Libby, we are looking for a house, can you tell me about yours, does it have a barn?
Hi Libby. Really sorry to hear of the health problems and the stark choices that have now appeared on the horizon for you. If you haven't already done it, might I suggest that you post a separate discussion (from the main page) and ask for help with ideas, possible solutions, etc. This link will bring you to the "Start a discussion" page: http://www.survivefrance.com/forum/topic/new?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.survivefrance.com%2F
Hope this helps.
you will have a lot of house viewers like that! we have just accepted an offer on our house near Eymet, south of you though still in the Dordogne...near to the border with the Lot. We had some very interesting viewers...but that is for another day!
If you want a place where there is more English spoken and you have a lively small town/large village..then maybe Eymet would be the right place for you. There is a lively Anglo/French group....and for a small sum every year, around £25, you can enjoy lots of groups including gardening, art, walking, French lessons etc. The village is known to be the most English of all the villages in France...but for those not very good with the language...it can be the ideal place. Good local GPs and dentists who speak English...and English optician etc a pretty village and stunning countryside. May be worth you having a look see.
Thank you ever so much for your kind replies. We live in the Dordogne noir which is a beautiful region but for oldies it's not enough! Transport is totally non existent unless you travel in on the school bus which leaves at 7 a.m. and doesn't return until 7 p.m. I think the fact I verbalised our situation has helped together with the responses from Heather and Carroll. Health is always going to be an issue from hereonin although we do keep ourselves as healthy as possible and exercise walking the dog twice a day. I think we will stay in France but where. That decision will have to be made when we sell the house. As much as we love England I feel we see it through glasses worn 50 odd years ago! I do speak a bit of french and can get by most of the time but MOH has spent the last few years doing up houses to make them liveable instead of painting pictures which is why we came here in the first place. lol We always thought we'd go back to our family in Aus but who would have thought the economies here and there would have changed so drastically. C'est la vie.
Incidentally we had one viewer who informed us she really only wanted the bottom half of the house so didn't see why she should pay the price we were asking!
Well thank you for the response Chris
We have thought of every combination but the only one that would really work for us to sell our house. We do have a couple of rentals that have been nightmares renting out so don`t want to do that again. We need to reconfigure the finances by selling so we have to hang on until that happens if it ever does. Yes we hate people passing negative remarks on what is a very nice comfortable home, think it must be a day out for some just nosing around. Will keep our fingers crossed yet again on Saturday. We are in Cardiff by the way
Hi Colette,
We have been there and I know what you feel like with another set of disinterested people making snide comments. It used to take us about 2 hurs to prepare our house for a viewing and we became dispirited too. Anyway we have found a buyer now ad we are on our way soon. I feel for you and I have a few ideas. I am not sure where you live or what your equity to loan value is. But you could considered a buy to let mortgage if you have enough in the house then rent it to pay the mortgage and release some cash? Does that work?
Trehane, your new group promted me to resopnd so thank you. I generally lurk in the background but your comment about SFN prompted me to write something. I joined a couple of years ago, and an ex Brit in Australia for most of my life, I had a dream of owning a place in another country and France came up tops and I looked to SFN for advice and knowledge about all things French.
I found everything I needed through SFN and following the advice provided by members and the discussions in general I have purchased a house in Civray, Vienne and my purchase will be finalised mid May. It has all gone so smoothly, the fears of French paperwork etc has passed me by thanks to a great agent and Notaire. Between them they have done everything to make my purchase problem free. I bought from an English family so maybe that helped a little, who knows.
My intent is that I and my family spend holidays in our house and we are all looking forward to this Christmas in Civray!! I must add that all of my Australian friends are almost as excited as I am about the house and the interest in visiting France, which is pretty high on the average Australians bucket list, is very high. I doubt the house will lay empty for too long at a time.
I thank the members of SFN and of course Catherine and James for the advice in particular on the buying process and the wealth of information such as bank accounts and Fosse Septique etc that I have gained from SFN. I am very comfortable with everything so far and look forward to several months each year in France practicing my non existence French.
