Answering Your Questions About Our Life In France
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We have put together a quick Q&A about life in Brittany. Frugal Queen in France Like the menu board & Budget Book? We have …
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I have a question for the next time you do a Q and A please. I wonder how your children feel about your move to France? Are they likely to come too? Do you see them often? Do you have grandchildren yet? Does that or will that change how you feel about living in a different country away from them? Thanks! Cindy Olson
Hi Jane just found your channel and am finding it very interesting. We had a property in France but circumstances meant we never could live there full time. we felt that your were probably a retired doctor so good to know your profession can I ask about Mike as he seems to have virtually built your house was he a builder here in the UK
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So glad I found your channel! I grew up in Callington, have been in Florida for 35+ years. Spent some time in Huelgoat and around there as an exchange student many many years ago! It is beautiful. I love to hear your tips, as they are very familiar to me. Thank you!
Is public transport better in France? It can really save on car expenses.
Question: How often do you get to see your children (and grandchildren if you have any). Do they need a visa just to visit for a week or so? And if you have grandchildren would they be allowed to spend the summer holidays for an extended period of time?
Very interesting, I wish shops were open shorter hours in the UK, I enjoy a slower pace.
Loved your explanation of learning a new language.
Living now 35 years in Australia I still learn pronunciation and the difference of English words. Love soellcheck, does not work when you speak mind you. Cheers Daniela
Fab video Jane and Mike. My question for any future videos would be : your home/frugal lifestyle is very labour intensive (cutting your own wood, cooking from scratch etc) do you have a long term plan for old age/ill health if you weren’t able to sustain the physical element of your fantastic lifestyle any longer?
This was so interesting! Thank you – and I think I would love to visit Brittany. It sounds like a wonderful place to live!
Oh my I was just going to suggest Babbel!! So glad u find it the best!
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I like this format and your thoughtful answers.
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Interesting because when we lived in England we really enjoyed the slower pace of life than being where we lived in the US but I think it had a lot to do with not having to own a car. Lived in suburbia in the US, had to drive everywhere and anywhere, no public transportation. Lived in a very walkable city in England. We miss it very much. (We also greatly miss pub life. Went to the pub and then for a curry after work/school with friends every Friday night. Oddly enough, we, the foreigners, got that weekly routine going with our group of friends.) Just walked, rode our bikes or took a bus. Enjoyed taking a train into London on occasion. I am sure if we looked we would find smaller communities here that are walkable. Also lived in the bustling city of Beijing and didn't own a car there as well. Could get most places on foot, by bike or by bus/train. Just loved it with all it's quirky issues. I think not having to use a car just naturally slows your life down. 🙂 Getting anything fixed in England and China certainly didn't happen with the efficiency of Canada or the US. I am not a natural at foreign languages either. Funnily, taking Mandarin classes my 8 years of French classes would pop out. At any other time I couldn't put 2 words of French together. Think you have a foreign language part of your brain and all the non-dominate languages get stuffed there.
The slow pace of life sounds very appealing. Like the American South before the 1960's. We do have a slower pace than other places in the USA, but still feels rushed most of the time.
That was an excellent video Q & A, Jane. I live in SW France and my answers would have been quite similar. I have lived in my house in the Lot département since 2000. I have seen some changes but not many. I too love the slow pace of life.
Can you get Marmite in France? When we had a house in Spain Marmite was available only in the English shop but it was three times the price, I was too shocked to buy it even though I love Marmite.
Really enjoyed the Q&A Jane and Mike x
Personally, I wish that Sunday shopping had never happened, even though I often indulge. Six days of shopping should be enough for everyone. It is just a matter of organising! Thank you for the video!
For your next Q&A, do you often have family and friends visiting from UK?
I feel you. I am Netherlands living in Cambodia. I miss cheese but everything is imported and 100 g of cheese costs $5+, so I only eat it on occasion.
This was fascinating, thank you!
Thank you so much, enjoying your Q&A today whilst relaxing outdoors. 😁
I was starting to worry about you because I hadn’t been notified of any new content. I checked on your channel and somehow I had been unsubscribed! Glad I caught that!
Enjoyed the video!! Thank you for all you do to help us to live frugal ❤️
Love the questions and answers
Thank you for answering my question Jane. My cousin in the UK went to Portugal on a weekend. That amazes me until my husband said that it is like going over to Tasmania for us from Victoria, Australia, distance wise. Your rural lifestyle very obviously ticks all the boxes for you and Mike. Lovely and informative video.
One question I have, have you considered growing a garden with those fall crops that you miss from the UK?
Do you find that living in France has affected your cooking style? Are you cooking more traditional French dishes or British favorites? Thank you.
Thanks, that was interesting and insightful.
