After thirty years living in France I have decided to return to the UK.
My wife died eighteen months ago. I live in the PO. Almost literally at the end of the line. Whatever happens I will need to move home. The children are unanimous. Return to England. Come and live with us so we can help you. It makes a lot of sense.
As far as I am concerned life is like a series of doors. One door closes and another one opens.
I am here in the UK for the moment. Yesterday I opened an account with a UK bank. When I return I will concentrate on getting the house ready for sale. I have already sold my residence secondaire and caravan.
Good luck. I did the opposite and moved from far west of Bretagne after 30years there down to the PO. The only regret I have is that I miss my breton friends and neighbours more than I thought I ever would, folks here are not so friendly but family are here so that helps. Hope your move goes smoothly and you transition into the UK way of life easily.
Your experience almost mirrors mine Gus, except that my children are scattered and the only invitation I have had to move is from my son who is in Thailand. Not for me, I love it here though, despite a few good English friends, many of my friends are French and I am experiencing failing linguistic skills which as well as being irritating also contributes to a feeling of loneliness sometimes. Keeping up with conversations is difficult and draining.
But I could not see myself moving back to England as am of the opinion that the life I knew there is no longer the one that appears to exist now.
But fair play to you and I really hope you do not need a âbon courageâ from me, but I give it anyway.
Edit: I forgot to ask if you had any difficulty opening a new bank account there, have you already adopted a residential address in order to do so?
Big decision, so good luck to you. And most of the time any decision is better than no decision.
We too are moving, but just to somewhere more sensible in France which will hopefully remain suitable when 1 of us finds themselves alone.
Having started the process my advice is to think hard about what you want to keep. Younger family members have been over a couple of times to help declutter. And they are ruthless! âYes, I do want to keep that chipped mug, it means a lot to meâ. And conversely âNo, that bowl Aunt Betty gave us stays in the box for recycling - iâ ve hated it for 20 years and aunt Betty is dead so she wonât know. â
All the very best Gus. Good luck with selling and the move. Itâs something we are considering for whichever one is left, not least because we do not want to burden our inheritors (not family) with dealing with the French system.
I suspect it will feel like a move to a new country after thirty years here. Friends who have gone back have thrown themselves into activities that are helping them make new friends - U3A, French conversation, arts and crafts, (for him) golf, and so on and they are loving taking a greater part in the lives of their family.
I too have a widely dispersed family. Two of my sons live in North America. One in the US and the other in Canada. A son and daughter in the UK. I acquired a sim card and a used phone to give me a UK number. Then applied on line quoting a valid UK address. The count will only become active when the documentation arrives by post.
I hope all goes well for you Gus. It is a big step to take but it sounds as if your family are all behind you. It is probably not a good time to make that move, but donât leave it too late. We are in much the same position but trying to sell the house is proving very difficult. Family are all for us coming back and I know we will be supported emotionally if not financially but that is fine. A few health scares and it becomes rather frightening, even more so than the UK in total disaray as it is at the moment.
