Cheap wine and nice cheeses, so why is nobody thinking of moving here?

I'm finding some decent 'fixer uppers'

This house in the middle of France for 10,000 Euros.

 

Are the French still there ??

This ?

 

Cost of living in France is 52.28% higher than in Thailand   https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=France

 

there are plenty of projects available in east europe and cost of living is less than Thailand

eg first google search, new unfinished house on 2a Serbia..100sqm triple the size of a shoebox on the darkside for a fraction of the cost

 

https://www.propertyunder50k.com/property-details/i-am-selling-a-country-house-in-village-studena-serbia-13382

1 minute ago, madmen said:

This ?

 

Cost of living in France is 52.28% higher than in Thailand   https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=France

 

there are plenty of projects available in east europe and cost of living is less than Thailand

eg first google search, new unfinished house on 2a Serbia

 

https://www.propertyunder50k.com/property-details/i-am-selling-a-country-house-in-village-studena-serbia-13382

I maybe a bit mad, but nowhere near mad enough to consider living in Serbia.

..... and I already speak French.

Depends on how much you like Moroccan culture I suppose.

 

I prefer Thai culture to North African myself.

12 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I maybe a bit mad, but nowhere near mad enough to consider living in Serbia.

Ok then no worries

And cheaper than a Pattaya go go girl, trust me I know ????

 

 

Nice country, nice people, I was made very welcome there. Pub prices are very expensive although the booze in the supermarkets are cheap. Very cold winters, no gas in the countryside so needed log fires. Cess pits are a must have.

Had my own walnut tree, apples and pears.

I would...  but I’d have to pay high income tax & I can avoid that living in Thailand. 

11 minutes ago, vogie said:

Nice country, nice people, I was made very welcome there. Pub prices are very expensive although the booze in the supermarkets are cheap. Very cold winters, no gas in the countryside so needed log fires. Cess pits are a must have.

Had my own walnut tree, apples and pears.

Why did you leave. Looks lovely

1 minute ago, madmen said:

Why did you leave. Looks lovely

Met a Thai lady. ????????

2 minutes ago, vogie said:

Met a Thai lady. ????????

Condolences 

Thing about Serbian women is they are hard to get, tho.

 

If you're old and ugly no amount of money is going to help you. We as a nation also make fun of foreigners, especially Americans. I can tell you for a fact most Serbian women find Americans revolting.

 

The Serbian women didn't even want me and I was born in Serbia. The first time I had sex with a Serbian woman was 7 years ago in Canada. She was nurse (they make over $100k there), well off husband, million dollar house 3 kids, but liked playing around. She was horny as hell and boy did she pick a wrong guy as I found her quite comical with her displays of horny affection. I cracked up in the middle of the sex session.

But Serbian women are indeed gorgeous. Even in their 40's they maintain a healthy body features unlike Russian women.

Niece bought a 135 acre estate in a lovely area had her own woods and streams, no neighbours with a fantastic house and had stabling for her horses. She stuck it less than 3 years before selling at a huge loss and moving to Portugal- winters were too cold!

south france is stunningly beautiful, but the french caribbean islands is warmer, and i still get the same rights as in any other plot belonging to EU.

portugal should maybe be warm enough to live in year round until death, ditto for spain,

i think it might be a toss which one is better

How about a farmhouse with attached barn and 1.5 Acres for 15,000 Euros?

 

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

How about a farmhouse with attached barn and 1.5 Acres for 15,000 Euros?

 

A friend of mine from the UK bought a place near Poitiers (halfway between the Loire and Bordeaux) in a very poor condition although not as bad as the one in the picture and he spent some time doing it up, and it was very lovely when he finished it, in fact I stayed there for 10 days and found it quite delightful, if not too quiet.

 

All of the basics could be obtained from the small village shops nearby, apart from the fact that the local wine was made from the Gamay grape and it wasn't that good at all.

 

I have often thought I could move to the south of France in the Languedoc, but then again at 71 years of age I do need company and a little bit of excitement to keep the brain active, and all the red wine in the world won't compensate for that!

One day in Paris and you'll see why I would never want to live there. Lots of "quality" immigrants from third-world north African countries trying to do whatever they can to separate you from the contents of your wallet and bank account, never going there again. Food, weather and architecture all lovely though.

Hi

 

It looks like it needs a lot of work but as mentioned before if you are able to do most of the work yourself, could work out.

Looks to be large enough to perhaps restore and then have a couple of rooms for summer lets ?

 

Maybe enough rental income to provide a lievable basic income so that after buying and restoration you have zero costs.

 How about a free/very cheap house in southern Italy/Sicily?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/17/italian-town-sambuca-sicily-dozens-homes-for-sale-one-euro

 

Could be OK for someone like yourself ( I have  no restoration skills nor do I need another property )

 

Various underpopulated southern Italy towns seem to be offering these type of deals.

 

Yes, of course one would need to do full research as there are probably catches in many offers.

There is so much more to France than Paris, our favourite place was The Pyrenees, many summer holidays we would head down to Perpignon en route to Argeles sur Mer and spend a couple of weeks in the mountains. But those were the days before the € when you could stop at a Les Routiers transport cafe and get two meals inc wine for a fiver. 

But when you get to the tourist areas properties leap up in price.

