Well, I can`t speak for you, of course but I have been analyzing our reasons lately. Do any of them strike a chord with you?
We were first attracted to France as a holiday destination. Then it was a combination of the climate,so much more reliable than the UK`s the wine, bread and life style and the friendliness of the French. Even the language seemed exotic, much more `abroad` than an English-speaking destination. But it was in passing through Roscoff and glancing in an estate agent`s window that we were struck by a more cogent reason to live here--the astonishing cheapness of the houses. This was at the time when the UK housing price boom had arrived but France lagged way behind.
When we seriously began looking to buy in France, the second housing secret became plain; Not only were the houses cheaper but they were astonishingly attractive to English eyes. Did you want a water mill, a chateau, an abandoned village, a windmill? They were all available cut-price! And dreaming aside a wealth of country stone houses with beams, bread ovens and all sorts of interesting features stuffed the Immobiliers` books. Several outhouses and large areas of land were usually thrown in
And those were only the reasons we knew at the outset. Once we were established in our charming house, we soon found more things too appreciate. We can live in a country environment. No noise, no traffic jams, less stress With our attached land we can keep hens, sheep and more cats and dogs than we ever dared before.
France is exotic; different plants,animals and birds are commonly seen here. Check out Giant Emperor Moths, Praying Mantises Golden Orioles as well as Stag Beetles all add fascination to our daily life.
I would also add that France is more NORMAL than England today. It reminds me of England 40 years ago. When I return to Britain I feel it has changed. and not for the better!
Another plus is that all of Europe (except the UK) is open to explore by car, without ferry or currency problems.
And how about health care? It may cost slighly more but the service is beyond the wildest dreams of an NHS client. When Kim`s specialist said she needed a new knee he proposed an appointment for an operation in three day`s time and we had to ask him to delay it so we could go away for Christmas. Our GP is prepared to talk for as long as necessary and doesn`t cut things short with a hurried prescription. Worlds apart!
Of course there are one or two `againsts` as well. Kim especially regrets being so far away from our daughters and grandchildren and our former church.
Food items like Cheddar cheese and Marmite are not available but can always be imported. Anyway our tastes have change in 10 years.
All in all, don`t expect to see us heading back any time soon!!
Bye for now!
As you can see from the photos the mountains are a photographer`s dream, you just dont know where to point your camera. Either it is aimed up in the air to capture the peaks and snowy glaciers or it is focussed down to take some new flower or plant.We had reasonable weather with only a couple of misty days, always a risk in the mountains. We had several excursions into the higher peaks, in fact the camp at Aucun is already at a fair altitude. We drove to Pont d`Espagne one fine day with the other campers and from there climbed up to the Lac de Gaube at 1800 metres. It was quite a climb and Kim was especially pleased to be able to do this trip.
