Anyone for tennis?

The French Open (or Roland Garros as it is known in France) is over and Wimbledon is about to start which seems the perfect time to take a look at the differences between the game of tennis in both countries. And now that I am the chauffeur of a budding tennis champion here in France, I am beginning to understand why tennis is such a popular and thriving activity in this part of the world, far more so than I remember it being in the UK where it only seems to capture the collective imagination for those two famous weeks in June.

Tennis seems to be a completely different sport here in France than it is in England. Well obviously the hitting the ball back and forth over a net is the same but that’s pretty much it, in terms of similarities. In the UK I would suggest that tennis is an elite sport whereas in France it is an activity open to anyone and everyone. Even the smallest village seems to have at least one tennis court and the bigger towns often have a selection of clay and hard courts as well as one or two covered courts.

Membership of a tennis club here costs practically nothing and the price of lessons (for children at least) is also minimal. Tennis whites are rarely seen and the plumber and doctor play happily with or against the Notaire and postie. Class, status or occupation are completely irrelevant, the only thing that matters is technique and winning; make no mistake, the French are extremely competitive and play to win – another obvious difference to their English counterparts (I’m asking for trouble here I know!)

The advantage of all this for French tennis of course is that the talent net is spread wide and so every budding champion is spotted young and gets the chance to practice locally – after all, even the best players will get nowhere without the opportunity to practice...and practice.  And of course they need to play matches, compete, win and lose which is another great strength of the French system. Even the youngest players are ranked and this continues throughout their tennis career so everywhere they go, they can play against similar ranked players and they improve their rankings through competing and winning. Believe me, to a teenage boy, this competitive spirit is hugely important in motivating them to train and win and hugely satisfying that they have the chance to reach their potential.

For anyone moving to France or looking to spend time out here, tennis is also a fantastic way of integrating into the local community. Because every club is open to all, you simply need to go along, sign up and add your name to the ladder and you will soon get the opportunity to play. And if you start joining in competitions you will get your ranking which means that wherever you travel in France, you can turn up and offer to play someone of similar ranking (or lower obviously if you like to win!) In fact any type of sport is a very levelling and inclusive and certainly one of the easiest and best ways to become part of a community here.

Having said all that, my money isn’t on a French win at Wimbledon any more than it is on an English one but what is important, I think, is that at least everyone should have the chance to learn and play if they want to, wherever they are from and whoever they are.

The work/life balance in France

Much as I absolutely appreciate the luxury of modern technology which allows me to work in this beautiful and rural part of France and still be connected to the rest of the world, I do somehow still hanker after that simpler way of life which for many is only a distant memory but which, here in the foothills, is still very much in evidence - as you can see in this photo of my neighbours getting around as they always do; husband at the wheel, wife precariously balanced on the back. Such style!

Luxury is all relative - at least she doesn't have to walk up the hill anymore!

Perhaps it is the pace of modern life that is drawing more and more of us to France and the French lifestyle where the simpler things in life still matter. Hence everything still stops for lunch – at least in this part of France – and families still make time to eat a meal together around the table at least once a day and often more. The market is still the main source of everyday foodstuffs, fresh bread every day is vital (bakeries are the only places that open on Sunday and Bank Holiday mornings) and business is still best done face-to-face in your local town. Being in a rush here is almost an admission of failure and can be used as an insult if you were to suggest that someone is perhaps pushing in front of you in a queue because he is pressé.

I am by no means suggesting that everything in France is perfect; we all know that everywhere has its bad aspects as well as good. Nor am I suggesting that I really want to be transported around on the back of my husband’s tractor! I am certainly guilty of getting the balance wrong much of the time and working too many hours at the expense of leisure and family time and then beating myself up about it just like everyone else. However living here is a good antidote to this – I just have to drive up my hill and see my neighbours sitting on the bench putting the world to rights with all the time in the world and it puts me straight back on track as to what is really important in life.

If I lived in London I would be so carried away by the rush and stress that I know I would never take an afternoon off to walk in the mountains, plant my tomatoes, picnic by the river or go cycling with the children. I think it is living in France that has saved me and kept me sane and has taught me that there is lot to be said for the traditional way of life - despite how incongruous it might look in this very modern world. I certainly have never seen two more smiley and contented people than my neighbours pictured here so they are certainly doing something right!

Good question...

