My Good Life in France: In Pursuit of the Rural Dream (The Good Life France)

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Many are mediocre accounts of tussles with the legendary bureaucracy (as if we don’t have such a thing at home), strained relationships with local dignitaries and neighbours, and, for some, an inevitable surrender and retreat. I want something light yet intelligent, not gooey but meaningful, and loaded with local-color, and this book had my interest with that. With little money they decided to do as much of the renovations as they could themselves, no mains drains, electricity, proper rooms, and, even less of a clue how to go about it, they knuckled down to lots of hard, back-breaking work.

La Petite Hostellerie is a quaint restaurant with an outdoor eating area which you can find at 35 rue de la Harpe, 75005 Paris. So you can only imagine our joy when we finally got to settle down for a few weeks on a vineyard in Gaillac, France. It’s not quite like living on the vineyard… you need to have a relative who lives there to have that privilege.Marsh does some of that, and she takes the reader with her adventure to resettle in France from her busy work life in London, a rather popular theme among those ex-pats in France and Italy and other places.

The result is that after an impulsive, unplanned purchase of a rundown building, they now owned property in Northern France. We decided to live the good life and grow our own fruit and veg, keep chickens, ducks and geese and be as self-sufficient as possible. For me it was interesting to read how one of my favourite online magazines came to be The Good Life France, and I can imagine it will be an inspiration to those out there who want to do what Janine did, turn her back on a very successful career, only to develop another one in totally different surroundings, living the good life in France.

We were lucky to be here during the Foire de Gaillac, when local producers gather in a park, set up kiosks and allow you to taste their best wines. Imagine dirt floors, freezing winters and a badly behaved septic tank and you get some idea of the horrors the old barn presented to its new owners.

I don’t want towns disguised as magnets, Mecca where it doesn’t belong, or views to die for…whatever they might be. Towards the end of the book, Janine includes a lot of useful information for adapting to the French lifestyle and negotiating French rules –– both written and unwritten!Oh yes, we recorded his part of the chat in the bustling Le Peloton cafe where you can find my Croc-Monsieur tote bags for sale. Janine Marsh’s book ‘My Good Life in France: In Pursuit of the Rural Dream’ is a true account of one woman finding her place as “a successful expat in France”. I did like how the author didn’t overly romanticize the area, as while beautiful, it could be quite isolated, often had gray, overcast skies especially in fall and winter, and definitely got very cold in the winter; it definitely isn’t sunny, warm Provence. Janine's affection for France, particularly the region where she lives and her enjoyment of the life she and her husband have created is what makes reading about it an uplifting experience. I think what shines through is that she is one of those rare people who can entirely uproot a life, leave behind the corporate dream and still make a tremendous success professionally as well as in creating a peaceful lifestyle.

Throughout this enthralling book you will, like me, fall in love with the North of France, the Seven Valleys region, its coastline, seaside and country villages, the gastronomy, its people and so much more. Love the stories woven with french expressions and the french etiquette lessons in the last chapter. After recently posting some photos of my handmade wreath on my fireplace at Christmas time, many of you asked for more information on how I made my wreath. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission.Along the way she became maid to six cats, three dogs, fifty chickens and ducks, and four mad geese.