Brits with kids downshift to the Languedoc

Languedoc property and travel website creme-de-languedoc.com reports that the decision of growing numbers of British couples with children to downshift to the Hérault department in the south of France has now been endorsed by French current affairs magazine l’Express.

Earlier this year the magazine published a national survey on the best places to live in France. Using 42 indicators and official statistics, it allocated points for categories including climate, infrastructure, cultural and educational facilities.

One of the five departments that make up the Languedoc region, the Hérault came second out of 95 French departments in the overall results.

According to Helen Bevis of the Hérault- based Parent and Infant Group (piglanguedoc.blogspot.com), increasing numbers of younger Britons with families are making the department their new home because of the quality of life it offers (the Express survey classed the Hérault as France’s third best place for families to live). Says Bevis: “House prices in the Hérault are a fraction of those in the UK, so couples with children can live here for less. By downshifting to the Hérault you can ease your financial burden, and with less stress, family life can only be better.”

A Property Price Calculator is one of several tools to be found at creme-de-languedoc.com/languedoc-property/for-sale.php; it estimates that a four-bedroom family home with swimming pool and garden in the Hérault countryside would cost in the region of €266,000–325,000. House prices in the Hérault are amongst the fastest rising in the country, but they remain considerably cheaper than neighbouring Provence, giving overseas buyers the chance to buy an affordable Mediterranean home.

According to figures released by the departmental tourist office, the Hérault attracts over 1,000 newcomers a month, but these are not just young people. Many older folk – Brits and Parisians in particular - are attracted to the department, seeking sunshine and a wide range of leisure activities for their retirement.

The Hérault is the fastest growing of the Languedoc region’s five departments, and transport links to the region are excellent, with TGV lines to Toulouse and Carcassonne, and airports at Carcassonne, Toulouse, Montpellier, Girona, Perpignan and Nîmes (see creme-de-languedoc.com/Languedoc/flights/index.php for details of flights to the Herault and Languedoc from the UK and Eire).

Thanks to the Hérault’s popularity with Brits seeking a place in the sun, specialist English-language websites have sprung up providing a wealth of property and travel information, and creme-de-languedoc.com is one of the most detailed. Visit the site for everything you could possibly wish to know about the Hérault, including climate and geography, flights, current events, property buying advice, and property prices, sales and rentals.