3 minutes ago, seasia said:

Hi

 

It looks like it needs a lot of work but as mentioned before if you are able to do most of the work yourself, could work out.

Looks to be large enough to perhaps restore and then have a couple of rooms for summer lets ?

 

Maybe enough rental income to provide a lievable basic income so that after buying and restoration you have zero costs.

 How about a free/very cheap house in southern Italy/Sicily?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/17/italian-town-sambuca-sicily-dozens-homes-for-sale-one-euro

 

Could be OK for someone like yourself ( I have  no restoration skills nor do I need another property )

 

Various underpopulated southern Italy towns seem to be offering these type of deals.

 

Yes, of course one would need to do full research as there are probably catches in many offers.

I believe on many of the trades involved with house restoration you would by law need to use a French artisan, they are not cheap and do require months of notice.

I have the French nationality, and lived in France near Geneva for 25 years, while working for the UN. I have never envisaged to retire in France. On a modest pension of USD 7500 I'd be paying one month for income tax and another month for various other "local" taxes. TVers complaining about TI telling them what to do with their money would end up paying a huge chunk of their income going to the state, some of which spent on social security for unemployed immigrants.. To preempt legitimate remarks I could bear it while I was a UNer as we were income tax exempt and entitled to some tax free shopping, as well as tax exempt gasoline in Geneva.

 

I miss the cold and snow though, the long walks in snowy woods and the hot tea or coffee with an apple pie when going back home.

24 minutes ago, vogie said:

I believe on many of the trades involved with house restoration you would by law need to use a French artisan, they are not cheap and do require months of notice.

Cheap restorations are a delusion, they will always cost you more than a new cottage once you're finished with it. And in many cases they never get finished.. I'd rather look for one of these wooden chalets kits, which are energy efficient.

Recently watched the Giro d'Italia cycling race & it made me realise what a sh1thole Thailand is ???? 

7 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

Cheap restorations are a delusion, they will always cost you more than a new cottage once you're finished with it. And in many cases they never get finished.. I'd rather look for one of these wooden chalets kits, which are energy efficient.

Where did you live, I lived inbetween Poitiers and Limoges, a small hamlet called La Bussiere, near Saint Savin near Chauvigny. 

I think its safe to say that the French have no interest in restoring old houses, only the Brits.

49 minutes ago, seasia said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/17/italian-town-sambuca-sicily-dozens-homes-for-sale-one-euro

Could be OK for someone like yourself ( I have  no restoration skills nor do I need another property )

That's a fake story, they were actually for sale by auction.

Just now, BritManToo said:

That's a fake story, they were actually for sale by auction.

Hence why I stated in my post that there are probably catches.

Yes, heard about some/many decent seeming offers going to auction, sealed bids.

 

Whether that applies to all of them, I do not know.

Since this is a Visa oriented web site my contribution is that France is the only European country that used to issue you a residence Visa by investing US $10,000 in a French Bank

 

I wanted to retire in the Netherlands in 2006 but was informed by Dutch Immigration that there were no provisions for US Citizens retiring there.  The best you could do was a 90 day tourist visa but that would require staying out of the country for 90 days after it expired

 

A lawyer suggest the French route but I never followed through  because there was a question if a French residency visa would entitle a resident, versus a EU citizen, freedom of movement within the EU.  ie. French Resident but Dutch "long term visitor"

4 hours ago, SteveK said:

One day in Paris and you'll see why I would never want to live there. Lots of "quality" immigrants from third-world north African countries trying to do whatever they can to separate you from the contents of your wallet and bank account, never going there again. Food, weather and architecture all lovely though.

I'd agree with you about Paris or any other Major European Capital... they're all amazing for a Visit or to live in the right area (very expensive and exclusive parts of town). 

 

Bangkok is the same - but its the only place in Thailand with the right combination of Good Schools, Good Hospitals, Good regional connections (flights) and civilization.

 

I prefer Bangkok to many of the other Capitals I've been to. But, were not comparing Cities - the question was about France and there are some areas of France, particularly in the South where the people are great, the food is great the lifestyle is incredible and relaxing...  areas like St Jean De Lus or Narbonne on the other side.  But with France, you would have to be a little bit careful where you choose as there has been an 'immigration issue' which has rendered some areas (in towns, even the smaller ones) unsafe. 

13 hours ago, vogie said:

I believe on many of the trades involved with house restoration you would by law need to use a French artisan, they are not cheap and do require months of notice.

Hard to see how they could do that as both the houses I pictured are already residences with electricity and water.

The farm in the last photo isn't in all that bad a condition 1/3 of the property has already been fixed (roof and inside).

Lived there for three years, never again. Bureaucracy worse than Thailand, most govt servants little Hitlers. Almost impossible to get replies to important phone calls/letters. People mainly stubborn and bossy, although I did meet a few nice people. Expensive, except for housing. Where I was in Haute Vienne, freezing in winter and heating very expensive. Boring and expensive bars. Unattractive and poorly dressed women who you didn't see unchaperoned of an evening anyway, and hardly ever use the bars. The one thing I did enjoy was the peacefulness of my surrounding area, the quiet roads and the hot dry summers. Moving to Thailand was like being let out of jail. Took me ten years to sell my property there at a fraction of what I paid for it.