do imagine that there are unseen costs which are in the very, very small print - which will become apparent once/if we get further into the process.
I think it's because I'm a bit overworked at the moment. Would you be staying on a campsite while looking at properties to live in full time? If so, I wonder if a camper van might prove more useful so you can move it with you as you change search locations. Or is the campsite an option of somewhere simply to stay if you come over on holiday? €11k+ is a big outlay and I don't know much it would hold its re-sale value.