Bonjour everyone, I’d posted here with an introduction a couple of months back because we are/were considering buying a second home in the Languedoc region later this year or next.
We, or mainly me really, have been having second thoughts about the plan for a number of reasons and I wonder if I can ask for your thoughts on whether I am being reasonable or too anxious.
I’ve chosen the Environmentalism category because if I’m honest, that’s where most of my newly emerging misgivings lie. It’s clear that this is one of the worst seasons yet in terms of global heating. Even where we live now (western Germany), and also in the region we are eyeing up, what with friends living there and the house we have in our sights, temperatures have been out of this world, and it’s not the first time either. Many posts here on SF are about drought, water, gas/fioul prices. Inflation is skyrocketing, the war in Ukraine, interest rate and general price rises, travel chaos, …
For these and other reasons, I am starting to think that maybe I cannot go ahead with what I originally thought was in reasonable reach. Even if the project still feels financially doable - are we entering a period where we should just count ourselves lucky if we can manage to maintain one roof over our heads? In ten years’ time, will southern Europe even be inhabitable (water, temperatures, humidity, threat of forest fires, weird weather patterns…), especially for someone approaching senior age?
Right now, things feel very uncertain and I’m having a major head-over-heart battle here. But maybe I am overthinking things. Any thoughts?
This reminds me from a scene in Paint Your Wagon… where someone was planning on jumping into a new life…
“but … you don’t know what you’ll get…”…
(reply) “But I know what I’ve got!”…
the inference being that anything would be an improvement over the current situation…
Frankly, none of us know what the future holds. The whole world, it seems, is on the brink of uncertainty/difficulty re environment and finances et al…
Keeping cool, sane and reasonably well fed is our main aim.
I note your plan is for a 2nd home…
Personally, we are arranging finances to cover unavoidable expenses on our main residence (re heat/water etc)… for the foreseeable/longterm future anything else will have to wait.
Of course, we all have different situations but I’m pleased you are giving it some deep thought and not rushing hellbent… and I wish you good luck with whatever you decide…
I’m sure people who live in the Languedoc region will chip in soon with more practical advice, but for what it’s worth, here’s my opinion.
Are you planning on your second home being for summer use or the other seasons?
As a northern European, I chose Normandy to settle in and am extremely happy with my choice for year-round living but still fancy a bit more warmth in the Winter! I wouldn’t go south for the summer.
Inflation, war in Ukraine etc affects all parts of Europe and France is no different. It has a culture way different from more northern european countries and so is fascinationg both to live in and to visit as a second home.
Good question. Since we are still active in our respective professions (though freelance, so largely WFH and pretty independent), we were planning to spend 2-3-4- weeks at a time a few times a year down there, until we are able to scale back the work and then possibly do longer stints. We have experienced the region in all seasons and know that July/August can be brutal. This year we were there for 5 weeks in Feb/March and it was occasionally quite miserable (cold nights, lots of rainy days). But early spring to early summer was always glorious, likewise Sept to mid Nov. So it depends…
We’re pretty settled on the Languedoc because of our “history” with the region. My husband fell in love with Brittany when we went there for a change, but if we’re honest, the Languedoc has us in its grip.
oh, and on that: The France project is not a way to “escape” various bad things happening in the world. My unease stems from the fact that a second home means we will have to manage a number of challenges in duplicate. Germany is world-class when it comes to red tape and so forth but I’ve heard France is a near contender, if not worse.
As a second home, why not keep your visits outside of the summer season? If you have completely mad heat-loving friends, you can always let it to them during the summer
We do know that we are already experiencing climate/ecological breakdown, and that it is already too late to stop this continuing - in this sense, we actually do know what the future holds.
We know we are in for climate and resulting social instability: more extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, storms, floods, etc… Among the secondary effects of these changes will be more epidemics, crop failures, mass migrations, social conflicts, etc… I can’t emphasise enough that this is not uncertain - it will happen. No action to curtail climate/ecological breakdown will stop it entirely at this stage - though we could still mitigate the worst impacts.
In terms of house purchases, you have to bear in mind not only immediate effects, but also things like economic impacts - property values, travel costs, etc. My personal choices would be: avoid the south of France; avoid any second home you have to fly to; avoid any forested location; avoid anywhere that looks prone to flooding (even if it has no history of floods); check robustness of water supply - in general, I would not assume that the sort of weather or countryside (flora, fauna, agriculture) that is there now will be there in 10 years’ time, nor that the sort of society there will be the same.
