The Affordable Romance of a Chateau, Mill House, or Medieval Church

This month’s issue of International Living Magazine is all about romance. So, for our July cover story, we sent Steenie Harvey to the most romantic country in the world--France. Who hasn’t dreamed of owning a chateau in a picturesque French departement? Steenie unveils France’s prettiest villages, where you can buy for less than $100,000.

The region of France that Steenie explores is as pretty as Provence, but at a fraction the cost. It’s a landscape of farmsteads, vineyards, buttercup meadows, and wooded ridges strewn with medieval villages and strongholds.

“No sound of heavy industry disturbs the rural heartlands. Just the quack of ducks, the drone of honey bees, the trundle of tractors, and a soft nighttime chorus of nightingales, cicadas, and hooting owls,” Steenie writes.

Prices here are negotiable with some houses selling for 15% below the asking price. “But this situation may not last,” Steenie warns. Now is the time to buy.

Also in your July issue, you'll meet American John Hardman. John and his wife Patti cruise the canals of France every summer...at five miles an hour. Six years ago, they bought a Dutch barge, which serves as their home for six months every year.

“We love our new life adventure--the travel, romance, leisure, and seeing the ‘real’ France while aboard our barge,” John says. Read his article on page 6, and if this sounds like an appealing life to you, check out the barges we found for sale from $31,600.

If you’d like to try out this type of lifestyle before buying your own barge like John, then turn to page 20 to learn about the best barge vacations in Europe this summer.

Over in South America, our property expert Ronan McMahon tells you how you can profit from the tourism industry in Fortaleza (Brazil’s most visited city). Read, too, how you can live well on $600 a month in Ecuador. And Suzan Haskins educates us on the history of the shamans in this country--learn how they can spiritually polish you.

To get instant access to all this and more in the July issue of the IL Magazine, subscribe now with this link.

You'll find out how you can become a house sitter and stay anywhere in the world for free. And read how reader Cheryl Newman saved $42,000 on her dental care by getting her teeth fixed in Thailand.

Here's what else you can read in the July issue of the IL Magazine: Why now is the time to visit Cuba; tour the Galapagos to celebrate Darwin’s 200th birthday; the latest adrenalin craze to hit Nicaragua; the 10 best places to live well on a small income; why you need to get to Slovenia before 2010; how to make 40% gains this year in Brazilian bonds; and how to find--and save--on long term rentals overseas…and more!

Subscribe now with this link.

Enjoy.

Laura Sheridan
Managing Editor, International Living Magazine