hi folks,having previouly lived for a few months in dept 49,and thoroughly enjoyed the experience we would like to repeat this, but on a more permanent basis.and we would appreciate your experiences and advice prior to making the move.we are intending to come over in september for 4/6 weeks

Make sure you have an endless supply of money and no children of school age, that's my experience of life in France.

Any advice would depend on your circumstances eg are you a pensioner or do you need to work? Are you planning to rent or buy? Have you got childen moving with you?

Stay put most brits are trying to sell up and return potless and defeated.

Not all stories are doom and gloom, but it's certainly no utopia here.

As the previous poster pointed out any advice would depend upon your circumstances.

Well it's been good for us but we knew the area reasonably well and came prepared for most things (I hope). We're early retirees with no dependents so pretty straight forward apart from dealing with the usual boring paperwork. If you are positive then you'll enjoy it even if things aren't perfect, they aren't anywhere.
Email if you need any info, happy to help if we can - we have a place in Saumur.

As pp has said it is difficult to offer relevant experiences or advice without knowing a little about your circumstrances. The Mayenne is our 'home' and we love it. We have a young family and both work, so it can work out well! Best of luck.