Achievement and success ……

You know; as I sit on our balcony on a Sunday morning, looking out across the town, coffee in hand and with the bells of the cathedral ringing I couldn’t be happier.  Moving over to France is most definitely one of the best things we have done.  The pace of life, the community spirit, yes of course the food and wine and even the idiosyncrasies and anomalies of French life have given us a new perspective. 

We feel a real sense of achievement because we are making a life for ourselves here.  We are working and making a living enjoying what we do.  We are meeting some great people, making good friends and helping many of them achieve their dream of a life in France too. I really hope that this is a permanent move and that we continue to and further enjoy our ‘dream’.

Many people move to France, buy property and immerse themselves into the French way of life.  They enjoy the benefits of a more relaxed lifestyle and relish the experiences that daily life here offers, not to mention that community spirit and the wine!  But many reach a natural conclusion to their French adventure and decide to return home. There must be many reasons for that decision, as many as the number of people making the decision I am sure and everyone will have their own story to tell.  I only hope that no-one either saying goodbye to them or seeing them return think that they have ‘failed’.

To my mind it is the people who have dreams and never try to achieve them that ‘fail’ – making something happen is the real achievement and even if that something is a new and different life for a few years before going home then what an achievement and what success.  

Watching films in French

Watching films in French
Make language learning fun

Watching films in French is a great way to familiarise yourself with the language, wherever you are in the world. Settle down with a DVD at home and just allow the words to wash over you. This simple exercise will help your ear to 'tune in'.

But if after several attempts you are still struggling to keep up, then switch on the sub-titles and see if looking at the French words as they are spoken helps you to identify them. Failing that, watch the film with English sub-titles until you grow in confidence.

If you buy a French language film and want to watch it outside of France, it might be worth checking first to make sure that the disk will be compatible with your DVD player by referring to the DVD region code indicated on the box.

If you have the opportunity next time you are in France, why not go to the cinema? Over the course of a 90 minute listening exercise you'll have earned your popcorn! Below is a list of popular French films, give them a go:

The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain - who hasn't heard of this one?
OSS 117 - a James Bond style spy spoof
Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis - a comedy about the North-South divide in France
La Vie en Rose - a film about Edith Piaf
Le Scaphandre et Le Papillon - Bauby can communicate only by blinking, award winning
Le Dîner de Cons - recently given a Hollywood makeover (Dinner for Schmucks)
Le Pari - two brothers-in-law vow to stop smoking, with hilarious consequences...
Delicatessen - one for Halloween, perhaps?
Taxi - a speeding taxi driver is forced to help the police catch criminals
Jules et Jim - a classic!
Ne le Dit à Personne - thriller based on a novel of the same name, with Kristin Scott Thomas

A snapshot of our Summer in Saint Malo!

A snapshot of our Summer in Saint Malo!

We are about to breathe a sigh of relief……….

…..because tomorrow is the last day of August.  A sigh of relief, not because we haven’t enjoyed the hectic hustle and bustle of St Malo, our beautiful home town, as it bulges with Summer tourists and second home owners but because we can get back to normality in terms of running our property finding business.

August is holiday time and over these wonderful 31 sunshine filled days it seems that the whole of France stops working.  Everyone needs a holiday there is no denying that but whole offices close, estate agents stop making viewing appointments, vendors cannot be contacted and Notaires stop preparing that all important paperwork. 

It has been frustrating to say the least and indeed many of our competitors give up and adopt an ‘if you can’t beat them attitude’.  But by stealing ourselves, having the necessary tenacity and pure ‘true grit’ we have aggressively battled on and with the help of some very helpful ‘non-French’ agents and Notaires negotiators we have achieved 6 full days of house viewings and had two accepted offers on properties for clients.

So bring on the autumn and what by all accounts seems likely to be a busy time for the property market here in Brittany.  Things are moving and realistic vendors who understand that we are definitely in the middle of a buyers’ market are selling well. 

There are definite bargains to be had – and who knows when it comes to August next year maybe it will be you enjoying the 31 sunshine filled days of August in your new home ………….

€85,000

€110,000

€169,000

€176,550

€96,500