Many thanks to exbluebell, doggy and performingbear for your views etc. Still not made our minds up yet and probably need a few more visits to look at different parts. Unfortunately the exchange rate isn`t helping at the moment, which begs the question of how you are all coping ?
 

Don't stay disillusioned you only have one life to lead so enjoy it in the Charente. Mind boggling questions though as we all chose this area for a variety of reasons, I'm sure. Mike and I are very rural people, so we have a beautiful Longere surrounded by fields (sunflowers this year, just wonderful) and we just love the pace of life and the friendliness and care of our French neighbours. I was very ill earlier this year and they made sure Mike was OK whilst i was in hospital - gifts of veggies, etc just appeared with notes. The healthcare I received was fantastic - I genuinely believe I would be pusshing up daisies had i stayed in UK. The Doctors are tenacious in finding the cause of problems. People say there's a lot of bureaucracy here - we haven't found it. The French people are like the Chinese in approach, we've found. Compliment them and ask their advice rather than complain - and the British have a reputation in France for complaining! Learning French is so important to integrate with the local people, and they appreciate it so much if you try with broken French. What part of the region? The Charente is good and central and beautiful but all the departements have their own beauty and characteristics - it all depends on what boxes you want to tick. Haven't found anything to complain about yet, though I hear Sunday opening of major stores may be happening and I think that will be a shame. If there's a Sunday market in a small town then some of the shops will open for a couple of hours in the morning, but Sundays are still set aside for for family and friends to get together. You will travel back 20/30 years and the lack of traffic, away from N10, is wonderful. Hope my ramblings help. Bon chance
 

Hello CP we live in deux sevres and its a lovley part of france, calm, beautiful scenery, lovely towns and cities. I would recommend it.
 

Thanks for the post CP. You've picked the right part of France to look at, and there are many reasons why this is the best place to be. For some factual info on the departements in Poitou-Charentes, check out the blog post at http://www.guide2poitoucharentes.com/blogs/3/Best_Departement_in_Poitou_Charentes For me, you have easy-access to the coastline (the sunniest part of the Atlantic coast) as well as beautiful countryside and interesting cities, but I am sure that others will have their own view about why they like it here so much!