This is an article recently published in the Telegraph which attempts to answer something I am asked very frequently:

The first question we are often asked when people discover we live in France is why did we move, lock stock and barrel with three young children to a place practically nobody has heard of? It is an obvious question and most people are probably expecting an interesting answer, but usually the best we can come up with is: "Too much red wine one Saturday evening."

Perhaps that's a bit trite but our move here certainly wasn't particularly well considered or well researched. It was really just one of those ideas that we had vaguely discussed for many years.

It wasn't that we weren't quite happy where we were in Dorset; in fact, we were incredibly content but we just felt that we were perhaps slipping too easily into a comfort zone from which we would never dare move. We had a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle, good friends and beautiful rolling countryside all around us.

Our neighbour was Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who had just installed himself in River Cottage and was about to launch his television career on the back of living the good life, the life we were already living. So what possessed us to give it all up?

Maybe we just felt that it was all too narrow, all too predictable. Suddenly we could see the next 20 years mapped ahead of us. Discussion about "which school" had been going on at dinner parties since the children had been in nappies and the house-price discussion was part of every conversation. It wasn't that we wanted to escape, nor that we wanted something more, rather that we wanted to challenge ourselves, get out of that comfort zone and feel alive again.

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We were lucky: our children were still young enough to adapt to pretty much anything we could throw at them and we both had jobs that we could continue from anywhere in Europe.

I would like to say that we then did copious research before we decided where in France to stick our pin – but I would be lying. We actually put our house on the market, accepted an offer, put most of our belongings in storage, packed two cars with our suitcases, the children and our long-suffering black Labrador and headed off in convoy to the ferry for a new life in France.

That was nine years ago and we are still here in our beautiful, hidden corner of South West France, the Ariège, where only the most intrepid fellow Brits dare tread. Well, I might be exaggerating somewhat, but it certainly feels like La France profonde here, tucked away, hidden and unspoilt, with open mountain valleys, rivers and soaring mountain peaks as our daily backdrop and not too many Brits taking The Telegraph with their morning crème.

In the respect that we are living a country lifestyle, our life here is not that different from Dorset but the fact that we are doing it all in another language and culture makes every day an interesting challenge that makes us feel alive again. There are no discussions about house prices and school fees here; it is rare for anyone to even ask us about work. The stereotype of good living and emphasis on food is right – people here are more interested in how you are going to cook your mushrooms for your supper and what wine you will choose to go with them.

But the French also love debate. Discussions about the important issues of the day and on all levels of politics are the norm – everyone has an opinion and there is definitely a feeling that people want and expect to be involved in the running of their community and country.

And that for us is one of the many reasons we love living here. Our French friends and neighbours have different backgrounds and different ideas but what is also very evident to us is that people here have their priorities right. I believe the quality of life here is better in general than in the UK; the schools, the health care, the food and wine and the community spirit are all fantastic. There is practically no crime (except terrible driving); our children are bilingual; and then there's the climate. We spend most of our time outdoors, we cycle along the valleys, swim in the clear rivers and have easy access to the mountains for walking and skiing. We shop for fantastic fresh produce in markets, eat outside half the year, and we are surrounded by fabulous views.

Of course not everyone can just up sticks and move to France; we know that we are lucky. My husband is a pilot and commutes to Heathrow and I have for many years worked freelance in marketing and PR and as a copywriter.

Three years ago I set up my own fully registered property-finding company here in France so that I can combine my professional skills with my personal experience of finding and renovating old properties and living and working abroad to help others make the move. I work for private clients, with the aim of finding them their dream home but, unlike many similar property search agents in the UK, I work with all budgets from €30,000 upwards.

Agents here are really behind the times; many don't have websites and those who do rarely update them. French estate agents also work differently from English estate agents and are not interested in taking your details to tell you of suitable properties as they come on the market.

They expect you to visit them and then will show you what they have available on their books at that time: a very frustrating and time-consuming business. Here the agent's details contain only the most basic facts, so it is impossible to tell what a house is really like – let alone whether it's near a noisy road, dog kennels or rubbish dump.

So I do all the time-consuming initial trawling thorough property details, then visit all possibilities before drawing up a short list of houses that meet my clients' needs exactly, complete with photographs and in-depth description so that they do not waste time and money viewing unsuitable properties.

Of course there are things that I miss about living in England and there are aspects of living in France that drive me mad (yes, the paperwork thing is true) but it has been a fantastic experience and I would encourage anyone to try living in another country and culture if just for a short time.

