View from the Foothills of France

Some personal views on living, working,
bringing up family and making the dream happen in the most beautiful region of France. View from the Foothills of France also includes some personal and professional thoughts and tips on finding and buying the perfect property in the Ariège and Haute Garonne regions.

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Dreaming of a French Christmas

By nadia, on 20th December 2018

Christmas weather in the Pyrenees

In the past I have spent Christmas in various countries and the way different cultures celebrate at this time of year seems to be very indicative of their priorities. So when we moved to France, I was fascinated to see what the focus of the celebration would be here. Of course, it should have been obvious – the focus is on food and eating but also on spending time en famille.

Our little part of France has not yet completely sold out to the commercial, shopping fest that has become the norm in many countries, maybe because people just do not have the money (and do not spend money they don’t have.) Presents are, of course, part of the celebrations but almost as a secondary element to the culinary highlight of the Christmas meal which takes place on Christmas Eve. Moreover, Christmas decorations generally don’t go up until two weeks before the day and, here in the Ariège, the local communes organize hundreds of Christmas trees to be placed at intervals along the streets, often decorated by the local school children.

Even better, while Christmas here is nearly always mild and sunny (we mostly have our apéro on the terrace in the sun) we can nevertheless guarantee a white Christmas – at least within a short drive into the mountains. So either Christmas Eve or Boxing Day is usually spent enjoying a walk on our favourite snowy plateau with some sledging and some mulled wine and mince pies from the picnic basket (mince pies is a British tradition that we cling to but one that our French neighbours just don’t get!)

Somehow the French manage to take the best bits of Christmas, discard the stress and overspending and just focus on eating, drinking and enjoying time en famille. As so often is the case, it leaves us realizing that our French friends and neighbours here have their priorities right.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas à la français.

 

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Quality of life and cost of living in France

By nadia, on 21st November 2018

I have written about this before but we currently have lots of demonstrations happening all over France in protest against the rise in fuel taxes and the cost of living which has made me consider whether life really has got more expensive in the last 15 years that we have been here. The French definitely work to live, not the other way around and they are worried that this balance is tipping in the wrong direction right now. One demonstrator interviewed on the French news complained that he fears he won’t be able to afford his usual skiing trip this winter; I’m not sure that would elicit much sympathy in many other countries in the world!

According to a survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the French spend more time eating, sleeping and shopping than any other country. Apparently, the French sleep an average of 8.5 hours. It makes France the longest sleepers out of all 34 of the OECD’s members. Does this mean that the French have less to fit into their days or are they just more relaxed about what does and doesn’t get done? Do they have less to worry about – or maybe they expect the state to do their worrying for them – and thus sleep easy at night!

The French also spend the most time eating and drinking at more than two hours per day on average which is nearly twice as long as the Americans and Canadians. Looking at obesity rates though, clearly time spent consuming doesn’t necessarily mean more consumed. Of course, it is this emphasis on long, lazy lunches that brought many of us here in the first place but it is very noticeable that the French do not eat or drink excessively – a meal is probably less dense than in the UK but each element makes up a separate course to be lingered over, enjoyed and never rushed. Nor do the French tend to snack in my experience. So, more food and wine isn’t crossing the lips of the French – it just feels as if it is.

It turns out that the French are big shoppers too – or perhaps just slow shoppers.  According to the report, the French spend 32 minutes each day shopping. However, I would guess that we are primarily talking about shopping for food here. Most of the French people I know shop for fresh ingredients every day and have no problem taking their time about it – this all part of that pleasure of appreciating their food.

Unsurprisingly therefore, the report also shows that French people have the second-highest life expectancy in the OECD, presumably thanks to the high amount of time spent enjoying themselves. Add that to the 28% of GDP that the French state spends on healthcare and social welfare, the highest spending of any OECD country and it all starts to make perfect sense.

