I hope to learn basic French starting with lessons next month.

I have my dream of having a holiday cottage in the Auvergne or other more southern French provence within the next year or so.....

Looking at realtors on the Internet with simple places to be renovated or partly removated for Euros 20,000 - 80,000.

My husband and I want a place in the SUN and nature to enjoy with family and friends now that our children are almost out of the house here in crowded little Holland....

Anyway, I will be lurking here a lot in the coming months, and hope to converse in FRENCH by next March/April or so....:D

(OPTIMIST)

DemEx

Your compatriots or the Brits already sold them, I believe.

part of a village near Clermont-Ferrand with friends 2 years ago - her little stone place cost her Euros 7000.00! She had to put in the floor, septic tank, and water....

But prices are rising fast.

One realtor mentions that the French prefer buying new places, while the English (and probably the Dutch) like renovating.....:D

:hi:

DemEx

Frenchs prefert buy new places, perhaps but :

You (NL and GB) are searching places where Frenchs don't like to live anymore.
You have enought money for buying too expensive ruins.
... And you renove our patrimony so well ;)

est parfaitement résumée ici. Vous êtes toujours les bienvenus dans tous les cas.

EDIT: Translation sorry.
It's a very good brief(summary?) of what the French think about that phenomenon. But you are always welcome anyway.

but the villagers themselves seem to be are very happy with the incoming money, fixed up buildings, and renovation projects for work! :D

I'm afraid that also in this area the French, and all other nations, will not be able to stop globalization tendencies.....

:hi:

DemEx

edit: Now, on to learning French!!!!

how can it be a bad thing?

It all starts innocently enough...you learn to say "bonjour," "au revoir".....then you start talking to people around you....before you know it, you're in a corner reading the entire canon of French literature. But don't worry. It's a very pleasant affliction.

We do welcome this but just imagine the same situation in reverse in your own country. Some French, rather wealthy, want to settle where no americans want to live anymore, they buy houses, ruins to renove in abandoned regions but, because of the market rules, only the first of them buy their houses their true price, the others buy very overpriced houses/ruins etc... Where is the problem. Why would you not welcome that ? You would be OK with that I guess even if you would be a bit amused by the phenomenon. And you would be proud that some foreigners did choose your country and your way of life. And in the end it would even be good for your economy and those new comers would even do a good job in renovating those part of your patrimony.
No, definetly, why would we not welcome this?

Welcome to France when you want, there or everywhere! Sincerely ! :) Many of the French would not admit that because of the pride but we are proud of this, in a sense you honor us, our country and our way of life and the French give such an importance to these matters you know...

.. not only ruins are bought. In some areas, the price for any house became so expensive that the young native people can't be rich enough to buy any, and have to move away. :(

the villages anyway because there is no work - until the area gets an economic impulse from "outsiders", whether from tourism or foreigners moving into the region....

Open borders and the Euro will only increase this mixing of cultures....

In Holland the young Polish are really flocking in now for the favorable economic conditions.

:hi:
DemEx

edit: This phenomenon of rising house prices in nice villages is becoming a problem here in Holland too, as homes are bought by people in the cities to get away from crowds, crime, etc. Prices are so high that all of the young families must move elsewhere to buy a home, resulting in some villages becoming "old folks towns" - also not such a desirable situation. (Schools, shutting down, stores closing because of lack of personnel, etc.)

the French way of life...even in the villages and countryside, as they do their best to preserve the French language and culture.

I have lived in little Holland for so long that I do not feel American any longer.... :-)
When visiting France as we so aften do, I feel pride and joy in feeling part of the French element of Europe!

You are right, the overpriced ruins are very amusing, but people are willing to pay to get a little place in the sun and away from the crowds....Holland is so very crowded, you know, and I guess the English love the lifestyle and climate!

Yes, I would be flattered to see people moving into my country (Holland or the US!) because of their love for it....

:hi:

DemEx

The farmers are very happy and the last shopkeepers too. The Frenchs come there for a trip because the countryside is fine and the inns good and cheap. They are very happy to see the ruins get a new life. Their owners renovate with a great respect for the traditional local style. We're happy for them. They can go for long walks without meeting any soul alive in our beautiful countryside, and real change with their ones.

BUT

in other places, where the youth want to stay because they can work, the situation is very different. Alps, Côte d'Azur (Riviera for our US friends), South-West... There no ruins for sale. In these regions the prices of the houses quickly raise, and the young people aren't able to buy home anymore because they don't have enough money. It's a real issue for the mayors who have to find housing solutions for their local youth.

Good luck with the French lessons!