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Just for you, ALBF!


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Today, I fell into a deep sleep after lunch (disturbed nights for over 2 months) and when I woke up in front of the TV, there was one of those programmes for people in the UK, selling up their houses in towns and cities and looking for houses in the countryside.

Here is where ALBF comes in because he did mention the west country, Wiltshire, Dorset, etc on his thread about Dordogne living.

This couple on the programme were shown 4 houses in Dorset, near the coast (Bridport area) and a bit further inland.

So, yes, agree, some of the countryside does look like the Dordogne, except, theirs is a lot greener and lusher so I guess a lot more rain.  Me, I'm an expert on rainy areas, having lived in Wales for over 15 years.

The other surprise (and I'd forgotten all this) is how much money and care people seem to spend on their houses.  I do realise the houses would have all been 'prepped' for the tv but, even so, I could see from the extensions, the conservatories, the garden-rooms, the bathrooms, kitchens, decking outdoors, would have had a fortune spent on them.

Here in rural France, virtually nobody would spend that sort of money on their houses, not least because we all know that you'd be hard pushed to get any of that money back, ever!

Not having been back to the UK for about 9 years and having steeped myself so much in French living, I hadn't cast my mind back to houses of friends, acquaintances, colleagues and the talk about new kitchens, new bathrooms, new carports, new carpets, new 3-piece suites ad infinitum and that everybody everywhere seemed to be buying new stuff all the time.........used to really do my head in.

Then, the other big difference is when they showed the beach and it was teeming with people, mostly wrapped up in coats as the wind was blowing like the clappers.

Incidentally, I lived on the heritage coast in South Wales, not 5 minutes' walk from the sea and I wouldn't walk down there much because I don't like to be surrounded by hoards of people.

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For goodness sake don't go for the "Just for... " line. PMs are for that.

I do think though that ALBF is somewhat against rural living, probably partly because of his previous comments on his background in the UK. I, too, got the connection when he mentioned there.

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Hey, come on, richard51..............it's just to get a bit of banter and conversation going!  No, I didn't want to PM ALB, don't know that I've got much to say to him in private[:D]

I wanted people to come on and talk a bit about living in the countryside in the UK as opposed to living in the countryside in France.

We used to start threads all the time "in the good old days" and have discussions about something and about nothing.  We played word games, finished each others' stories and so on.

I guess you belong to the social media generation and have forgotten how to chat about this and that on a forum.  That's what forums are for you know?  Forums are for chatting on and I do usually use a headline that I think will catch people's attention and make them want to join in.  See, it caught YOUR attention, didn't it?[;-)]

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quote

I could see from the extensions, the conservatories, the garden-rooms, the bathrooms, kitchens, decking outdoors, would have had a fortune spent on them.

And thereby lies a big difference. In the UK you do these things to increase the saleability of the property, with the view - overtly or covertly - to make profit on the potential sale.

In France - at least in rural France - you should do these things because you want them for yourself. Maybe they will increase the value of your property - probably not, because everywhere has a ceiling value and that is much more difficult to judge in rural France.

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[quote user="andyh4"]quote

I could see from the extensions, the conservatories, the garden-rooms, the bathrooms, kitchens, decking outdoors, would have had a fortune spent on them.

And thereby lies a big difference. In the UK you do these things to increase the saleability of the property, with the view - overtly or covertly - to make profit on the potential sale.

In France - at least in rural France - you should do these things because you want them for yourself. Maybe they will increase the value of your property - probably not, because everywhere has a ceiling value and that is much more difficult to judge in rural France.[/quote]

It's not just the expensive additions of bathrooms, conservatories and so on, the furnishings were so perfectly "themed" and so much care was taken with the soft furnishings, the wallpaper, the knick-knacks, etc.

I think I have just forgotten about all those things and how important they are deemed to be.  I remember you telling me once that if I did go back to the UK, I'd take some time to adjust to living back there. Going by today's tiny (carefully selected, I know) peep into this other world, I am beginning to doubt that I'd ever fit back in again[:(]

 

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I guessed that 1951 was your birth date, although you appear older than that.