It seems to me that, although the French might feel that they are hard done by, the rest of us can only look on enviously at their work/life balance – or make that move to France and hope that some of the magic dust rubs off; that’s if we can get through the demonstrations of course.

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Buying a house privately in France

By nadia, on 31st October 2018

Buying a house privately and avoiding steep estate agent’s fees of 5-10% might seem like a good idea and and an appealing route to take but, if you are house hunting in France, it pays to understand the French property market first and to know the region. In France, 30% of people buy property privately (know as entre particuliers). The figure is even higher when you take just French buyers and sellers into account. There are, however, various pitfalls to be aware of if you are thinking of taking this route.

One of the problems with private sales can be that often the owner has decided to sell privately because they think their house is worth more than the local agents have estimated. They might be right but it is unlikely; most sellers will ask at least three agents to value their property before putting it on the market and these agents will usually know their area and the market very well and have a very good idea of the value of the house. Of course they might not take into account the very expensive finishes and special details of which the seller is hugely proud but it is a competitive market and they will have an idea of how much anyone will pay for a certain type of property in a particular area. Hence, with a private sale, you can in fact end up paying more than a house is actually worth.

In addition, the seller may well advertise the house privately at a higher price than it is being marketed with an agent; something that happens surprisingly frequently and often catches out foreign buyers. Even more importantly, however, there are sometimes other reasons why an owner doesn’t want to sell through an agent. Usually this is because there are either problems with the property or the location, something that an agent will be obliged to point out to the buyer but will not necessarily be discovered by a private buyer or picked up by the Notaire.

Don’t let this put you off private sales, most are fine but it is important to know the area and the prices or at least have a professional by your side who can advise you. If you need help with your property search, please get in touch: nadia@foothillsoffrance.com

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Is now a good time to buy a house in France?

By nadia, on 15th October 2018

This is a question I am being asked more than usual right now thanks to various factors that include Brexit, Trump, Macron, unaffordable house prices in many countries, economic austerity, climate change and people generally living longer and wanting a better life-work balance.

The short answer to the question is, of course; ‘yes, it is always a good time to buy in France’. The longer answer is more complicated but fundamentally comes down to the reasons behind why you are thinking of buying a house here.

I can only answer for this region of France and I am biased of course but I would say that if you are looking for a better quality of life, for more house and land for your money, for beautiful countryside, stunning mountain views, lots of opportunities for walking, cycling, skiing and fabulous local produce, then the answer is yes. If you are looking for a property that is going to make you money over a short time as purely an economic investment, then the answer is probably no.

Having said that, as a safe place to secure your money, I can’t think of many better options right now. The country’s cautious banks have helped France’s economy to stay stable amid wider uncertainty and France remains a ‘safe-haven’ for property buyers with exceptionally low mortgage rates. In addition, French stone property still looks like very good value – prices have stayed relatively steady, the government and the economy of France are also more stable than most and, in the very worst case scenario, if everything else collapses around you, you still have a very nice, comfortable, well-built and usually rather lovely house to live in and escape the troubles of the world.

In this region, the continuing expansion of Toulouse international airport along with a huge increase in available routes all over the world, is certainly bringing new buyers into the area and keeping the economy strong. This is also a region with strong employment and a younger population with good universities and high tech industries such as Airbus attracting incomers from all over the world. Hence, while property is still very good value, foreign buyers thinking that they will be able to pick up property for almost nothing are likely to be disappointed and, if it looks too good to be true on a website, more often than not, it will be. Property prices are increasing gradually and I can’t see any reason for this not to continue right now so while there is no great rush, don’t take it for granted that property prices will remain low in France forever.

Who knows what is going to happen in the world in the coming decades but, when it comes to deciding where to buy a house, I have every confidence that, for anyone who wants a beautiful French home in a stunning location combined with a fantastic quality of life, great community, easy access and a lovely climate, this is one of the better places in the world to spend money on property and now is as good a time as any.

If you have a question about buying property in this region of France, please get in touch: nadia@foothillsoffrance.com

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