KemppiFrog
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- 4,147
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- Aquitaine
We have a circle of Brit friends, all decent people and well integrated. One, who looks after a chateau, commented that when he lived in the Vienne (but worked in UK, bit of a weekly commute..) he had a pretty low opinion of the brits there and put it down to the cheap properties and the usual prob of 'selling in UK for decent money, buying cheap here and living high off the difference, until reality hits and they have to earn'. Hence the term P&O builders. Whatever they did before, they become a 'builder' when they get off the ferry. Lots of horror stories on the web.
Used to get this in the Algarve too. Spend a couple of weeks in the bars and on the beaches, then think, Hey, I can run a bar and have a great life. If they ever asked, my advice was: If you are good at something, do it here. If you have not run a bar, don't even think about it, it is tough and lots of competition from others who do know. Plus, you need to speak the language, well.
Here, closer to the coast, property prices are a bit higher. Still not anything like UK and falling, except in beach hotspots. Recently, several friends have tried to sell. Rarely can you do it for more than you paid, not to mention having improved it to a decent standard. The Chateau bloke has just bought a town house in Saintes, as his place in the grounds is tied, for 115K euro. Nice one on a quiet street, area coming up a bit. Needs work, but perfectly liveable. Future planning..
Nice conversation when I introduced him to a French friend (who's familly have lived in the same house since 1640.. and it is a maintainance nightmare) What do you do? Oh, I look after a garden. How big is it? 120 hectares (300acres) French friend looked at him for a second.. Then said 'Sorry I didn't understand, How big?' They got on well after that.
Need to get cooking, might come back later.
KF
Used to get this in the Algarve too. Spend a couple of weeks in the bars and on the beaches, then think, Hey, I can run a bar and have a great life. If they ever asked, my advice was: If you are good at something, do it here. If you have not run a bar, don't even think about it, it is tough and lots of competition from others who do know. Plus, you need to speak the language, well.
Here, closer to the coast, property prices are a bit higher. Still not anything like UK and falling, except in beach hotspots. Recently, several friends have tried to sell. Rarely can you do it for more than you paid, not to mention having improved it to a decent standard. The Chateau bloke has just bought a town house in Saintes, as his place in the grounds is tied, for 115K euro. Nice one on a quiet street, area coming up a bit. Needs work, but perfectly liveable. Future planning..
Nice conversation when I introduced him to a French friend (who's familly have lived in the same house since 1640.. and it is a maintainance nightmare) What do you do? Oh, I look after a garden. How big is it? 120 hectares (300acres) French friend looked at him for a second.. Then said 'Sorry I didn't understand, How big?' They got on well after that.
Need to get cooking, might come back later.
KF