The Limousin was featured on "Home or Away" or "A place in the sun" and that was 3 years ago, and I thought, I am going to look there as it was cheaper than the Dordogne or Auvergne. I am south of Limoges in the Correze, I did look at a country property in Haute Vienne which I liked I didn't go inside but at the end of day, I needed ease of communication for my daughter I am near Limoges, Brive or Bergerac airports, and I needed to be in a town as I get older, and on my own, but I wanted countryside as I love the country. I didn't want to go to the Creuse as it felt too remote for me on my own. These are the 3 departments that make up the Limousin, with Limoges being the capital. This is my house - the turrets next door belong to the neighbouring property, I am the 4 storey townhouse perced on the end, built into the original fortification of the old town, complete with its own arrow slit and a terraced garden that falls away to the River Vezere that wraps around the town.
You are not going to believe this but somehow I have a pic of your house in my "French Houses I Like" file!!! It's the one taken showing the back of the house and a bit of the terrace. I thought it was a smaller house (although a 'small maison de maître' is probably a contradiction in terms!?) I seem to remember finding it via a connection with Lubersac?? You've got a grande old dame on your hands for sure! She's gorgeous!
Thank you for sharing what town you're in - Bellac looks beautiful - and your website (very well done by the way.) And I guess you always know where your darling is - he's in the garden mowing the acreage!!;) I love what you're doing-honouring the house's heritage but at the same time adding some contemporary touches that doesn't overwhelm its character. (Like keeping the old lights and mirror and floor of the bathroom.) I've seen so may online that have had the life force sucked out of them by completely unsympathetic renos compromising, to my mind anyway, the lovely historical context of the house. Tricky sometimes to find the balance between mod cons and olde world charm!! Well done!!!
And I also have to say as someone mad about dogs, your story about adopting an older dog who spent the better part of his life in a shelter, really touched my heart! You are a dear soul and a great inspiration to me and I'm sure others as well. (And good job Scooter for accepting your adopted bro. :))
You've been 'everywhere' and to settle in the Haute Vienne is high recommendation indeed. It seems you've really embraced the French way of life and are enjoying it to the full.:) Next - the kitchen! I can hardly wait to see the result! Are you considering a Lacanche stove??;)
Ah, I see you've landed in Landes! Very nice! It seems by my quick image research you have a solar farm there! How cool is that?? There appears to be some kind of a racetrack there? For your Formula One I presume?
Thank you for your warm welcome Sarah and the compliment on my writing! I see you're a bit of a 'storyteller' too?;) Thank you also for sharing your strategy on what worked for you. It appears to be just common sense but sometimes I get intimadated by what can seem to be a very complicated process! It's so good to hear other people's experiences and to build some of what they learned into your own search. Good job on your own as well for sorting all that out! To live mortgage free is I'm sure something you could pinch yourself about! To be in debt and beholden to The Bank is something so acceptable in our western society and I think it can just slowly rob you of your personal freedom and peace of mind. It sounds like you ended up in a spot that is just right for you! Well done!
Yes, we too saw a (French) program on the Limousin and were completely blown away by those wide open views! I think we also seem to be narrowing it down to the Haute Vienne or Correze (a bit closer to Toulouse for Pascal's family); near Limoges would be nice. Whoa! I can't believe where you live!! No unwanted intruders invading for sure!! I'll be sure to ring before I visit lest I be assailed by a shower of arrows!;) Is that Uzerche by the way? To have the security of a town and that gorgeous countryside all around is what is so very appealing to us as well. Definitely the best of both worlds!!!
[ Small voice in your head, "Haute Vienne, Haute Vienne, Haute Vienne ..." ]
How kind of you, we love our place. It had been unloved and it feels like it is coming back to life. But there is sooooo much to do! I tell everyone that its scruffiness is part of its charm but it is really cos I am a rubbish housekeeper. Hubby is more interested in the garden than the house so I am fiddling around with small things and we get builders to do the rest. Luckily the bones of the house are super sound, and it hasnt been messed around with (we saw so many old houses with new PVC double glazing, we wanted original hardwood!) even though it does need some decoration! I'd love to spend a load of money on it but we dont have it so are doing the best bits.
What a super, interesting house Sarah, I love it!
I loves it here so much, I want to share with others so this afternoon I bought me a 2year old Tinker to join my other horses !
Yes, it is Uzerche and you enter the original old gated archway to reach my property. Very pretty walking and I am right opposite the river, I can see it running over the weir from my rear windows.
