Languedoc Property Profile Match

Where to buy in the Languedoc to suit your profile!

I was half-watching one of those CSI programmes the other evening (yes, I know…) when it occurred to me that here at FrenchEntrée Languedoc-Roussillon, we help profile property buyers every day, matching their requirements to the right search areas. Over time we’ve seen patterns emerging, so to save you a lot of bother, here’s our Languedoc property location profile match!

Profile: True Townies

You’re not quite ready to leave all the hustle and bustle behind. You need to be within half an hour of good quality services, including weekly artisan market, café’s, restaurants, schools, gym, municipal swimming pool, cinema, theatre, art galleries etc…

Property Location Match: the Golden Triangle (Béziers-Pézenas-Clérmont l’Hérault), Uzège, the Minervois, Céret, west of Perpignan to Prades.

All of these locations feature clusters of pretty villages close to a good sized city with everything you could need to keep you in touch with the advantages of urban living that you possibly take for granted now but might miss when you’re here.

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Profile: Beach Bums

For you the South of France means beach, beach and more beach! But you also don’t really care for the larger beach resorts – a lovely villa in a lovely village about half an hour from the coast with easy access to a larger town or city is ideal.

Property Location Match: the Albères, the Bassin de Thau, the Vaunage, the southerly villages of the Golden Triangle.

These locations are just a little inland of the coast, have some really rather lovely villages (such as Marseillan or Sommières), and can put you less than half an hour from the beach; but if you need to be right by the sea then consider Collioure or Sète which have a charm and pace of their own, unlike the big resorts.

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Profile: Rural Romantics

Getting as far away from modern life as possible is the aim; you dream of taking brisk country walks, growing your own veg, being part of a small knit community, and you’re not that fussed that it’s going to take you about an hour’s drive to the nearest big town.

Property Location Match: the Upper Aude Valley, the Corbières, the Razès, the Upper Cèze Valley, the Orb Valley, anywhere in Lozère, foothills of the Pyrenees

These are the main areas to consider if you really do want to get fawy from it all – each of them quite different geographically speaking, they share a common bond of being home to hundreds of small villages, some more remote than others, where life is very quiet for most of the time, only getting slightly busier in the summer season when relatives are visiting.

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Profile: Budding Entrepeneurs

You’re moving here permanently, pre-retirement, with plans to start a business. You need good transport infrastructure, the internet and client base.

Property Location Match: depends on the business, but almost certainly not the really, deeply rural areas!

For an entrepreneur, there is potential for business everywhere – it’s all about finding the right business idea for the right client base in the right place. Clearly, in-depth research needs to be carried out, but there are some basic infrastructure questions to ask straight away. Generally, France as a whole is good for getting online, but be prepared for frustratingly slow down load times in rural areas! For most local businesses, client base is probably going to be your greatest concern – if you’re planning on a B&B, a restaurant, or are a builder/ renovator then it makes sense to be where your clients are likely to be – the deep, rural heartlands tend not to attract hoards of holiday makers or property buyers!

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Profile: Extreme Sporty

You want to do mountain biking, swimming, skiing, white water rafting, canoeing, canyonning, fishing, mountain climbing, trekking, horse-riding etc … all of the time!!!

Property Location Match: the foothills of the Pyrenees and up to the ski stations, the north of the Hérault and Gard departments, the Lozère, Prades, Lodève

These locations all have superb access to spectacular scenery and national parks just ripe for communing with the great outdoors! A holiday home at one the Pyrenees-Orientales ski stations is a serious all-year-round contender, as winter snow gives way to summer lakes; whilst the upper Hérault and Gard departments give you access to winter cross country skiing in the Cévennes, and summers in the glorious wilds of the Lozère. Meanwhile, the market towns of Prades and Lodève put you within an hour from both the slopes and the beaches!

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For more detailed information about the locations mentioned above, have a look at our Property Hotspot guides.