If there is one thing we have given to our children (now numbering four!) by bringing them out here, it is freedom and space to be who they want to be as well as tolerance, self-confidence and adaptability to take whatever life throws at them and do something with it.

Nadia's company is at foothillsoffrance.com.

This article was originally published in the Telegraph Weekly World Edition.

La Vie du Château

La Vie du Château is a dream that many people still have when they start the house hunting process in France and ‘how much for a Château’ is a question I am often asked. There is definitely still a perception that it is possible to buy a French Château for next to nothing so I often have to disappoint people by telling them that, in this region at least, a decent small Château starts from around 800,000 Euros.

That is not to say that I can’t find you one for less; in fact I have recently viewed a pretty Château for a client, on the market for just over 600,000 Euros and another of even more ancient origins (Knights Templar allegedly) at around the same price. I think I could probably secure either for not much over the 500,000 Euros mark. But – and there is always a ‘but’ – both need money spending on them. The former is structurally in very good condition with a new roof, windows and state of the art wood-fired central heating system and has already had a few hundred thousand spent on it. Inside however, it is a different story with a fair bit more investment needed to restructure and re-fit it to make it comfortable and more appropriate for modern day life. The second is structurally sound but also need re-organization of the interior plus has very little land – the majority having already been sold off to pay for its upkeep which is another familiar story.

The advantage of both of these Châteaux however is that neither are money-pits as is the case with so many of these historic properties and I do try to steer my clients away from any property that is going to need continual, on-going substantial investment; unless they have the same to spend on the property as they have to buy it and a very good, long-term source of funding. The last thing I want is for my clients to buy their very own albatross when there are so many lovely, character French houses available which will be a good investment and a pleasure to own rather than a drain on finances and energy. The properties which work best for modern-day living are the Châteaux and manor houses which are small enough to feel like comfortable homes but large enough to have the high-ceilings and feeling of historic grandeur.

We are lucky in this area; there are some very beautiful Châteaux and manor houses here (of a much more manageable size than, for example, the grand Châteaux of the Loire) which can make excellent homes. The Gers region has apparently the highest concentration of Châteaux in France, the majority of which are tucked away out of sight and many of which, when for sale, never reach the open market so finding them is far from easy. But that is of course where I come in...

Let them vote – the race to the Palace

The Foothills of the Pyrenees this week in the Spring sunshine

The French do not believe in simplifying anything more than necessary, particularly when it comes to any official process; bureaucracy – and one’s ability to deal with it – being the basis of the French class system (not that the French like to admit to a class system.) 

Hence, the French presidential election process is complex and full of rules and regulations; even to get on the ballot, candidates need signatures of 500 elected officials. Once this has been achieved, there is not just one round of voting but two. For 2012 the official candidates are Eva Joly, Marine Le Pen, Nicolas Sarkozy, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Philippe Poutou, Nathalie Arthaud, Jacques Cheminade, François Bayrou, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan and François Hollande. The most notable name missing is Dominique de Villepin, who didn’t achieve the necessary 500 signatures. The first round of the election is April 22nd, with the second on May 6th. At the moment, Hollande is leading the race with Sarkozy a close second.

During the first part of the official campaign period - March 20th to April 9th - candidates have to be given the same amount of coverage on television and radio. This sounds fair but in reality what actually happens is that for some of the lesser known candidates, media channels run repeats of interviews or rallies late at night or early in the morning to ensure that the rules are met. However, from April 9th to 20th all candidates also have to be given the same type of air time; in other words if one candidate is interviewed on the evening news, then all the other candidates have to be interviewed for the same duration and at the same time.

The recovery of the French economy seems to be the main concern of this 2012 campaign although security and immigration are also a big focus. The property market in general remains an important topic mainly focusing on public housing and low energy-consumption buildings, whose number should be – according to all candidates – dramatically increased.

Although the loss of France’s triple A rating in January didn’t seem to have an effect at all on the property market, usually a forthcoming presidential causes a slight decrease in property sales and in the number of new properties coming onto the market. So far this time however, the market seems to have generally ignored the elections and property sales are strong, perhaps because France seems to be a much safer bet than most of its neighbours during the current economic crisis. Plus of course the interest rates here have remained low and stable and no candidate has proposed any drastic change in estate laws.

