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What’s it like to live in…France - Normandy

Linda Malindine, 60, and her 68-year-old husband Ted left Bedfordshire for the Normandy village of Bricquebec, south of Cherbourg, five years ago

Their characteristic 18th-century country home, which they renovated themselves, has five letting rooms, a coach house, piggery, cider barn and 2.5 acres of land.

We came out here to visit friends for a weekend but went away having made an offer on the house!

There’s something special about Normandy; it’s a bit like England 50 years ago. We just saw this house and thought it was idyllic. We didn’t even know what we would do with it, and we had it for eight years before we started renovating.

The best thing about living here is the tranquillity. It is so peaceful. We can walk on a beach for seven miles and not see a soul. It wouldn’t suit everyone but we love it.

There are wildflowers everywhere, and when you do go into town the shops are fantastic, with high-quality goods and great service. Even the air’s beautiful. I used to get off the ferry at Cherbourg and you could smell the difference!

It is a bit of a rural backwater, however, so you do miss theatres and music. You can’t just get on a train and go to the Barbican.

There are other, practical things to consider when moving abroad. We wouldn’t have gone much further south, because it was important for us to be near our family. One of our daughters now lives near us in France, and the other three kids visit regularly.

It’s also easy to be seduced and take things for granted – we’re lucky and happen to have an English-speaking doctor, for example, but how would we cope if we didn’t? 

This article was created: 18 July 2006.
This article was last edited: 13 November 2006.

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