Expat Life In Southwestern France

La Belle Et La Bete...Three Years On

June 7, 2011, Southwestern France: As frustrating and complicated as life in France can be, la vie francaise never fails or ceases to delight.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

"After living in Spain, close to Barcelona, for seven years, we (my husband, two children, and I) decided it was time to try out a different country...to make a change...to shake things up a little," writes Euro-Editor Lucy Culpepper in the Forward to her new 'Live and Invest In France' kit.

"So we set off on a home-seeking tour of Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and the United States. We were in search of a country that would check as many boxes as possible on our long wish list.

"After almost eight months of travel and change, we decided that some but not enough boxes had been checked off by each country we'd spent time in. Furthermore, thanks to our travels in Central America, we came to a slightly unexplainable realization: We wanted to return to Europe.

"But where in Europe? Not the UK (too easy; that's where I'm from), not Scandinavia (too cold and dark), not Italy, nearly Croatia...but, finally, France.

"I had been visiting France since I was a young teenager and had very happy memories of summer months there. I also have close family in the north and south of the country. Plus, I felt that this would be a safe, stable, and interesting place to raise our children.

"Are we happy with our decision? I can respond today, three years later, with a confident and enthusiastic yes.

"Has it been easy and hassle-free? No.

"La Belle France has worked her magic on us...but no place is perfect...including, certainly, France.

"Just six months after we settled into the southwest of this country, close to the city of Pau, I was inspired to write a short article about the good and the bad sides of life here. I called the article -- 'La Belle et La Bête' (Beauty and the Beast). Three years on, writing this today, I thought it would be interesting to see if those beasts I wrote about upon arrival in our new French home are still harassing me...or was it simply the beginner's shakiness that many expats experience after the first few months in a new place?

"Back in 2008 I wrote:

"'I am in a state of permanent surprise; some days it's joyous and other days it's disbelieving. Mostly it's joyous, but there are times when I would like to shake those gently shrugging Gallic shoulders...and say, smiling ever so sweetly, "Yes, it is possible! I'll show you, right now."'

"Today, as I write this, I'd still make that observation. It can be hugely frustrating trying to get anything accomplished in this country that requires a little thinking outside of the proverbial box. Sometimes so much so that I get the screaming heebie-jeebies and have to rush home and enjoy the fruits of those wonderful French vineyards!

"Whether to handshake or kiss, how to open a bank account, how to get the timing of your shopping right, how to dodge the strikes, learning to enjoy quiet Sundays, dealing with a higher cost of living, being careful to observe everyday politeness and etiquette, dealing with customer service (or disservice), learning French (again), managing my children's education...it all remains a balancing act but one where the scale tips more often toward La Belle than La Bête.

"In 2008, I finished my article with the following observation which, three years down the line, I'd like to share anew:

"'After a particularly long and complicated meeting with my bank manager, I stepped out onto the town square and into the middle of the farmers' market, bought some smelly cheese, a long crusty baguette, a bunch of home-grown Lily of the Valley, and then contemplated life as I sipped my café allongé...

"'There's always something to be savored...everywhere in France...'

"Deciding where in France to settle, invest, or live in part time is a tough choice. Not many countries have something to offer at each cardinal point, but I believe that France does. From Normandy to Provence and Alsace to the Basque Region there is culture and diversity to excite and thrill every taste..."

Kathleen Peddicord

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