Rural Living in France
JC Jeremy Hobson
Rural Living in France is mandatory reading for anyone who aspires to living the good life in rural France. It illustrates the pitfalls as well as the pleasures of rural life in France, including a wealth of practical advice on everything from buying property and land to selling products and produce; from keeping poultry and other livestock to using machinery and hiring plant. Rural Living in France is the only book written especially for newcomers who yearn for a slice of French country life and is guaranteed to help you overcome or avoid the pitfalls of rural living. Whatever your needs or interests, you will find them covered in detail in this book.
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Other guides for France
Extracts from the book…
Choosing an Area
There are many considerations when it comes to choosing a particular area in which to put down roots. The climate is an important factor for most (see page 21), especially if you’re a gardening enthusiast or sun-worshipper, but important though it is, it’s just one of the many deciding factors. Never lose sight of the fact that France is the largest country in Europe (it’s more than twice the size of the UK) and certain parts are not easily accessible. If you have family abroad and it’s important for you to be able to visit them easily, it’s essential that your chosen area has reasonable access to motorways, airports or ferry ports, as appropriate (see Accessibility on page 22).
As a newcomer to the world of smallholdings, you will need to ensure that a certain location ticks all the boxes when it comes to good grassland and a climate in which your livestock isn’t going to scorch in summer and freeze in winter (see Plants & Animals on page 23) and that, should you wish to sell your produce, there’s a likely market for it locally (see Selling Products & Produce on page 192). If you’re against the principle of shooting animals, don’t consider an area in which it’s a way of life for local commune members.
In addition to all this, there’s the proximity of other expatriates to consider. Do you want to be in an area well populated by other foreigners or would you rather ‘go it alone’ and adopt a truly French lifestyle – and, if so, can you cope with the lifestyle and language, including the local patois?
Availability of the type of property you’re looking for also needs to be considered and comparisons made between the price of similar houses in different parts of the country. If you have no idea where you want to live, buy yourself a large road map that covers the whole of France and begin your search by identifying the forested areas, the fertile farming regions and the more mountainous parts, all of which should be obvious from the colour variations. When you’ve narrowed your choice, it’s worth buying local maps and checking whether any particular features such as railway stations, quarry workings, waterways and woodland might be important factors in your eventual decision. The large scale Carte Bleue series is most likely to include the necessary information and can be bought from supermarkets, bookshops and some bar/tabacs.
Once you’ve found an area that interests you, you will need to carry out a great deal of research. Start by finding out all you can about the region and whether there will enough activity there to keep you happy. It’s all very well whiling away the summer evenings in the garden, but it’s a very different matter in the winter when you’re faced with a choice between the TV and the radio, when you really want to go to the theatre or attend an evening class.
For detailed information on each area of France, refer to The Best Places to Buy a Home in France (Survival Books).
During the above process you will begin to see more clearly what it is you expect from your rural home. Everyone’s hopes and expectations are different, ranging from a vegetable garden to a view. List your own priorities, which may include location, house size, family requirements, budget available, any financial expectations of the property or land, making a living, pursuing a hobby and, perhaps most importantly, your own and your partner’s capabilities and health. This will help you to narrow your search and focus your mind on what’s most important to you and your family.
Meadows
You cannot just leave a patch of land in the hope that it will miraculously turn into a glorious wild flower meadow. If you do, you’re likely to be rewarded only with weeds, stinging nettles and brambles. To create a natural meadow requires long-term care and attention, and even then the flowers will take some years to become established.
The grass should be cut once a year after all the plants have set seeds (as for hay). Leave the grass until it has dried and all the seeds have fallen onto the ground and then rake it all up. This will ensure that the last of the seeds are knocked off the stems. It’s important to remove the grass; otherwise, as it rots, it will release nutrients back into the soil and encourage the grass to grow again, thereby creating competition for the flowers when they appear. If you have goats (see Goats on page 144), dried grass is perfect for them (turn it several times while it’s drying); otherwise, just leave the rakings in a pile ready for autumn burning. Never feed goats fermenting grass cuttings, which can be fatal!
Although planting wild flowers (fleur sauvage) isn’t as popular in France as in the UK, for example, it’s possible to buy packets of wild flower seeds in some large garden centres. The inclusion of a few packets will help to establish a meadow, but make sure that they contain plant varieties that grow naturally in your area. Plant them by ‘sod-seeding’: cut and lift a flap of turf with a spade, sprinkle some seed and let the turf fall back into place. Note, however, that if field voles find them you may have to do it all again, as they’re extremely partial to wild flower seeds!
If a meadow has uneven areas it’s advisable to level it with subsoil before planting seeds, but don’t use good topsoil which is of more value in the garden and too high in nutrients. A few clumps of nettles should be left – they’re an important source of food for some of the most spectacular butterflies (see Moths & Butterflies on page 223) and insects that will not only give pleasure but also help pollinate the flowers you’re trying to encourage.
Ideally, animals shouldn’t be grazed in a wild flower meadow, as their droppings re-introduce fertiliser and nutrients, neither of which is required.
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PRICE: £11.95
PUBLICATION: May 2006
EDITION: 1st
PAGES: 288
BINDING: paperback
SIZE: A5 (210mm x 148mm)
COLOUR PHOTOS: 20
