# Buying a home in the sun (France).



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Sitting out here in rural France contemplating my navel and watching the seasons slowly pass by. (Now we don't have an American motorhome.)
Watching the results of all these recent TV programs where they show how the quality of life can be much improved by relocating to cheaper, sunnier, more spacious and alcoholic environment. 

We see many Brits and other nationalities move into their dream homes in the 'sun.' Usually enormous great old houses of charm and character with acres of grass or trees. These homes usually only a small fraction of the cost of similar properties back 'home.'
Initially in a euphoria of smug joy that they have made it to where others can only dream of venturing on their summer holidays. Life now is just one long extended vacation. Casually sitting astride the new ride on mower trimming the lawns and waving to the neighbours.

The summer is spent making friends with like minded ex-pats all comparing the value of their recently acquired estate. Comments like "This would have cost a million or more back home." Are often heard and "Now we can afford a cellar of 100 bottles." 

But reality starts to sink in with the cool of autumn. Where there was appreciation of the old character doors and windows, the stone floors and gaping fireplaces. This now turns to questions like "How on earth did they heat these places?" The 300 year old original single pane windows, the nicely weathered oak doors all permit a howling gale to blow through and up the gaping chimneys.

Realisation that those enormous piles of logs neatly stacked alongside the neighbours barn are not just for decoration. Logs here, like the wasteful fountains down south are a sign of wealth and affluence. 
Central heating is an option and often installed and run flat out to try and compete with the gale coming in round the front door. It's a toss up weather to keep spending on fuel or invest in new sealed windows and doors. 
A new 'insert' or heat exchanger log fire is considered. These have outputs of some 12kw. to 15kw. and really do heat the place up to a comfortable temperature but eat logs by the cord and die an hour after the last log has been added.
Now we realise why there are logs for sale in almost every hamlet. A very expensive and desirable commodity.

Most make it through the winter getting involved in various restoration projects. Creating a more comfortable environment for next winter. Temperatures in the ever popular Dordogne plummet to -10c. every winter and not just for a few days but weeks on end. Now we see why the previous owner has moved into that modern, new, featureless but efficient bungalow just up the road.

But signs of spring are appearing everywhere, Primroses and wild Orchids line the lanes and hedgerows just like it was 60 years ago in UK. The grass is growing and suddenly those neat hedges have doubled in size. These acres of flora and fauna now need constant attention. 
This usually coincides with the first visitors from back home in the old country. Frantic efforts are made to trim, prune and clear just before family and friends descend for their free holiday. It's amazing how popular you suddenly become with a "Home in the sun."

"What do you do with yourselves since retiring out here?" Or the like are asked in all innocence as the manor has been hastily manicured to perfection awaiting their arrival.

We are fortunate that we have managed to buy an already modernised, converted barn. Rebuilt, lined with thermal blocks and considerable insulation throughout. Double glazed plastic windows, modern doors and a south facing conservatory all help to maintain a comfortable environment through the worst of winter. 
Which here in Normandy rarely drops to freezing point. But we do get rain, lots of rain through January and February. It's at this time other quaint old characteristics can manifest themselves in these old houses. Several days of rain and the drainage ditch previously referred to as "Our stream" overflows into the back door and out the front. Now they realise why the gap exists on some doors.

Often the prevailing weather coming the West carries the rain sideways into the gable end wall. Previous attempts to keep the weather out by tiling the whole outside of this wall are not pretty but very effective. Other methods like paneling the inside always result in a horrible damp smell and occasionally mushrooms at the seams.

Other ex-pats seeking a quieter life without the work and worry of a large country estate opt for a small cozy village house. Often very modest but easily modernised into a comfortable home. Many of the conveniences like the boulangerie, bar and bottle bank are literally a stones throw away.
At first this is regarded as a plus but if you can imagine a constant stream of cars and mopeds arriving from 07.00 am. banging doors, leaving the motors running, greetings called across the street, all day and every day. This plus soon becomes a minus. 
But not as bad as living beside or near a bottle bank. Imagine the din a dozen empties being dropped into the bin one at a time while the engine is left running at any time of the day or night. It happens.

