Seeking a slower, more fulfilling life, my husband Dave and I left our separate Manchester homes behind and bought a centuries-old village in the French countryside.
Before the move, we both worked nine-to-five in copywriting and marketing, caught in a cycle of work, dinner, and sleep. When COVID hit, we were furloughed, which gave us time to reflect—and to realize just how much we were missing with our children, Charlotte (6) and Tom (9).
On a whim, in August 2020, we began browsing listings for gîtes—holiday rentals in France. Our dream was to find at least two guest properties, plus homes for ourselves and for my mother, Helen, and her husband, Terry. By September, we had shortlisted ten options. That month, travel restrictions eased, and we headed to France to view them.
From the moment we drove up to Lac de Maison, we knew it was the one. This three-acre homestead in Poitou-Charentes had an owner’s house, three operational gîtes, and several derelict outbuildings perfect for conversion. Chickens and goats roamed the gardens, adding to the charm.
We cancelled the rest of our viewings and made an offer the same day. The total price was €430,000, which we split with my mum and Terry. Our share—€215,000—came from selling our house in England, with the surplus earmarked for renovations.
We closed in December 2020, but didn’t make the full move until January 2021. Brexit had just come into effect, turning our relocation into a paperwork marathon. The move cost around €6,000, and by early 2021, all six of us were in France.
While running the business, we tackled major renovations. Our family moved into the largest gîte, while Mum and Terry took the owner’s house—though they quickly realized it needed a complete overhaul. What began as a simple bathroom upgrade became a full-scale restoration, right down to the brickwork. They returned to the UK for eight months while we worked, doing as much ourselves as possible to save money.
We inherited a handful of existing bookings, which kept us going as we learned the ropes of hospitality. At one point, when renovations forced us out of the main house, we lived in a camper on-site. We advertised heavily in French holiday listings and decided to stay open year-round instead of closing for winter.
In 2022, we began transforming a long-abandoned barn—empty for nearly a century—into a four-bedroom gîte. With no water, power, or interior walls, it was our most ambitious project yet. Ten months and an over-budget €80,000 later, it was ready.
Now, from May through early September, all three gîtes are fully booked every week, with steady weekend bookings the rest of the year. We’ve paused major renovations for now, focusing on small improvements to turn our space from a rental into a true family home.
Life here is worlds apart from our old neighborhood in the UK. The nearest neighbors are a quarter-mile away, and the closest village—with its school, cinema, library, and café—is just down the road. The kids struggled at first with French school, but two and a half years on, they’re thriving and fluent.
Adjusting to French bureaucracy was the hardest part. Even re-enrolling a child in the same school with the same teacher requires a full set of forms every year. Luckily, a bilingual friend helped us navigate the maze of paperwork.
With no further construction planned, we expect the business to start paying off next year. It hasn’t been without challenges, but moving to France was the best decision we’ve ever made.