Retire , move to france

We have made a peach liqueur and compote de peche de vignes which we have frozen in small bags.
Wonderful on top of home made ice cream with crushed amaretti biscuits.
We have pumpkins in the garden and butternut squash.

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Sounds great. One can get carried away. I made walnut wine five years ago and forgot about it it’s still sitting in its cask. My Belgian neighbour makes eau de vie from wild plums. Gave me a bottle and I had my first hangover for years, not because it wasn’t good, but rather… it was too good. On a more practical level, it’s still not too late to make jars of pure tomato sauce while tomatoes cost next to nothing. Great for a winter spaghetti! I do this stuff because I remember my granny doing it when I was a kid in Sussex.

My mum used to bottle tomatoes and pears in kilner jars.
We used to preserve eggs in isinglass as well.
Eau de vie can be deadly.
I well remember the morning after the first time I was i troduced to it at our quartier picnic.
I have a friend who makes a beautiful verveine eau de vie.

Yup, bottle everything! Better than buying rotten fruit in plastic trays. We should learn survival skills!

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Phew- thank you Helen. We have done something similar except swap the dog for aged cats​:rofl:. I was getting really anxious until I read your post. My husband is 12.5 years younger than me. I’m retired and one of the ‘50’s women who won’t get their state pension until they’re 66. So another 3.5 yrs & even then I won’t get the full SBP as I was contracted out. Long story short we rented our house in the U.K. & all my Pension went on rent & bills. We lived on my husband’s earnings & he’d been doing all the hours under the sun. His philosophy on life is very much along the lines of “something will come up” & not to worry about the unknown in life . So . I inherited some money from my parents last year. Not enough to buy a house in the uk but enough to buy a small village house with views I will never get tired of waking up to. The village has a bakers who stocks the basics,a butcher/charcutier calls once a week , a post office , Mairie and a bar that opens when the owner feels like it. Several ex pats live either part or full year in or near the village and have made us very welcome. The few locals we’ve met have also been friendly and a young couple I met while they were walking past with their baby have told us to knock when we’re settled! We too must live on a similar income to you until my State Pension kicks in & a year later hopefully my husband can draw some of his occupational pension. We have a small pot of savings but as that can’t be replenished (we couldn’t manage to do so in the uk either) we need to be careful what we spend it on . Like you there are things we could spend money on. The kitchen looks like messieurs Bodge & Leggit had a hand in building the cupboards & tiling ??? the worktops (who puts wall tiles on a worktop???). It will have to do for now though unless it really becomes unusable . The electrics we HAVE had to get sorted - courtesy of a very down to earth (pardon pun) English Electrician who has also given sage advice along with his not inconsiderable although very good vfm bill. We negotiated a further reduction on the price which helped towards the cost as it came up as a “must do” during the diagnostiques . The rest of the house is somewhat quirky - but then so are we :rofl: but all the locals & several of the expats have all looked around it or knew the previous owner and have declared it a “bonne maison”. It has double glazing & a reversable heating/aircon system that looks fairly new & the plumbing seems ok. We saw it in wintertime and it was bright and airy. No lights on all day like others we saw . No garden but a lovely walled courtyard on the ground & a large terrace off the mezzanine. Not much space for “grow your own” except perhaps a few tomatoes , strawberries , herbs & salad veggies in a small veg Trug perhaps . On the the upside no lawn to mow or patio to weed​:blush:. We’re currently living in hope that a sensible route is found through the Brexit minefield . I was all for postponing our move - we took the decision to come earlier than when my pension is paid because of Brexit but the current chaos unsettles me. My husband - ever the pragmatist says there’s no point fretting about the unknown & even if the uk crashes out he’s no intentions of ever going back there so it’s deep breath & carry on!

I managed it with no Plan B. I had no property in UK to sell or hang on to Being near the end of a long and chequered career of odd jobs and unemployment I was too old to find any meaningful jobs that would pay my expenses in a safe neighbourhood so I set off to find a different way of life. I found an uninhabited wreck in Brittany with 2+ acres for the price of a second hand Ford Escort. The rest is history. Not an easy life until the state pension started but doable (at the time). Recently it has become difficult again because of Brexit destroying the exchange rate. There was no way I would have survived in UK for the period between 2002 and today and even less likelihood if I was forced to go back today. One of the keys to my success was I have always worked with my hands (and back while it lasted) so I didn’t have to pay others to do my renovation. It wouldn’t suit an ex paper pusher. I don’t have holidays, go to pubs or restaurants or insist on having a new car. This strategy won’t suit everyone.

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I know ex paper-pushers who have done wonderful renovations themselves. The best pointing I’ve ever seen was done by an ex teacher,

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As long as you have the 820euros a month income needed to sign on the the health service you’ll manage fine.

When you are settled ask around if there’s anyone who want to share their potager with you. You help put, and get some of the produce in return. It’s starting to become more popular.

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I’m fairly sure you meant to say “might not suit a pen-pusher”… as many folk can turn their hand to a wide variety of things… and have surprised themselves and their families in doing so… :wink::relaxed::relaxed:

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