I've lived in the north of France for more than 20 years - and still love the life in this area. Property prices are much lower, of course and people here are extremely tolerant, kind and flexible in their attitude towards one another and gladly welcome "foreigners" from other EU countries. It's also handy for frequent trips to Britain via the Channel tunnel - with car of course and no weather holdups.

If the post is still valid (the original was in January) here are my thoughts.

France is a huge country and so it has a great variation of climate, tastes, style, prices, character.

We know of people who loved an area, and who actually bought a plot of land in preparatin to having a property built, only to find that, at certain times of the year, the humidity was too much for him. They had to sell their plot.. and bought further south... way way south.

People we know bought a huge plot of land in France, and then had difficulty maintaining it. Especially when they came to Spain for the winter, where the climate is much better! Upon their return they often had to contend with no electric as it had tripped out during one of the many storms to which their area was prone, and grass which took a lot of effort to bring back under control. Everything was green, because it rained a lot!

Do NOT assume that your chosen area will always have excellent air connections to the UK. That small French airfield with daily connections to Gatwick might not last very long.

Rent for 12 months, live, try, and then step back and observe.

Better to see prices increase than make a very costly error.



Also beware of TAX and health insurance. Check them out for UK pensioner's arrangements. Age allowance? Inheritance Tax?
I don't know all the facts.

What I do know is that we couldn't set up our business in France due to a high TAX regime, and our friends (UK Pensioners) could not afford to live in France. They were much better off in the UK (they said). They have sold up and are returning......

Check it out first. Perhaps keep a UK domicile?

Don't assume all services will be available everywhere. A promised "Land-Line" telephone might never materialise. If there is one already connected there, you might not be able to take the line over... if your chosen location is miles away from a village it might not be capable of the internet and so contact might not be 100%. No SKYPE, no UK papers, no BBC Radio on line...

Befriend the local maire.

Good luck.

Amigo (In Spain)

who gave a lot of thought to living (and working) in France. We went, we looked, we studied,  and listened.... and decided...

elsewhere, with no regrets.

But that was US.
We know of others who are quite happy.

Rent for 12 months- see a year through..

Bonne chance!

My folks made the move 6 years ago (also Morbihan) and loved it. From what I recall BBC pensions are quite amenable to paying into a French bank account too (but I may be wrong so don't quote me).

A BBC pension can indeed be paid in France, and the rate is not bad. I settled here (in Paris, not the Dordogne/Luberon/Brittany) 15 years ago. Just be warned that if you become tax resident in France you lose control over your estate when you go to the great BH/TC in the sky. French law dictates that half your estate must go to your child(ren), You must decide what your financial relationship with your spouse (common or separate property). Means using the services of grossly overpaid notaires.
Bonne chance

Good advice Amigo. We've lived in Spain for nearly ten years now, and we find that the better we speak the language, the more questions it throws up about the Spanish nationa/regional character, thought processes, attitudes etc. I think anyone moving to a foreign country, even one so close (geographically) to the UK should realise that there are massive differences, and not only in the language....

BTW, it seems that the Spanish inheritance laws don't apply to foreign nationals: check out Article 9 of the Codigo Civil.

A question for any BBC pensioners living outside of the UK.

I read (in previous comments) that "the BBC Pension can be paid anywhere".  This seems entirely reasonable, but can I ask how you went about getting your BBC pensions paid gross?
And were BBC Pensions "helpful" in this respect - or did you have to provide reams of paperwork to HMRC to convince them to let BBC Pensions  not deduct Income Tax from your payments?
I've recently moved to the Isle of Man and will need to declare my BBC pension to the authorities here - and then pay all taxes due "in advance"! - so I'm rather keen not to have to be paying Income Tax to HMG as well! As we moved part way into the UK's Tax year, getting my UK Tax payments returned for the part of the year we've been out of the UK will be a job and a half I'm sure, but that's a different story.

New wills - compliant with Manx law - have declarations that my wife and I are now "domiciled" in the Isle of Man, and we've had to move all bank accounts over here to properly comply. BTW, this 'domiciled status' appears rather more important than I'd ever realised!

My State pension is now paid by Manx Social Services rather than UK's. [My wife's State Pension seems to be taking considerably longer to move here!]. But once that's done, then we're (hopefully) beyond the grasp of HMRC when our "final moments" come, and our estates can then pass on completely in accordance with our wishes.