French Life-expat France

First, for the person who found this blog yesterday having queried on ‘the disadvantages of eating in France’ let me assure you that the ‘disadvantages of NOT eating in France’ are significantly greater. They include, among others, vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition and slow and painful death.
And for the person who queried in google on ‘cheapest [...]

I received the following question as a comment on an earlier post, but it’s too big a question for a ‘comment response’ (and not an easy question in any case) so I thought I’d give it a post all to itself…the question was:
“I came across your site while searching out how to live in France. [...]

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about hornets and probably won’t be the last. Despite having a lovely picture and a few explanatory words at hornets in France, this blog and its old comments about hornets continue to draw the crowds, ever fascinated by the growing threat that hornets apparently present to us sensitive [...]

Today I am stressed thanks to Europiscine and their swimming pool liners. Funny thing to get stressed about? Let me explain.
Our swimming pool is five years old, and over the course of five years the previous liner had become slightly wrinkled and a little bit stained, due apparently to the very hot summer we had [...]

I keep an eye on how people reach this blog (and the whole site) and sometimes try and write entries that are related to what people are looking for. Not surprisingly most searches relate to France, French life and generally expat type things. This makes my job easier.
Occasionally they are about cycling, which is fine. [...]

The cycling season being well and truly back underway, I’ve been trying to get myself out a bit more often. My sexy new bike - a Specialized Allez Elite 27 if you’re interested - is a pleasure to ride, although I’m not sure that having a carbon-fibre seatpost really adds that much to my speed, [...]

What is the difference between family life in France and family life elsewhere, I sometimes get asked. Well in truth, much less than you would think.
Eating habits and mealtimes are more formal in France, and it is much more common for families to eat together. But, it is also common for a television to be [...]

Twenty five thousand years ago it was prehistoric man who roamed our region of south-west France - perhaps the earliest established settlements of man to be found in Europe. Hunting, fishing and living in caves were what passed for entertainment, as seen in the paintings of the Lascaux Caves and numerous other prehistoric sites in [...]

Well, after months of uncertainty and years of stagnation, France has chosen Sarkozy to be the new president. Congratulations France, congratulations Sarkozy!
‘Together, everything is possible’ (ensemble, tout devient possible) was the motto on which the campaign was based. An attractive little phrase, but only time will tell whether France really want to pull together to [...]

Well, it’s been a good week down here in the countryside.
As part of having websites I receive lots of emails asking for information on all sorts of things - the best theme parks in France; the best way to point a stone wall; the tax position on selling property, etc etc. This is good, I [...]