Moving to France and learning

the pleasures & pitfalls of teleworking

August ramblings

Where to start…….I guess an introduction would probably work as well as anything else.

I’m one of hundreds of 40 something working Mum’s out there who’ve been wondering whether we’re really all that liberated with long working weeks, mortages and trying to have some sort of life between work and home demands

Here in the UK – I hold down a very enjoyable job – at the end of a 45 minute commute each way. I have an office and a title –which I guess is meant to make me feel good – but I work in a fast growing international company and am really a project manager. Most of “my” team sit either in their home offices or at desks and computer screens literally all over the world – we talk on the phone and internet and share files and very, very occasionally meet up face to face. I could be anywhere it makes no difference to how I do my job.

I’ve been married for nearly 25 years now and we have 3 sons – 2 have already left home and gone down the university / job route and the house is very empty without them – but when I look at the way they manage and are such confident happy young men – I know that we did a good job bringing them up, somehow.

We have our youngest at home – our little surprise package – usually the happiest natured chap you could ever hope to meet – he loves French food and wine – we give him a sherry glass full with Sunday dinner each week – which he carefully looks at, sniffs and then tastes – he already has very adult preferences and loves a good robust red. His brothers say he’s already half French in his food tastes – so may as well go the whole hog.

Then there’s my other half – we were the couple that no-one thought would make it – we fell in love at first site – literally, were engaged within weeks and married inside a year –and no I didn’t have the proverbial bun in the oven….We’re best friends and enjoy each others company – he’s very outgoing and sociable –good at all the things I’m not.

We’ve dreamt about living abroad since we first got together – we seriously looked at Spain back in the 80’s but never actually did anything about it. France has always been a country I loved – and gradually over the past 15 years or so –Nigel has come to share that love – we’ve spent a great deal of time down in the Vendee / Deux Sevres region – we’re not the type that like “ye olde englishe pubbe” on holiday – we’re more often to be found in some small bistro checking out whatever the local dish is – but we won’t be eating andouilette’s again. We first started considering a permanent move about 5 years ago –agreed on where we wanted to go and started half heartedly looking while we were on holiday…..and needless to say didn’t find anything.

So we sat down – did our sums and realized that we could afford to live on one salary if we sold up in the UK and moved to France. My HR department – human resources agreed in principal…. So we started looking.

We went about it all wrong at first – thinking our house in the UK would sell very quickly, it didn’t – it took a year – but we finally sold it last year and found and completed on la Fernandiere in Deux Sevres…. It’s not a big house – it’s a mostly renovated 3 bed farmhouse – with 2 attached barns that have “potential”….. I love that word – I’ve been creating kitchen / family rooms in this barn in my imagination ever since.

So that about brings me up to date – work have agreed that I can make the move and we’re hammering out the final details – I’ll be moving to the French headcount – so insurance etc won’t be too much of a problem –and will go into that in more detail later

The BIG move date is set for sometime in January for us, our pets including 16 chickens and my collection of a little over 4000 books……I’d like to share where we’re going and how we get there and hopefully how things pan out with you – hopefully some of what I write maybe of interest……please join me