French Help Services

That steep learning curve - Buying and Selling a House in France...

Magnanerie Window in the Gard

Yes I love France, yes I've been here over 8 years now and I have lost my rose-tinted spectacles and have seen most of the difficulties (and good sides) to do with buying, selling and living down here in the beautiful South of France – and no, I don't want to live anywhere else (well, not often anyway.)

Here are a few random thoughts and a little bit of advice that might help you to make the move easier....

How to sell your house in France

It took me three years to sell my farmhouse in France. Firstly, to begin with I naively expected the estate agent to do it for me and secondly: well there were lots of reasons I don't need to bore you with... but I learned a lot from the experience, mainly out of sheer desperation!
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Shopping the French Way?

Goats Cheese from Sommieres

Yes, yes, I know that part of the dream of moving to France is all based around the weekly market....

But I have to say I still hanker to go to one of those huge supermarkets where you can buy everything, newspaper on the entry, paracetamol in the pharmacy bit... all in one trolley and off home again smart-ish (better still, Internet shopping with home delivery, which incidentally hasn't made it to my area of the Languedoc yet).

But, for the sake of my French man and his taste-buds (they are I have to say, unsullied by excess alcohol and late night curries like mine), I have to steel myself for the hustle and bustle of Sommieres market each Saturday morning (or Calvisson market Sunday morning - our favourite markets) and I go on the promise of an English newspaper and a glass or two of rose in compensation.

You see, the thing is, we have to visit exactly the right stall in the market for the right product and this takes time, love and patience.