Moving to France Beware of Local Traditions

If you are one of the many Britons who are thinking of moving to France to begin a new life, the chances are you will have already spent many years taking holidays there. This is usually how people form an attachment to a particular town or region, but before you rush headlong into buying a property there are some important factors you should take into account before moving to France. We have to be realistic about this, because there have been many stories of people leaving Britain to set up a new home in a rural idyll only to find that the reality can be very different to the dream.

Ten years ago, a friend of mine moved with his family to the Limousine region and was initially delighted by the reception they received from the locals. Everyone was very friendly, to the extent that when my friend mentioned he was carrying out some building work on the property he had bought his new friends immediately offered their help. The thing is, a couple of weeks later when he was relaxing in the afternoon sun, his neighbour arrived at the front door and demanded  that he come and help with some work at his home.

You could argue that this kind of thing will happen if you were planning on moving to Holland or moving to Germany, but apparently this is the local tradition in Limousine. If someone does you a favour, they can demand ‘repayment’ at anytime, so be warned!