Like all those Uncle Alberts in Normandy.
Prices for the same type of property will tend to be higher, just because it’s Dordogne. Of course you don’t have to be part of a clique, but what we like is being in a part of the world where we can be in a restaurant, at a market, at a concert, exhibition, etc and hear no English being spoken. Does that make us an “anti-clique” clique? 
We could join your “anti-clique” clique. 
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We flinch and start mumbling French to each other… if we hear English being spoken… or else we turn and walk away… especially if they’re talking louder and louder (so they’ll be understood 
) and making no effort at French…
However, there are English speakers who are charming… and if we come across 'em… that’s OK…
I’ll happily help if they are floundering… then we move on…
Nowadays there are a few English speakers in our commune… our paths cross from time to time… if they attend local functions etc … certainly not in one another’s pockets. They seem very pleasant.
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To return to this topic…I have continued my research prior to our inspection trip south from Brittany next month and all seems attractive in terms of comparative climate, property prices and culture etc.
However I have been somewhat perturbed by info that healthcare us under some strain. Apparently the hospital in Marmande has closed, that in Nerac is closed for August and it is reportedly hard for new residents to find a medecin generale and dentist?
Any comments please?
Rubbish! Where on earth have you got that info? Hospital in Marmande just fine. No idea about Nerac.
That said - you have to remember it’s August - is that why there are these strange comments? I tried to call my cardiologist’s secretary in Agen and just got the message service until it finally cut out. The day I tried was Monday 14th. I’m sure the department was having a pont before the 15th, so at best a skeleton crew. Nothing sinister.
Tonneins has two MT group practices. It’s true Clairac has a sign up saying they are looking to recruit 2 MT. Just down the road, Lacepede has an excellent medical centre. Increasingly single doctor practices are disappearing, but that’s no bad thing - group practices are much better.
Dentists? Perhaps more of an issue, but that’s the same everywhere. You may just have to go a bit further - mine is in Villeneuve.
Who were you talking to? And where they referring to temporary issues like the strikes, or longer term?
Healthcare across rural France is under some strain and I think it would be difficult to find somewhere where GPs and dentists were looking for new patients. And also even if a place looks to have a full complement of medical professionals they can vanish in an instant - many are at retirement age, and younger ones move to better jobs.
The only way to ensure medical care on your doorstep is to move to a large town! So Agen would be most likely in that department, and even that is pretty small.
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Thanks for your replies. Having lived in France for over twenty years I am well aware of the discrepancies between regions and the move away from local/individual doctors to group practices but I did come across the unsettling comments previously referred to on some other expat forum.
I am savvy enough to know that expat comments often need to be taken with a pinch of salt but as they seemed to be so specific I thought I had better check it out here where information and opinion is invariably sound.
It would seem that my ‘alarm’ is unfounded and that all is as well in Lot et Garonne as elsewhere.
Thank you.
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That’s why I’m grateful round us towns and villages are increasingly setting up and investing in health centres - several specialities in the same place, younger practitioners, more flexibility re getting to see someone and good receptionists. Much better than the single old guy on his own.
A nice weekend trip for her
Extremely rudely, and not knowing the actual position, perhaps these expats had such a limited grasp of French that they didn’t realise the hospitals were striking last month…?
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I’ll let her know
Somewhat cheeky maybe but very probable Jane.
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We had to delay our trip to Let G because of business commitments and the usual ‘other stuff’ here in Brittany.
Meanwhile I have continued my research and although I have absolutely no first hand knowledge of the department (other than whizzing through on the A62) i am leaning towards concentrating our seach for a new home in the west of the department…roughly on a line between Nerac and Miramont de Guyenne.
The overriding reason being that this places you about 100 minutes from the coast rather than 160 and this is of great importance to my wife. Of course there are numerous lakes, river beaches and lidos but the sea is the sea.
Climatically I can find no evidence of any great dufferentials from north to south or east to west.
Transport links seem much better, perhaps obviously, in this area rather than up in Monflanquin or Fumel.
I have found a few properties I am keen to visit in Duras, Nerac and a front runner in Escassefort.
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Hi , I have lived in the 47 dept since 2003 and know most of the main villages and towns .
If I were looking for a place to live it wouldnt be anywhere near Marmande ( lots of social problems and crime there )
Duras is lovely although priced for the brits and of course its full of expats which isnt everyones cup of tea.
Nerac is a decent town but there is an LGV line being built in the area which will affect some areas negatively .
You may want to consider the ever warming climate before moving here - we get serious heat !
Steve
Hi Steve,
The advice from yourself and Sue and any other locals is always greatly appreciated.
Having lived most of my life in the heat (Bermuda, Singapore, Texas, Turkey and the Languedoc) I am okay with that though I would make efforts to have air conditioning for when its really bad…and quite possibly getting worse.
Thanks for the warning about Marmande. I assume you would therefore consider Escassefort as ‘anywhere near’? The reason the Marmande sector attracts is because it is nearer to the coast.
I assume you consider that whole area south of the A62 in a favourable light as long as you don’t buy next to the new LGV. I found another suitable property in Bruch which also places you quite near to Agen (which I assume is considered okay?).
I have found great properties in and around Duras, Monflanquin, Villereal etc. and of course Villeneuve sur Lot seems to offer pretty much everything so perhaps we should also consider that area again despite it being an extra 45 minutes to the coast.
Local knowledge is always appreciated as it’s very easy to be deceived during a two or three day rekkie.
Yes, but you have to make your own entertainment over the winter months and get used to it all being a bit grey and brown out in the countryside until spring.
There are several enclaves of Brit expats, but I tend to avoid them where possible as many of them fall into the “Expats that want to live in an English part of France” crowd. I find the locals to be very welcoming and my poor, but improving French remains a source of great amusement to them.
MTs and dentists are thin of the ground in my SE corner of 47, but Agen is only 30 minutes away and there’s just about every medical resource there I can think of.
While I wouldn’t want to live in Agen (20 years of London has cured me of urban life), it’s pretty much a one stop shop for anything you might want. The big Intermarché there can even supply with you PG Tips, Marmite and HP Sauce if you don’t mind paying the price for imported food stuffs.
Have a good chat with the locals about the weather and if there’s a micro climate in the area you’re interested in as the network of valleys around Agen can cause some weird effects with storms often veering off their predicted track to avoid the area entirely. The caveat to this is if one gets stuck in your nearest valley, you might be in for a battering.