Many people dream of moving to France but what if the dream goes wrong? Having already had a holiday home in France Judi and Ross think they know what they’re letting themselves in for when they leave England and move to the pretty fishing port of Paimpol in Brittany.
They thank their lucky stars when their neighbour Pierre turns out to be a retired builder who can help them renovate their spooky old house which Judi thinks is haunted by a gnarly old fisherman. But there’s no such thing as mate’s rates with Pierre, and Judi and Ross wonder if they’re paying a premium for being foreigners.
The locals welcome the pair into the neighbourhood but when they join a club hoping to make more French friends, they find themselves reluctantly drawn into an ex-pat group with endless invitations to drinks and dinner parties.
All goes well for a few years. Ross is content living the good life, catching fish from his little boat and growing fruit and vegetables in the garden. And Judi finds a good friend in Monique who helps the pair navigate baffling French bureaucracy when they’re suddenly charged rates on two houses.
But things are set to change. The sudden death of one of the ex-pats highlights the shallow nature of the friendships within the group and leaves Judi questioning her future in France should anything happen to Ross. Finding herself a magnet for local oddballs like extreme hoarder Annick, and Isabelle who thinks her son is trying to kill her, she also feels guilty about spending time with these strangers rather than her own family back home. Becoming increasingly unhappy, Judi persuades a reluctant Ross to return to England.
But France is in the grips of a financial crisis and the papers are full of stories of Brits taking a big hit financially when selling up to return to the UK. Will Judi and Ross lose money selling their house in such a dire market? And will their relationship survive Ross having to give up his French dream and the way of life he loves?
They thank their lucky stars when their neighbour Pierre turns out to be a retired builder who can help them renovate their spooky old house which Judi thinks is haunted by a gnarly old fisherman. But there’s no such thing as mate’s rates with Pierre, and Judi and Ross wonder if they’re paying a premium for being foreigners.
The locals welcome the pair into the neighbourhood but when they join a club hoping to make more French friends, they find themselves reluctantly drawn into an ex-pat group with endless invitations to drinks and dinner parties.
All goes well for a few years. Ross is content living the good life, catching fish from his little boat and growing fruit and vegetables in the garden. And Judi finds a good friend in Monique who helps the pair navigate baffling French bureaucracy when they’re suddenly charged rates on two houses.
But things are set to change. The sudden death of one of the ex-pats highlights the shallow nature of the friendships within the group and leaves Judi questioning her future in France should anything happen to Ross. Finding herself a magnet for local oddballs like extreme hoarder Annick, and Isabelle who thinks her son is trying to kill her, she also feels guilty about spending time with these strangers rather than her own family back home. Becoming increasingly unhappy, Judi persuades a reluctant Ross to return to England.
But France is in the grips of a financial crisis and the papers are full of stories of Brits taking a big hit financially when selling up to return to the UK. Will Judi and Ross lose money selling their house in such a dire market? And will their relationship survive Ross having to give up his French dream and the way of life he loves?
