With a poor climate, the economic downturn and the rising cost of living, now may be the time to find a nice little European bolthole where you could ride out the storm. It’s true that in most other European countries your money goes further, the climate is better and the pace of living more relaxed. So whether it is for a holiday home, a retirement property or simply an investment – which European countries offer the most home for your money?

Avila, Spain by World Wide Gifts / License: Creative Commons

Most people, when thinking about moving abroad or investing in property think about France or Spain, but before you think about removals to France or removals to Spain, have you considered the other European countries which offer great value? For instance, Italy has seen prices fall by around 8 to 20% over the last few years and now it is possible to buy a lovely rural, stone built house set in a lovely village for around £150,000. Whilst a larger property, if you are looking to make a permanent move, will cost around £205,000 for a three bedroom hillside house with a barn and large garden in the lush hills of Lucca, Tuscany.

Turkey is also worth a look if you are looking for an affordable place to live or buy a holiday home. Istanbul has some great value apartments which could see you a healthy return for investment. Istanbul has a housing shortage estimated at around 250,000 units per year. This means that buying an apartment here would see no shortage of tenants if you are looking to invest in property as opposed to live there yourself. For instance, a one bedroom apartment in Bahcesehir, which is just 20 minutes from the city centre, will only set you back around £48,000 and makes a superb investment.

Girona, Spain by Europeana EU / License: Creative Commons

Spain has some great deals to be had too. No other European country has such a wide and varied landscape from beautiful beaches, to elegant cities and through to charming town and hidden villages. There are mountains, lush valleys and quiet hidden beaches which you could easily spend a lifetime exploring. With this in mind, it is no wonder that property sales are on the rise. The cost of living in Spain is generally cheaper than the UK and we all know the climate is much better too!

Some great value homes can now be had here such as a two bedroom home in Murcia, South East Spain could be yours for around £45,000. That’s not a lot of money for your home! Take a look on the internet at the range of properties available to buy, next decide on your budget and what you wish to gain from your property. You might be pleasantly surprised at just what you can afford in one of these bargain European destinations!

Written by Helen Mitchell, looking for the best way to move abroad.

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Moving abroad is a massive dream for some and with France, you have the chance to explore one the most cultural countries on the continent. Having a lovely villa on the coast or a trendy apartment in the city enables you to live a completely different lifestyle and take advantage of all around you, from French furniture to French fashion.

Menton, Cote d’Azur, France by Berthold Werner

It is advised that you pick a region where people go to visit on their holidays or at least where the local economy has a healthy bounce to it. It also helps if the location has great communication and access to the countries roadways, unless, of course, you want to feel detached in a serene environment.

Putting money into property abroad can be quite a risk and therefore it is the better bet to locate yourself in an area that has a history of having a healthy financial climate. If you do have money to burn, however, you may feel obliged to test out untapped areas and gamble on a slightly more obscure part of the country.

For the purposes of this post though, we’ll just stick to the well-established towns and cities.

Going for glamour

It’s fair to say that the most obvious places in France to relocate to are the likes of Paris and the south coast (Cote d’Azur). The French capital of Paris harbours expensive tastes, but great opportunity for profitable investments on property, with house prices always on the rise and the city never going out of fashion. Grabbing yourself a city apartment and decking it out with some trendy French furniture and artwork could really spruce up your life.

The Cote d’Azur offers a completely different angle to French living thanks to both the climate and the jet set lifestyle. The big problem, however, is that you will need a pretty big budget and small investors will struggle to get on the property ladder. If you do have the money, it can be a very sound investment and you will be able to enjoy every sunny day of your time down there.

The Alps

For those of an active disposition will likely see the Alps as a fantastic prospect when deciding where to move to in France. The location is possibly the most popular skiing destination on the planet and because of that, house prices can be quite high, but going just a couple of miles out of the hotspots could see you pick up a bargain.

The slopes are the real attraction, of course, and you could enjoy a life of shopping in some of the most stylish shopping areas and then moving onto a bit of skiing, as well as taking in the breath-taking views.

French Alps by Jim Trodel

Living it up in the city

French cities are finding more and more investment being thrown at them and so are making for a very prosperous place to move to.

Places like Marseille and Bordeaux are beginning to thrive, the latter being the capital of one of France’s finest wine regions. With the countries brilliant TGV train service, most places are very accessible and going from somewhere like Marseille to Paris can be done in just under two hours.

Other locations worth a mention for a great taste of French city life include Reims and Strasbourg.

About the author: Sam writes for The Furniture Market where you can get a great selection of furniture made from solid oak and in such styles as French style furniture.

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