[romon]

Seeking local advice. My husband and I are Australians moving to New York in 2 months and seek a holiday home in middle or southern France. We seek an decent acreage property that is near a town, ease of travel via plane or TGV. There appears to be so many choices and I don't have any idea where to start.
Any suggestions. Ideally a smallish town that has most amenities and within an hour of a large city. We arent working so ease of travel to other destinations is a priority, picturesque, warmish weather.
My intent is to arrive in France in October and travel through mid or southern france purchasing a property but need some sort of recommended route or places.
Thank You

 

[Bevdeforges]

I find it "odd" to speak of "acreage" in reference to French property. French homes tend to be compact, and even the farmers tend to live "in town" and then own or rent land out in the surrounding areas.

As far as "near town" and "ease of travel" are concerned, there's nothing like seeing for yourself before you decide upon a location. It may be a bit premature to try to find a property to buy if you're not at least familiar with an area or two that are likely candidates. In central or southern France, chances are you'll still need a car to get into town or to shopping the in the area. If you're thinking in terms of public transport, you'll have to pick a town and see what their public transport looks like.

Most smaller airports in France serve a limited range of destinations (often served by a low-cost airline) or are primarily feeders into the main airports in Paris. Their services may also be very much seasonal. So obviously, it depends on just what your travel plans are.

It might do to make the trip in October a sort of reconnaissance visit - to check out a couple of areas to see if they might be suitable. Don't know how long you're planning on staying, but property purchases usually take a minimum of 3 to 4 months in France once you've found a suitable property and had an offer accepted.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[95995]

Of course you can buy what Australians consider acreage property in France These would (normally) be homes outside towns/villages and can be somewhat isolated. OTOH, because of the greater maintenance required, plus the fact that they are generally less accessible, you often get 'more for your money', but watch out for properties that require renovation as renovation work is far, far more expensive than in Australia.

There are properties of this kind around Aix en Provence, which has access to the TGV and is not far from Marseille airport at Marignane. You should also find such properties in the hills along the coast in the PACA region (prices there can be pretty high for properties close to Nice and Cannes).

Bear in mind that even in the PACA area it can get pretty cold in winter, with some snowfall.

Cheers

 

[unclematty]

I'm sure Bev is right about the majority of French homes, but you can certainly buy houses with plenty of land - hectares and hectares of it if you want - and still be within an hour or so's drive of a decent-sized town.

A lot will depend on your budget. Prices vary a lot. There's an interactive map here that gives you some idea of average cost per square metre of property in France. But if you know how much land you want, how big a house you want, etc, then you might be better off doing a few filtered searches on seloger or superimmo to see what you get for your money in different regions.

 

[95995]

Yep, you can buy homes with hectares, or homes with just a few acres

 

[Crabtree]

If it is a holiday home how are you going to maintain the "acreage"?

 

[95995]

If it is a holiday home how are you going to maintain the "acreage"?

You just pay someone In lots of ways it's easier than maintaining the home etc, as long as you can afford it. I would expect they would be looking for someone to do it year round.

(BTW "acreage properties" are very often just between eg. 1 and 4 acres - 1 acre is not such a big property (I used to own one in Oz, it was mostly steep - we had someone come in with a tractor slasher on a regular basis).

 

[Bevdeforges]

You just pay someone In lots of ways it's easier than maintaining the home etc, as long as you can afford it. I would expect they would be looking for someone to do it year round.

(BTW "acreage properties" are very often just between eg. 1 and 4 acres - 1 acre is not such a big property (I used to own one in Oz, it was mostly steep - we had someone come in with a tractor slasher on a regular basis).

Still, an acre is 4000 m2, which is considered a rather large property close to most towns. (Again, what do you mean by "close" - an hour's drive is a LONG way in France, especially if you just need a baguette for breakfast or even to do the weekly shopping at a marché or supermarket.)
Cheers,
Bev

 

[95995]

Still, an acre is 4000 m2, which is considered a rather large property close to most towns. (Again, what do you mean by "close" - an hour's drive is a LONG way in France, especially if you just need a baguette for breakfast or even to do the weekly shopping at a marché or supermarket.)
Cheers,
Bev

I'm well aware that an acre is 4000 m2! As I said, I've owned acreage. You don't have to be an hour out of a town to find such a property, and certainly not an hour from a village - except perhaps in the Isle de France (the OP is clearly looking for something in the south). Granted, the idea probably sounds weird to those who have lived in town for decades.

 

[Crabtree]

I have spent my life living in the country and I still struggle to come to terms with people who buy acres and then leave it Perhaps it is my need to grow things or set up a wildlife area or something