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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Wishing for a very French Christmas

By nadia, on 16th December 2010

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; all traditions which we are very happy to take on in our house.

Christmas trees decorate the streets of St Lizier

Having lived in France for seven years now though, I realise that what I enjoy most about Christmas here is that the French have 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 which is why France has come through the current financial crisis so much better than many countries.)

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.

Snowy Christmas walk

Even better for us, because we are so close to the mountains, we are pretty much guaranteed a white Christmas – at least within a short drive. So either on Christmas Eve or on Boxing Day, we pile into the car with the rest of the family who generally join us in France and go up to our favourite snowy plateau for a walk, 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!)

Mince pies in the Pyrenees!

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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Sunshine, not snow in the foothills of the Pyrenees

By nadia, on 8th December 2010

Often when I tell people that we live in the foothills of the Pyrenees, they tend to assume that we are snowbound for much of the winter. Generally they are amazed to discover that, despite the fact that our village is less than 50 kilometres from the nearest ski resort, we actually get snow only a few days a year and often winter temperatures here are much higher than those in the UK.

Winter nights and early mornings are cold and we wouldn’t be without our wood burner but we are a long way south here so the sun has real warmth in it. Winter afternoons in the sun can often reach 17 or 18 degrees (which was the case today) and we regularly sit outside to drink our coffee or enjoy lunch in the sun in February – a phenomenon I don’t ever remember experiencing in England. Snow may be causing havoc in the UK right now but here in the lee of the mountains, we are enjoying the protective Foehn effect (click this link to read the scientific explanation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foehn_wind) which means warm air and sunny days.

Snow on Mont Valier – sunshine in the valleys

What’s more, rainy winter days aren’t miserable and vaguely depressing when you live in the foothills of the mountains because we know that, while it may be raining on us, fresh snow will be falling up in the mountains with all the promise of a fabulous day skiing, sledging or snowshoeing in the sun in the days to follow.

For me this is a perfect winter location; we have sunshine and warmth on a daily basis with chilly nights providing the perfect excuse to snuggle in front of the fire with a hot chocolate. Meanwhile, everywhere we look there is snow sparkling on the mountains with sledging, skiing and fabulous snowy walks whenever we want. The foothills of the Pyrenees truly are a winter wonderland.

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Toulouse to Paris in three hours by TGV

By nadia, on 1st December 2010

 

Theatre du Capitole, Toulouse

After years of planning and negotiation, the French government has finally approved the extension of the high speed TGV service between Toulouse, Bordeaux and Paris. This will reduce the journey time between Toulouse and Paris significantly, putting Toulouse within three hours of the capital.

The plan, as it stands at the moment, is for the high speed line to be operational by 2020 with the ultimate aim of linking the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean with a high speed rail system and also to create a high speed line to Madrid and Lisbon. You can find further information and detailed plans of the route on the Grands Projets du Sud-Ouest website: https://www.gpso.fr/cartes.html

I for one am certainly looking forward to a few long weekends in Paris – although I am hoping that I won’t have to wait ten years until my next visit. In the meantime, there are over 30 flights per day from Toulouse to Paris operated by Air France or Easyjet to both Orly and Charles de Gaulle taking around one hour. The Capital is not so far from the foothills as it may seem.

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The Ariège records the largest house price increase in France so far in 2010

By nadia, on 18th November 2010

The Association of Notaires in France has just released the latest report into the state of the French housing market. The figures seem to confirm the resurgence in property sales reported by the FNAIM (French estate agents association) earlier this month.

They report a significant increase in sales to between 700,000 and 750,000 for 2010, compared to 2009 when sales were below 600,000.

House Sales in France 2001/10

Source: Insee

Much of this increase in sales is likely to be down to the current historically low interest rates in France which now average around 3% (although it is possible to find even lower.) This has meant a reduction in average monthly mortgage payments of around 12.5%.

As far as house prices are concerned, the Ariège region, which has historically had a very stable (and incredibly good value) property market, has recorded one of the largest increases in property prices during the year:

‘…. in some departments, such as Creuse, Haut Loire and Ariège, house prices have risen on average by over 15%.’

This is borne out by my local agents in Saint Girons who say that, after a very quiet market in 2009, buyers are back and property has started to move again with a corresponding increase in prices. Not quite a property rush but things are looking up and this is actually great news for buyers and sellers alike as some interesting properties are now appearing on the market, especially old farms with outbuildings or village houses, both of which are generally high on the property wish list of people looking for homes in this area.

So why are sales and prices increasing here in the Ariège? Well I can only put it down to the fact that house buyers coming to France are now much more conscious of getting value for money, which is why they are being drawn to this region. Buyers are daring to cast their nets wider (as the map below illustrates) and have discovered what amazing value the houses are in the Ariège. Which just goes to show that yesterday’s backwater is tomorrow’s hotspot and, while property here is still very affordable, it will not always necessarily remain so.

The following map shows the average percentage change in prices within each department up to June 2010.



House Prices 2009/10


Source: Notaires de France

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