Hello all - I have searched for a similar topic, so apologies if I missed it.
We’ve been in France for exactly a year and a half. Unlike a bunch of friends of ours who moved here, we only visited France once on a scouting trip before deciding to make the move, so we weren’t familiar with the country at all. I did a ton of research beforehand, and we decided that we’d focus on a handful of neighboring regions. We’ve lived in three different villages since arriving, and have spent a lot of time driving around and checking out multiple villages and towns. We’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities for sure, with a couple more to rule out before we start searching in earnest, but are having a hard time deciding.
My questions to you are - what came first, town or house? Did you find the house and then hope that you’d made the right decision as far as location, or did you find the town/village where you wanted to settle, and then look for a house? I feel like I’m starting to get “analysis paralysis”. We are in our late 60s and don’t want to move again, so I feel like we need to get it right the first time. Both of our choices (and the prospective ones) meet enough of our criteria that we feel confident that any of them will work for us, so I’m just wondering if I’m being ridiculous about making a decision. We’re not in a hurry, but still I feel like we just can’t decide.
We used to cruise around caravanning and seeking out the little tell-tale circles drawn in the gravel by toecaps. This means petanque is played here so we would wander up in the afternoon and were almost always asked to join in.
The big village next to ours was so welcoming that we fetched the caravan from another site and parked next to the piste. Did that for a few years and then bought the house.
That was 33 years ago and we are here for eternity, her ladyship awaits down the hill where I will join her…eventually.
Our first house was decided by the region in which we wished to live and then by the fact the sea was on the doorstep and then we looked for a property which had that “feeling” and upon finding it, never looked back. That was back in 1989, we were a lot younger and had a two and a four year old in tow. Best move we ever made even with the dark times, was leaving the UK and giving them a good start in life. Now I have moved for practicality purposes and its also suitable when I decide to stop driving eventually, something the old property would not have been practical for. The OP sounds about my age so I would say consider not being isolated for reasons that are obvious and also do not buy acres and acres of land that you become enslaved to. Also don’t rule out appartments in coastal resorts, they can be rewarding if you don’t want the hassle of land.
We chose the location before the house. No point in having a lovely place to live in if you’re not happy with what’s outside the front door. Also consider how you get to the middle of town if you start having trouble walking or can’t drive.
We’re in a coastal resort, about 10 minutes from the centre and on the flat so walking to the centre isn’t hard and it could be done on a mobility scooter if need be.
If you look at apartments, make sure you understand what the service charges are. If there’s a pool and/or a concierge it can be quite expensive.
Always the location first. We used to holiday in this area so knew it fairly well. Some locals here, some from Paris like our next door neighbours who use it as their second home. A nice mix of people.
My current (and ongoing!) research is based on the area first. I’ve been making regular trips to France to stay in different areas to get a feel for what I like and don’t like.
Of course I’m also looking at houses on Bien Ici etc. but although I see some I like I’m not getting excited since I know they will have sold by the time I am able to actually move.
Some good points above about being near “civilisation” - this year I stayed in a gite in southern VIenne which was very peaceful and quiet but even being there for just 10 days the 20 minute drive to the supermarket became tedious!
The British couple who owned the gite said they chose the house specifically for its isolation but I would bet they will change their minds when they get older…
So that specific area is now crossed off my list - I know I will need to be either in a village with at least a small supermarché or close enough to a big supermarket for their livraison à domicile to work!
ETA: transport links may also be a factor; currently I am thinking I want to be reasonably near a train station with a decent service to Paris and also main roads / autoroutes so family can visit me without too much travelling, or vice evrsa.
We chose location first and then compromised a bit on the property.
One thing I would add, things may change over a decade, and the property or location that may be just perfect now, may not be in 5 or 10 years time. Try thinking about how easy what you buy will be to sell. No one knows the future but you can perhaps mitigate things by making a good choice today.
Thanks to everyone who has replied already. Trust me, I have already used all of your suggestions to find towns and villages, so I’m confident that any of the ones that we’re considering will work. It’s funny - when we moved here, we had a list of criteria that were non-negotiable. When we started to look around, we fell in love with several villages that did NOT meet our criteria, and then tried to figure out a way to make them work. Nope, we’re back to the original list.
I have read on other platforms, and I know people personally, who chose the house first, and, in most cases, the location worked out. As a former estate agent, I know that location is pretty much the only thing that can’t be changed, so I thought that their choosing the house first wasn’t the way to go, but I wanted to know how people on this site decided. So thank you for validating our thoughts. I guess we’ll just keep looking until we’ve made a decision!
I did pick the house - 30 years ago when my criteria were different - and its immediate location is still wonderful. I chose it on its placing and also its “feel”.
