Lifestyle
SIMPLY LIVING FRANCE
PAGE 20
Retirement in France
A
t some point in our lives, we have all sat back and had the “what would I do if I won the lottery?” thought. Dreams of holidays, cars, not having to worry about paying bills, sometimes not even having to think about what to cook every day, the possibilities are endless. As we get a little further into the ageing process, those thoughts may drift to “what will I do when I retire?” For some, this may open up almost as many possibilities as the lottery dream, for others the question may raise worries of what to do with your days, previously spent at work. My dream was to live in France, in the house we had bought as a holiday home over 27 years ago. I had planned on retiring aged 50 but the twists and turns of life that we all have, meant that for me, my plans were put back to age 60. I had the idyllic view of pottering around my garden, planting, weeding, growing veg and spending my days doing all those crafty projects I’d never had time to do while I was working. I’d make my own bread, cook delicious meals made from fresh produce from local markets and the potager. It sounds all too Disney, doesn’t it? Needless to say, I was ready for retirement. Not because I was tired and exhausted but because for me, the possibilities were endless. My hubby on the other hand, was apprehensive. He had worked for the same company for 43 years, starting as an apprentice aged 16 after leaving school. It was all he’d known, working hard, pro-
viding for his family, grabbing overtime when he could. He had worked his way up the company ladder and held a senior position with heavy responsibilities. We had discussed the issue of his retirement several times on the run up to my retirement and for all his denial, I could tell he was apprehensive. We were making two very big lifestyle changes by retiring and moving to another country. What would he do to fill his days? He wasn’t keen on gardening, there were renovations in the house to turn it from holiday home to forever home, but when all that was done, what would he do? How would he adjust to being in the house all day? How would I adjust to having someone in the house all day? We knew we loved holidays in our French house, but would living there be so very much different? The truth be told, I was a little worried about him because he had headed a large team and was used to telling people what to do. I, on the other hand, don’t really like being told what to do.
It was going to be interesting either way. Covid and of course Brexit turned our plans completely upside down. We were not the only ones, I know. Many of you will have similar tales of ferry crossings with removal vans, moved, postponed and rebooked. I had to leave Him Indoors in the UK so at least one of us was in France before 31st December 2020 to ensure our UK withdrawal residency rights. Hubby was to follow, hopefully by November 2020 with the remaining furniture, travel restrictions allowing.
