“Corsica is unique. Despite being an extremely attractive island with amazing sandy beaches, beautiful forests and countryside, tourism has been restrained. Corsicans prefer to keep the identity of their island and not sell out”


Propriano for €250,000 (£198k) – pictured on page 72. It was the lively little port which


drew Claire Hall, a 33-year-old from Bexhill in Essex to move to Corsica full-time in 2005. She’d been working for a tour


operator and took a year off, rented a place for a couple of months and then never looked back. “I love the outdoor life - being able to


walk on the beach for most months of the year is such a tonic – and I found the slower pace of life refreshing,” says Claire, whose internet-based work can be carried out from anywhere (see her blog at www.directcorsica.com). “Corsica especially appeals to people seeking a change of lifestyle during their middle years – with a view to retiring out here.” Claire found a one-bed apartment


beamed ceilings, stone fl oors and glass fl oor panels over the original mill workings.


“It could be a spacious home with six bedrooms, a chamber d’hote, or divided into two or three apartments. “It is just waiting for spectacular


interior décor and fi ttings.” She also has several properties in Propriano, a resort in the south, ranging from a two-bed holiday home in a gated community for €262,500 (£208k) to a fi ve-bed villa for €1.15m (£884k). She also has a two-bed apartment with views over the Valinco Gulf near


Above Claire Hall and the Lighthouse of Propriano, Corsica


to rent for €650 (£515) a month – but that was tricky, as she explains. “Long-term rentals in Corsica are


hard to get for foreigners – they are not governed by the French law that is heavily weighted in favour of the tenant.


“Plus of course, short-term rentals can be far more lucrative.” Another frustration of laid-back island outlook is getting things fi xed. “It was quite challenging setting up


an internet connection and sometimes you can wait a week for a call back, but I’ve learnt that if you’ve got a problem, turning up fi ve minutes before lunchtime usually gets it sorted in double-quick time.” She says she loves Bonifacio, the


oldest settlement on the island, for being “so typical of everything Corsican” with its old medieval citadel atop rugged limestone cliffs towering above superyachts in the harbour. Ajaccio is the island’s capital – and Bastia is the other major town - but it is


This one/two bedroom home is located in Marine de Sant Ambroggio area near Calvi for €149,000 through Agence Immobiliere Calvi-Balagne.


the resorts of Porto Vecchio and Calvi which are the more glamorous places on the island, around which holiday homes can be highly sought-after. Porto Vecchio on the south-west


coast, with its designer shops and upmarket boutique hotels, attracts French celebrities, and is as bling as Corsica gets. 1st-for-french-property.com have


a three-bed villa there for €585,000 (£464k) or a fi ve-bed, four-bath villa for €1.6m (£1.27m). Calvi, in the north-east is also chic –


and the stretch of coast around it is very popular, from Saint-Florent in the north, down to the dramatic Les Calanques cliffs halway down the west coast. Agence Immobiliere Calvi-Balagne has a small one/two bed home in the Marine de Sant Ambroggio area (just north of Calvi) for €149,000 (£118k; pictured below, left), or a slightly more spacious one with sea views and 120m2 garden for €365,000 (£287k) – see www.agencecalvi.com The buying process in Corsica is


the same as in mainland France, with both parties using the same notary (notaire) to document the transaction. “Notaries must assure buyers that


the property is not mortgaged and the settlement of taxes is up to date,” says a spokesperson at Calizi Immobilier (www.calizimmo.com). Surveys are extremely unusual in


both France and Corsica as French banks and building societies don’t require these for lending. “It is also unusual for a UK bank or building society to lend money using the Corsican property as collateral, so if you plan to borrow in England, it will need to be against UK assets,” adds Janey Rankin, who also says that www.directcorsica.com can help provide an interpreter.


FOR MORE PROPERTIES ON CORSICA, GO TO www.aplaceinthesun.com/corsica


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