Life is better in Brittany and Normandy

It's probably all that kissing! They are dropping like flies in France! An epidemic is defined by 165 cases in every 100,000 head of population. And figures show that France currently has a whopping 905 in every 100,000 going down with it which means they are on red alert. It may be nothing more than an established custom, a way of saying hello or goodbye - and most do it without thinking, on auto-pilot. So they are bringing it on themselves. I'm also sure that, as distant cousins, and quite cold by comparison, us Brits are definitely less affected by 'la grippe'. But, having been supplied with a vaccine designed for last year's strain of flu which has apparently mutated somewhat...this winter's jab has not had the desired effect and so many of those in high risk groups are being left without the protection they hoped for. All I can say is, that for our French friends, as Valentine's Day looms, then probably the whole nation will be spreading the v...

If your experience of buying a house in France is anything like ours was back in 1999 then you are embarking on one of the most exciting phases of your life... It might be my age, but the more I hear about life in the UK compared with the way things used to be (the need for reporting just about everything negative on 24 hour rolling news might have something to do with it) then the less I like it right here - right now . But Brittany and Normandy offer a lifestyle very similar to that of the UK the way it was back in the 1950s (yes, unfortunately I am old enough to remember what that was like! but I did look at it through a child's eyes ). The pace of Breton and Norman life is very leisurely, the roads are good, no actually - they're great ( NO Road Tax) and comparatively empty too - and the folks you encounter are friendly (if you are keen to integrate) if not they'll wonder why...because everyone is eager to give you a welcome nod, a smile and a "bonjour...

Yes... renovation at a snail's pace ...That's how life in Brittany has seemed so far for us. Most enjoyable of course. And all of the peripheral stuff that goes on, the 'time off for good behaviour' when we knock off at 4 O'clock in the afternoon for a drive to the coast for Moules Marinieres or to Lake Guerledan for a woodland walk around the lake; you have to have a sense of balance - so progress can sometimes be painfully slow over time with intense short bursts and, yet tempered by gentle relaxation. We spend around two months of each year there in bite sized (two week) chunks. Infuriating at times because I always feel that we don't have sufficient time 'at the coal-face' to get the required amount of work done each trip. It's a slow burn toward job satisfaction. But first I have to roll out once again... that we have done 6 return trips each year for 16 years now. So that's 192 crossings of La Manche (that's what our French cousi...

The French had their own version of the UK's Doctor Beeching. In fact I think our much maligned doctor's French counterpart was probably his inspiration. For, in the early part of the 20th Century (rather than the 60s) when it became obvious that road transport was supplanting railways as the better means of shipping goods and travelling deep into the hinterland Railways were rationalised and roads began to take their place... Knowing the French and their striving toward maximum efficiency they probably combined it with reparation of the roads after World War 2 too  (but that's another blog) ... So, there was a great pruning of branch lines which quickly gave way to the redundancy of many lines and, of course stations. Stations became houses or town and village museums, business premises and the like and the lines were stripped of their hardware to become leisure facilities. It's a process that, although almost complete, is still going on and being improved.  Of ...

I'm sure most parties out there, interested in picking up a second property etc., know all about the state of economies and stuff and why therefore you can pick up extreme bargains in Northern France (other parts of France are available) . But, just in case...we are at the confluence of some pretty important triggers right now. The UK economy is taking a few people by surprise and really looking up. Those at the top of government will say that they knew it would work this way - to the disbelief and annoyance of those in opposition. It makes the General Election harder to win when unemployment goes down and exports go up and the currency is performing well on the world stage. Things get even better when those across the water are experiencing their worst performance figures, biggest unemployment and their worst currency performance (against sterling) for more than a decade... You also have to set this off against the downward trend of property prices and only the slow likelihood...

Searching for a house in another country, especially such an accessible one as France where the bargains in Normandy and Brittany are abundant (other French regions are available)  is probably the most invigorating non-Olympic event you can get involved in! But, whilst enjoying the undoubted excitement of the viewing and choosing process, you may be forgiven for not having given excess thought on what until that point could be regarded as the 'boring' bits... The Funding (mortgage etc., - if required)  and the essential Foreign Currency Exchange process. Admittedly it's something best considered BEFORE you have been seriously smitten and before the agent has seen the whites of your eyes... but these elements form an essential part of the buying process and it would be wise to have your financial ducks in a row before committing to probably one of the most important decisions in your adult life.... Don't do a 'Dave'! David B (the names have been changed to pr...

New Year? It gives you that feeling...what I used to describe as 'best handwriting first day of term! Stride out and realise the ambition that you feel you've been neglecting...too long. Well, the first thing that strikes me about the beginning of 2015 is that the Exchange rate - Pound to Euro - is the best that it has been for six years! That in itself is amazing. I always find it hard to appreciate quite what celestial elements have to align to bring these changes about but, off the cuff, I get the drift that when the UK property market is up and the domestic market in France is down... the UK economy is doing well and the French economy is in the doldrums... employment figures are rosier in the UK and at the worst they have ever been in France... Then that means that there has never been a better time to buy something in France  (not a used car salesman's ploy... honest). Politicians are always taking a pasting from their electorate, it goes with the territor...