Well, I hope I haven't put anyone off seeking their Shangri-La or home in the sun but I do hope I have made you aware of just some of the more practical aspects of moving to a more tranquil setting.

Ray Nipper.


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

Brilliant , you should be a writer , All the above can be applied to Spain word for word.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

*Dumb things to do with an RV>*

Subj:	Dum things to do with a RV.

Apart from my claim to fame by dropping my rig into our sceptic tank, I have managed to bring two towns to a standstill in France with my RV.
The first time in a town called Cassis on the Mediterranean. I was being guided to the beach by a group of friends who joined us in the motorhome. They directed me off the motorway down into the town where all of a sudden a tight bend lined with concrete bollards brought me to a standstill. My 34ft. just was not going to bend round this obstacle.
To compound my situation it was high season and hoards of French holidaymakers were also trying to get to this beach, so the traffic immediately backed up through the whole town. I tried to reason with the guy behind me to back up but he just closed the window and looked the other way. I was unable to go anywhere.
Eventually with the town at a standstill a Gendarme arrived and gave me the worst tirade of rapid unintelligible French I have ever been subjected to. 
Taken aback and unable to comprehend I backed up to the door of the rig, still getting the fury of the Gendarme. Having nowhere else to go I backed further into the rig and the policeman followed still wagging finger and tongue at me.
Now finding myself completely backed into a corner with no escape I did what any self respecting Brit would do in a difficult situation, I put the kettle on and prepared to make a cup of tea.
This infuriated the official who unable to get anywhere with me, left and took his fury out on the cars behind me. Who under his gesticulations backed up sufficiently for me to reverse out of the jam.
As we reversed back out onto the main road still with the policeman preventing other traffic from blocking us again we passed a sign which the cop pointed to with his gun. It read NO BUSSES. 
I then knew what all his ranting and raving had been about. But I had been directed by a car driver who never drove anything larger than a Renault 5.
I will save the other one for later.
Ray,

Dear Editor,

The other time I brought a French town to a standstill was five or six years 
ago in Brittany.
Our 34ft. Winnebago towing a small Citroen car was still around 48ft. long. 
We had left the southern coastline of Brittany and were intending to head for 
a campsite in St. Malo, a nice fortified port and town.
On the way we passed signs to the town of St. Brieuc that I have never 
visited and had been told was picturesque. So taking the "Centre Ville" or 
"Down Town" turning we wound our way into a most beautiful central square.
The trouble was the three exits were either a multi story car park, an open 
car park with a height barrier and a pretty cobbled windy street that was 
closed to traffic and full of tables and chairs. It's quite common in high 
season for restaurants and cafe bars to place the tables and chairs in the 
streets for tourists.
I stopped bang in the middle or the road and got out to survey the situation. 
Angry traffic hooting as they climbed the kerbside onto the footways brought 
a female traffic cop and my wife hid in the bathroom.
This policewoman realised the situation immediately and beckoned me to follow 
her into the cobbled street full of dining tourists. She waved the diners to 
drag their food laden tables aside to allow me to squeeze by. I still have 
recollections of people still chewing with food on their forks staring up at 
me in astonishment as I passed. 
Eventually after two more wiggly streets like this, we came out onto a normal 
road again. The policewoman smiling and wishing me "Bon Voyage" waved us away.
An hour later we pulled into the campground intended and parked outside the 
checkin. It was then I found the car keys in my pocket. 
We had dragged the car with the steering locked, luckily straight, for over 
100 miles, through the tiny winding streets of St. Brieuc, around St. Malo 
and into this campground. And I never noticed a thing.
Ray,


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

:greenjumpers: :greenjumpers: 

Please Please please no more

:BIG:


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

OK.
Not sure FAQ is the right place anyway. I have dozens of similar disasters.
Then there are my "Traveling the USA" experiences in the Blogs section. 

