OK, so here goes!!!

Never blogged before, but hey we all have to try these things at least once!

Why "Surprisingly France"?

Taken from the BBC News, when the Global Financial Crisis first occurred,

it just seemed appropriate.

So I live in France, living the dream some people call it,
but it isn't all plain sailing that's for sure!

Moved here in September 2006 with my family, looking for inspiration and hope, something that we had lost in the UK, not ever realising that the future would be so uncertain. Arrived here, no jobs, nowhere to live and no idea what we were looking for, but we had sold our house in the UK and bought ourselves a camper van, so we had a roof of some sorts above us. We did rent a gite for a month in the Languedoc region, near Castelnaudray, boy was that an experience never to be repeated - damp, infested with terrible insects and next to a graveyard!!! We needed an address to establish ourselves here for bank accounts, job hunting etc, so it had to be done...

Anyway, nearly 3 years on and finally I've time to blog!

We happened upon a small, but modern thinking little French town, complete with a wonderful market which is at the heart of the community. We've rented a house, since we arrived here in 2006 and the thought of another winter in it was enough to make us decide to go house hunting. It is in a valley bottom, so it is damp for 6 months of the year, very poor insulation and just badly designed; it is the small things that have driven us mad, the lack of a draining board in the kitchen, the washing machine out in the garage and constantly washing mould of the walls and windows running in condensation every morning!

Anyway, we've found what we think is our dream house, complete with a fruit garden, well and the obligatory grapevines! There is plenty of work to be done, mainly cleaning, as it hasn't been decorated in quite a few years, but as all the TV shows say, there is potential!

Just as well we still have the camper van to live in!!

It is going to be a long dusty summer!