Anyone have any idea whats happening in Nice? Seems like a lot of expats moving there and UK estate agents setting up. I myself have been tempted to move there and try and telecomute.

Rightmove has 51 properties for sale in Nice, 37 under 500k euros - though most seem to be marketed by UK agents - with Spain and Florida fcuk'd I wouldn't be surprised if there is renewed interest in this area.

There was an interesting article in the times yesterday on where the French holiday themselves - basically it was saying the Cote d'Azur is now chav city (French chavs that is) and the smart money is on the Britanny coast and south Atlantic - still looking out of my office window in trafford park I'd choose Nice over Manc any day - good luck

Times Article on France

If Cote d'Azzur did become Chav City it would only be where there is camping, hostelling or mobile homes. All other accomodation is expensive.

I prefer Cote d'Azur and coastal area West of it to other coastal areas of France. Preference is based on three things:
1) Better climate for holidays, longer season, calmer sea.
2) Area near Marseille and Nimes has been appreciating better than any other area in France over last 18 months or so due largely to improved accessability (more budget flights to airports in area.)
3) Much of Cote d'Azzur is protected, so little or no building will take place in those localities.

I like the idea of Nice because you can now fly non stop from there to the US as well as the UK. Also its very close to Italy. SW is also interesting but doesn't seem much cheaper if at all.

A few comparisons :

Languedoc- Rousillon property remains cheaper than Cote d'Azur and Provence.
LR has a cheaper cost of living.
LR is hotter in summer, cooler in winter than Cote d'Azur.
LR has much expanded cheap airline routes.
LR also has 3hr TGV to Paris and the new A75 autoroute, which has made some areas a Parisian weekend retreat.
LR is well connected to Costa Brava, Spain. Spanish buyers are cross border property buyers in LR.
LR has a wide choice of areas including cities, coast, lagoons, plains and mountains.
LR has seen significant expansion of new built property over the last few years.

Worth a look ?

Peter

Languedoc- Rousillon is certainly cheaper and I suspect average house price increases there over last 5 years or so are much greater than in the more established Provence / Cote D'Azzur market. Estate Agent that showed me round near Sete explained that she still has Brits coming over looking for farmhouses requiring little work for around £30k to £40k. Re-runs of old Place In The Sun type shows is to blame for it. Prices are much, much higher now. Incredible appreciation in past 5 years for areas in striking distance of Med. Big question is will it continue?

You know I think you have convinced me to take a look there aswell if there is so much of a price difference. Out of interest which area would you say is more child friendly in terms of eating out, things to do etc. I know thats a very broad question sorry.

Hi Whiterabbit

Languedoc- Rousillon covers a very large area and I've only speant a long weekend in it, so wouldn't want to say where's best. For capital appreciation I think the key is accessibility. The areas that have done best are in striking distance of airports that budget airlines fly into.

I'm afraid I wasn't thinking about which opportunities were child friendly, so I'll be of little or no use there. I do however know of a child friendly resort in Cote d'Azzur where you can have leaseback property with rent upto 5.7% (based on purchase price excluding VAT.) Its called La Pienede and is near Lavandou towards the West end of the French Riviera. Its a former Club Med site that has been refurbished. The beauty of this from a child friendly perspective is that the car park is before you enter the site. There are no roads on the site, just pathays. When I was there neither I nor my guide knew which downhill path we should take to take to the beach, so we just followed a toddler with plastic bucket and spade. It has basketball court, table tennis tables, infinity swimming pool, beach and other games to keep kids of all ages busy. Other facilites are nearby too. I wasn't impressed by furnishings or sizes of rooms in this development, but I thought it represented a good investment and gave serious consideration to buying. Location is terrific. Protected area, so development should be very limited. Management company was very good and at start of April when I visited I'd say more than half the units were rented out, not bad for low season. It was certainly a lot busier than the Piere Vacance leaseback resort next door.

One area that is nice, but that I think should be avoided is Uzes. One of the Estate Agents I met is based there and explained that main work in area was of an administrative nature. It is very easy to move administration functions to other areas, so made me feel very uneasy about investing there.

One final note. While prices are lower in Languedoc- Rousillon than Provence, I get the impression that the gap between prices is closing.

Thanks Soupdragon.

No problem Whiterabbit.

Let me know if La Pienede is of interest as back in April they only had one apartment left from first phase and it i worth avoiding owing to probable ongoing problem. Won't bore you with details on that apartment unless I know you are considering La Pienede.