Why not enjoy a few mini-breaks in France to help you decide where to put down some roots, suggests Joanna Leggett
I’m often asked where should I buy in France? Well, it depends on what you’re looking for – holiday home or permanent lifestyle move being, of course, the first question to resolve. Then there are other factors: do you want something ready to unpack your suitcase and start living, or perhaps something to do up and enjoy the renovation process? Old house or new, seaside, countryside or cityscape are all prime variants before we even get onto the matter of budget.
How well do you know France – it’s an enormous country after all? I’m still discovering hidden gems and corners after living here for 20 years or more. ‘Try before you buy’ might be the perfect answer. So to determine where exactly you’d like to live, why not undertake a series of mini-breaks, spend some long weekends around this wonderful country undertaking your own specialised research and get a real feel for where you’d love to have your French home. Experience local scenery, culture and architecture, familiarise yourself with local customs, cuisine and climate and get a clearer picture before you leap into the fray.
Most of us naturally gravitate towards estate agents’ window displays when on holiday, no matter where we are in the world. With me, it’s professional necessity, of course, nothing to do with being nosy!
What I do know is that spending a few days in a new town or locale gives you a much clearer idea of whether or not you could live there.
Sometimes however, you experience a a ‘coupe de foudre’ (literally a thunderbolt) when you know something is just right for me – a bit like falling in love!
WHERE TO START
For a mini break (and later when you buy) ease of access has to be at the top of the list – especially visiting for the first time. The great thing with budget airlines is the ease with which you can be transported from the damp chill of English weather to sunnier warmer climes in under a couple of hours.
The French railway network is fast too – the French government has banned internal flights of less than two hours and you can travel from Paris to Bordeaux on highspeed TGV in just a few more minutes than that, similarly the journey down to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast can take as little as three hours from Paris! The Channel Tunnel is the easiest way to take your car across, about 35 minutes from Folkestone to Fréthun just outside Calais, and the whole of this part of northern France and Normandy coast is serviced by regular ferry services.
So why don’t we start our suggestions for