Well Hello everybody,
I too have been lurking and felling a bit of a fraud really because we are still in the UK waiting to make the move to our once holiday home hopefully soon to be permanent home which we bought in Brittany in 2005. I was very sure when we put the house in the UK on the market last August that we would be comfortably settled into our new way of life by last christmas heh hoh .You all know by now there is a but coming and here it is, we haven`t sold the house yet not what I expected at all. So here we are stuck completely and fed up of showing people around who then don`t buy. We have another one on Saturday "on parade" yet again. Reduced the price. Our life in the hands of others, our dream is now fading and think we are never going to get there. I do agency nursing so can come back and work for some of the winter but cant even get there for the summer
I made up my mind to return to France some time ago, so I have been refurbishing my house in Wales. Having lived in France before, I know most of the ropes, buying a new house will be a new experience and getting settled into what will be my own home. I have a very small family of just my son his partner and their children and an aunt. Having been living alone for many years in my life I am not over concerned about living alone in France. The only thing that does concern me is the French Administration . So it's a new future and a new life.
Libby, I can sympathise with you and have close experience of this as my parents who have been here for over 6 years have just sold up in SW France and are moving back to the UK. They are around the same age as yourself and do not speak great French either. I can understand how you must feel and I think its important to make a decision and only hope that its the right one for you both. I would agree with the comments already made that in your twilight years being near to facilities is a must whether in the UK or in France. Language is a huge obstacle and when one is left on their own it can only become even greater. You deserve peace of mind and I can only hope that you get it as soon as possible. If health is a big issue at the moment then why not think about moving closer to a town as you already mentioned. It can only make you feel better and safer and give you some peace of mind at least. The house will also probably sell easier if the time comes when you want to move to an English speaking country but that might, and lets hope it is, many years away. Where are you in France ? please let me know how you get on and if you would like a chat off the forum- no probs. all the very best
Hi Libby, nice to meet you. Unless I missed it when reading your email...you dont mention where you live in France. I know through people who live near us who are older and finding things more difficult, that to move into your local village, town can make a huge difference. I think so many Brits, regardless of where they live be in London or North Yorkshire...aim for a big house in the middle of no where when they arrive in France. It can work fine when you are young enough to cope with the transport and your health is good but can be so much more difficult when you dont have youth and health on your side.
I know through reading hundreds of magazines about France over the years...that Carcassone is the best place for retirees to move to...apparently has aced all the services you might need when you retire. The weather is also pretty good in that part of the world. Moving back to the UK needs considering after you have been away so long. Probably the major reason would be language...I guess you are not likely to improve your French much at this stage. I dont have a huge knowledge about the equivalent of Social Services in France...I did work in sight loss in the UK and that involved lots of services and input for those with poor/no vision and try as I might...I havent found the equivalent in France..maybe its just escaped me. But would you be happy with the weather in the UK? and the cost of property has continued to rise. We moved to France 4 years ago...and despite the double dip...our old house is now valued at 30k more than it was when we moved..and the housing market, certainly in our part of the UK is very perky...properties selling in a few weeks...not like France...where it can be years.
The decision must be yours....but why dont you get a piece of paper and put the for's and against. My gut feeling...bearing in mind I dont know you....is to move into a village or town...and probably your local town or village where you have contacts. Whatever...all the best luck in the world.
I too find SFN really interesting and inspiring so I wonder if I may put our dilemna before you as we are like dogs chasing our tails, no matter how we discuss it we cannot come up with a solution. I know no-one can give advice but would like to hear your opinions.
We are a couple aged 75, hubby not in good health and I seem to be joining him in sympathy. I don't drive because of a sight problem. Our families are in Australia whom we haven't seen for 10 years but MOH's niece is coming in September with her family which we are joyous about. We have been unable to make the journey back to Aus because of health reasons. We've lived there for over 45 years so no contacts in the UK.
Where we live there is no public transport and recent events proved to us we cannot and neither would we want to rely on acquaintances made over the last 5 years. So when one of us is left should we stay or should we go. Neither of us, much to our shame I have to say, speak very good french but we manage and with some help now and again.
Our house is worth a huge amount and would not give us sufficient funds to even buy a shed in Aus! UK has it's appeal but we would be starting again and at our age perhaps could be difficult but may be not. Also housing is that much more expensive than France although I'm sure if determined we would find something appealing. Or do we move somewhere else in France nearer to all facilities and be able to afford a reasonable house. To be put in a home where no-one could speak to us fills us with horror if that were to happen and terribly expensive. It's not like most whose family can hop on a plane or ferry to come and sort things out. We are out on a limb and whilst we only have ourselves to blame for being in such a situation the fact remains we don't know which way to turn.
My gut instinct is to find somewhere nearer to facilities and hope for the best but MOH cannot seem to come to terms with this. There are many kind people in this country and I'm sure if we or one of us is well enough to stay in our own home someone (paid of course) would assist.
Maybe there is someone who is reading this who is in or has had a similar situation.
Someone I met recently around the same age whom I mentioned our predicament to briefly says she doesn't even think about it.
