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  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
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    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

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    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

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Home In Focus: Europe

Expat Life In Gascony, France Is Not What You Think

France Is Open For Business To Expats [With Photos]

by Kat Kalashian
Jun 29, 2023
in In Focus: Europe
0 0
Rural scene in Gascony France

Adobe Stock/rustamank

“Every home should have at least a pair of Cypress trees at the entry. One at either side of the gate, so that when you cross your threshold, the boughs dust the outside world from your shoulders.

“You’re home… leave the rest at the gate.”

Entry drive to the Chateau de Pouednas
Entry drive to the Chateau de Pouednas

This was the explanation Robin, my host in Gascony, gave me about these ubiquitous trees as we villa-hopped across this agricultural region of southwest France.

Wherever you look in Gascony, you’ll see endless crop fields, grape vines, and cattle pasture…
Wherever you look in Gascony, you’ll see endless crop fields, grape vines, and cattle pasture…
The Aquitaine Blond breed of beef cattle
The Aquitaine Blond breed of beef cattle are incredibly muscly

Most homes here, even the most modest, are entered via a long driveway, bordered by Cypress on both sides. If not an allée, there are always at least those two token trees planted on either side of the driveway for this reason.

As we passed through his own Cypress gate and pulled into his villa’s courtyard, thunder rolled in the distance, unaccompanied by any visible clouds, rain, or lightning.

It was storming somewhere nearby… but in the valley Villa Traddure is nestled in, the sun shone bright, warming the stone patio and the pool. I was glad for a sunhat even in early June.

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A glass of chilled wine in hand, I swung in the hammock, watching butterflies and bees dance around the flower beds that easily rival botanical gardens I’ve visited.

This is how Robin and his wife Clare spend their days… or at least their evenings.

Villa Traddure
Villa Traddure

Indeed, the Dunipaces keep plenty busy during the day, with renovations currently underway in the villa, a big family visit expected in a few weeks (which means the work needs to be done on time!), and they’ve been working the last few years to create a holiday rental company that has organically branched out into offering relocation assistance to future expats.

Robin’s company, Simply Gascony, most recently helped a Californian couple purchase a true dream home here. A 19th-century old Presbytery with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, living room, dining room, reception room, and additional space to be converted. The 2,500 square-foot villa is spectacular, but the landscaping alone seemed worth buying the home for. With a mature garden full of towering old trees, blossoming bushes, and vines climbing all over, plus a swimming pool and woods, for a total of 2 acres of land. Perched as it is on a bit of a hill, the views of the countryside all around are stunning.

While the area doesn’t see many Americans—this couple are perhaps the first to settle here!—there is no shortage of British expats.
I expected to meet lots of retirees, which I did, but I was surprised at the number of business owners I encountered on this trip.

Laura Washburn, a former chef who has globe-hopped from L.A. to Paris to London and has now settled in the village of Fourcès here in Gascony, founded Atelier Cuisine Fourcès, offering cooking workshops and food tours…

Gorgeous zucchini blossoms and fresh rustic bread
Laura took me on a market tour in her village, where we saw these gorgeous zucchini blossoms and fresh rustic bread

A delicious lunch

Laura even flexed her cooking skills for us, offering a lunch of duck confit stuffed zucchini, fresh homemade ratatouille, and local potatoes so flavorful they don’t need any dressing up! This is a typical south of France meal in the summertime and will be followed by salad, cheese, and, finally, a dessert of clafoutis made with fresh cherries.

Clafoutis made with fresh cherriesBee and Adam Fitch started E-Velo Gers and Simply Gascony, the first business renting out electric bikes to tourists and the second offering them “tipis,” big comfortable tents in which to get closer to nature.

One of Esprit de Gascogne’s tipis for rent
One of Esprit de Gascogne’s tipis for rent

The couple just expanded their operations with a townhouse in their nearby town that they’ve completely renovated and can rent out to two families at a time.

The Esprit de Gascogne’s rental townhouse. Life In Gascony
The Esprit de Gascogne’s rental townhouse is a protected historical site, so the façade can’t be changed, but the interior is completely renovated and modern—renovations were still be finished when I visited

And, by all accounts, business is good in France—even in this secluded little corner.

Though I’m a Francophile—I choose to live in France because I love everything about it and its culture—I have to admit that it’s not historically been a business friendly destination.

Before Live And Invest Overseas was founded in 2008, founder Kathleen Peddicord had been living in France, but when she decided to start a business, she knew she’d have to up stakes. This was just no place to do business.

But that’s changing…

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Everyone I spoke with cited Macron’s business reforms as the reason. In 2019, our current president here in France launched several initiatives to encourage investment and employment through reduction in taxes, promoting professional mobility, supporting corporate growth and innovation, and overhauling administrative systems.

And it worked!

The system is so simple now, every business owner I spoke with on this trip said starting a business and working in France is a pleasure. The visa and work permit are easy to qualify for and acquire, the systems are all automated and taxes done entirely online, and there are even centers that help foreigners to navigate these waters.

Plus, in these small towns, it’s easy to make things happen with the powers that be. They’re just people you can have a conversation with—maybe even meet them at the café after business hours.

Most of the people I met on this Gascony tour personally knew the mayors of their nearest villages, and in some cases they had become great friends. When the expats laid out their plans, explaining how their business would benefit the community, the mayors are all too happy to help.

While Gascony is the epitome of “La France Pofonde,” deep France, there’s a vibrancy here that belies the tranquility…

People are bringing fresh ideas to these little villages, and everyone wants to bring in more visitors—locals and foreigners alike. Over the last few years, the place has been increasingly discovered by Brits and Northern Europeans who come here to get back to nature.

And thanks to France’s new business-friendly policies, people who came to visit are deciding to stay in ever-larger numbers, bringing their businesses or their ideas with them.

Bonne route,

Kat Kalashian signature

Kat Kalashian
Editor, In Focus: Europe

Tags: 'France'gasconylife in franceLife In Gasconylive in Franceretire to france
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Kat Kalashian

Kat Kalashian

Kat Kalashian has grown up around the world, living in the United States, Ireland, France, and Panama, and has traveled extensively in her few years. Growing up as a young expat she is familiar with the trials and tribulations of an overseas move and the adjustments that must be made in every new destination. After living in Panama for seven years, she and her husband relocated back to Paris, France, in 2018 where they now live full-time with their American-born cat, Panamanian-born dog, and two French-born daughters. She's now been living in Paris for over 10 cumulative years, and enjoys being able to explore France and the rest of Europe at every opportunity. As head of Live And Invest Overseas’ European Division, she is Editorial Director of Europe Uncovered, a monthly subscription service, MCs the Europe based Live And Invest Conferences, and scouts out new locations for coverage on the Continent.

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