Hi. I have been reading posts on here for many years but have never posted as far as I remember. I have been in France for 20 years. We moved to Dordogne(24) for 5 years and the last 15 have been in the Gers(32). We have brought up our kids in safty and they are all grown up and scattered in France and the UK. We have a farm which we are selling as we are too old to cope with the animals anymore, and are attempting to move much further north. Namely to Normandy, Picardie or Nord-Pas de Calais. As I have no local knowledge of this region I was wondering why there are so many empty respectable houses in Normandy? They have the air of houses owned by Brits, as you must admit we do have our own style. Are people fleeing for any particular reason? We had a few brits leave in 2016/17 after the BREXIT vote but mostly since then people have come rather than left.
We also have been in France around 20 years, in the Jura (39). And have just moved to Normandy!
Talking to people here a lot of people did leave with Brexit. Essentially many were not here in a âregularâ fashion and the new requirements were too awkward for them. There do seem to be some strong British enclaves, Vire, Sourdeval, Mortain, but elsewhere just a sprinkling.
We thought long and hard, as knew less than zero about this region having never even visited. But so far, so good.
I would imagine northern France as being more susceptible to houses being bought by Brits who were not committed, but rather saw it as an easy hop across the channel to their other home for an indeterminate period. Come Brexit things are suddenly much more complicated and theyâve no desire to put up with doing it properly. I suspect those who bought at a much greater distance and inconvenience were more determined to make it work.
Thatâs where the @captainendeavour is. Heâs pretty regular! Iâm curious though, what attracted you to the area?
Proximity? Maybe - but why move to somewhere with pretty much the same climate? One could fly to the south in 2 hours, pretty proximal, Is it a car thing? Or, âwe like France, it has the same climate as Manchester?â
And so to the OPâs question -
With planes etc, why would anyone move north? From where they already were? The Captain moved north from Valencia to escape the heat, though seems like jumped from the frying pan into the freezer, but surely dordognshire is not that hot?
I would venture if many âbritsâ are exiting Normandy, maybe coz itâs been found to be cold rain and snow, and theyâre going where those chilly winds donât blow.
It would be easy - hop in the car, bring all the junk you want, ferry over and youâre somewhere exotic with different foods etc. Flying is a PITA with restricted times, dates, destinations and effectively no possibility of transporting things AND you feel like a cow being herded to market. Plus when you arrive youâve got to hire and drive an unfamiliar and possibly crappy car. Want to go home at a moments notice - in a car, no problem.
But also the south isnât France like we all learned at school, either in looks or climate. TBH I canât imagine anyone wanting to actually move to the Pas de Calais, but Iâm sure some do. Normandie OTOH looks nice and Brittany is OK too.
On Pas de Calais though, we stopped by Arras, extending our stay by another day coz it was very nice, lovely lunch in the sun - a local explained it is one of the most sunny spots. And thereâs quite a few renewing their 5 year CDS there at the moment.
We have moved further east than Vire in Calvados for many pragmatic reasons. And compared to where we were (knee deep in cold and snow) it is balmy with a comfortable climate. Even the chill winds seem quite chilled.
Transport also good so any time we have a yen for something else we can go find it.
One of the many attractions for us in moving to Normandy (Seine Maritime 76) was precisely the fact that it has a temperate climate. Generally it doesnât have the temperature highs and lows of the âContinental climateâ found much further south and/or further inland. Coming from a temperate island, I definitely prefer temperate weather. We are not sun-seekers (but I do understand that would be a core reason for others to migrate in search of the sun). We were also partly influenced by the likely future impact of climate change, seeing reports of people moving, particularly from Spain, and to a lesser extent Southern France, citing increasing water shortages, subsidence problems, unbearable heat etc.
Finally I will never fly again, for hassle avoidance and particularly environmental reasons. I havenât flown in 10 years.
Guilty as charged, Mâlud. However, it was not my intention to be north of the Loire.
I got trapped by Covid. The Brexit drawbridge was raised just as Covid lockdown peaked. I was supremely fortunate that the AIr BnB I booked for my first 12 days in FR [31/10/2020,++], an hour south of Ouistreham, turned into a full yearâs rental at âŹ300 p/m all-in.
