Real listings, real neighborhoods, no obligation. Browse what's actually available in Dordogne before you commit to anything.
Know the city before you search
Dordogne isn't one place. The right neighborhood depends on how you want to live — not just which one looks best in photos.
Ribérac sits on the Dronne in the gently rolling north of the Dordogne, a small sub-prefecture town whose Friday market fills the square and whose English-speaking network has been settled here for decades. It has supermarkets, pharmacies, doctors and a small hospital of its own; the department's main hospital is about forty minutes southeast at Périgueux. The north is the more affordable half of the Dordogne, and it shows - fewer restaurants, quieter winters, and a real need for a car.
Bergerac is the Dordogne's practical town: a walkable old quarter of half-timbered houses above the river, a proper covered market, supermarkets and specialists, a hospital in town, and a small airport with direct flights to Britain. Wine country starts at the edge of the streets, and it is warmer and flatter than the north. The tradeoff is that it is a town first and a picture second - busy roads, modern outskirts, and summer traffic on the bridge you will learn to plan around.
The amenities version: Eymet is a bastide town built around an arcaded square, and the square does the work - market days, cafes, bakers, a bank and a rural health center, all within a level walk. Its long-settled British community means English is genuinely spoken here. Bergerac's hospital is about twenty-five minutes north. The catch is the same thing that draws people: so many neighbors are English-speaking that you could live here for years without French, and some do.
Sarlat is the top of the Périgord market and looks it: a dense golden-stone old town of protected medieval buildings, a long-running Saturday market, and the Dordogne valley with its châteaux on the doorstep. There is a hospital in the town itself and a full range of doctors. The catch is tourism - through July and August the lanes belong to visitors, and residents time their errands around them. Winter, by contrast, can feel shuttered.
Know the building, not just the listing
In the Dordogne you're most likely buying a house, often an old stone one, and often with its own heating fuel and its own septic system. Here's what to ask about each.
More than four homes in five in the Dordogne are houses, and nearly one in five was finished before 1919, well above the national share of about one in nine. Heating is the question to ask first. About one home in eight still heats mainly with oil, stored in a tank on the property, more than a quarter rely on wood or other sources, and a few use gas from a bottle or a private tank. The energy rating, graded A to G, tells you how the house holds heat. If a house for sale is rated E, F or G, the seller must also provide an energy audit with costed renovation scenarios.
Outside town sewer networks, homes treat their own wastewater with an assainissement non collectif, a private septic system. Every one must be inspected before a sale by the commune's septic service, the SPANC, and the report can be no more than three years old when the deed is signed. If it finds the system out of compliance, the work has to be done within a year of the sale. The seller may do it or leave it to you, in which case it becomes yours to finish and part of the price negotiation. Ask for the report early, before you make an offer.
The seller's dossier de diagnostic technique bundles the inspection reports: energy rating, lead if the house dates from before 1949, asbestos if its permit predates July 1997, wiring and gas checks if those are over fifteen years old, termites where the prefect has declared a risk zone, and the septic report. It also includes an état des risques, a natural-risk statement for the parcel. Around towns such as Bergerac, Eymet and Sarlat, the state's risk register lists river flooding, collapse over old underground quarries, clay-soil settlement and forest fire, while earthquake risk is very low. Once the preliminary contract is signed, a private buyer has ten days to withdraw.
The big decision
This isn't financial advice — it's the consistent experience of the expat community: don't buy before you've lived somewhere for at least a year.
The path most expats recommend
Worth it for the right circumstances
Before you sign anything
The US taxes worldwide income regardless of where you live. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and Foreign Tax Credit can help, but this is complicated when you add Social Security, pension distributions, and investment income. An advisor who specializes in US expat taxation is not optional — this is different from standard tax prep.
Americans can stay in the Schengen area for 90 days without a visa. For longer stays, the Visiteur visa is the standard path for retirees — it requires proof of passive income sufficient for self-support, health insurance, and accommodation. Valid for 1 year, renewable. Apply through the French consulate in the US; the process takes 2–3 months.
France has no restrictions on foreign property ownership. All purchases go through a notaire (government official) who holds funds in escrow and handles the legal transfer — this is mandatory. Budget 7–10% above purchase price for notaire's fees, taxes, and registration. The process from offer to completion typically takes 3–4 months. Real estate agent fees are usually paid by the seller.
This is context, not legal or tax advice. French property transactions, the Visiteur visa, and US/French dual-tax obligations require professional guidance. Work with a notaire for any purchase and a US expat tax advisor.
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Don't stop here
Walk the neighborhoods before you sign anything. See if the vibe holds up in person before you commit to anything.
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