Changing lives

We're in the process of moving out of Noisy le grand a Parisian suburd situated on the east side of Paris where we've lived for 30 years ,to a hamlet of about ten houses situated in the south of the Charente Maritime. Noisy le grand has changed a lot in 30 years lots of concrete buildings everywhere, our neighbourhood is still quiet but there are more and more people living on our street. Born and bred near Paris my husband and I wanted to change lives, escape the rat race, the stresses of the city for peace and especially slow down to village speed . We also have been suffering from the effects of air pollution for years and have become more sensitive to pollutants : irritation to the eyes, nose and throat. In 1999 we looked for a house or a farmhouse for sale in Brittany in order to restore it. Most Parisians look for a house to buy in Brittany because it's not far away from Paris! But after visiting expensive ruins we opted for a piece of building land and had the framework of our house built. We didn't want to ask our bank for a loan so we decided to complete the house ourselves : insulation, floors, partitions, electricity and plumbering. What an adventure for novices!

My husband bought a multitude of books about plumbering and building and collected a number of tips from various forums on the internet. Nine years later there's still some works to be done but they mainly consist in walls and ceilings decorations.For nine years we've been learning about living ( temporary) in the countryside, local habits and people. We were warmly welcome by the friendliness of some local people others were a bit suspicious and I must say that Parisians are not liked. They're being stereotyped as wearing wellies everywhere as soon as they leave the house and showing off driving expensive cars!The first year we didn't have a mower to cut the grass or I should say the weeds, a neighbour offered his help to cut the grass with his tractor, we paid Euros 135 instead of Euros 16. The following years we weren't ripped off !! Anyway it had to be done and we didn't know anyone at that time!In the summer we used to stay 3 weeks to build our house and to turn up to village functions as much as we could. You have to make the effort to involve yourself in local life. Personally I think that moving out to the countryside is similar to migrate to another country! What a change!

Living in the country means no pollution, noise, congestion and crime. Our breath is often taken away by a sunset or by stars at night. Some people say that the country is boring . There isn't as much entertainment as in a big city like Paris but entertainment also means "money" and living in a city is more costly. Yes there are better schools so bigger opportunities for young people in big cities. It is said that children are more skilled academically and more open-minded but on the other hand the kids in the country are closer to nature and more mature than the kids in the city.Our house is surrounded by vineyards so we can't complain about farmers'untimely activities. Some cut hay at midnight! and one of the best feature of the area is the proximity of the Atlantic ocean which offers a diversity of activities. Choosing a right place to live can be a tough choice. Some people are suited for village life others will never settle. While the city provides changes and enables people to keep up with breakthrough of technologies the countryside offers quiet life and now we enjoy having breakfast watching a hare running through our garden or some egrets having a rest. In France there are fewer and fewer places that are "out in the middle of nowhere" supermarkets or medical services can't be too far away. in addition the internet has also reached small villages in the countryside so we can take advantage of modern life living in the great outdoors It's great for relaxing one's soul. If you changed lives like my friend Brenda ( see her article about moving from Malborough to Brie sous Mortagne) and I , please don't hesitate to share your experience with us and write an article on epargnes@hotmail.fr I'll be happy to post it on to the blog. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Acknowledgements : Special thanks to Xavier and Marie France who lent us their van to move our furniture and for those who would like to get practical boat experience and eventually a boat licence , please feel free to contact Xavier on : 02 43 44 20 40

Photo of Noisy le grand provided by tempoworld under Creative Commons Licence via Flickr