These pages tell my story as someone who was born and raised in England, but who overtime developed a strong liking for France.
People suffering from this affliction are often referred to a Francophiles. Ultimately this liking of things French resulted in the purchase of holiday home in a village near to the Mediterranean coast in the Languedoc region of Southwest France.
The story traces the path from dreaded French language lessons at school in England, through a day trip to Boulogne, family holidays in the perfume town of Grasse and its affluent surrounds, on the Italian side of the South of France, and then on to house hunting and purchase in the less affluent Mediterranean South West, or the Spanish side of the South of France.
While the story as told is one hundred percent factual, the name of the village “Frasquenet” and some of the names of people are pseudonyms, created in order to protect their privacy.
Mainland France has twenty two Regions which are divided into more than ninety Departments. Frasquenet is located in the Aude Department of the Languedoc-Roussillon Region. It is conveniently placed for easy access to the city of Narbonne, sandy Mediterranean beaches, the Canal du Midi and the AOC vineyards of Corbières and Minervois.
Many Europeans, particularly from the colder parts such as Scandinavia, Holland. Germany and the UK end up purchasing holiday and retirement properties in the warmer Southern climes of Spain, Italy & France. What induced our ancestors to migrate so far North is beyond me. According to an uncle on my mother’s side of the family, we are descended from French Huguenots who fled to England to escape persecution by Catholics. The earlier generation of my father’s side of the family are all deceased, so I can’t ask them what their excuse was for moving to such a cold wet country.
Quite a few people from UK buy properties in Northern France around Normandy and Brittany. These are certainly within weekend travelling distance, but from what I have seen, the weather in those areas is not much better than the Southern UK, so it must be more to do with the French experience, rather than seeking a glimpse of the sun. Somewhat further South, the Dordogne is also a popular destination, especially for those who love Fois Gras. After a study of French climate maps, I decided to go even further South.
The village of Frasquenet
While the sunshine hours in London, England averages somewhere around 1,500 hours per year, in the Dordogne you get 2,000 hours and in the Languedoc it is around 2,500 hours per year. Of course there is some variation within the regions, so I made sure the sunshine record for the area where I chose to make my purchase was good.
It is easy to forget that no country is totally homogenous in terms of climate, food preferences, language dialects and even the character of its people. This is particularly true in France. The Languedoc’s proximity to Spain, while being a part of modern day France has a strong influence on its character. Sitting on the Mediterranean coast influences its diet, as did its past with its population having been significantly less prosperous than those living on the Italian side of the French coast. The Languedoc has not always been the poor relation to its Eastern neighbours, having had a long history of settlement by the Greeks and Romans.
At the time of my purchase, the Languedoc was still seen as a wine lake and the source of cheap plonk. Since then it has come on in leaps and bounds. One of the great things is that although there are some grape varieties which are associated with specific Languedoc AOCs such as Mourvedre and Carignan , there are plenty of growers who market their wine by grape variety rather than by region. So if you prefer a straight Cabernet Sauvignon to a Corbieres then you will be fine in the Languedoc, but remember that if you like Shiraz it is called Syrah in France.
While owning a property in France is many people’s dream, doing so is not all a bed of roses and in this account I will recall both the good and the not so good experiences.
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