Ray.


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## bluie (Dec 6, 2011)

hi ray, your right, normandy is no paradise in the winter, i had a house in the eure and the pipes froze every winter with the frost, what a nightmare, and i found the normans not very friendly, so i sold up and bought a motorhome, best thing i ever done. bluie


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Well we are happily established in the Lot et Garonne, about 7km South of the Dordogne department.

Our house is recently renovated, well insulated (now) and heated by one wood burner in the kitchen/diner which runs 24/7 and consumes logs happily at a rate of about 2 logs 55cm long and 15 cm thick in 4 hours - the current room temperature is 23C, the external 8.5C

So far this winter we have had four days where the overnight temperature dropped JUST below 0C (coldest was -6C away from the house in a hollow) and we have had some rain (at last, after 8 months without any), we can *NOW *plant our daffodils and crocuses as the ones we planted last year (October 2010) have just started to appear.

Our gite is nearly finished and has electric heating for winter and a 15kw wood burner for other times, so yes, I can very much identify with the OP, and have been in similar positions with our MH as raynipper, but ours is smaller and does not have another vehicle hitched behind..........

*BUT* yes, town signs can take you into some very "interesting" situations and the locals can be rather short tempered, but they can also be charming, humorous and helpful.

But being able to spend most of the days outside even though it is January is a real bonus (but I do spend too much time on MHF!  ).

Life is what YOU make of it, it is the real thing, not a rehearsal so go for it while you can! 

I do not want to arrive at Heaven's gate (if I get the chance :lol: )saying I have had a lovely safe journey through life, having produced and done nothing, but would rather arrive wherever saying "Wow that was one heck of a ride I wouldn't have missed a thing". 8) :lol:

Dave :wink:


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## bluie (Dec 6, 2011)

hi dave, your absolutely right, i intend to live life to the full, what's left of it, iv'e just had my motorhome built complete will woodburner. i intend to go fulltime next june and go with my two french friends from normandy to morrocco, i'm looking forward to it. regards bluie


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*France*

As I mentioned before Ray, instead of a Sports Car, should have bought a farmhouse in France 15 years ago.

hindsight!

Now I can afford a Sports car but not a French Farmhouse!

Interesting reading Ray, ever thought of Spain or the French Med?

TM


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## Gazzer (May 1, 2005)

raynipper said:


> OK.
> Not sure FAQ is the right place anyway. I have dozens of similar disasters.
> Then there are my "Traveling the USA" experiences in the Blogs section.
> 
> Ray.


Keep em coming Ray. Made me smile   
I'm glad I'm not the only traffic stopper :wink: My worst one was a three point turn on a hairpin up a mountain - this occurred because someone had built a low tunnel through the mountain with no height indication and I was rather attached to my roof so.......


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

As regards a trafic stopper, Arromanche 1995, 50th anniversary 'd ' day, towing a caravan 90 degree turn , narrow, a most helpful gendarme helped me unhitch, drive car away, pull manually caravan after, and wished me bon voyage.Better than a brit who took his tank over and churned up the newly tarmacced road along Arromanche sea front, they were not pleased.

tony


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Hi Bluie
I would assume you had an older house in the Eure. Many of our Brit friends also have problems with older and converted barns that are poorly insulated. We have been invited to dinner several times and sat in our coats with the central heating and a log fire going. 
I guess La Manche Dept. 50 being virtually surrounded by the sea is kept warmer than inland departments.
As to the Normans you have to try and integrate. We now dine and socialise with 40% French to 60% English, plus we join various local groups like 'walkers' and 'history'. Of course we grovel on a regular basis to the Mayor and this has many benifits.

Hi TM,
Yes we did consider further south but my wife is an avid gardener and too far south is too barren and brown. We did try Bergerac with a holiday home but sold after 4 years as too far from family and too cold in Winter at -13c and too hot in summer at 40+c.

Oh Gazzer,
I have brought a few French villages to a standstill with our RVs. Panic at the time but hilarious after. 

