That was the question that I pondered for many years, married to a stockbroker with a dream to leave the City and retire to the country!
Well, as far as I was concerned having a house in Gloucestershire and looking through the windows at a garden that could rarely be used because of the weather was not the answer. A complete change of lifestyle had to include a change of climate too. Olive trees don’t prosper in the English countryside and “appellation Cotswolds contrôlée” doesn’t quite do it for me …. So I agreed to the move, but only if we could go to the countryside of Provence.
Amazingly my husband did not need much persuasion as London was easily accesible via Marseille airport. So here we are in Saint Rémy, three years later and could not be happier. The climate, the food, the surroundings, the people …. (and the “appellation Côtes de Provence”!) Everything has lived up to our expectations.
It wasn’t easy to find what we wanted, and what we finally bought needed to be entirely renovated, but now we have an idyllic home with a beautiful garden close to one of the loveliest villages in the Alpilles. There were some frustrations and delays but now we are at last living the dream with our four dogs.
Rebuilding our own house whetted our appetite and we’ve now done it again, this time with a view to selling so someone else can benefit from our experience and share the dream without the hassle!
Our raw material, second time round, was a 19th century “mas”, again close to Saint Rémy and a short walk to Mas Blanc des Alpilles. We’ve made it contemporary inside but still very much the old “mas” outside, which is rather a good combination. With five bedrooms it could be a lovely holiday home, or something more permanent for anyone who agrees with us that Provence has an edge over Gloucestershire! Tempted!?
If you would like to know more about Andrew and Sandra’s experiences and the second house they have renovated you can ask them at sandrapeskin@googlemail.com