Thank you both for the info - I think rather than buying we may do 1 or 2 month rentals in different places - we aren't sure where exactly the best place will be yet, but since we travel a lot in Europe as well this may be the best bet. We would have bought an apartment around Cannes, but used it as a base for travel...we may still do that, but in the current climate I think there won't be too much increase in value over the next 18 months - might as well use the interest on capital to travel...