Dear Editor,

Many times now I have written about my observations of the French and their habits. Some quite pleasant and some not so pleasant.

I have even been taken to task for criticising their old fashioned charms like smoking between courses and having their pets up at the dining table.

But one of the things that the whole world is aware of in France, are the primitive public toilets. Their "pissoirs" are the subject or ridicule and revulsion to all.

Forty years ago I was amazed to see these small walls on islands in the middle of the road being used by gentlemen to relieve themselves. They are still in use today. 

Completely lacking in any form of privacy they are just one step up from gentlemen relieving themselves in the gutter. It's quite common even today to see men urinating against anything that does not move. Gates, hedges, walls and even vehicles, not always their own.

Recently while travelling south on a modern motorway toll road, we stopped at a nice new rest area for lunch. And while my wife was clearing the kitchen, I went to attend to the call of nature at the new facilities.

Imagine my surprise at the same old primitive toilet facilities that confronted me.

The standard wall with drain, no door. The toilet was the hole in the ground arrangement with no pan or seat and the ubiquitous stench.

Little had improved in the four decades that I had been visiting France as you can see.

Another incident that I recall when visiting an enormous Leclerc supermarket in The Dordogne. 

While my wife was spending the required three hours picking up a litre of milk, I asked the information desk if there was a toilet available for clients. I need not have bothered.

With some huffing and puffing I was ceremonially handed a small key on an enormous horseshoe and told to go and open the small building round back.

This building was like a German concrete "bunker". The door faced with steel and protected by a welded hasp and staple was padlocked. The crown jewels could not have been safer.

On opening the bunker I was confronted by a toilet pan in a puddle. No seat, no flush, no basin, soap or drier. There was no switch or light. If you did close the door you were in total darkness. 

I did wonder why the security of this porcelain throne was so tight. A little later I did witness a man with a toilet seat under his arm and realised just how valuable these items are.



Ray.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Hilarious Ray - keep 'em coming. :lol: 

I agree that FAQ's is not the right place for the thread, and I don't want to put it in Off Topic or it will self-destruct.

France Touring will do, unless there's a better suggestion.

Dave


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Zeb's thought pattern matches mine, FAQ is certainly the wrong forum, France Touring would be better IMO

Dave


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*France*

We love France, always felt at home in Cavaliere in the south. But as most of us know, for anything of a decent size in a decent neighbourhood, you need to be a Film Star (or Banker!). But Cavaliere is a place I feel I could live in.

But I also like Normandy. As well as Pas Des Calais (Good ferry links and close to Beneluxe and Germany). We did consider it some time ago. But as usual, other fish to fry at the time and the Mother-In-Law talked Mrs. TM out of it.

But Speaking with Mrs. TM Recently, we did discuss the idea of Javea, Spain (Again). If we could afford it in the future, she said she might like a holiday home there, but not sure she could live there due to Family ties.

Im off to put a couple of quid on the Lotto!

Enjoy the good life Ray.

TM


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Thanks TM.
At present in UK till next weekend. After 5 weeks visiting family and friends, sleeping in ten different beds and bathrooms, I am good and ready to return to our home in Normandy.
The UK now horrifies me with all the foreign voices and food shops. Not that I am against integration I just feel the Uk is being swamped with not always the most desirable immigrants.

This was written some time ago as you can see. But it's still valid.

