REAL LIFE


“I am pleased to say that our experience throughout has been fantastic and we feel a real sense of belonging”


men and had no wife we could put forward to appease the admin Gods! When the penny dropped, he tickled us no end with his response: “my apologies, nobody’s perfect, I’m French!”.


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inspiration from readers’ stories


frenchentree.com/ living-in-france


GET STUCK IN Think about the area as much as the property – attitudes in a town might diff er from a small hamlet. Find out all you can about the local community. During our search we met some lovely agents and equally lovely owners. Maybe it’s having a husband who is a property search agent that made it more fun! Our advice is throw yourself into it, put in the miles, have clear criteria, but be as open-minded about the property and area as you hope the people you meet will be. When you do fi nd your


Gary and Ed’s little piece of heaven in the Dordogne


Napoleon (his exploits created a fair bit of admin) – they like it, they enjoy it and most of the people we know fi nd a dark humour in working through it. Be prepared for the


amount of admin – and don’t take anything personally. Being told at the delightful visa application centre in Wandsworth, London, that we had to submit separate applications (despite nothing online pointing to this) immediately made us think it was a ‘gay thing’. But in reality the person we dealt with made it clear it was the same for everyone and it was the bane of their life having to explain it to people on a daily basis. When it came to sorting out


our car insurance, Eric the broker repeatedly asked my husband for his wife’s name and a copy of her driving license. Ed had to point out twice that we were married


A view of the couple's garden, gîte and pergola – perfect for outdoor living in the summer


FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: May/June 202457


dream home – and it comes time to complete the purchase – get ready for the admin again. We were lucky, we had great sellers and a wonderful estate agent and notaire. We all sat together to do the paperwork,


sharing the usual information but then we had to confi rm when and where we were married and show proof of our deed poll name change. All quite personal information – but the process is the same for everyone – and it drove a kind of openness that I’d never experienced when purchasing a property in the UK. We knew we’d found our


dream home as soon as we stepped inside. We fell in love with it and had to work hard to reapply our search criteria


– but we did and it ticked all the boxes. Most notably, with holiday accommodation to let, we were moving into a tourist hotspot. We live in what’s called the valley of the fi ve châteaux in the Dordogne. We felt this would mean the locals were familiar with and welcoming of outsiders – and we were right. Get to know the neighbours.


Be open and upfront, be welcoming and hospitable and don’t, whatever you do, let their fi rst impression be of a closed


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Nearby Sarlat, known for its foie gras and truffl es, is a great place to explore


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