If you read my post Life and Sequel you’ll know I’m ready to up sticks, leave France and head back to England. There are many reasons; I miss my children, my grandson, my friends, my language, my culture, my country but there’s an overarching reason - my age.
I don’t mean to be morbid, just realistic. I’m nearly 72, not that old but old enough to ask myself how many more years do I have? Let’s say I live to be eighty-eight, that’s just sixteen years and that’s the same amount of time I’ve lived in France. And if I have those sixteen years, where do I want to spend them? The answer; dear old Blighty with my nearest and dearest, speaking my own language..!
The decision was a while coming but once it was made we got on with things and a couple of months ago put our house on the market. We expected it to take years (it really can take that long in Languedoc) but surprise surprise! We found a buyer very quickly and head back to Angleterre mid-January.
To begin with I was dancing on air but then it hit me. Could I really leave France? Very quickly I realised I couldn’t go completely. This country, especially this area, means too much to me. I feel a deep bond with the land and its people, plus its where my novels are set (only one so far, the other’s a WIP). So, after much thought and discussion we have secured a little pied-à-terre to return to as often as we can.
In my other Substack, The Franco Files, I am currently serialising my memoir of life in France and how I left England to follow my dream of starting a vineyard tour business. People seeking a new life abroad is quite a common theme and I’ve often enjoyed reading how folk have tackled language learning, dealt with the culture shock and the dreaded bureaucracy.
However, there are fewer stories of people returning after a long stretch abroad and that’s given me the idea to serialise the adventure of stepping back into English life. How changed will we find our country and how changed are we? What will we find hard and what will we rejoice in – I’m guessing long conversations without stumbling over the words and the theatre, oh how I’ve missed it. I’m going to record it all, including the search for a new home. We hail originally from Warwickshire, but being adventurous types, we fancy somewhere completely new and of course I’ve drawn up a list of essentials:
A largish village or small town with a friendly community
Farmers market
Good pub – we’ve really missed that side of British life
Close to countryside walks
Good rail network
Preferably an arty community
Within a few hours of family
To start with we’re going to give The Cotswolds a go but I’d love to hear your thoughts, where in England would you choose to live?
I would love you to ❤️ this post, it will help other writers and readers find me.
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