It's not always easy to find the "right" place to live, a place that makes you happy.
Every place has its highs and lows, its advantages and disadvantages, and it can be difficult to find a good, comfortable fit.
This morning I was performing the mundane task of hanging our laundry up to dry and it struck me, especially after just having spent 3½ weeks in the US and with our 10 year anniversary of moving here coming up at the end of March, that I'm still really, really in love with France. I am happy here. I have found the right place.
No, I'm not merely seeing France through rose colored glasses. Believe me, I am firmly grounded in reality.
And all the frustration of bureaucracy, hit and miss customer service and job hunting over the years mean nothing when compared to the beauty, the deliciousness, the friendships, the cheese, the passion, the markets, les fêtes, the landscapes, the meals and the joy that I've experienced since we arrived.
France just suits me.
Je suis contente. Très contente.
Have you found your right place?
Pin It
24 comments:
:)
Welcome home.
I have a feeling there are a quite a few countries I could settle in. But France has given me many wonderful experiences since coming here. We moved here for good in Feb 2009. It takes time to be seen as a 'local' but when it happens it's a very nice feeling! Like you I have no rose tinted specs and having found myself needing to deal with the health system after an accident I know all about how frustrating living in France can be, grey, cold, with long very wet winters....and summers! are sometimes hard to take. But when the sun does come out it is simple stunning.
Living here just feels right!
Très contente pour vous aussi Loulou.
Hope to be in your shoes one day :-)
I've had flashes of this in Paris... and in Pasadena. :)
Love those moments!
Je vous applaudit votre joie et contentment. Felicitations!
Yes, I have found the right place and you are living it! ;)
Seriously, I have NOT found the right place here in Peterborough ON Canada but it'll do for now.
Rose-colored glasses have nothing to do with it. I recently moved from the Costa Daurada to Figueres, still in Catalunya but now near the French border. I am inching my way there. I know what you mean about feeling happy where you live. I am much happier here than I was down there. This place suits me better. But France is where I need to be and eventually I will be there, and for all the same reasons as you.... especially the brocante markets and the CHEESE!
I have lived in mant places in my life (both cities and countries, but found "my place" on a trip to Paris ...sadly , too old to relocate, but have had 2 trips so far and another planned later this year...It's a very special place !!
Loulou, I have absolutely no doubts about your being grounded in reality. I know this sweet feeling (too well: -).
Indeed, frustration evaporates as soon as cheese is served, boulangeries are sampled, market tours are made..
I lived in many houses in different parts of the world and nowhere else turning my key in a door brought such a profound sense of happiness as life in France did.
Oh, I have not yet found the right place. I suppose at age 58 that I should get my butt in gear! I love France, but I would not be able to support myself there. I do plan to retire from Corporate America one of these days, and pursue my photography career full-time. So far, that looks to be in Asheville, North Carolina.
All the best to you. I love your blog!
It is a wonderful thing when you figure out that all is right in your world and I am happy you feel that way about your life in France. Félicitations.
My intention one day, in the hopefully not too distant future is to take up residence in France. I would love to buy, but think we will start with a long term rental to feel our way!
While I wait - a little impatiently - (boys still at school/life's committments down under) I have one month in France booked to do language immersion in September.
I am soooo excited!!!
Tu es tres contente....but after reading your beautiful post, je suis tres jalouse! (I only spend summers in La Belle France, but it's better than nothing!).
Nathalie
Merci! :)
Rachel
I'm glad you have found your place to call home too. Normandy is wonderful, isn't it?
Beaver
Thanks...
You will wear my shoes well, I think! :)
Camille
Pasadena is gorgeous...not a bad place to choose if you can't be in Paris.
angie
What a sweet comment. Merci!
Chantal
If you think France is the right place for you, I hope you get here sooner rather than later! :)
Dvora
Yes, you are getting closer!
I hope you get here soon! I know you will appreciate it all. :)
Anne
I'm happy that you found Paris to be for you and even if you can't live there full time, visiting every now and then is a wonderful thing!
la Torontoise
I couldn't agree more!
Vickie
I've never been to Asheville, but I've always heard wonderful things about it. Good luck to your new career as a photographer and thanks for stopping by to comment. I hope your etsy shop is a great success!
Michel
It is a wonderful feeling. :) Merci!
Caroline
I'm sure your month in the Languedoc will be fabulous and I hope it edges you a little closer to making the leap. Have a great time in September!
Wini
True, summers are better than nothing! :)
I'm envious you're content Jen! That's a good place to be in I bet.=) Unfortunately for me.. I will never be content! My love for the Southwest and South of France are equal. So I always miss one. C'est la vie. Nice pictures. xx
While I love the Okanagan wine valley of British Columbia Canada from Spring to Fall, I hate winter.
I work with my mom, dad and sister and we always ask ourselves in January and Feb. What are we doing here?
All four of us dream of a Hawaiian winter and I've got my fingers crossed that my parents buy a vacation home there so that we can pick up our computers and work abroad, burying our heads in the sand to hide from the snow.
Although...I have yet to visit France. Very excited for September when I have made it my initiative to make it happen.
I just started another giveaway and would love for you to give it a go!
Murissa
It's wonderful to hear that after ten years, you still love living in France. As someone stuck (for the time being) in the US, I would love to hear some of your observations after your recent visit here. I know we're off-track here, I can feel how 'wrong' things have gotten. But it's hard to put your finger on it when you're in the middle of it. You've covered some of the differences before, but I wonder what some of the things were that struck you on the last visit. Does my question make sense?
Ahhhh I love this post. What a perfectly lovely feeling to know, without question, that you are in the right place. Your photos say it all. I have a crush on France myself and get there whenever I am able. I like where I live (Chico-University town in Cali) but I moved here for love and have never fallen in love with it. I lived in the Napa Valley during college and that was my favorite place I've lived so far. It always feels like going home. Happy for you LouLou! xx. Heather
http://www.stylemindhic.blogspot.com
Post a Comment