Dear Editor,
The Economic European Community or EEC could have many advantages for all people living and working in these 15 member states. Not least the benefit of being able to understand the information given out by manufacturers printed on foods, household products, garments and the like.
When you purchase most things now, the label consists mainly of contents, warnings, usage instructions and assembly information in as many as twelve different languages.
All garments now have their washing and drying instructions in an international washing machine code complete with temperature guide.
Recently my wife commented on the instruction leaflet enclosed inside a chair cushion. It gave details in eight languages on how to tie the cushion to the back of the chair to prevent slippage.
Another purchase of a pair of child’s blow up armbands gave the instructions on how to inflate by blowing, in eight languages.
Obvious you might think, but then we are dealing with a multitude of differing intellects and ethnic backgrounds. 
Consider my dilemma recently when purchasing here in France a television capable to be used in almost any country in the world that had Pal, Secam or NTSC transmission systems. The complex instruction book was only in French.
Likewise the purchase of two Epson computer products only came with French instructions and software.
I did enquire from both the supplier and manufacturers about the possibility of getting other language instruction books for such complex equipment. This was met with a typical Gallic shrug and an emphatic NON.
Is it that the French assume that all foreigners are able to read French? Or is it an underground movement to change the written word in the EEC to French.
The French language is declining in its usage around the world. So much so that the French government have passed laws that limit the intrusion of Anglo American music and phrases on French TV and radio.
I for one feel that we have given sufficient concessions to joining the EEC in the way of money, metrification, shape of bananas, taste of hedgehog crisps etc. That the next concession should come from the other members of the community in taking English as their first language.

Ray


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## bluie (Dec 6, 2011)

hi ray, no my house was a log cabin imported from montana usa, trouble was all the pipes ran underneath and i had about 6 inches of insulation but it made no differance, they still froze. i got ok with my neighbours, it was the trouble with the shops in bernay, as soon as they heard me speak english , 3 of them would not serve me. bluie


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*ASDA*

Anyone who lives in one of those quaint villages in the UK (Usually in the South of England). The ones who are very often the first to shout that Racism Card, think Britain is Still Great, that benefit fraud is exaggerated by the media and think life is still wonderful and Rosey.

Have a walk around ASDA in Hulme. You don't have to buy anything, just come for the experience.

TM

Here is a link to ASDA Hulme for those who fancy a Visit next time you are in Manchester

You could always take a stroll along Claremont Road afterwards. That is an even bigger eye opener.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

That is a surprise Bluie.
I assumed Canadian Log Cabins would be the best at winter living. 

This is another of my French observations and again a few years ago before the smoking ban.

Dear Editor,
Visiting a delightful French restaurant the other day, we were soaking up the ambience of this converted windmill. 
The main building had been totally renovated including the beautiful thatched roof topped with irises and woven into intricate patens.
The purpose of the Irises I am informed is to take out the moisture from the thatch. But this reason does not hold water as far as I'm concerned.
Inside were all new timbers and windows. A gallery and staircase wound round the gable end. A log fire burned brightly in an imposing stone fireplace at the other end.
The view from the dining room through the double glazed deep windows was equally impressive over rolling green fields and out to sea, with the island of Jersey in the distance.
Outside the completely restored windmill was turning slowly and actually grinding the corn into flour. This could be bought to compliment the visit. A donkey was kept in an adjacent pasture to please the dinner guests and make short deliveries.
The menu was so extensive that we opted for the economic "Plat du jour", which composed of four courses for under £8.00. Even this gave us three options at each course. 
Just as we were being served our starter of a delicious selection of pate's, the occupants of the next table who had just lit cigarettes, were served with a dozen SNAILS each.
Undoubtedly they were French. The self-proclaimed gastronomic experts of the world. Who not only anethstatised their palettes with nicotine and polluted the air around us. But at the same time extricated these mollusc’s from their homes with miniature forks and ATE them.
When our French neighbours enquire as to why we have chosen to live in France, there is always the suggestion that it is because of our poor English quisine. I attempt to explain that English cooking is better and more diverse than the average French restaurant but this is just shrugged off as a British joke. And hysterical laughter follows.
Ray


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Not much has changed since the original posting with the exception that it rains when I have travelled to France in the last three years.

They must be suffering from global warming, climate change or something.

As I sit here in the office looking at our Mh, keeping central heating on low, whilst Lady p is taking MIL shopping I really wonder why.

I could be somewhere else, in a pool ,on a beach in the warm.

Then reality sets in.

we have a daughter, six dogs, rents to collect, properties to maintain, accountants to pay, mum in law to take care of.

Dave p


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