Whatever the outcome of the election– which I certainly would not dare to predict – it seems safe to say that French property remains as good an investment as ever and the country still offers the best available mortgage rates in Europe. Most importantly, here in this lovely part of South West France, much as everyone loves discussing politics, what really matters is family, friends, good food and good wine and enjoying life each day as it comes. Whoever wins the election and even if Europe goes into complete financial meltdown, I don’t really think much will change here.

It's all in the detail

This is a bit of a méli-mélo or hotchpotch of a blog today because I have one snippet of information that is fascinating but useless and another which is boring but highly useful! So with which to start?

Let’s get changes to french inheritance law out of the way first which will have an important affect on Britons and non-French EU nationals. Previously (and thanks to Napoleon), everyone owning property in France was subject to France’s inheritance laws which meant that, on the death of one spouse, their half of the property was automatically passed to their children rather than to the surviving spouse. This rule was introduced to prevent children being disinherited by their parents and although the surviving spouse was allowed to continue to live in the property, he or she did not fully own it and could not sell it without agreement of the children and giving them half of the proceeds.

While this is still the case for French citizens, the European parliament has now passed a regulation which allows expats in France to dictate in a will that they want the law of the state of their nationality to apply to their estate and not French inheritance law. This, in effect, means Britons in particular can leave their estate to whoever they wish and not be bound by France’s strict inheritance rules as at present, which is great news for my clients as it takes away one of the last complications of buying property in France.

So onto something far less useful but a little more interesting: Did you know that Beethoven used to keep 60 coffee beans on his desk. Why 60? Well apparently 60 is the magical number of beans that it takes to make 7 grams of coffee - which in turn will give you the perfect shot of coffee. Of course the exact formula of coffee beans make the difference, the degree of roasting and no doubt the side of the bush that they were picked from. I have never had much time for bean counters but a cup of coffee is far more important than the bottom line (I hope my accountant isn’t reading this) and this is one theory I am certainly looking forward to trying out.

Give me my daily café and croissant

The smiliest bakers in the Midi-Pyrenees in Salies du Salat

If I had a Euro for every time someone has explained to me that what they would really like is a house on the edge of a village or small town, within walking distance of a boulangerie and café, I would be able to retire. I keep thinking that I should be setting up a chain of boulangeries with attached cafés all over South West France, as there is clearly a huge demand.

This is part of the dream of living in France for many of us; the morning stroll for coffee and croissants in the sunshine. France, like everywhere, has lost many small, family run businesses that did indeed used to provide exactly this service in practically every village in the country; all down to changing lifestyles, more families where both partners work away from where they live and lack of customers thanks to the ease of just popping into a supermarket on the way home from work to stock up on just about everything.

Luckily, however, in this part of France at least, it is still possible to find small towns and villages that do still have some kind of amenities - so here you can live that dream. And things have also adapted; the local boulangeries have realized that, if their clients don’t have time to come to them, they must go to their clients. So there is now, just about everywhere, a boulangerie on wheels; a van that drives around to even the remotest hamlets delivering bread at a set time most days of the week. This is why, when you are passing through villages here, you will often seen a bag or basket hanging on a gatepost or left on a front step – this means that the owner is out at work and requires the daily bread delivery. It is a very similar system to the milkman in the UK but, in France, bread is king and the French cannot survive without a fresh baguette (or two) every day.

Hence, on my searches, uppermost in my mind is always how far my clients are going to have to travel for their daily bread, croissants and local café (they say once you have found your café, you have found your home) and the closer the better. There is a lot to be said for living in a village community where you get to meet your neighbours everyday in the bakery and also a huge advantage in being able to walk to get basic supplies. This is why places such as Aurignac, Castelnau Magnoac, St Lizier, Salies du Salat, Bagnères de Luchon, Aspet, Arbas, Castillon, Cassagnabere, Betchat, Monleon Magnoac and many others, nearly always make it to the short-list for my clients; location really is vital. And I am very pleased to say that one of my favourite villages has just announced the opening of a new village bakery/shop. This makes me think that perhaps, with the ever-increasing cost of driving and the rising number of people working from home, perhaps the tide is turning and that we are about to see the rise and rise of the village bakery, store and, of course café. I really hope that is the case.

In the meantime, I will continue to ensure that my clients are as close as possible to a place where they can enjoy a coffee, croissant and chat; spending time in the local café and boulangerie is, after all, the first and probably most important step to integrating into the local community here in the Midi-Pyrenees.