About

About The Southwest France Guide

An independent guide to buying, moving and living in the Duras area of south-west France — written from inside the region rather than about it.

Who writes this

This guide is written from the country where Lot-et-Garonne, the Dordogne and the Gironde meet, drawing on living here through the whole year rather than the pleasant third of it. The practical relocation and property side draws on Tina, a local property expert based in the Pays de Duras.

Tina Barnes

Local property expert · Pays de Duras

Tina lives in the Duras area and has helped families from the UK, the Netherlands and beyond make this move. She knows which village suits which family, which farmhouse hides a bad roof, and how the paperwork actually works. When you are ready — next month or next year — she is the person who walks you through it, in your language, on the ground.

How these guides are written

  • Written to be the most useful page on the subject, not a summary. Most run to several thousand words.
  • Figures are given as ranges and benchmarks. Prices and thresholds date quickly, and a number that would have to be invented is left out instead.
  • Nothing here is sponsored. Where a guide argues against something — a town that fails the winter test, a purchase that will not pay off — that argument stands.
  • The downsides are stated. Rural France has a GP shortage, an artisan queue, quiet winters and real bureaucracy. A guide that omits those is selling something.
  • Nationality is mentioned only where the rules genuinely differ, which is mostly visas.

What this is not

These guides explain how things work and what to expect. They are not legal, tax or immigration advice, and they are not a substitute for a notaire, an accountant or an immigration adviser. On anything with a financial consequence, take professional advice on your own position.

Getting in touch

There are two ways to take this further: download the free relocation guide, or ask a question about a specific village, budget or timeline.

Get the free guide Read the guides