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Mike’s parents for a while as they considered their next move. Mike got a job at a bank and started studying for his MBA at night, which he completed in June 1996. “We still wanted to get


back to France,” he says, “and a lot of companies in nearby Houston were French and lots of French nationals worked there, so I had a plan in mind to get a job with one of those and get relocated back to France. In the meantime though, I had my job at the bank and I joined French networks and social groups.” A local woman, Susan


The Manoir du Poul is a 17th-century manor house in Mellionnec, Côtes-d’Armor


Flippen, had an ongoing connection with a French teacher called Ghislaine and the two women organised annual exchanges with students from Alençon in Normandy. Mike and Valerie agreed to host some of the French students, and over the


years got to know Susan and her husband very well. In one of life’s curious turns,


the now-retired Ghislaine came to visit Susan in 2001 and explained how she was moving from Alençon to Mellionnec, as her son had recently become an organic farmer there.


DREAMS OF FRANCE Susan mentioned that she’d always longed to buy a property in France, although she had visualised Paris or Provence rather than rural Normandy. However, her interest was piqued when she heard that Manoir du Poul had just come onto the market: a 17th-century manor house that was set in 37 acres of woodland. Once again, the church was


the setting for a signifi cant conversation. After a service one day, Mike was chatting with Susan about his dreams of returning to France; he had


“It was so cool being in Europe, and we just knew that France was where we wanted to be”


4


Texan-born Valerie and Mike had been missionaries before France called


Above and top: The manoir sits in 37 acres of land, which makes an ideal retreat FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 202459


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