A Sunday Morning in the Mountains
Through the dining room window, I can see a shroud of mist floating lazily around the mountain peak, 500m up. Accompanying the mountainous view is the incessant chirping of the birds for the past half an hour or so. Not soon after, the ringing of the church bells interrupts the morning symphony. Why does the church ring the bell at 9:52 on a Sunday morning? Perhaps the church means it for the 10 o’clock service. Even so, the clergy sets it 8 minutes early to keep the flock from arriving late. Mornings like this always bring back the same question: should we finally get our own secondary residence in France?
Rent or Buy a Secondary Residence in France?
Today is the start of our 5-day holiday in Bozel, a small town of less than 2,000 inhabitants. It’s nestled 800 m high up in the mountains, in Savoie, a region in the southeast of France. We are taking advantage of the spring school break to escape to the mountains. This is our third year renting this holiday house in Bozel. We have tried a few other holiday houses, but this one in Bozel remains our favourite. We are lucky that we have found this rental in Bozel. It’s cosy, not-too-expensive and it sits in a fairly central spot (we can easily get to the various surrounding trails).
Our Home Away From Home: A Secondary Residence in Bozel
This vacation rental takes up part of the ground floor of one of those ubiquitous Savoie houses. Like most of them, it’s built with stone walls and a wooden frame. We have our own entrance and a little garden is at our disposal. Since both Silviu and I are mountain lovers, having a favourite hideout we can visit during our holidays is really convenient. It’s kind of like having our own secondary residence in France.
Why the French Love a Second Home
In France, it’s common for French families to own a second home — more like a holiday home. This is especially true if they live in big cities. The second home is usually near the sea or in the mountains where they can escape to during the holidays.
Could We Ever Own a Secondary Residence in France?
From time to time, Silviu and I will toy with the idea of getting a second home. If we were to get a second residence, it would sit not far from where we live, in the mountains. The second home should be within a three-hour drive so we can visit whenever we want. For instance, we can easily pop over during a long weekend. There’s no need to spend too much time on the road. Unfortunately, even if we had the means to purchase a second home, geography works against us. There’s no dwelling in the mountains within a 3-hour drive from where we live. The nearest mountains are in the Vosges, east of France, and it is five hours away by car.
Renting a Secondary Residence Still Makes More Sense
I guess we can only fulfil our mountain house dream once we retire, sell our primary residence, and move to the mountains. In the long term, it may make more economic sense to rent than to purchase a secondary home. Apart from the purchase cost, there are also the property tax and the maintenance cost to pay. In the meantime, we will continue to rent holiday houses whenever we go on holidays.