anyone living in rural france? feeling like i do?

[lilypond1]

im living in rural france and finding it really lonely! ive just had my 1st baby and its really getting me down, im in the charente and there isnt a great deal to do, especially in the winter, anyone nearby or even any suggestions?

Ah, so you're living the dream, eh?

I live in Spain and am tired of people thinking it's like being on holiday all the time...

Sorry you're feeling lonely. Can only suggest that you invite lots of friends and relatives to visit you or maybe try and find an au-pair from the UK to help out and keep you company...because I'm pretty sure there'll be no mother and toddler groups or any of that malarky round your way. I live in a town of over 300,000 people and there is nothing of that sort here unless you organise it yourself...

I'm stuck in the UK sadly but I know that new mums everywhere have exactly the same problem. Are there no other new mums near you?

we are living the dream, i really love it here but i think the combination of the winter, new baby and family in the uk is a bit too much at mo!! i think once the summer comes everything will be better there are a couple of other new mums locally but they arent needy like me, they have family etc nearby and they are abit weird too!! hate to say that cos its mean! roll on summer

Hi Lilypond, whereabouts in Charente are you ? I don't actually live in France at the moment, but have a house there that we are renovating and looking to move out in next few years. Our house is near to Couhe, about 30 mins south of Poitiers on the N10. I'm sorry you're lonely but understand what you mean. We're the only english in our village (through choice) but have lots of people we know there, just no-one our age with youngsters. They don't seem to have the same "facilities" for little ones, ie playgrops, soft play etc... Maybe that could be a career path !
We're over next wk for a couple of wks if you're not too far away (DD1 = 2.7yrs, DD2 = 6 mths)

Hi Lilypond, Sorry you're having such a hard time. I live in 'expat-central' in Ile de France, and also my kids are older and at French school so for me it's pretty easy nowadays.
However, one thing you might look out for is a maison verte / maison dolto in your area. Try looking on www.francoise-dolto.com/liste.htm
Maison verte are "lieu d'accueil" where you can take your LO for socialisation / meeting other parents. Usually costs 1 or 2 euros per session. You could also check for adverts in your local PMI, or see if you have a branch of the Accueil Villes Francaise near you that runs a mother and baby group (there aren't many that run baby groups, but it might be worth a try).
HTH Brio.

Hi Lilypond, I know exactly how you feel - I'm in Brittany, and had a baby in August (2nd DS, DS1 is 7) although I have plenty going on, I miss the sort of general chatter you have among Mums in the UK...if you want to chat you're welcome to e-mail me peternclaytonathotmail.com
Also, you might find the "AngloInfo" site for your area useful to meet other English speaking Mums nearby. Our Mairie runs a kind of "Mums & Babies" group, but I'm not sure French Mums really have the hang of it yet - (the one I went to, there was me & one other Mum who was lovely but it was a bit intense! Good luck anyway

Lilypond - I am in Bordeaux. Come and see me if you like or we can meet up! Whereabouts are you in the charente?

Hi Lilypond

I'm in rural france too (up north) and if you don't already know people with children it is quite hard to meet them until your DCs are at school.

Round here the 'halte garderie' is pretty good so I could have some me time but it took a while to find things to do with baby DS. I went to the PMI baby clinic and to the BF group at the local hospital and through those places managed to find out about 'bébé nageurs' and a couple of other places I could go with baby DS.
To be honest for the first few months it was just me and DS in the day. Fortunately he would settle anywhere so we could carry on our existing social life with baby free friends in the evenings by carting DS with us.

Goodluck

hey, we do seem to be quite a long way away, we are not too far from limoges but if you are over in the summer it would be great to meet up!! its a bit short notice for next week which is a shame! not sure how we would stay in touch, im new to this!!

We fly into limoges most times as have car parked there (or at our friends' house)! We drive cross country through Confolens to get back to Couhe. Am definitely going to be there at some point over summer but haven't booked yet (mix ups going on at work so not sure of shifts etc). Will try to remember to message you, but just in case my email is [email protected] Would be lovely to meet if poss.

We could meet half way if you like - saintes or cognac or angouleme?

it sounds great, planning to meet up! snottymcgrotty we live close to confolens, about 15mins so maybe i could provide some refreshments on french soil when you land! ggglimpopo, we could plan a day out in the city, a bit of window shopping(not really able to fit into many french clothes, im 6ft)and some lunch, god i feel better already! my email is [email protected] xx

Glad to hear you're feeling more cheerful.

Just another thought, I know it is early days yet but you might want to check out the libraries to see if they do story sessions. I have to drive 20km to my nearest decent library but it's worth it they do sessions where they read books to pre-schoolers.

Brioche - thanks for those links, I am adrift in the French Alps. I think I will brave a baby group this week.

Lilypond - how is it going with you this week?

no going so bad as we had some friends from the uk visiting last weekend but the mon to fri is hard as dp works all week! looking forward to visiting my sis at the end of april!!might also try a baby group too, gotta get the courage up though!!

Hi lilypond,

I lived in Brittany for 5yrs, had 2 Children there before moving to the Uk.

I found that if you wanted anything you had to research loads/and/or set it up yourself (for example a M&T group)

I used to visit this site (www.angloinfo.com) its for English speakers living abroad. May be worth checking it out to see if there is anything in your area but its 'hidden'

I found several M&T groups on our town website. I only stayed an hour and there were only about four other parents there but it was nice to get out a bit and feel like I was beginning to do things for myself rather than rely on DH.

DD cried most of the time so I only stayed an hour, but I'm going back next week and I might build up the courage to say something.

Lilypond - do you already speak French? I go to classes twice a week, I am lucky that PILs can babysit, this helps as the school also organises stuff to do too.

hi I've only just noticed this thread, I've been in Brittany for three years & have two dds, 2.8 and 18 months. I was so lonely and had no internet at the time & can remember desperately looking through the Pages Jaunes for something to do That's how I found the toddler group round our way which is actually really nice. There are about 10 - 15 children with their childminders / parents. Everyone else seems to have known each other for the last 30 years though, and it's quite difficult being a newbie!

Some towns have a Lieu d'Acceuil Parents Enfants (LAEP) which run toddler groups, activities for preschoolers, etc. You might have to search a bit for this (ask at mairie etc.)

Good luck!

Just wanted to add, do try going to baby groups etc. even if it's a bit daunting at first. In my (quite limited) experience the organisers are really nice & try to make everyone feel welcome.