I love the idea of being a 'lurker'!
We have just made the move to our house in Brittany. Like others, we bought several years ago and have rented the house out for holidays and longer term lets.
Having been working abroad for many years, I found leaving our French house at the end of our August holiday each year harder and harder. So last year we made the decision to give it all up and move here permanently.
We have only been here a month and we are loving it. It is like the homecoming we have always dreamed of. It's cold (VERY cold when you have been used to 30 degrees every day) and the house needs a lot of work. We neither of us have a 'proper job' any more so we need to be exceptionally creative in our income generation but it is so worth it.
Good luck to all of you who are yet to make the transition.
I have a thought for every! Maybe something that is not well known. With the right structure a pension fund can e converted to fund part of the purchase. If anyone wants to know more just ask! It is not my profession! Doing it this way, if we can will allow us some lea way and to maybe keep a house in the UK too!
Inspiring and what we are looking for too! How about we set up a group to start collecting stories for a book?
Well we are not there yet but we have done three years research and we have settled on Lot or Lot Garonne. We have sold our house and are booking a trip in a few weeks to try to make some offers. So we are close!
Well, we are moving across in 9,5 weeks... the ferry and the lorry have been booked for July 3rd, and now I can start panicking about what to pack etc etc. Did I mention I am married to a hoarder?? :)
We looked around on the web, and narrowed our search down to a very small area in northern Brittany.. somewhere between Sait Renan and Saint Brieuc... we ended up pretty much in the middle, just outside Cléder.
Dh is over there at the moment, and has been spending the last 2 weeks ripping wallpaper, cleaning walls and doors, and supervised a new doorway being made in the kitchen. He discovered that bleach burns your skin! Bless him..
I can't wait to move, yes I still have to work, but the idea is to be closer to the seaside and have a slightly more relaxed lifestyle. Not entirely happy about leaving my son here in the UK, but he has ties here that will keep him here for at least a year. He is not unhappy at having a holiday home close to beaches with surfing and kiteboarding etc! :)
Gerda
Hello to everyone
Hubby and I have lived and worked abroad for so many years (home base is UK), that we decided in a few years we would settle down and try to put down roots. BUT it’s too cold and miserable where our house is, so we’ve been going round the globe (not literally - wish we had!) thinking of pluses and minuses. Thailand & Malaysia - good conditions for retirees, but too far from family. Spain - too hot. Lived in the tropics most of my life and I don’t like too much heat; neither does my OH. Germany - OH worked there for years and doesn’t want to live there again. Southern France - too hot; French Alps - too cold. I know, picky, picky! Ended up buying in south Brittany - lots of rain and we like rain, but also warm enough to sit outside with a glass of wine and watch the world going by.
Although it will be around four years until we can make the move, we’re already looking forward to it. The time gives a chance to resurrect the 6 years of French I did decades ago, as I certainly don’t want to be a complete illiterate when we move there.
Thank you, Trehane, for starting this group. I’m usually a lurker on SFN, but have gained so much information from everyone generously sharing their knowledge and experience that I hope to be more active in future.
Best wishes to all.
Trehane, we were in exactly the same boat as you las year. We bought the house in 2000, decorated and furnished it as a holiday home and then sat back smugly enjoying the holidays. Slowly we realised that this was what we wanted. Takeover at work and our work life balance was literally blown to bits. Even when on holiday the blasted mobile kept ringing. The big salary and bolt ons soon became not enough. Saturday ans Sunday became too short and were spent spending money on rubbish.
Thankfully the house sold within 4 months and after a brief spell living at the mother in laws, we started our new life on the 0900 ferry on the 1st Aug 2012.
We don’t live an extravagant life, we have to watch the pennies, but what a way to live. We pinch ourselves daily.
Within a week or so I realised what a huge chunk that job had been allowed to take out of me.
DIY is currently top priority. Turning a holiday home into a family home. My soft soldering in “too die for”, my electrics are safe, and there’s always a neighbour to explain “how we do things over here”. For instance, soaking a wall with a bucket of water before re cementing the kitchen drain in place. The job took all day as the walls are just over 3 foot thick.
I hope your day, like ours, comes soon.
Hi, thanks for starting the group. You are right - there a lot of people with a foot in both camps!
My husband lives full time in France,but i am still working in the UK, visiting for long weekends and holidays. We have lived like this for almost two years and frankly I have had enough.
I decided last night that I would set a date when I will out to France and we will just have to manage. Hubby has a motto "something will turn up". This time,it will me me! I have decided the very latest date is 15 November........ just need to tell him now....