20 years onthe local village (5 minutes away) has changed out of all recognition, being more active and vibrant than it ever was. I have a social life like I’ve never had before and, even though I am older than you, 5 minutes drive from the village centre still feels not too far. I’m not sure I’d want to be in the village itself since I value the space here.
I think I’ve been lucky - many people buy houses in/near to thriving villages only to watch them die. Some things you can’t predict.
I do wish you all the very best in your search and would suggest that, when it comes down to a choice between 2 or 3 which would work, go with your gut
Chose the area (roughly) first… I was supposed to be travelling back to UK regularly, so it needed to be near a good airport but not be near Paris cause neither of us wanted to live there.
We chose Gironde because of Bordeaux airport’s links to UK plus it’s close to my OH’s mother. We then didn’t have much choice about actual towns, because we were renting but living abroad at the time and it was during the Covid lockdown. We since moved to a location we much prefer (Charente-Maritime this time), as I changed jobs so no need to fly back to UK any longer. Again, we rented but were keeping an eye on the houses for sale until one we liked that was within budget became available.
Having lived for 5 years in the Médoc, I wouldn’t live in a rural location again.
That might seem an obvious comment but, as the help for the elderly and infirm in France is so well developed, especially in the bus-less countryside, it is not necessarily so.
The way my wife and I were looked after was absolutely 2nd to none and even Christine, who was one of those regularly looking after her and now suffering the pains of cancer, is so well looked after that I can hardly finish a moderately lengthy story on my visits before being interrupted by some official busy body or other.
She is collected and whisked to the supermarket once a week, and they walk round with her as she pushes her trolly (mainly to prevent falling over) and on a Thursday someone else takes her up the street in the offical red topped car to the market. However, if she is feeling up to it and can manage the walker, they go with her on foot nevertheless. Nothing is too much trouble.
Even hardly decrepit old me has been offered help in cleaning the house. I steadfastedly resist as I don’t want to be tied down to times.
We chose our first house because of the spectacular views and convenient location. However, what made it really special were our neighbours. If buying again I would introduce myself to the neighbours before making an offer.
Unfortunately, the house was too large for us and being 350 years old required a lot of maintenance. As we are past our sell by date we had to downsize. The spectacular location made it very easy to sell privately simply by putting an AV sign out front.
Late 60s, I’d seriously look in a town with shopping and healthcare within walking distance. I love a rural location (both French and English houses are in small villages) but it can be problematic if unable to drive and wish to retain full independence.
We love both our French house and the area it’s in - I researched houses and locations extensively before we visited, and had distilled carefully before viewing anything. Be aware that climate is heavily affected by altitude, and if you like the idea of living in a mountainous area then winters may be harsh and start earlier than lower regions.
First we chose the region. We didn’t want to live in the north: too much rain. Nor the south: too hot.
We knew that the French - especially the meteo - separate their forecasts into north and south of the Loire. We concentrated on places along the river. Once we knew what houses are like here, we set out a list of must-haves; be-nice-to-haves; and must-not-haves. And we stuck to it. While it would have been nice to have a big house made of tuffeau, we’ve ended up in a 1960s house which we love and which jas all the facilities we need. The list of criteria helped us focus on choice (in fact, it was the first house we saw, of 30 or so, that fitted).
We decided the commune we chose would have certain things: a sustainable industry (even if that was tourism); at least one bakery; places to eat; bars; something cultural like a cinema or theatre.
Nearby - or in the commune - there would be medical and dental facilities.
That narrowed things down, because - for example - having a bakery meant the commune would have at least 1,000 inhabitants. We knew we didn’t want to be out in the countryside.
I think there are several ways of approaching your choice, and what we did may not suit you. But I would respectfully agree with your instinct that choosing the house first is rarely going to lead to a happy life. The problem is that - at least for Brtits - we see what a lovely house you can get for relatively little money in the countryside, and skip over the question why is it so cheap?
This is what I have, as an American, trouble wrapping my head around. I know that in the US you are really SOL out in the sticks, but France seems to be so much better at keeping everyone in the game. Just how important is it to have a hospital 15 minutes away if you are generally healthy?
Having criteria written down helped me persuade Madame that the house she’d half fallen in love with (a) was impracticable and (b) would have taken a lot of work to get to an acceptable state.
I once viewed a flat in London that was over a kebab shop …Next!
Watching a rugby international on a TV in the window of Radio Rentals, Portobello Rd, at half time I asked the policeman watching it with me what he thought about my considering a flat round the corner in St.Luke’s Road.
"Depends on how many times you’re prepared to have break-ins .. " Next!
We certainly don’t - half an hour in each of 3 directions. However, if it’s really serious and you need a big hospital, as I did 3 years ago, you can (if in the French health system) get medical taxis to and fro. In my view,it’s not that critical and each town/large village has its pompier station of trained first responders. I feel I’m much better supported medically in rural France than I was the UK (Gloucestershire). Depends on your area of course…
