Dordogne
 

Hey everyone,
I found an awesome summer job located in Dordogne, Limeyrat.

I never heard of this place. Anyone know what its like? If I'm visiting France for 3 months (I'm 18) will I get bored in this area? Is it still a good place to go to experience French culture? Or is it just some offroad nowhere land region that will remind me of Canada?

Thanks!
- NL

My husband and I spent a week in the Dordogne region a few years ago and loved it. We are in our fourties but what a fabulous experience if you are 18. A beautiful area,you will have a great time if you go with an open mind.

Hi! I spent about 10 days in the Dordogne two years ago, and it is gorgeous and full of history and great food and wine. I don't know much about Canada but I'm sure this will be an entirely new world for you. However, the towns tend to be isolated (on purpose -- many were built as fortified defensive enclaves), so a lot depends on how mobile you will be (i.e., will you have access to a car, or is Limeyrat well served by trains or buses?), how interesting Limeyrat is in and of itself, and how awesome the job is. If I were 18 I might want to be in a larger city with better rail access for exploring France.

There are a lot of Canadian posters on this board.

You might want to temper your cynicism, out of deference to their feelings. Or just because they were here first.

Tedgale,
I doubt that would be a problem, I am actually Canadian myself, that's why I said it. I find Canada can be breathtaking. Its just that this would be my first trip off the American continent so I don't want to go somewhere that remsembles home.

Thanks for your help everyone, it sounds like I shouldn't necessarily avoid Dordogne but for my own needs I think I'll wait around for something in Aix-en-Provence or Nimes, these are the kind of places people have told me would be ideal for me because they are "happening" places, not too touuristy, have good access to the train network and are good places to bathe myself into French culture.

Maybe I'm wrong, but again, thanks for your help so far everyone!

>> I think I'll wait around for something in Aix-en-Provence or Nimes, these are the kind of places people have told me would be ideal for me because they are "happening" places, not too touuristy, have good access to the train network and are good places to bathe myself into French culture.<<

For an 18 YO, I think this is the best option. With the TGV you can get to many places quite fast from Aix or Nimes. I vacation in both places quite frequently, and train options are certainly better in Provence than in Sarlat. You can get to the Cote d'Azure quite quickly, which would appeal to an 18 YO Also, Aix is a student town with lots of stuff going on. The Dordogne is a lot more "dead" (not much night life) than Aix, Avignon, Nimes, etc.

Stu Dudley

Hi Sagi,

> >> I think I'll wait around for something....<

Ithink that you are right. There seems to be one morning and one evening train between Limeyrat and Perigueux, the closest large town.

You would need your own transportation.

What was the job?

((I))

It was a mining job at the Carriere de Bontemps that didn't require any prior experience. I thought it'd be fun and more interresting than working in a café or wripping tickets at a movie theatre. Its cool though, I still have another 2 months to find something else.

People are giving me the impression that Aix-en-Provence is a real blast. Is there still more to it than just an upbeat town? Like does it have any interresting places to go, attractions, would I get as much of an example of french culture as I would in Paris?

Thanks,
- NL

Limeyrat has a population of about 400 - one bar, one tabac, one restaurant, one patisserie/boulanger, a mining company - that's it. Yes, you would experience French culture there - rural Périgord culture - but it certainly wouldn't be anything at all like Aix, which is a bustling city with a huge student presence.

> It was a mining job ...<

Oh, you are young and inexperienced! :)

People who chop cotton won't go into the mines.

People who chop sugar cane won't go into the mines.

Don't go near that one.

((I))