Hi Martin
Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I no longer speak German. Apparently I was bilingual until four years old but we returned to the UK then and over the following years I forgot it all. I can count to ten and have a few phrases but thats it.
Right now we are having yet another day of grey skies and rain and I have picked over fifty slugs and snails from the potted plants in my courtyard. I can’t wait to get to drier sunnier climes!
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Sorry had not logged in for ages. My names there now. 
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Having seen a post from a new member introducing themselves (hello @rock !), I thought it might be time to revive this VERY old thread!
I can’t believe I posted it nearly 12 years ago. And yes, the house is still not quite finished…
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Ours neither.
How time flies! I see your 2010 post is dated January. I checked when I became an SF’er which was January 3rd 2010, what was the membership back then?
I remember contacting you in 2009 although I dont remember how I found you but it was to find someone to assist in publishing.
We had a holiday home come gite in Normandy from 1992 to 2005.
we bought again in 2002 in the south west and it was that house we first moved to in 2008.
Running both Normandy and South west for 3 years was hard work as we couldnt be in 2 places at once so we sold Normandy and bought a nice riverside gite/renter closer too.
Having spent 2 years in our holiday home come permanent home we realised that the house didnt suit our lifestyle so in 2010 we bought a renovation project. I am a professional builder so par for the course.
Took a year out to complete the renovation down to the last detail and it has been and continues to be our perfect home.
The house came with 1 hectare of land with nothing other than 6 walnut trees.
It is now a fully landscaped and mature garden which we love.
Time has gone by so quickly and now in retirement we wonder where it has all gone but it has been a fantastic journey and far from over (hopefully).
From this old member to all new members, WELCOME!
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We finished our last house the day before we handed over the keys to new owners. It looked lovely, and we swore that we would learn the lesson for next house and finish it more promptly so we could enjoy living in it. 12 years later we are maybe halfway there…
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I see I joined in January 2012 but AFAICS I didn’t introduce myself in this thread. Looking back on some of my early posts though, I think to myself “did I actually write that then!” 
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Happy new year to everyone.Before I very briefly introduce myself, can I start by thanking SF members for the accumulated wealth of helpful guidance, wisdom and constructive experience available on this forum. My wife (an EU citizen), our dogs and I (a Brit) moved to Seine Maritime from the UK this summer. Despite simultaneously retiring, selling up, relocating and downsizing, all during COVID and post Brexit, we have - so far (!) - navigated past the many potential pitfalls helpfully identified by SF members in numerous posts online. I’m very struck by the generosity of members in sharing experiences.
I’m delighted to be back in France. I last lived and worked here 25 years ago, and we’ve had a holiday home, now our real home here, near Dieppe for some years. I’ve always thought that the French countryside is as close to heaven as it’s possible to be, and to now be fortunate enough to live in a small piece of that heaven, adjacent to 7000 hectares of forest, is wonderful. I look forward to continuing to learn from your collective experiences, and hopefully contributing in a small way to this wonderful forum that I have been closely following for a long time.
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Good to have people with experience of moving here post Brexit, a completely different ball-game I think!
Where are you? I’m in Clavados/Normandy. I’ve assembled many flat pack kitchens and other furniture, IKEA and otherwise. Happy to help if you are local-ish. I have to do it all again for myself in the coming weeks, in my new home in Vire.
Hello George 1…I have happy memories of the Dieppe area having bought my first house in France in Arques La Bataille way back in 1990.