A French "petite exploitation"

Many people in this country considering moving overseas, do so with France in mind.

The country, many times the size of the UK is one gigantic garden and can offer the smallholder a good future. Even becoming self-sufficient is perhaps easier there than at home.

The UK with 6l million people is less than half the size of France which has a population of just 63 million.

Unlike the UK, France is not so deep in recession as the UK so it is worth looking at now if crossing the English Channel or la Manche poses no problems.

The French government, like the UK government, issue official figures which give the prices of land.

At the end of the summer the average price in France for arable land per hectare was about 4,580 euros, whilst for grassland it was 3,200 euros per hectare. One hectare being approximately 2.47acres.

In July this year, bare land in the UK was being priced at around £4,900 an acre. With a property that price rose even higher.

The rate of exchange between the pound and the Euro in September was 1.111. At a regional level, the most expensive regions for arable farmland in France are Upper Normandy and Nord Pas de Calais, each with an average price per hectare of 7,000 euros.

The lowest price is in Franche-Comté, where the average price is 2,610 euros per hectare.

In relation to grassland, the highest average regional price is in Provence , Alpes, Cote d'Azur with a price of 7,150 euros per hectare, whilst the lowest price is in Brittany at 1,990 euros per hectare.

Us Brits seem to head for certain areas of France, such as the Dordogne, Normandy, Brittany and if you can afford it Provence.

Within the various regions of this huge country there are some substantial differences in prices between departments and even within departments.

Whilst the average price for arable land in Languedoc Roussillon is 4,500 euros, land in other parts of the region can be bought for around 1,500 euros per hectare.

Similarly, prices of arable land in Aquitaine vary from 7,000 euros per hectare in parts of the Landes and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, to around 2,000 euros in parts of the Dordogne and the Gironde.

Such prices also reflect land purchased specifically for farming use, and not land that may have been purchased by private property owners for domestic use.

Remember buying property and land in France can be quite different to the UK and ownership of land and property and inheritance laws all need investigating.

But with a good agent, a good lawyer or notary, it can and does work.

Of course regions do matter. It can be very hot in the south and growing of produce very different to the cooler climate of the UK. In the centre and north west of France, growing conditions are perhaps at their best.

There are thousands of Brits enjoying life in France, many with land on which they keep a few animals as well as growing their own produce.

There will always be disasters but television programmes that portray those from the UK desperate to return home having experienced the worst case scenarios still remain a minority.

Programmes on the small screen rarely focus on the successes.

If you like a challenge, want the good life and a change of scenery go for it.

Bonne Chance.

What is available?

FOR 284,000 euros there is a gite complex for sale within easy reach of a main N10 road.

It is situated in mid-France.

There is a main house, two gites and four boxes for horses.

The whole plot is laid out with garden area, and vegetable plot.

Part of the land has been designed as a camp site and planning permission has already been granted for ten pitches.

About 20,000 euros will still buy a building for restoration although these are getting more difficult to find. Be prepared to pay more.

In lower Normandy, 30,000 euro will buy just over half an acre and a property to be restored.

A four bedroom farmhouse with stables and land where horses are currently kept is on the market for 133,000 euros in Normandy.