France out of season: 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.

And, of course, it is just lovely hearing visitors talk about how lucky people are to be able to live this dream.

Putting luck aside, there is plenty that can be done to make the dream a reality.  A second home is the obvious starting point.  Brexit or not, there is nothing to stop anyone with the desire and the budget getting their foot on the French property ladder.  This year has proved to be extraordinary and, following the lifting of the lockdown, we have seen record numbers of enquiries, visits and offers on properties.  And when you think that a lock up and leave holiday home could start well under €100 000, it’s not hard to see why.  A second home can easily cover its own costs if you choose to put it on AirBnB for a few weeks per year.

If a permanent move to France is still on your list, watch this space.  We’ll be flagging up a relocation/immigration package soon which will outline what you’ll need to do to move here in 2021 along with useful contacts for the services (such as health cover) that will be needed.

Personally, I relish the non-touristy winter months.  Yes, it’s true that lots of places (restaurants and other) close or seriously reduce their opening out of season. But I love the peace and quiet for a few months and I just know that when spring gets here I’ll be looking forward to the holidaymakers coming back and all the buzz that that brings.

If you are on the ground in France (or plan to be soon) register for our viewings Fast Pass by emailing chloe.williams@beauxvillages.com and we’ll do all we can to get you in front of the right sales person - and the right property!