Sharing France with you

Life in France after Brexit

Whilst the details of the Brexit ‘divorce’ are not yet finalised, there is quite a lot already known about buying property either as a second home or a primary residence from the New Year onwards.

The good news is that for anyone spending 90 days or less in France over the course of six months, Brexit should make little or no difference to you. For most non-EU citizens there is no visa requirement for stays of that length of time and travel insurance can cover healthcare. Property buying and owning in different countries in itself is not one of the EU’s freedoms and should be completely unaffected.

Make friends whilst you walk

Like the British, the French have a love affair with walking, and France’s beautiful and varied landscape is definitely a magical place to explore.

Of course you can hit the trails alone if you’re after some peace and quiet, but an alternative is to join a local walking or hiking group (groupe randonée). These provide the perfect opportunity to meet locals, practice your French (but not feel any pressure to talk the whole way- especially on the inclines!) and discover your local area, whilst getting fitter and healthier.

France in bloom

I thought I was a bit of a gardener.  I rated myself, living in the UK.  Moving to France challenged everything I knew (or thought I knew) and sent me scurrying back to the drawing board.

Despite coming from the driest part of the UK (East Anglia is officially a semi-arid desert!) nothing had prepared me for the range of temperatures and rainfalls that occur in south west France.

I set off happily thinking I could just recreate what I had grown in the UK.  It didn’t take many weeks for it to become apparent that plants that thrive in moderate temperatures and with regular rainfall fare less well in 30+ degree summers where you get very little rain for weeks on end and then get a lot!

When too much is just enough!

It’s just the way it goes - when you have a glut going on in your garden, everyone else has exactly the same thing going on!  Can I give you some plums?  No thanks - we have 6 trees-worth. Courgettes? Pumpkins? Tomatoes?  You just can’t give them away.

Right now it is the end of summer tomato flurry. A hot dry summer meant that our tomatoes were slow to get going and now there is just no stopping them.  We’re looking at ways to preserve them so we have some of that tomatoey goodness right through the winter.

Here are three of our favourite ideas.

The holidays never end

It’s September and the families have, by and large, returned home.  It’s noticeable out on the street that the current (smaller) wave of tourists is of a slightly older profile.  The empty nesters have arrived to enjoy the late summer warmth.

By the end of October the visitor numbers in France will have dropped right off and those of us who live here, or spend a lot of time here in second homes, will be rediscovering the joys of moving unimpeded through the market, short queues at the supermarket and more French being heard on the streets!

This ebb and flow of people is one of the joys of living somewhere that other people choose to visit on holidays.  The upsides (and it is almost all upside) include the fact that when you yourself have visitors, there are lots of summer events, plenty of decent restaurants that cater for the summer season and  great local facilities such as swimming and boating lakes.

Viewings Fast Pass

The property market in France is as hot as the weather right now, and this looks set to continue.

Our property consultants everywhere are dealing with unprecedented demand.

If you are 'on the ground' - or about to be, with an immediate intention to buy,

please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

and we'll do everything we can to get you in front of a property consultant ........and your new home.