You can get small properties here above the snowline fairly easily...usually a holiday home that's for sale...ideal for summer visiting but snowed in in winter. As Phil has mentioned,indeed if you have to drive out for provisions it will become a hassle,and that's if your smaller road is actually open. 5 or 8 kms at 15 kph/hr will take a long time in the twisties....Just to get a bottle of milk can become a chore. Sometimes you'll find your road closed by a barrier and you'll have to park at it and walk in the rest of the way.
All this to say your normal village roads will be open...just anything away from a village could be difficult.
Bear in mind too that if you're enschonced in a dwelling like that then to meet local people will become difficult and you end up really being on your own with not very many friends other than maybe a few neighbours sprinkled over the mountain side that you might only see the odd time.
If I were you I'd try and find a place in a village which has access to skiing ie the mountains by a short drive. I too can get to La Mongie along with Cauterets and Gourette(google those names to see) I am an hour and three quarters from Biarritz and 45mins from the Spanish border which opens up another riding experience.
My house is on a scenic route where heaps of motos pass by at weekends,it's a wonder I have'nt seen Phil scooting past on a tour...(if not you should consider my area Phil ...a few great rides outs lol)
If you think about daily life,eg what you like to do as a hobby,where you'll get your car MOT'd,where you'll shop for food and building materials,where you'll socialise,Dr/dentist etc then try and find a place that can service all of that,then life will be easy.
Try and imagine yourself moving to the Scottish Highlands and think how you move about everyday and it'll be the same!!!
Anyway...in the meantime I'd try and visit your local library and sign out(or buy) French by Michel Thomas. It's brillaint CD course that you just listen too in the car and with no writing ....It's structured really well to get you talking a few words within 5 mins and with that then you want to learn more as you see yourself improving so quickly.
On that,my friends here are French,which means I can get along the best with the language...I ride in enduros (stretching as far north as Bordeaux and the even the beach race at Hossegor each January)and ride outs here,so again even all my riding buddies are French...they're a good bunch all with a common interest...Our club even runs a round of the French hilllclimbing championships at Arette each year... Weekly forest rides happen (most Mondays with buddies)which keeps every thing alive.
In the meantime try
www.orpi.com or
www.fnaim.com and see what you can dig up. If you arrive with cash don't be afraid to offer 30 or 40 thousand less on a home
...the least they can say is 'Non!' or 'Oui' and you can pick up a bargain....
Other than that....see what you can come up with.....If you need to know what other costs are involved in the way of average weekly food bills,fuel,eating out rent/rates and such like just chime in.
