We finally made our move to the Dordogne, France in the Spring of 2003 after several years spent on "recce" trips to various regions.

In the Beginning
Our recce trips being a holiday with the occasional conversation with estate agents we happened to catch at their desks! The blonde and I were not "property tourists" as such, but, having made the decision that we were definitely going to live in France "someday soon", we were area hunting ... trying to get the feel of the various regions.

Trouble was, whilst we were having a great time and loved most of what we saw of France during these nomadic 5 years, we began to start comparing all to the Dordogne River regions of South West France. We finally realised that we wanted to be near enough to the Dordogne River to jump into it occasionally!

Reality Check 1:
We probably would have carried on with our recce-hols ad infinitum, but were brought to our senses by the reality of bringing up our newish one year-old boy in a one-bedroom flat in West London! Chiswick V's Lot... M4 V's the D2114... traffic V's tranquillity... nursery school at £40+ per day V's école maternelle for free. Yes, you are right, it was a difficult decision. But we made it.

Reality Check 2:
We moved next door to the Lot in the Summer of 2003. Yep.... that one, with the locals dropping like flies from the heat and the flies, sensibly, not bothering to fly at all. We were experiencing 3 shirt-drives, just to be able to buy some groceries and get a cold pression. House hunting? With the cool, clean waters of the Dordogne river just down the road? Difficult choice. We did try. We registered with every estate agent around and gave them our brief. Just call us when something comes up and we will be straight round. Cash buyers - no mortgage. Money is in the bank - waiting. Did we get a call? Not one!.

Present Day:
We persevered. Our son, now 7, goes to school locally and is fluent in French. His English isn't bad either. We ended up buying a derelict barn. Four years later, we are still converting it. And trying to make a living. The blonde?... after working as an estate agent for a year, has, after all, decided to go independent, believing that the best way to sniff out the best properties for a client and to get them the best deal, is to work for them and not the seller or their estate agent. Me? Well, in between working on our barn and 'advising' others about their renovation projects (well I have already made the mistakes, haven't I), I inspect properties, take photos and... I build websites. Which really is a reality check.