Who has moved to France?

[Choufleur]

We are seriously contemplating moving to France (normandy or Limousin) and trying to run a B&B and gite. We want somewhere with land too with the possibility of having stables and letting them out as DIY or livery (assuming they do that in France).

What concerns me is DS (6). He's very settled at school and has some lovely friends. How did other DCs settle with moving at similar ages.

I can speak French - lived there for a year - but it is quite rusty as it was 15 years ago that I was there.

We moved with dd the month after she was 9. As she was born in October, she left the UK on a Tuesday in year 4, and arrived at school on the Thursday in CM1 ie year 5.

She spoke little French when we arrived, and caught up enough to go to college 18 months later. She's just got her brevet with 'mention bien', one of the few in her year - despite being a lazy little bugger in quatrieme, and has just got into her preferred lycée, which is the only one in the region to do the bac she wants to do.

So, I would say from your ds's point of view, go for it. Whether you will be able to make a living from gites, or not, is another matter. Don't forget, in the Limousin, you have the national stud at Pompadour even though they have closed parts of it fairly recently.

Thanks tb. Tbh we wouldn't need to make a huge amount of money as we wouldn't have a mortgage or only a very small one and I should be able to do a little of freelancing while I'm there.

DH is thinking about doing an electrical course as well. Unfortunately DH's career won't travel very well with his pigeon french.

We lived in France but under different circumsances to you. However my Aunt lives in Normandy, runs a few gites and a b&b and has some land.

She is very happy there but a few points worth nothing...

Weekends as gite owners are hellish. Cleaning, laundry, check out and check in. Left her with no time on the weekend for the kids at all, no chance of a family day or trip to market, swimming lessons etc. Also ment her DCs couldn't go to parties or go out to play dates etc until they were old enough to cycle there and take themselves.

Also she found it very lonely. Rural France is very isolating, so pick somewhere near a big town for your shopping, restaurants, market etc. And of course better chance of DCs making friends.

She decided 5 years ago to sell up and move somewhere closer to a big town for her DCs. Her property is still on the market and they have only had a handful of viewings in the last 5 years. So think carefully where you buy, rural property in France has nosedived in the last few years.

Goodluck, i loved France!