How we got here

Back to Petite Maison Arts Homepage

Tomlin's in France intro

Why we came here and a few tips on staying here

Our Tourist Guide

Daniel & Luke's Page

Diary July-Dec 03

Diary Jan-June 04

Diary - The story continues

Links Page

Tomlin's in France

How we got here and where we live

Ever since our first holiday to France in 1995, we’ve loved the country, its people, and the French way of life. We’d return home from holiday and spend weeks agonising over how we could move there permanently. Finally in 2003 we managed it. This is the story of how we got here.

2001 had been a bad year. Sharon spent large parts of it in hospital, we were forced to cancel 2 holidays, Daniel broke his collarbone, family members and friends were battling serious illnesses and my Father and Step Mother experienced a devastating flood to their property. It went on and on. We were worn out and cheesed off.

With encouragement from our families, low interest rates and the crazy inflation of the UK housing market we decided to take the plunge and buy our dream house in France. We extended our mortgage, started reading up on buying property in France and trawled the Internet for suitable properties and agents.

We arranged a trip to France for mid Feb 2002 to view properties in the Poitou Charentes. The weather was foul. They say that if you like a property in the rain then you’ll love it in the sun. Well we found our property in the rain and fell head over heels in love with it.

The buying process in France is a million miles away from that of the UK. Once you've agreed a price you sign a compromis de vente. There is a 7 day cooling off period after which both parties are committed to the sale. If you want to pull out after that you face financial penalties, and can in certain circumstances be forced to go through with the sale/purchase. By the end of May the house was ours.

The rest of that years holidays were like an ongoing episode of ‘Changing Rooms’, (but without the dodgy designers). By Christmas we were pretty much finished and able to put our feet up for a magical family Christmas that we will never forget.

Making THE decision!

Moving to France was probably one of the toughest decisions we’ve ever had to make. Our instincts, gut feelings or whatever you want to call them, were telling us we should go for it. It felt like it was the right thing to do. There were worries, but we felt the alternative of carrying on how we were was not an option.

We were feeling more and more suffocated by the south-east Essex way of life, we weren't living, we were existing! It was all hustle, bustle and concrete. How well you were doing was measured in material possessions. Quality of life was swamped by quantity of work. It was like being stuck in a whirlpool. We had to get out before we drowned.

Sharon and I both have superb families. We will be eternally grateful for the support we have received from them and will always appreciate how they unselfishly put our hopes for the future ahead of their personal feelings.

For us, and most of the people we've spoken to who've emigrated, it's one hell of an emotional roller coaster. You're never really sure if you are excited or petrified. You'll wake up one morning and think 'I can't wait until we're over there'. Next day you'll wake and think 'what are we playing at!'. Friends and colleagues say you're brave and how exciting it sounds. But you get the feeling they're thinking 'you must be mad'.

Our biggest concerns were; how easily will the boy's adapt? Would we be able to earn enough? Could we cope with the language? Will the boys settle at school? All nagging doubts that cannot truly be answered without biting the bullet and going for it.

From the French side we could not have been made to feel more welcome. We were told by the Mairie (French for the local 'town hall') that the people in our hamlet were very happy to hear we were moving over. The school we had enrolled the boys in said the children were disappointed that the boys could not start until the new school year in Aug/Sept.

On the 28th June 2003 we moved over. Check out our Diary page to find out the story from there.

Where we live

France is divided up into regions, and these regions are then divided up into departments. There are 22 regions and 96 departments. We live in the Poitou Charentes region and the Vienne department, about 400 miles (645km) from Calais. On the map below we are just below the 'F' in France! (Click to enlarge)

The summers here are longer and hotter than they are in the UK, but the winters are pretty much the same. For a look at our weather forecast click here. Our weather

The area is predominantly farmland. It's not what some would call 'spectacular' scenery, but it is very beautiful. Especially so in summer, when many of the fields around us are full of sunflowers.

Our house is on the outskirts of a small hamlet called La Villecharault. It has about 12 houses, no shops (hooray), no pubs (boo) and the nearest McDonalds is 35miles away (added bonus). Our new neighbours have made us feel very welcome, and we hope to be able to introduce you to them on this site one day in the future.