I had to stay put. Twelve months on, my landlord was getting twitchy about getting back onto Air BnB rates.
I had got used to the area - signed up with an MT and all the other admin - and bought something off my revised hit list, now Normandy. Set to, to tittify The Plywood Shack.
As for there being a Brit âcolonyâ based at Vire, I had no idea. I only know one Brit, two doors down, whoâs been here 20 years as an odd-job man.
I disagree with this. I donât think commitment to living in FR was/is the issue. I think itâs more the convenient access by car from UK. But with Brexit came the thought âCan we afford/Is it sensible to tie up ÂŁXXk in capital/loan finance with the time limitations now in place?â Answer, in many cases , No. On the other hand, they now know they can rent a gite more or less anywhere at more or less any time, .
But I agree with this. 90/180 did for that.
I saw and still see - Iâm looking to move - the same going on further south. The people who do it by air have the same question about locking in finance as the people who do it by car. No amount of trying to âmake it workâ can negate the restriction of 90/180.
That was 1 of 4 âBig Issuesâ that had me move to FR. As Iâve mentioned, Normandy was never the plan
One big bonus, which came as a complete surprise was the notaire, intoning the taxes I had paid to buy The Plywood Shack, telling me that I would receive 30% a rebate of same - a scheme to encourage people to come to live in the region!
The climate is like Devon/Somerset but possibly slightly better summers. In the right property and the right setting, thatâs very attractive to those who live in urban UK.
It took me some years to come to like that part of FR. I used to do WW1 battlefield tours and criss-crossed the region extensively. There are some charming places to be found. Once youâre away from âThe Fatal Avenueâ [Richard Holmes] , the flat plain that sweeps around coastal Europe from the Baltic to Normandy, down which invading armies have marched for 2000 years, it gets a lot more bosky.
The base for most battlefield tours of the British Sector. A delightful town with a TGV station. But the very best restaurant, one of the best I have been to, anywhere Iâve ever been, is now âNaan & Chickenâ. A disaster.
We bought a property in Normandie quite a while ago. We knew the area we were interested in as we had holidayed in the area over a period of time. More importantly we knew where we didnât want to be. We are technically in the Pays DâAuge but not in that particular valley. Our area is perfect for us being not far from the cote fleurie for the beautiful beaches and towns inc Deauville, Trouville and Honfleur which we can easily visit after the tourists have left for the day. The major town closest to us has gone from strength to strength over the years as have the smaller villages. We are close enough to motorways if we need them and a rail station to Paris for a day out or longer. We have a mix of nationalities in our small village. We have made very good friends with some. The local bistro reopened not long ago and provides good food. There are lots of places to visit such as gardens or chateaux. Lots of shops and markets nearby together with farm shops and one with its own cafe.
The weather can now be quite hot in the summer but not the unbearable heat, in my opinion, as can be found the lower down in France you go.
Our neighbours from Paris looked over a huge area of Normandie and over 50 properties before finding our area, this is currently their second home but they plan to retire there in due course
I have lived in the North for 26 years and I have not noticed any rise in people leaving. Like I mean, who would want to go back to live in the UK? Perhaps a few 90 dayers have got fed up with the too-ing and fro-ing. I donât know really.
TBH the Morvan has been great, but thereâs a commitment in driving the distance several times a year. We will however have to make sure we visit other places too.
Our property is only in Normandie but we also use the house as a base and try to visit other areas as well. We have a sort of mini holiday in the middle of our stay in Normandie. Takes a lot less time to visit other areas when youâre half way there in France.
I have not noticed many Brits leaving, but I have noticed an influx of â P and O buildersâ as they used to be called! Unskilled navvies. Loads of them in my area of Mayenne. All they want is to work ( badly) on the black, and be able to drink and drive. Just saying. You asked the question.
What I do detect now is more a mix of movements in and movements out. Thanks to the brexit gift that keeps giving, where people do move in with unrealistic plans that dont work they are being tripped up by visa non renewal.
We also do see French families coming into Normandy to escape the heat of the south then sometimes heading off elsewhere when they find rural Normandy a bit too rural or the energy bills on their houses a bit muchâŠ