I'm obviously not more astute though, as the only things I can think of in 1951 are: the Festival of Britain, the Peak District was made UK's first national park and the world's first commercially available general-purpose electronic computer was installed at Manchester University.

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<>

Mint, most people don't live like that, with carefully-themed furnishings in theur homes, not those I know, anyway.

As examples:

# I recently decided that my 30+ year old relaxer chair needs re-upholstering as it's wearing thin and some seams are coming loose.

# We still use the same china and cutlery every day that we've used for almost 50 years.

# We finally got round to having new kitchen units fitted about 5 years ago, after living all that time with those that were already in our house when we bought it about 35 years ago.
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I have so many comments to make about this......... but I'll keep it short.

One is that I don't think that french tastes amd mine are in any way the same. What people wax lyrical about has all too often been awful in my eyes. From decoration to furniture, how I HATE so much of french furniture styles.

Many people I know who live en campagne are not well off. And when they can afford things, then they get them. The very inference that french people don't have envies is sort of offensive in my eyes. Because those I know do buy when they have the money. And France is a very different country to get into debt, the way the rules are.

And decorating, well, ALL paint in the olde days in France was VERY expensive and utter rubbish, thousands times better now than it was, and 'then' the selection of wall papers was dear and rubbish too, IMO.  So people never decorated very often.

In truth I think I got into bad french bad habits re decorating.

My neighbour in France has, since the divorce. ended up with a very very modern house interior, everything re done, tweaked and matching and it could be a home in the UK now. Not for anyone else other than himself. So it can happen in France, and I suspect that he is well off enough to be able to afford to change everything.

What astounds me is people buying shabby chic in the UK......... beurk......... don't they realise that it is simply shabby.

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I agree with you about shabby chic. Never have seen the attraction of car boot sales either..All tastes are different I suppose.

When I went back to Uk for a few days I went with my brother in laws mum to look at a new flat. She wants to downsize to a smaller place. The area, just outside of London, is full of these kind of new builds. A large building on a small bit of land with six flats. All quite nice, all with two bathrooms (even the one bedroom one), small, fitted kitchens and not one would give you change from half a million.

OH and I watched the program and we have always said that if we had to go back to UK we would probably look around Dorset. There were some nice properties but we would struggle to afford them.
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I think andy4 hit the nail on the head, and the basic difference is that in France people do these things because they want to and they can afford to, not to impress other folks or keep up with the Joneses. And it doesn't seem to take over their lives, they don't talk about it so much. I remember a work colleague who was having a new kitchen put in and she talked of nothing else for months, then we were all invited round to see it when it was finished. My neighbours here are obviously pleased when they do something on the house and I notice and say it looks nice, but they don't drag me round especially to admire it. Obviously there are lots of exceptions but it seems to me that that on average, material possessions and appearances are more important in the UK, it's what people are proudest of, while people take more pride in personal appearance in France - how many French males are allowed to take their OH into town wearing a shapeless sweatshirt and baggy jogging bottoms? But so what? Whatever makes you happy, live and let live.
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In the UK houses seem to be 'tarted up' for sale and presented in the most flattering way in photos in estate agents' windows and on websites. Here in France this is only just starting to happen. I remember 20-odd years ago people were quite happy to have their homes advertised for sale using photos of living rooms with saggy sofa beds/ piles of toys/ clothes airers, and it was rare to see a photo of a property showing the exterior view. When we bought our house here we were shown it, along with several other properties, by an estate agent without having seen the photo of it in their window.....if we'd seen it there we probably wouldn't have gone in to ask about it, as it was just a photo of a wall.
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The very inference that french people don't have envies is sort of offensive in my eyes.

Just to clarify for you, id, I didn't say that and I certainly don't think it.

It's almost an offence nowadays, wherever you live, to not be "aspirational", n'est ce pas?

