Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Ep 39 -"But You Are In France Madame!" - a podcast by Lou

www.loulabellesfrancofiles.com

Author Catherine Berry fascinated me with her story of her journey to live a French life with her family.

Catherine made the decision to only speak French to her infant son which prompted her and  her husband to pull up stumps and head to France to live. 

When her children were aged 6, 9 and 12 they moved to France with no work planned and no support network. They had a house arranged and found a l'école for les enfants but the rest was a fabulous adventure! They chose to live in or around Annecy near the Swiss border, rather than Paris or a main city. They wanted to feel a part of a community and immerse themselves in a town not too big, but not too small.

I loved hearing the story of how the children settled into school, how they found houses to rent and the challenges of buying property. Catherine's tips for making such a purchase will prove invaluable to FrancoFilers who are planning to make that leap at some stage! There were some difficulties such as finding accommodation, buying a car, understanding the school stationery list, driving on the right side of the road (but the wrong for us Australians) and even doing research without an Internet connection. But then that was followed up with delightful highlights: being surrounded by mountains, in the middle of which was a lake and a town with canals, old stones, disorder, colourful markets, strange opening hours and different light and smells. 

Listen to the wonderfully engaging chat with Catherine and Loulabelle!

Further episodes of Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles

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