I try not to think about it, or at least only abstractly, because it quite honestly just makes me feel bleak otherwise. (And by “it” I mean global warming, wars, conflict, matters political etc) I enjoy my life; where I am and the ‘now’ of it. I do, in that sense, know what I’ve got and I feel truly blessed and fortunate. What tomorrow may bring is another story and I’ll find out when it arrives.
I see the tarpaulins on roofs of hail damaged tiles, I realise how lucky (and it is pure luck) to have avoided that level of damage. Not just old roofs/tiles either - some new builds got clobbered. You just never know what lays in wait.
I would say that whilst it’s wise to be aware, don’t let of a fear of what might happen put you off. You can’t live your live on hold.
Thanks for your thoughts. You see, that’s the thing though: “I try not to think about it, or at least only abstractly, …” I hear what you are saying, and I think it’s a very natural reaction because it allows us to keep our heads up and our lives going. But I think that as for the mid- to long-term outlook, I’m going to agree mostly with @Geof_Cox… things will only get worse. And I am not whining about not being able to use the house in the summer, far from it. It’s the outlook…
We’re not buying a shack that we can afford to abandon if the water supply dries up/the countryside around it burns up. It’s a house that will cost us real money upfront and in terms of upkeep no less. To me, environmental aspects have entered the calculus big time and these thoughts are threatening to overtake whatever emotional attachments we have to this project.
I think you’ve largely answered your own question. The current fuel price shock is something that less than 5 years ago would not have been imaginable for most people (though it may have beneficial side-effects, I suppose). All of a sudden, those rainbow lists on immo particulars are an important consideration.
Geof’s list is very useful in that context, but to be honest I would not be considering the South of France any more than Spain. Normandie has already been mentioned, and of course Brittany; parts of the Loire are not too hot.
We lived in the Pays Basque for 10 years and thought to explore another area this time on the banks of the river Aude close to Quillan for 4 years, At first, we like you found the Templars and Cathars fascinating As time went by we realize how poor and hot the Aude was I tried 4 years running to grow a small lawn each time with river water spraying it was burnt out by the sun. Growing vegetables was very difficult There were no cattle or sheep just vines because of the heat and lack of rain in some areas the wind never stops blowing. I have now been back 5 years later to the Bearn at the western end of the Pyrenees. If was hot then it must be even hotter now
We have lived in the Charente now for more than 10 years and find the climate here most agreeable throughout the year.
Although it has the honour of being regarded as the second most sunny department in France, it is not the second hottest…
It is far enough in land from the west coast to be protected from the worst of the Atlantic weather systems and far enough from the east to be protected by the massif central from the worst of the “beasts from the east”.
Whilst we have had some severe hail storms here, we have not experienced anything like the devastation I have seen on the TV elsewhere in France with severely damaged roofs, dinged car bodies and broken car windows nor flooding…
In the winter it is very rare for us to experience much snow.
We’ve had houses in the Charente Maritime since 2003 and stripped out the first one during that year’s August heatwave, assuming it was a ‘one-off’. Those temperatures are now the ‘norm’ and in all honesty life is pretty miserable hiding from the heat for most of the daylight hours for several weeks of the year. If we knew then what we know now we would have bought further north.
I certainly agree with Tim’s analysis and we’ve only been here in Charente Maritime since 2014. We are definitely thinking of moving much further north before next summer.
Not just Brittany… Taittinger and Champagne Pommery have both bought land in England in recent years. English fizzy wine could really take off in the future.
ours is a new build, and with modern insulation methods and clim, we seem to be most comfortable. I’d like to add more insulation in the roof space though - perhaps the silver foil sandwich variety in the spaces between the roof trusses might help (if anyone has any experience). We already have a 200 layer of rockwool insulation in the ceiling void, and the external walls. All the internal walls have a 100 layer of rockwool insulation.
The other thing we did do, on advice from a French friend who had experience of such environmental matters, was to reposition the bedrooms to the east side of the property and the living areas to the west side with a large open space canopy over the area directly outside the living area which protects us from the worst of the heat of the summer but still allows us to benefit from the lower winter sun. Was good advice.
