OT: House buying

Well, yesterday we went to visit the house that we are buying, with the agent. We didn't get in to measure up because the key wouldn't work - whether the lock was broken or she had the wrong key, I just don't know, we try again tomorrow!

Anyway, it was a bonus, because we explored the garden more thoroughly, while she was phoning around, the office and owner...

Well, the garden has definitely grown since the first time I viewed, I'm sure that it wasn't as big as it looked yesterday. I know that we've been given an extra strip of land (500m2) to us (at no extra cost!) because they are remarking the boundary, but the rest of the garden has grown as well! In total it is 3800m2, there are cherry trees, chestnut, kaki (persimmon), pomegranate, apples, possibly pear, quince and fig. There are also oak trees and fir trees, a pond with lily pads - which does however, mean very noisy frogs!!!! No wonder they eat them :P) I hasten to add that I've never tried and I'm not planning to!

The potager/veg garden now looks huge! Plenty of work to do on the outside! As for inside, I wonder if that will be bigger or smaller than I remember? It is strange how our memories work, I couldn't believe yesterday how big the garden looked, I remember it being smaller and closer to the neighbours. It is basically a house in the middle of a field, which was the dream, but with neighbours close by, not necessarily a bad thing and only 20 mins walk from town, so I don't have to drive in and I could cycle. I am so blown away by yesterday and what we are buying, I find it very difficult to believe that it will happen and I think that it will be a long time before it feels real.

For us the dream has been self-sufficiency, a detached house, close to amenities, in a French cottage! I am so grateful for this hand that we've been dealt at the moment. Boy, does it make me nervous. Our lives here are poles apart from the life we had in the UK. It is like waking up in someone else's life and the life that we had, now seems so far away from who we are. Does that make sense?

I'm now waffling and avoiding sorting out papers that need shredding/filing. I may even do some quilting later, but won't hold my breath!

Happy quilting everyone,

Janner France

Reply to
Janner
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When I was growing up our house was on 3 acres of land and there was a fish / frog pond at the back of the house. The frogs sure were loud! We didn't have an air conditioner, so we had the windows up in the summer. This was the early 1950's. Sometimes it was very hard to go to sleep because of the frogs! I am happy you are getting your dream house. Barbara in SC

Reply to
Bobbie Sews More

How wonderful, that everything you hoped for has happened - and even a few bits extra. You have been very patient. Hope the house looks as good inside. The garden sounds fantastic. . In message , Janner writes

Reply to
Patti

So happy for you! Don't worry about the frogs, just toss in some goldfish. Next, we need to hear about your new quilting studio :-) Roberta in D

Reply to
Roberta

It sounds wonderful Janner. I would be jumping up & down with excitement too! Don't worry about the frogs - eventually, you won't even notice them. What part of France are you in? Does this mean you will be spending "forever" in France? I have friends in the south of France & when I went to visit them several years ago, DH told me to look at homes there, with the thought in mind that we could have a "summer" home there. At the time, prices were almost as high as they were in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I didn't pursue it. I imagine now would be the time to look again!

Hope on today's visit, you are able to get inside the house & it is even better than you remembered it.

Pauline Northern California

Reply to
Pauline

Oh Janner! That sounds lovely....hopefully the inside of the house will be everything and more than what you remember. Congratulations and best wishes in your new home. You'll have to take pictures and show off to us! :-) Launie, in Oregon

Reply to
simpleseven

Yep, planning on forever in France, we just love it. Our DDs love the way of life as well.

As for house prices there are bargains to be found, just a case of looking for them. Depends on your budget and of course what the $:? rate is as well. We're near Toulouse in the Gers region. The further away from the cities the better the house prices. We are in commuter belt here, about an hours drive. Certainly, if we could live further out there are better deals to be made. We need to be close for work. When we arrived 2 1/2 yrs ago, we couldn't have dreamt of affording anywhere.

The cheaper properties tend to be the old farmhouses, small holdings etc, because the young French prefer appartments, communal living and new builds. With the recent World events, especially the British £ being so weak against the ?, there are definitely less Brits immigrating here, so then this niche of houses (old & quaint) which we like, get cheaper, because houses still have to be sold on. Such is life. It is a case of being in the right place at the right time.

Good luck if you do decide to look into it.

Janner France

Paul> It sounds wonderful Janner. I would be jumping up & down with

Reply to
Janner

OK, stupid question time? What do the goldfish do?

Janner France

Roberta wrote:

Reply to
Janner

How wonderful! I'm glad to hear you are going to get to live your dream life. It sounds dreamy and grand. You must post photos!

hugs, Sunny

Reply to
onetexsun

I seem to remember the larger gold fish would help eat the smallest tadpoles so they won't grow into frogs. Barbara in SC

Reply to
Bobbie Sews More

Congratulations again, Janner! It all sounds so lovely! I hope everything goes smoothly -- and, BTW, frog legs are really quite delicious. :)

Reply to
Sandy

In message , Bobbie Sews More writes

It happened in our pond, loads of frog spawn but no tadpoles. The fish ate them as they hatched out. We have carp, goldfish and rudd. Shirley

Reply to
Shirley Shone

Sounds absolutely lovely, Janner. The fruit and nut trees are such a bonus. And personally, I love the sound of frogs. They always heralded the start of spring when I lived in Kansas.

Okay, just pinch yourself. It is for real! :-)

Best regards, Michelle in NV

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Reply to
Michelle C

Reply to
Roberta

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