“Welcome to France…”

Our decision to purchase a house in France is now official. I signed the agreement yesterday at the notaire’s office. We met the current owner at the meeting, a lovely gentleman who inherited the house from his elderly parents. We enjoyed meeting him, and I hope he is reassured that the home will be in good hands with us.

For those who are unfamiliar with the process of buying property in France, the offer to buy requires the participation of a notaire, who draws up the formal agreement document between the buyer and the seller. It includes information about:

• the provenance of ownership
• any permits for the property
• the energy assessment on the house and recommendations for improvement
• complete inspection details of the roof, electric, gas, water, sewer, and other utilities
• tax assessment information
• a detailed breakdown of all anticipated costs to the buyer

The document I received in an email before the meeting was about 45 pages long, but the final document we received at the end of the meeting was over 200.

During the meeting, the notaire read through the document with us in detail, both in English and in French, and asked each of us questions regarding the information as he went along so he knew by the end that we understood exactly what we were signing. He was extremely thorough, and I think he was worried we’d be put off by the bureaucracy of the process because he said a few times “Welcome to France” with a wry grin after reading a long section with granular detail. For me, however, it was wonderful getting so much straightforward information about the property, and I felt very confident when signing that I knew what I was getting into.

Purchasing a property here takes much longer than it does in the United States, three to six months, but the level of detail given to the buyer is wonderful, in my opinion, and I appreciate the extra care that is given to ensure there are no nasty surprises after closing. Because I’m making a cash offer, the time is slightly shorter, and we should close by mid-May. Very fast for France.

One downside to having an extra month of waiting is our interim apartment. Currently, we’re staying in an AirBnB, and they are limited to 90 day rentals. That means at the beginning of next month, we’ll have to find an alternative apartment for the extra five or six weeks before we take possession of our house and can move in. Tourist season begins in April here, so the options are all more expensive and more limited. I found a place, and I think it will be great, but it costs more, and it’s about a half-mile walk from this apartment. With no car, getting our belongings shifted is a nuisance. We’ve been here two months now, and of course we’ve bought a few things in addition to the items we brought in our suitcases. I’ll be the one schlepping everything from point A to point B since Mom really can’t. I could hire a taxi, but I’d rather not if I can avoid it. Fortunately, neither apartment is far from a bus stop, and I have multiple ways to transport things on wheels (suitcases, grocery carts, etc.). I made sure our reservations overlapped by a day so there is time to check in at the new place, deliver our belongings, move Mom and the doggo, and then clean this current apartment and check out.

Another other downside is being unable to open a local bank account without a permanent address. Once we have our house, the bank issue is easy to fix, but until then, we are in a circling pattern. However, we do have an online banking with Wize which allows us to exchange money into Euros, make payments, buy our house, and all the other things we need to do for now. Eventually, we’ll have a bank account here. We just have to wait.

And without a permanent address or bank account, we can’t get a permanent phone number. I’m stuck using a pay-as-you-go SIM card service, which is more expensive if we want good 5G connectivity, which of course I do. Once we have the house and bank accounts, we can sign up for a regular phone plan and get service for both of us, rather than just my phone, at a better rate with international calling. For now, we’ll have to use what we have and make calls using online services like Zoom, iPhone FaceTime, WhatsApp, Telegram, or Facebook/Instagram calling. It works for 99% of all we need to do, but there are a few people we can’t contact because they don’t use any of those services. Still, I’m grateful we have the pay-as-you-go card since it allows us to do all that online calling and texting, plus I can get the bus schedule or navigation maps while we’re out and about, talk to mail delivery people, and communicate with businesses here in France. The cards are available from Tabac shops anywhere here, and then you can add options to the service online. I’m using Orange as my provider, but there are others to choose from.

Daily, we find new reasons for gratitude about our move here. We really love this city and are so glad we chose to make it our new home. It’s just big enough to have all the services we need including a free city bus service with four routes for excellent transportation options, small enough to be walkable, and close enough to Bordeaux and Toulouse for day trips by train to large cultural centers or shops, plus an airport with flights to England, Ireland, and the rest of the EU at unbelievable prices. The people are friendly, the weather is great, the river is beautiful, the historic buildings are amazing, and the food is fantastic. Grocery prices are low and the selection is superb.

We worry for the US and the people there. The news is frightening and overwhelming. We’re concerned about what it will mean for the rest of the world. We worry for Europe and Ukraine. We worry for people who rely on government assistance or social security or whose jobs are tied to government grants or funding. We’re concerned about an economic disaster in the US and abroad.

On a personal note, Mom never worried about the dependability of her retirement money, but now who knows what will happen. Our savings are secure. The money is already changed to Euros, so we don’t have to worry about currency fluctuations. We have what we need to buy the house, furnish it, and make the renovations we need. I have my work, and we plan to renovate part of the property to have a studio apartment we can rent out for some financial stability. Our house has a yard, so there’s room for a garden and for permaculture plantings. I remind myself daily that we are okay, and we will do what we have to do to keep it that way. We plan to volunteer and get involved in ways we can help others in our new community. We want to be active citizens. And we plan to do what we can from here to help promote change and assist those in need back in the US.

I hope this finds you safe and well. I hope you can find moments of joy and calm in this scary time. I wish you bravery, hope, and resilience. I hope you find support in your community and can give it to others as well. I will work to create stories that provide escape when things are hard and that show the strength of the individual to overcome darkness.

Best wishes from France.