Our closest town is La Trimouille. It's a pretty little town about 5 minute’s drive away. Daniel and Luke's school is there, tucked away behind the Mairie (Town Hall).

In front of the La Mairie you'll find a boulangerie (bakers) hidden behind a tatty old front door. Not much to look at, but we think they bake the best bread and croissants in the whole of France there.

Our House

We've a little 2 bedroom house and an acre of land. Most of the time we have 3 lots of neighbours. Firstly there is Monsieur et Madame Chassin, who have retired to the area from Paris. They have a house behind ours. Secondly, cows are often in the field opposite and lastly, sheep are normally across the road.

The house is just over 100 years old with tiled floor's oak beams and a lovely cosy granite fireplace. The walls are 500mm (just under 2 foot) thick. On hot days the walls act a air conditioning and on cold days they're like a radiator.

We feel as the boy's grow older, they will want separate rooms again, as they did in the UK. So, if everything goes to plan we hope to extend the house to give a bigger lounge, plus a kitchen diner and 2 more bedrooms.

Sharon's atelier (studio). Before and after.

Our Garden

We inherited a productive garden that unfortunately, due to us only being here on holiday in 2002, got a little out of control. Our tree's produce apples, plums, peaches, walnuts, hazelnuts and cherries.

We just missed out on the main growing season for veggies this year and the ground has been rock hard due to the lack of rain this summer. So we're reading up on veggies ready for next year.

One of the things we love about our garden and the surrounding area is the variety of wildlife. Many different birds visit the area, from tiny wrens and bullfinches to eagles, hawks and herons. We have some incredibly colourful butterflies and some very 'interesting' looking insects. The boys enjoy catching the numerous lizards and toads and we've had a few snakes as well.

When we're out and about we sometimes see Deer in the fields and we recently saw an Otter in our local river. Unfortunately we've also seen at the side of the road, Badgers, Ferrets, Pine Martin and other unrecognisable furry blobs.

A few tips on how to stay here

The above was written just after we moved over. Naive and dreamy. It was a lovely time, but it doesn't last. Real life comes along and bites your bum. We are still very happy living here, but we've learned a few bits along the way. Whenever they occur to us we jot them down here. Maybe they can benefit others thinking of doing the same.

The cost of living is NOT that much different from the UK. If you take out the loans and mortgages we had before we came over, we find we spend marginally less here than we did in the UK. But not a lot.

Food prices average out about the same, electricity is expensive, decent clothes are generally dearer and as we now live 'out in the sticks', we spend a lot more on petrol. At the moment there is not the same level of retail manipulation as there is in the UK, but it is coming!

Learn as much of the language as possible before you come. Especially the grammar and verbs. Contrary to popular belief, everyone in France does not speak English. Understandably, they can be very awkward to those who can’t be bothered to try, but they are very encouraging to those who have a go.

If you’ve got to earn a living here, do as much research as you can before you come. And then do some more. Rural France is a very different market place to most parts of the UK and it would be a shame to blow your life savings finding out that no one wants what you are offering. Also there are a million and one ways to register a business over here. Choose the wrong one and it could wreck your plans before you’ve started.

If you haven’t got a place already and are not 100% sure on where you want to live. Rent first. Many move from a big town in the UK to an isolated cottage in France and the huge change of environment is too much for them.

Some think the French are so laid back you can get away with anything over here. Not true. While many still work on the black (cash in hand) an increasing number are being caught. Try pleading that your English and didn't understand the system and you’ll not get very far. There is virtually no tolerance of late or non payment of bills and it is illegal to write a cheque without sufficient funds in your account to cover it.

Unless you are super rich, you will have to work hard to create a new life for yourselves here. It can be a struggle, but we think it’s well worth it.

NEW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The beauty of stained glass

I now create single glass or double glazed sealed units for windows, doors, kitchen units etc.

Using crystal bevels, lead, art film, fusion tiles and of course, hand painted I can recreate the beauty of stained glass at an affordable price. The design options are unlimited.

Click on this link to visit our new site www.decorverre.com