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Giraudiere BROSSAC CHARENTE Southwest France Article Living France |
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You
decided
to come to France and as you sipped your French red wine with
friends in
the courtyard of your French gite, relaxing in
the warm night air. In
the distance, sounds of the night market as it winds down are replaced
by music from the free street concert. You have sunbathed in 40 degrees
temperatures, swum endlessly in the pool, indulged in gourmet
restaurant food and drunk quality French wines
and cognacs which cost
practically nothing. This is the life. You don't speak French
but after
all this is Europe.....everyone will speak English! But
what will you think when it rains in November? There will
be
frost in January, gales at 100km per hour. You will need to cut
firewood for that pretty fireplace you admired in August. There will be
smoke and ash if you are going to be warm. The restaurant you loved in
summer may close suddenly one afternoon in October and re-open at
Easter. Shutters
will close by 4.0 p.m.
in the afternoon and streets
will be deserted. The French
Christmas
lasts just
one day and French
families
spend it at home. You
are unlikely to get an invitation to join them or
find a restaurant open.
| Your French neighbours in
rural parts will be hunters.
How will you feel when a pheasant, one hour dead, arrives as a gift on
your doorstep?
Baked beans will cost a pound a tin and if you want
English sausages, bacon or cheddar cheese you must be prepared to
travel. Your English number plates will be illegal after three months. It is possible you will actually have to have a car with the steering on the left! Your neighbours will speak French. Of course summer will approach again but this time you won't be on holiday. In fact between entertaining all your guests you will probably get no rest at all. Just how many more times will you have to visit that beautiful French medieval town?And do you know where you keep your birth, marriage, divorce, death certificate? Bureaucracy and form filling here are overwhelming but normal. |
Living France and To Live in Charente South West France
So why
do we stay, you ask, those many ex-pats who have settled
in France permanently?
We stay because we have accepted we are living in a different country. It is not going to be 'Utopia' but we have found plenty to like. Even in winter there are 'blue sky' days. We have become experimental with our food and choose to try delicious, seasonal products and recipes. Perhaps a thick, warming cassoulet in winter with beans and sausage and pork or maybe duck or oysters as a mid-week tea. We've learned some French....or tried too! There are groups, or one to one lessons, and even organisations like the 'Reseau de Exchange de Savoir' which offers to teach you free of charge if you offer a skill in return. We have French friends and spend many winter evenings over long meals practicing our language skills with hilarious results. Remember you can never 'be' hot
( je suis chaude.....a prostitute!) just as our French friend practicing English may not really want to find a
'bonk' ( banque) today!
We stay because we have accepted we are living in a different country. It is not going to be 'Utopia' but we have found plenty to like. Even in winter there are 'blue sky' days. We have become experimental with our food and choose to try delicious, seasonal products and recipes. Perhaps a thick, warming cassoulet in winter with beans and sausage and pork or maybe duck or oysters as a mid-week tea. We've learned some French....or tried too! There are groups, or one to one lessons, and even organisations like the 'Reseau de Exchange de Savoir' which offers to teach you free of charge if you offer a skill in return. We have French friends and spend many winter evenings over long meals practicing our language skills with hilarious results. Remember you can never 'be' hot
( je suis chaude.....a prostitute!) just as our French friend practicing English may not really want to find a
'bonk' ( banque) today!
Life in
Charente South West France
|
Life in and to live in France South
Charente
|
 |
There are clubs for every sport,
for handicrafts, for dancing, the over
60's, and weight-watching. There is an English church which meets
regularly within driving distance of most Charente & Charente
Maritime
homes. There is a Mother's Union and a Ladies group like W.I. Why
do we stay in France?
We stay because we have
found a way of life where
quality still counts. We don't have to upgrade our car every year or
put in the latest home improvements. Time spent with friends and
families is more important. There is still respect in the streets.
Strangers say 'hello' when they pass you. Young people go out with
their parents for the evening. A bag left behind accidentally will
probably not be stolen. We have found a relaxed way of life from which we find contentment. It has been worth making the many changes and accepting the many differences in our cultures. We have learned to love life here. And that decision you made on that balmy, August night....... it can still be the best decision you have ever made! You can find more articles from expats living in France at ARTICLES ON FRANCE |
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