When Linda Chamberlin from the UK met up with someone she met on a school exchange trip 22 years on, she little knew how much it would change her life. Living the good life in Nontron Linda Chamberlin left her home in a small fishing village in Cornwall, England, to move to France in 2010 […]
Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire is the ideal place for a gîte business say expat Brits Zara Bampton and Simon King… Running a gite in Mayenne When Zara Bampton and Simon King reached their mid-50’s they decided to it was time to follow their dreams and move to France. Simon had worked in […]
Many of us think of the Cote d’Azur as a place of dreams that we’ll never be able to afford. It’s where the millionaires go – but we don’t all have millions. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. We talked to local agent Tim Clark about property in the area and discovered that […]
Jane Damian from Dublin, Ireland lives near the beautiful city of Pau, the capital of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the south of France. It’s an area that so far has been relatively unknown to British and overseas buyers but it has so much to offer, we think it’s a hot spot in waiting. Living the […]
We talk to David Rodgers a former project manager from London who now lives in Charente-Maritime. Fed up with the “constant daily stress of work and commuting we finally decided to make the move to France for a more relaxing and a gentler pace of life”. David’s wife Jacquie is from South Africa and the […]
Julia Grange from the UK lives in a small village near Nogaro, Armagnac country, in the Gers. She talks to The Good Life France about life for expats in this lovely region of south west France… What inspired you to move to the Gers area? We initially looked at buying in Brittany, but after a […]
Jon Chinn from Birkenhead in England fell in love with the French way of life when he studied French in Amiens, Picardy, north of Paris whilst at University. We talk to Jon about what life is like for expats in Lyon and why it’s a great place to live… What inspired you to move to […]
We talk to Jacqui Wood from the UK who now lives and works in the lovely Haute-Vienne region, north-west France. It’s an area of forests and lakes, unspoiled countryside and picturesque villages as well as the lovely city of Limoges, famous for its porcelain production. Jacqui and her husband Mark, a former London policeman before […]
France is the most popular tourist destination in the world and there’s good reason. For a start there’s Paris, Nice, beaches, vineyards, medieval towns, picturesque villages and a whole lot more. There’s something for everyone here. Two hours southwest of Paris is the “Valley of the Kings” – the Loire Valley, home to France’s greatest […]
We talk to American Emily Durand of Your Private Provence Tours, about falling in love with a Frenchman and moving from the US to beautiful Provence in France… What inspired you to move to France? I’m from the Northwest, Southern Oregon and I grew up on a family run farm. When I was real young […]
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Honfleur is a French fishing village in the department of Calvados, Normandy. It sits on the southern bank of the Seine estuary where the great river flows into the Atlantic Ocean. If you love authentic old French towns, then you will find Honfleur one of the most beautiful there is. What to see in Honfleur […]
The Lot-et-Garonne department is in the southwestern of the Nouvelle Aquitaine region (previously Midi-Pyrénées). It’s has been described as “the France that you always hoped existed but could never quite find”. It’s idyllic; a paradise… Discovering Fongrave I looked over at my friend as she was talking feverishly about the still, quiet beauty of the […]
If you’re looking for a fun way to visit northern France, Les Belles Echappees in Saint Omer fits the bill. Located within the peaceful Ferme de L’Abbaye at Clairmarais, this family run organisation hires out restored classic vintage vehicles. Choose from sparkling VW camper vans to prestigious Citroen 2CV cars and VW convertible Beetles. There’s […]
Sur le Pont d’Avignon L’on y danse, l’on y danse Sur le Pont d’Avignon L’on y danse tous en rond Many of us learned that song as kids, about the famous Pont d’Avignon in Provence (real name: Pont Saint-Bénézet). For those of us lucky enough to visit Avignon and see the bridge in all its […]
I love all my animals, five cats, three dogs, four geese, 13 ducks and 25 chickens. They’re part of the family though the birds don’t live in the house with us. At least not permanently. When they’re a bit poorly, I’ll bring them in for some TLC until they’re well enough to go out. Sometimes […]
I live part of the year in Provence and one day I was reading Le Monde and a headline about a “sexy politician” caught my eye. “Well, those are two words you don’t see together very often,” I thought. So I read the article and found out that there had been a poll asking French […]
It was lunchtime in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris, and I was ravenous looking for a place to eat away from the usual tourist traps. I turned down a quiet street and saw the most unassuming bistro. In fact, I wouldn’t usually have considered going in but I decided to take a chance. As soon […]
Catharism has been described as “the most successful heresy in history”. In Languedoc, “Pays Cathare” signs dot the countryside. One cannot drive far in any direction without coming upon the ruins of a Cathar fortress. Who were the Cathars? “Cathar” is allegedly derived from the Greek word, katharos, meaning “pure”. The Cathars were also known […]