The where & the what…
As I became more serious about the idea of moving to France, I needed to figure out where I should focus my house search. Having little experience of France outside of Paris, I made a list of what was important to me:
Accessibility - It was important that I live within a reasonable distance to an international airport. With that in mind, I narrowed my search to areas within 3 hours of Charles de Gaulle International.
Town vs rural countryside - As much as I love Paris, I didn’t want to live there nor any large city. I was excited about the possibility of living in the countryside and having more space. Although for the purposes of renting my house , I thought it was important that the house be within a town. Having groceries and amenities close by was definitely an essential piece.
Tourism - With my main business revolving around a holiday rental house, it was imperative that the house be close to local attractions. When looking within a radius of 3 house of Paris, the Loire Valley was a standout area, with plenty of chateaus and wineries.
Once I had narrowed my search geographically, I needed to figure out what type of house I wanted. Here is how I broke it down:
Size - Having a rental house that was large enough to host big groups/families was important. At least 5 bedrooms and a large area for meals and socializing.
Outbuildings - As I explored the options of how I could make a living in France, the idea of a BnB or chambres d’hotes was not appealing. I wanted my own space for myself and my dog(s). I narrowed my search to properties that had an existing outbuilding that I could live in and rent out the main building.
Extras - As I scoured the real estate listings, I added some ‘nice to have’ amenities to my list: pool, garden, enclosed property…
Unlike Canada and the US, there is no centralized real estate listing website. Properties are listed on real estate company sites, Facebook, LeBonCoin, etc. It made the search a little more time-consuming, but never-the-less I found properties that piqued my interest.
While I dabbled with the idea of a large-ish chateau, I am happy to have settled for my house. It’s large, but still very much a project. It ticked many boxes and after an in-person walk through in August 2021, I bought it.
