Tag: moving to france

Our Renovation Life

The Roof Comes Off

ournormandylife

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Having done a two week stint in 2014, Mr Normandy headed back out in 2015 to crack on with the works. This time to take off the roof. Initially we had plans for dorma windows but subsquently decided against it due to time constraints and various problems with rentals etc. By the way, the plaques on the building were made by Mr Normandy – we had a whole range of them which we used to sell and some pet RIP headstones. Another blog post for another time!

This time the weather wasn’t so kind and whilst he is an astonishingly fast worker, even he ran out of time. He had to leave the roof and cover it with tarpaulin. This wasn’t ideal at all and, after a fierce storm, we received an email from our neighbour to say this was hanging off together with the baton in April 2015. Continue reading “The Roof Comes Off” →

Our French Life, our relocation life

The Trouble With France Forums

ournormandylife

facebook forum

Okay so gone are the days when you simple log onto Anglo Info and chose your particular region in France for research purposes. Sorry Anglo franchises the world over but it’s true. Yes, they are still a relative good source of information but nowhere near as good as the hundreds of facebook groups out there for living in France. Or any country for that matter. Continue reading “The Trouble With France Forums” →

Our French Life

Carry On Doctor

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kenneth williams

Now, at some stage in your new life in France you will need to pay the doctors a visit. Unless, of course, you’re a bloke as they tend to only visit when they’re actually dying or have been dragged there. The rest of us tend to go willingly and with kids in tow. Continue reading “Carry On Doctor” →

Our French Life, Our Renovation Life

The Magic Roundabout

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The enigma that is Enedis

That would be getting yourself some electricity here in France. Now, our house did not have any water, electric, mains drainage or a telephone line. Am I selling you the dream yet? We don’t live off the beaten track or a few roads off the main track. We live on the track.  We are the last house in a village of over 500 residents and it’s on a main D road.  Positively urban in Normandy terms. Continue reading “The Magic Roundabout” →

Our French Life

Repas

ournormandylife

Literally translated this means ‘meal’ and is a social event in your commune/village. During the summer months, you will see many a sign for Repas, practically in every village you drive through.  They’ll have bunting out, a big banner telling you the date it’s on and what they will be dishing up. Maybe moules and frites, jambon and frites, porc and frites (seeing a theme here) and so on.

Now, I didn’t know what to expect at a Repas, if truth be told turning up for one can be a little daunting for a newcomer and one that doesn’t speak much French at that. But I would recommend it to anyone looking to settle and integrate into the community. Continue reading “Repas” →

Our French Life

Mobile Woes

ournormandylife

Now most people’s mobile phones are surgically attached to their hands.  You don’t leave home without it.  It’s your little computer, social contact, entertainment centre and if all else fails it can make phone calls. When moving to France, I did not consider for one moment, that obtaining a mobile reception would be a problem. In my ‘moving to France’ to do list, this did not even feature.  Continue reading “Mobile Woes” →

Our Renovation Life

You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me!

ournormandylife

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That’s me that is.  That 30-year-old woman has just purchased a house in Normandy, France and doesn’t she look thrilled about it #not.  Is it a house? Or is it a box with a ‘lean to’ attached to it?  You decide. I decided it was a shit heap and I much preferred the barn that we would convert, in a hamlet, that we had seen an hour earlier.  Continue reading “You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me!” →

our relocation life

So What Are You Going To Do?

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newhaven

If I had a euro every time someone asked me that question when we first arrived – well, well, well I’d be a very rich woman. More of that later, but I wanted to kick-start my very first blog post. I’m very excited that 1) I’m writing again and 2) I have frigging wifi.  Now, I have lots to sort out – blog layout, banner, font etc but that will come in good time – I have been itching to write since we arrived in France on May 9th 2017 – nearly 5 months ago. Continue reading “So What Are You Going To Do?” →