# House hunting in the Gard and the Southern Ardeche



## LoriEleanor

Hi all:

We are looking to buy a house. We started this search just before the pandemic began. Our hope was to find something in the Vaucluse, where we had previously owned a home for 14 years before selling it. At the time our budget was healthy enough. However, the market went wild after the Pandemic was in full force. 

So, we have expanded our search to include the Northeastern area of the Gard (30) and the Southern Ardeche. We had previously considered the Aude and the Herault, but we would like to stay closer to the Vaucluse if at all possible. 

If anyone on here lives in the Gard or the Southern Ardeche, do you have any advice to offer? Places to avoid, favorite places? All information: weather, access to commerce/healthcare, crime, etc. are most appreciated.

We would like an individual home (not mitoyenne if possible). It needs to have enough terrain to be piscinable (preferably in ground pool). Hoping to stay under 320,000€

Thank you !


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## jweihl

There are some beautiful locations in the Gard (30). You might not want to limit yourself to just the northeast part, as the bit just to the west, the Cévennes, may have appeal. I like Anduze and Sauve quite a lot. Perhaps somewhere close to Uzes or to Alès? Nice towns with monthly activities from the BritsNimes group should you want to connect with other expats. Do be aware, that locations in the Gard do get pretty hot. Here in Nîmes the daily high has not been below 32º for the past two months (and we've been hovering around 40º fairly frequently).


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## LoriEleanor

Thanks for the info.

We are living in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes and it has hovered between 35 and 40 every day for at least a month, probably two (lost track). I love the Cévennes area, but I think it may be too remote for us. Even Anduze, for us, was getting pretty far out there. 

We were told to avoid Alès. We see a lot of homes in the Alès area that have very low prices (by comparison to other towns), so there has to be a reason. We just don't know what areas to consider and what areas to avoid here.

We've been to Uzès many times and like it very much, but it isn't easy to find an individual house with enough terrain for a pool in our price range. 

We'll keep looking. 

All information is greatly appreciated.


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## Poloss

We lived mainly in south Ardèche and also some time in northern Gard over the last 40 years.

For the Gard it was an arc from Barjac to St Ambroix and la Grande Combe - a former coal-mining region.
None of these places have particularly outstanding buildings except maybe Barjac.
As for the northeast zone nearer to the Vaucluse, I just know it from having worked there.
Bagnols isn't pretty but you'll find much of what you need. Same as Beaucaire or Tarascon really ... but without the Rhône.
The surrounding rural area is vineyards, pines and greenoak forests with wild boar and hunters.
Chusclan is a sweet little town, right near to the Marcoule nuclear power station, nestling in foothills full of wild rosemary.
Maybe follow the river Cèze up towards Montclus - there are several attractive villages like Goudargues and la Roque sur Cèze.
As for the weather, if you're in St Cécile, you'll know about the wind, the flash flooding and the forest fires together with drought and heat.

The south Ardèche is a shade cooler because it's closer to the Massif Central.
I know the region which goes east from Villefort in the Lozère up to Aubenas via Les Vans and Joyeuse.
This zone is perhaps too far away from the Vaucluse for you;
I counted 45 minutes' drive to get to Bagnols and a 30 more for Avignon.
There have been big changes over the years, the cloth-capped farmers driving Renault quatrelles have been phased out by coke-sniffing sales reps, burned out chefs and estate agents.
Tourists in throngs from Easter to All Saints, house prices have shot up and the roads and services can't cope with the extra load.
The variety of scenery is superior to the Gard, caves, rivers, cliffs, hiking trails, canyons, mountains topping 1400m and a varied geology making for stone houses made of basalt, granite, shale, sandstone or limestone.
Access in and out of this region isn't always easy, so there is a particular closed-circuit mindset.

Closer to the Rhone valley, there's Ruoms and Vallon which are small towns pretty dead out of the tourist season.
Further east, there's St Rémèze, on a dry plateau with sheep, almond trees and lavender fields.
The surroundings of the Gorges de l'Ardèche are of course majestuous but empty.

Further north, St Maurice d'Ibie (miles of road to get anywhere), Valvignières and St Montan might interest you?
Overall in south Ardèche and NW Gard, there's an impression of space and freedom because a great deal of land is unused or wild, due to it being too steep, rocky or difficult to access.

I hope all that may help you in your research!


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## LoriEleanor

Thank you so much. This was amazingly helpful.


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