Lovely video. Thank you for all your in-depth answers to all the questions.❤️
Hi J & M. I remember the slower pace of life when I was growing up in the 60's and 70"s. I went to Costco yesterday, 09/24, and they had all of the Christmas things out already WalMart also has their Christmas things out. My question to you is: Do you give to charity or charities?
I am in the Highlands of Scotland.a d I love it very much for same reasons as you. .uk Husband was local, I lost hi. In December last year and I'm from Hertfordshire. The kindness that has been shown to me had been amazing in its generosity. I have a forest across a little road leading to a beach called boars head. Beautiful and tranquil that's priceless
Wondering about your dogs. Did they come with you from the UK or did you get them after you moved to France?
When you do visit the UK is there some item(s) that you try to always bring back with you?
Dear Jane hello from Kentucky USA I live my life on wheels I've been in a chair for 10 years now part of my frugal journey is using my new washer and dryer being independent is cost effective I can't hang outside but I can sensor dry and wash on cold. I also am a member of a major retailers plus program for about 97 dollars a year I get groceries delivered when I wish. I can't drive and this little bit of money figured over the year is very economical especially now frugality rocks love your channel❤❤
It was a very interesting program. Thanks for sharing your viewpoints.
Hi Jane and Michael, I was just wondering about your family. Do you have children, grand children? Thanks Trudy from South Africa.
One thing i have noticed about charming places to visit or to live is that once they get more well known and more people visit or move there, it loses some of its charm. I hope that doesn't happen where you live. I see it happening in the U.S. all the time. A lovely small town gets attention in the news or travel logs and suddenly they are overrun with people visiting or moving there and then things are no longer what they were.
since it was brought up, when you go to the UK for holiday, could you bring back in a cooler a few cuts of meat that you miss?
Do you have any social groups in your area like in Ireland they have “tidy towns" committees that get people involved with helping their local town or village look pretty and it gets people socialising in a free capacity. I have seen that they have U3A (university of the third age) in Spain and it’s mainly frequented by expats for walking trips, card games, crafts, photography, dancing etc. is there anything like that or evening classes you could take part in or even teach?. I could see you teaching patchwork and English and Mike teaching photography. Do you have a library in your nearest town? Does it have an English language books section? Does it run any activities?
Do you have french friends acquaintances in the village? as I guess English is not spoken so much in rural France as in the larger more touristy places. Going from getting by to conversational language and understanding the news is a big jump, like most people you probably understand more than you can actually reply to, Are there many other British people in the area? I have heard dealing with bureaucracy is harder ? But it might be the struggle they had as working people getting to post office banks mayors office when they shut at lunchtime and on Saturdays. I live in the southern part of the Highlands of Scotland normally deliveries are an extra day or so, outside touristy second holiday home places you can get 3 bedrooms house for under 200K in our village 2 bed terraces are about 110,000
This is a wonderful video. You live such a peaceful life. My hubby and daughter are so good with learning languages. My Father is Hungarian. That is a challenging language to learn. Have you been to Hungary? BTW, the questions being asked are excellent.
Well done Jane. I live in a farming village in Normandy. Life here is like going back 50 years. It’s so stress free. I love it. Only thing I miss is English tea. After 2 years I’ve at last found one I like
Really enjoyed this, thank you. I'm really interested in integration and how hard you have found it to become part of the community? Is social interaction easy, or is there some degree of suspicion? Maybe the local community have been very welcoming. Maybe integrating ina community doesn't bother you. Speaking from experience, it can be hard enough integrating in a new are in the UK, just moving county from Surrey to Kent! Sometimes, whatever you do, you are always regarded as "the outsider". I'd be really interested to hear your experiences.
Can you get Cadbury chocolate in France? Is there an import section in the grocery store? Do you use the chunnel or the ferry when returning to the UK, what's the cost difference? I heard it costs $70 to use the toll road to Paris?! How much a pound is a leg of lamb and ground lamb? How much does a whole chicken cost? How long did it take to buy your house? How long did you search for a home and do you have a realtor you would recommend? What areas of Brittany did you consider and which would you not recommend buying a home in? Did you look in other regions and if so what made you decide on Brittany? Is there a website like Zillow which tells you how much a house is worth? Which areas of France have you visited since you moved there? Any travel to Italy or other countries? How welcome are dogs? We enjoy your videos, ty 🙂
Really enjoyed hearing about why you decided on retiring in France and made me smile about cheddar. As lovely as French cheese is I would miss a slab of Stilton cheese. Do they do gorganzola where you are? its another of my faves.
J’ai vraiment aimé cette vidéo Jayne, est-ce que vous entendez du breton ? Bonne continuation xx
Hi Jane,
Do you think you would have found it harder to settle in France if you had been single?