French life & expat France
Living in France and daily life for a UK expat in the French blog!
When to visit France – and where to go?
Having just spent a very pleasant week in and around Menton it is clear that some places are lovely at one time of the year – but at other times would be intolerably crowded, a traffic and parking nightmare, or have weather that would keep you inside all week. But lots of people need or [...]
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Five reasons to move to France
In these troubled times any talk of selling up and moving to France has reduced quite a lot. Apart from anything else it is now impossible to buy a studio flat in England for £50k, sell it a month later for £250k, and hope to live for ever on the profits in some quiet part [...]
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Make a living online in France?
A long time ago I wrote a post about the kind of jobs that expats in France do or might consider doing to help make ends meet (see expat work in France). But times and ideas move on and recessions turn up unexpectedly so I thought I’d suggest a different idea. This is something I [...]
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Wild Swimming France – a book review
I have been asked to review a book called ‘Wild Swimming France’. Happily it was a pleasure. Without spoiling the conclusion I can tell you straight away that is going to be an indispensable addition to the books I take with me when I go away, and you should rush out straightaway and buy it [...]
Medieval reenactments
Did you know Menton (near Nice in south east France) claims to have 316 cloudless days a year? Now that is a lot of sunshine. I’ve been here three days now, most of which I have spent staring at the sky in the hope of seeing at least something small and fluffy to prove them [...]
Replacing a rather horrible wall
When we first arrived in France our house was lacking pretty much everything, including bathrooms, so you won’t be surprised to know that getting a sink and toilet fitted was something of a priority. We quickly got various plumbers around and discussed our grand plans for en-suites here and power showers there – typically to [...]
As nice as Tuscany?
There is something about certain travel quotes that makes them get repeated ad infinitum on gite and holiday rental websites. For example: “It’s like an unspoilt Tuscany or Provence, and I’d better shut up now or I’ll be responsible for spoiling it” was a brief comment describing the Lot-et-Garonne in an article in the Observer [...]
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