The year 2024 is coming to an end any soon, just a couple of days. A time to slow down when winter is crawling in here. But also a time to reflect on a year gone by. A year that has changed a lot for us, a year to remember old and looking forward to new memories!

What a year! Living in France

It was 27th of december 2023 when we signed for the keys of our homestead here in the countryside of France. Arriving late at night in the dark finding the keyhole of the door. The house was empty, a big change since our first visit when all the belongings of the previous owner were still in here.

The new year in 2024 started of with living in France. We had so many plans and excited to do things in and around the house. As we now look back on this year we have achieved a lot. And sometimes wondering how we all managed. As you already know, some of those stories we film and post on Youtube.

Santa’s list?

Moving to a different country or region has a significant impact, not only on ourselves but also on the many things that need to be arranged. Our to-do list has become quite long, but we can also cross off many items. Some of these tasks are not directly related to living on our homestead, but still need to be done, and might not be immediately apparent.

Here’s a concise summary of our list in no particular order:

• • • Register with the local authorities
    • Arrange health insurance
    • Import our Dutch car
    • Start our own business in France and close our Dutch business
    • Our actual move in April 2024
    • Deregister in the Netherlands
    • Terminate our rental agreement in the Netherlands
    • Buying a lawn mower for our 4000m2 of land
    • Explore local shops and markets
    • Get to know our neighbourhood
    • Carry out small renovations, such as the kitchen and bathroom
    • Starting our vegetable garden
    • Become more self sufficient
    • Set up a water purification system for our well water
    • Install solar panels and create off-grid power outlets
    • Open French bank accounts
    • Purchase essential appliances, including a washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and even a new bed
    • Tackle the backlog of garden maintenance

As you can see, this is already a significant amount of work. It’s no wonder that the year has flown by. We’ve done some DIY projects, had visits from friends and family during the summer, and most of all enjoyed our first year in France.

Experiencing the four seasons here on the French countryside has made a great impression on us, and we’re looking forward to the start of spring in the new year. We’re already making plans for the upcoming year, including continue and expanding our vegetable garden, creating the chicken coop and workshop. We’re still unpacking and settling into our new home, but we enjoyed our first year of slow life in France!

Why did we emigrate to France?

We’re looking back on our first year of living in France. The past three years have been crucial in making decisions that led to our emigration. After 20 years of paying off our mortgage on our freestanding house in southern Netherlands, we realised we didn’t want to continue down this path.

We had a choice: pay off the remaining 10 years of our mortgage or sell our house and use the extra funds to buy a new, mortgage-free home. The choice of country was important. We considered many countries, including Spain, Portugal, France, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, and even Canada.

Our main reasons for choosing a country were the language, the ability to start our own business, and the distance from the Netherlands (which was initially a consideration for us, so we could easily travel back for work, friends, and music). Many countries were ruled out due to the language barrier, distance, or climate.

Location

When searching for houses, we focused on central and southern France. We had a list of requirements for our new home, prioritising the location over the house itself. While a house can be modified to suit our needs, the location cannot be changed.

We wanted to avoid areas near large lakes, the sea, or dams, as well as valleys. Our new home needed to be surrounded by nature, and having our own well or spring was a significant bonus.

After a year of searching online and using Google Maps to inspect the surroundings, we found a few houses to visit. Before finding our current home, we had seen other houses, even made an offer on one, but it never worked out.

Then, in the summer of 2023, we found this house. We had three houses to visit, and this was the second one. We fell in love with it immediately, and there was no need to see the third house. Sometimes you just know it’s right, and that’s what happened with this house. We had a second viewing a few weeks later to confirm, and the rest is history.

Plans for 2025

We have plenty of plans! First, we want to work on the chicken coop and shed. Becoming self-sufficient is an essential part of our life in rural France. We’ll also focus on our vegetable garden, which will get a good overhaul. This December is the perfect time to plan and prepare, such as inventorying our seeds and creating a monthly schedule.

We’ll also work on the chicken coop and aim to get chickens or chicks in the spring. There’s a live animal market nearby that sells chickens, chicks, and other poultry from early spring, so we’ll definitely visit that.

Another project will be to continue insulating our home. Now that we’ve lived here for a year, we know where the gaps are and where an extra layer of insulation can be added.

And, we’ll enjoy the new year, spending time outdoors in the spring and summer, and experiencing nature.

We want to wish you a blessing New Year and hope to see you again in 2025!

Love,
Kim and Angelo

Watch our Christmas video