Nice little town Bellac wth some good eating places. My favourite is the Creperie de Vincou in the centre which serves great food at a very fair price, nice people too.
We have yet to go there but really like Le Cheval Blanc. I have heard good things about Creperie but it has been closed some time as they enlarge it. Will get there soon!
I'm based in Corsica now, temporarily and then will be permanent on retirement (and even afterwards!). We've lived in several places in France, all have good and less good points but mostly positive. But after 20 years of coming to Corsica on holiday and buying a pied a terre here 12 years ago, we find ourselves here since end of last year when I was made redundant from the oil industry. It is a lovely place, people are friendly and welcoming in general as long as one is respectful.
If you like outdoor stuff like hiking, running, windsurfing, sailing etc it's a great place. Although there are not huge numbers of art galleries for example, there are lots of amateur events that are usually great.
Hi Alan,
Wow! Corsica - that's a place I hadn't considered! I have seen pix and it looks very beautiful there on the sea...I'm not sure I'm island material though as I remember visiting Gibraltar many years ago (when the border was closed so I'm dating myself!) and I felt very trapped. Although transportation on and off Corsica is probably a lot better than off Gib then!! A sailboat would definitely be in order! Thx for your reply.
Thanks Lison! If you end up near Nice, Toulon or Marseille there are good ferry links so you could always pop over for a holiday :-). It is a big bigger than Gib, but smaller than the Emerald Isle.. Good luck with deciding where to live !!
Hi Lison
I'm Irish too so I know what it's like living in a big country far from the sea. I live in the city - Toulouse - cos that's where the work is, the culture and the craic as well. But if you want to live somewhere warm, near-ish to the coast but in touch with civilisation, then the region between Toulouse and Narbonne is probably a good place to start. Or even south of Toulouse - towards the Pyrenees, where property is cheap and your man can ride up all those hills.
Have you thought of buying a place with a couple of gites? This is a good way of covering all your running costs and making a few bob on the side. I can advise you more on this subject.
Now is the time to buy before all those Brits come flooding over after their Brexit trauma.
Thx Alan! I think I'll already feel like I'm on holiday if I end up in the South of France ha ha! (Hopefully!) Good to know about those links...I'm reading a book about Josephine Bonaparte so there's a bit of a connection to Corsica at the moment for me...Cheers!
Hi Simon, thanks for your comment. Technically I'm actually Canadian as I was born in Montreal, Quebec (currently living 'out west' in Alberta). However, my parents were born and bred in Dublin and so as a child of parents from the "EU" I'm eligible to claim an Irish passport as I thought it could make living in France easier. I've always been very proud of my Irish roots so it's lovely to be able to tap into my heritage! I've been to Toulouse (great city!) as that's where my guy is from - also south of there. He would love that area for cycling for sure so I guess I need to keep it on the radar! Maybe a bit too warm for me but I'm sure I could acclimatize in the fullness of time - especially with a little daily chilled apero to cool me down.;)
We toyed with the idea of a gite at least one (possibly 2) but we have a pretty petite budget and feel the competition is fierce. We also don't want to work that hard! Although we thought we could put a nice spin on breakfast as Pascal is a classically trained pastry chef/tourier dedicated to the art of the croissant and his pastries are quite extraordinary. We still want to see if he could get some work as a pattisier so that may decide location in the end...we do need to do a little more research about tax breaks etc regarding gites - feel free to steer us in that direction re: more info on the subject.
Just came from a quick glance at your profile (you are indeed a man of many talents!) and your website! Whoa! Whole hamlets/gite complexes to run with a pretty price tag to match! ;) Amazing what is out there though. There's so much to choose from and make a life with in such beautiful places!
Ha ha! Yes, there may well be another British Invasion after the Brexit 'trauma' like you say. Hopefully, they'll leave a little spot for us. ;)
Hello Huybers,
How lovely! Now that's the way to enjoy life!! Tromping through the woods in a horse drawn carriage. :) I love horses - they're lots here where I live in Alberta in western Canada - and the cowboys to go with them!!
My irish partner and I made an exit from London almost nine years ago and having looked
at most regions we settled for 33890 which is truely beautiful and seems to be developing in
many ways. So.....even though we will, eventually slow down we may stay exactly where we are.
Any one setting up gites and chambres d' hotes do look closely at doing something special. Or set your prices really low.....the competition is great!
If the mad hatter/court jester 'gets in' and UK moves out of the EU then there may well be a great
retreat over the water to France and there could be a property boom here!