{"id":725,"date":"2021-07-16T11:41:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T10:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bibbyreboso.wordpress.com\/?p=725"},"modified":"2022-04-02T12:20:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-02T11:20:40","slug":"en-pre-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/en-pre-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-France"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.51.57-1-1024x634.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1134 lazyload\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"634\" src=\"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.51.57-1-1024x634.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1134 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.51.57-1-1024x634.png 1024w, https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.51.57-1-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.51.57-1-768x475.png 768w, https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.51.57-1-1536x950.png 1536w, https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.51.57-1-2048x1267.png 2048w, https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.51.57-1-18x12.png 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption><em>Love at first sight &#8230;<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">So this is where I'm at: We (Barrie &amp; I) bought a beautiful big plot with a not so great 'house' in the Haute Vienne, Limousin, South of France. Many months ago. We bought it without physically seeing it (ta very much, global pandemic!) but we're going there to sign the papers in person. On the 28th of July 2021. Finally.\n\nI know what you're thinking. How can you buy a property without even having been there. That's crazy! What were you thinking?!?!\nHere's the reasoning behind it: \n\n1. Stupid corona. \n\n2. We're not getting any younger.\n\n3. I want to work hard and live off the land and have a proper life-time project (yolo).\n\n4. We're not putting any value on the house, only on the building plot and the right to use it as a permanent residency.\n\n5. The land has everything I ever dared to dream of. And more! There's a water source; a lake; a well; wood land; a paddock; space for a big veg patch; a beautiful, unobstructed view; it's isolated and has no near neighbours but is still not too far away from a market town; it's warmer and drier in the summer and proper cold in the winter (compared to Kent which just seems to be wet in summer and damp in winter).\n\n6. I'm saving my relationship with the love of my life, Barrie. He'll stay in the UK but come for visits. We'll make it work because we love each other. He would have left me eventually because I wasn't happy living the life I am\/was and he'll also have more time and energy to focus on business without me constantly being around feeling sorry for myself and moaning about the awful British weather. \n\nSometimes I have to think about the early settlers in America, buying a plot somewhere in the wild west and then risk their lives travelling with horse and covered wagon, not really knowing where they'll end up and how and if they'll make a living. Imagine if they listened to all the doubts, worries and negativity they most probably got from their families and friends. What I'm doing compared to them is peanuts.\n\nSo .... I'm currently in quarantine in Germany as this was the only way for me to actually get into France. At the moment, only fully vaccinated UK residents are allowed in. For people like me, who chose to not get the vaccination, it is extremely difficult and there's only a handful of compelling reasons to allow you in - none of which apply to me.\n\nI'm using my 10-day quarantine in my brother's house in Stuttgart very well, brushing up my French language skills, watching loads of YouTube videos about tiny homes, underground living and permaculture farming and drawing up some future plans. All the while watching the news on TV about the horrible floodings currently happening in Germany, Belgium and France and the horrible drought in the U.S. which is all linked to climate change. I just read an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rfi.fr\/en\/international\/20210623-leaked-un-climate-report-warns-of-radical-changes-in-coming-years-ipcc-environment-global-warming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.rfi.fr\/en\/international\/20210623-leaked-un-climate-report-warns-of-radical-changes-in-coming-years-ipcc-environment-global-warming\">article<\/a> about climate experts predicting even worse for the years to come ... the future for life on our beloved planet sounds very bleak. \n\nI'm writing this while looking out of a loft window and listening to the airplane traffic from Stuttgart airport in the background. By now, we're all aware of climate change, the awful impacts of air pollution and oil production and we are still in the midst of a pandemic, trying to control the spread of a new virus strain and I can hear plane after plane taking off. How very bizarre is that. I wish I could just step away from it all and not be a part of this insane human hypocrisy but I feel like I'm part of a tightly woven web and I can't get out of it.\n\nSo ... how do I make the best out of a situation I don't have too much influence in? \n\nI do my part to make it better, if only for a tiny bit and focus on the good stuff. I won't beat myself up for not living a perfect, 100% carbon neutral life but I'll give my best to hopefully, one day, get very close to this ideal.  One's for sure: it'll be a lot easier on the new plot in France and I will happily give up all the advantages of city living for a simpler, quieter life close to nature. \n\n<span class=\"highlight\">AMENDMENT (26th August 2021):<\/span>\nWhile I was in quarantine in Germany, the vendor died. This is the story of my life: Why easy if it can be complicated. I should be used to it now but it always hits me like a ton of bricks. Even when everything in my life flows, I still hit rapids. \n\nSo anyway, French bureaucracy is complicated and takes time. And nothing ever happens in August!\n\nThe deceased owned the property 50\/50 with his life partner - who is now in mourning as his death was quite a surprise to everyone. We are now waiting for the succession to be documented so his partner is the full owner and can finally sell it to us. The sale will still go through, even if someone else should inherit the other half, but it all takes time. The last I've heard is that the notaire needs proof that the deceased doesn't have any children (as by French law, the children inherit everything).\n\nHow any man could ever be totally sure about that, is beyond me. Just think of Boris Becker.\n\nI was kindly allowed to stay on the land anyway, use it as it was mine already - as long as I don't do anything structural to the 'house'. Obviously, I won't change too much and treat my stay here more as a (working) holiday but this land desperately needs attention. Everything is overgrown times two! And there's rubbish all over the place, hidden underneath the brambles and nettles and grass. Lots to do and I hope I can be here for at least half of the winter to give all the trees some attention. We will see ... \n\n<span class=\"highlight\">AMENDMENT (2nd April 2022):<\/span>\nThe vendor is still waiting for the final succession papers to be cleared by the notaire. I went back to the UK for the winter and feel like sitting in a waiting room. For months. And months. Good thing is, things are moving ahead and it might (or might not) happen in the next few weeks. At least we can be pretty sure that it IS going to happen eventually. I've had my doubts the last few weeks so it's nice to have some sort of assurance. <\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"neve_meta_sidebar":"full-width","neve_meta_container":"contained","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"[\"content\",\"tags\",\"comments\"]","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-quote","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-france","post_format-post-format-quote"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-01-at-17.56.00-scaled-e1635789666632.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgTwXd-bH","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=725"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1268,"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions\/1268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poirier-cheni.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}