For Paul Lewis who has written in this thread. If you choose to move to
âAuvergneâ for example, are you sure you are not going to end up in the
âAuvergneâ equilvalent of Charante but with less hot weather but
probably the same drivers ?
As someone who has lived and worked over the years (18 years since I first came to the Auvergne from the Lyon suburbs) as an employee, employer and now as an independent worker running my own business in the Auvergne, I can honestly say that I have no regrets - it really is a matter of personal choice, and âhorses for coursesâ, as they say. For someone like Paul, the Auvergne is one of several regions in France where you can choose to be a hermit, live and work in a medium sized city or nearby suburbia, or even somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. It is by no means the only one, one could look at the area around Millau in the Aveyron for example, or the Lozere, all beautiful in their own way, or the Aubrac, and all with enough remoteness to satisfy even the most hermit-like of fellows.
I am not your âclassical TV-expatâ in the sense that I left the UK more than 25 years ago to work and enjoy getting to know other cultures, a move I have never regretted - one that has become more poignant with the Brexit vote as my main reason for leaving in 1989 was my perception of the UK as a rather narrow-minded, and slightly bigoted tiny island. It seems that that perception was a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts !
Personal circumstances brought me to France, and whilst I could have since moved away, I decided I liked it too much here in the Auvergne ! Does that mean Iâll stay here for ever ? Who knows ? Life is sometimes full of surprises. I like to keep an open mind about it, but Iâm definitely not a âtownyâ.
As to the Auvergne being like the Charente, I would beg to differ, different topology, different geography, different people, and far fewer Brits and tourists in general - one of the main reasons no doubt being that any half-decent airport with affordable travel options is at least 2 and a half hours drive away, the other being the climate which even for locals is considered to involve a long winter period (if their moaning is anything to go by). My wife is from the Central Belt in Scotland - it doesnât rain here in comparison ! Having lived in a South Wales valley for several years, I can also attest to that. I told her before she moved out here that winters could be harsh, well, that was true the first year, but since then they have been nothing but mild Summer this year was relatively dry, even though it wasnât particularly hot in comparison to other years - only yesterday did we see Ă locust in the garden that is only supposed to be endemic in the CĂ©vennes ! I have also seen bee-eaters and rollers, which was a first for me, as I had always believed them to be Mediterranean birds, although a little research showed that their presence was recorded in the region during the 18th century.
Having said that, it was 4°C this morning when I left for work ! Winter is coming, as the infamous quote goesâŠ