Image by Kol Tregaskes via Flickr

Let me start by saying I live in the UK - to be precise England. To be even more precise Lincoln. I have lived in France having spent 5 glorious years in the Limousin. We sold up and returned to the UK last year.Would I like to be living in rural France any more?Not at all! The reasons are not hard to understand:

• France is in the process of some considerable structural change which involves tension between the Government and its public services. This is going to lead to massive disruption in 2010.
• The economy is struggling with few signs of how to get out of regional recession.
• The France I went to live in many years ago is fast disappearing.
• It’s getting very expensive to live there.
• As the Pound/Euro move to parity there will be some pressure on those who have retired to France for the “good life’ to live much more austere lives.

So we’ve returned and are thankful we were able to do so at a time when houses have become more affordable.We’ve had our French adventure - let’s start a UK one!