I was truly amazed, looking at the houses on that programme and it made me remember all the "grand" houses that I had been in in the UK.  I had truly forgotten about those things.  I suppose if I had visited the UK more often (well, more often than once in 10 years), I would have noticed and not be so totally taken aback.

I am not putting on any sort of pose or taking any position.  Plus, please do not read any sort of "condemnation" or whatever on my part.  I thought the houses shown were furnished and burnished to be like show homes.  And, no, I don't condemn it, au contraire, I thought they all looked wonderful.

Me, I'd settle for my house being a bit tidier and cleaner and not smell like an old people's home because of my dog's incontinence!

PS  I have been in many, many French homes including homes of wealthy people but I have not seen that expensive, immaculate "look" like those houses on the programme.  Must just be us folk from the back of beyond, no idea of current trends[;-)]

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Idun wrote -

"And France is a very different country to get into debt, the way the rules are."

I think that's one of the main reasons for the difference. In the UK it's almost accepted to have some level of financial debt, some used to pay for home improvements. But here, you would soon have the huissiers after you. As we've seen recently with an english ex-neighbour.

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Whilst not wishing to get involved in the general debate, may I say that it is most unfair to blame a dog for the odours in the house when there are people present too! In my experience, the latter are far smellier than canines, especially when they get long in the tooth. So, please, a little less discrimination against doggies.
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[quote user="richard51"]Yep, am in the social media generation.

For the astute I was born in 1951 and the more astute will know even more.[/quote]

Well, I'm not that much older than you, and I do not consider myself part of the social media generation, though I use it as a tool, but nothing more ... better things to do with my life ... and much prefer email ... I only started using FB a year ago because I had to manage the page for one of my clubs here in France ....

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That comment was not 'aimed' at you mint....... just that since I have been on this board, I find that there is usually shall I call it a general idea / sentiment, that french people are not interested in material things and that is not how I have found it. A different way of looking at life and a lot of saving to get things, but they do want stuff and it has always got right up my nose that anyone imagines otherwise.

My neighbours mother saving to buy the most horrible Louis? meuble, a buffet en chene massif......... cost a fortune, thousands and she showed me that too when she got it.

A good friend has put up and shut up about their meagre lifestyle......  they would buy what they could when they could afford it, and over the years, she would tell me that they had bought a computer or a new tv etc........ their most exceptional buy was a dish washer, she was literally over the moon with it about ten years ago, talk about excited about it and she showed me it when I went round.

And then when the MIL died and the house was sold and the funds split amongst quite a number of children, then for it all it was not a 'fortune', it was a decent sum and they bought a fairly new BMW.... and they have had a pellet stove installed and they are getting big jobs done on their home and had some proper holidays. And if her MIL had lasted another 10 years, I know that she would not have been saying that they fancied anything at all, but plodding on as before.

And I firmly  believe that that is the way many french people live and not that they do not have envies.

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Surely every living being has envies, it's inbuilt. Babies have envies. Cats and dogs have envies. Isn't it more about how we deal with them, and how we prioritise? Whether we need instant gratification or whether we can keep them on the back burner until the time is right, whether we see them as the highlight of our lives or whether they're peripheral.
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No idea why members always take a pop at ALBF he does have a point, most new car sales in the UK are on contract hire. You did not really get that in France until fairly recently. It is changing here and one day the French will be living of credit as well.
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Leven, woe betide anyone who takes too much credit in France, as so many rent, then IF they want to move, then getting a place, and having too much credit would make it nigh on impossible to get somewhere.

Life is different in France.

 I know of a doctor, specialist, and he is having terrible problems renting, because some parts of France have rents that are very very expensive. This problem is often on french news incidentally.

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I would love to reply to this thread in full but I have no idea what it is about and to get an idea that would require me reading the whole thing on a smartphone and I really don't have the patience so i will have to give you an educated ALBF response when I get back to Paris.

In the meantime I will carry on building my cinema room. Always wanted one and the neighbour is going to be dead jealous when it is finished.

Now i have plaster all over my phone.
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