House hunting today turned into a guided tour of the region by Philippe. He seemed to want to spend more time showing me the local attractions such as the Voie Verte (rail trail) than houses. And his English was only so good that he was happy for us to chat in French most of the time.
When I mentioned a 12 bedroom chateau on sale for Euro 270K he showed me a couple of 5 bedroom ‘maisons du village’ in the area as well as one closer to my specification. Both of the larger houses were in delightful villages and one with ‘nothing to do’ was going for Euro 140K (negotiable). In the process I met Emma the previous owner who now runs a Gite with her family in the same village. Emma was able to fill me on so many things including the local English she knows. And the best way to keep a car available in holiday home
Philippe’s information was that Mirepoix has such a large English community because it reminds them so much of rural England, is close to the Rail Trail, Canal Du Midi, the Riviera, and snow skiing all within an hour’s radius. And close to Carcassonne and Toulouse airports with Euro 30~40 return airfares to London etc. He also tells me the Germans who buy here like to live apart in isolated houses, and the Spanish buy here to get away from the summer heat in Barcelona, which is not so far away to come for the weekend.
