I don't want to throw cold water on your dreams, but be absolutely honest, I would think it's a bad time to be in the campsite business at the moment. This season has been dire on many sites, with visitor numbers hugely down because of flooding, bad weather, terrorism, and just lack of money - the French in particular are really feeling the pinch. The Euro exchange rate isn't good at the moment, keeping Brits away, and I'm not surprised that La Filature isn't selling - like hundreds of other 'For Sale' sites, I expect.
Having bought a house here, we've come to realise that much of rural France is a 'front' - with shops open but few customers, sites open with few visitors, and little 'real' money in the economy. Somehow rural France survices despite this, but many incomers, expecting 'the good life' may well be disappointed.
Have you thought about working on a campsite for a season, to see what's involved? There are lots of sites which welcome season staff and it may be a way of dipping a foot in the water, without burning your boats in terms of laying out a lot of money on what might be a dream but turn out to be a nightmare.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Interesting report Val, the parts of France we see are reasonably touristy and affluent (certainly compared to N. Ireland anyway).
I was also going to mention the exchange rate - the poor £ at the moment is an inconvenience when you're spending £1000 on a few weeks holiday, but it's a major problem when you're thinking of spending something like £0.5m on a campsite.
Also, Brexit is currently making things very unclear, if yesterdays reports are to be believed immigration will be the top item, not trade, and so we can all expect things to change re rules on who can live where.
As someone who did look into buying a site once, in the Loire, ironically the last time the £ took a huge dip against the euro, I understand your dream, but maybe not the best timing ? Of course you never know, the whole uncertainty might mean there are some bargains to be had.
I like Vals idea of working in France for a year btw.
One other thing - if you're going to make the jump, do it while the kids are young. Once they reach the end of primary school there are endless reasons why you can't go, GCSEs, A Levels, school transfers, friends, etc.
Has anyone come across a blog of someone running a campsite in France? The closest otherwise might be to look at some of Floydfans posts. Find him on Facebook as Le Chant d'Oiseau, or on the web at Loire-Gites.com Might just give a flavour of some of the challenges and joys of running a campsite/gite business in France.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
The reality of running a campsite is far removed from what you see as a camper.Cleaning the toilet block twice a day,6am and 4pm,cutting grass twice weekly in spring,the endless paperwork,the list is neverending as there is always something to be done or repaired.
In Summer I got up at 5 in bed at midnight after cleaning the snackbar and doing the last rounds to check everything was OK.
In winter the weather stopped work and we went skiing so it wasn't all bad.
Quote: Originally posted by minicamper2001 on 01/9/2016
...look at some of Floydfans posts. Find him on Facebook as Le Chant d'Oiseau, or on the web at Loire-Gites.com...
We go to camping de-la-touche at ligueil nr loches run by Yorkshire couple in their 70s selling only 15 pitches make money out of storage.they speak hardly any french and said has never stopped them getting on with life in france.lovely little site.
Hi, we bought a campsite in 2010 and are going from strength to strength. I am in my early 40's and my husband in his early 50's, our son is now 11 years old. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Camping Maisonneuve, St Jory De Chalais is run by an English couple with three young children who took the plunge 3 years ago. We spent our holidays the this year having promised we'd get out to see them. Life for them is great and I'm sure they'd be happy to answer any questions about the reality of it all.
I have t say they look great for it and their children now speak fluent french and have q wonderful life within their 26 acres and a swimming pool etc!
The campsites that are for sale will tend to be the ones that have had difficulties.
They may be in the wrong place, be run by the wrong people or be in urgent need of renovation.
If a campsite is in the right place people will put up with poor facilities, but if you are in the wrong place, have an outdated toilet block and run down play area then no one is going to stay more than one night while on their way somewhere else.
------------- Enjoy the liveliness of the syntax.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
I would say that language is key. Not just so that you can converse with visitors, but, more importantly, so that you can deal effectively with French rules and regulations. I'm sure that you could employ an interpreter, but this will become a chore pretty quickly and you may well feel less "hands on" as a result.
Also, as a previous poster has mentioned, high season will be very full on with long hours and hard work. How are you going to manage family life at times like that?
We had vague thoughts along these lines a couple of decades ago, but rejected them finally for much the same reasons as we had previously rejected the idea of running a pub in the UK. Our children were a little older then, but our primary concerns were about the quality of family life in the short term.
------------- Freedom is a light caravan and an open road.
The family we know who did it work for seven months of the year Easter to 31 October. They have a period of about 5 weeks in the summer when it's manic. They paid for an old teenage neighbour to come out and soend the summer there so he could look after their children. They run their site very well and balance their time. It's quite a small basic site but has a great bar/restaurant which is only open of an evening, so daytimes they have to clean toilet and shower blocks, clean swimming pool, prepare food early evening, bits and bobs, but generally still manage some afternoons out in their children etc. They have a few members of staff to help in the restaurant who speak English, German and Dutch between them. The owners have picked up good french in their three years and the lady attends french lessons weekly. Their children's fluency is a great help to them though!
You'd need to pick a site wisely that you know you could handle and that wouldn't have a native impact on your family life.
Thanks again all - this is all really useful. I've emailed Camping Maisonneuve to ask for their advice too (although maybe once things are a little quieter for them.
JoannaLesley - your points are exactly our concerns. We're trying to work out if the rest of the year will outweigh the v busy few months - and what's worse - high season vs commuting all year!
Any advice on what makes a good site? I know everyone will have a different perspective but any advice is helpful. (Our obvious ones are clean, plenty of space, good loo blocks, shop, cafe/ bar/ restaurant).
The first thing you should do if you are serious is speak to a French accountant and get advice which business structure is best for you,SARL,SCI etc.
It isn't cheap to set up a business in France and costs even if you make no money.Many fail to seek professional advice and get stung further down the line.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Buying a campsite in France/ Netherlands
