Eamon OHara - A French Renaissance?: An Irish Family Moves to France

This is a true story based on real-life events. However, the names of some people and places have been changed in order to preserve the anonymity of those involved who may not wish to be identified.

A French Renaissance?

An Irish Family Moves to France

Eamon OHara

Published by

Orpen Press

Lonsdale House

Avoca Avenue

Blackrock

Co. Dublin

Ireland

e-mail: info@orpenpress.com

www.orpenpress.com

Eamon OHara, 2014

Paperback ISBN 978-1-909895-38-6

ePub ISBN 978-1-909895-40-9

Kindle ISBN 978-1-909895-41-6

PDF ISBN 978-1-909895-42-3

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior, written permission of the publisher.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Dedicated to my parents, Michael and Joan

Eamon OHara is a freelance writer, entrepreneur and European policy specialist. A native of Carlow in Ireland, he co-founded Carlow Brewing Company (OHaras Brewery) with his brother in 1996. In 2001, he moved to Brussels to work in European affairs and recently co-founded ECOLISE, a European network to support local action on climate change and sustainability. He currently lives with his wife and children in southwest France, where they run a successful tourism business.

www.eamonohara.com

The first people I have to thank are my fellow adventurers: Tanya, my wife, partner in crime and soul mate, without whom no journey would be the same; and our two children, Ned and Astrid, who were the inspiration for our move to France and who continue to inspire every aspect of our lives three special people with whom I feel very privileged to be able to share my life.

A special thanks also to Ailbhe, Eileen and all the team at Orpen Press for giving me this opportunity, and for their commitment, dedication and professionalism. I am especially grateful to Eileen for her intelligent and insightful suggestions and editorial input.

I am grateful also to the many other people who helped and supported me throughout the writing process, in particular Deirdre ONeill, Antonia Hart and my parents-in-law, Victor and Rachel Treacy.

Finally, I take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for their unwavering support, tolerance and good humour. To my brothers, Seamus and Michael, my sisters, Fiona and Siobhn, to all the old crew from Bagenalstown, and to my other good friends in Ireland, Belgium, France and elsewhere; thank you!

The inspiration to write this book came to me one day as I stood on the side of the street in Brussels watching my car swinging through the air, having been lifted by a crane from a large hole in the ground. This was just a few hours before we were due to sign the contract on the sale of our house, and the day before we were supposed to make a long anticipated move to the south of France. It was a bizarre moment, which had been proceeded by a number of other strange and unexpected events, and as the small group of bystanders who gathered to watch this unusual spectacle oohed and aahed in tandem with the oscillations of the car, it suddenly dawned on me that this move we were about to undertake was going to be no ordinary experience.

In moving to France we were pushing the boundaries, at least our own boundaries, which was leading to all kinds of weird and sometimes wonderful happenings, and I had the feeling that I should try to document it. From then on I began keeping a diary and, as it happened, these early incidents turned out to be only the tip of the iceberg and paled into insignificance in comparison to what would unfold over the following months, as we sought to settle into our new home and our new life in rural France.

During this period, there were high points and low points. There were times when we celebrated the move and times when we questioned and even cursed it. Throughout, however, I was continually struck by the keen interest of friends, colleagues and acquaintances in our progress and not just on a superficial level, but often in the specific details. There was a real curiosity about what we were doing, how we had made it happen and how it was working out. It felt like we were guinea pigs, like we were testing the waters for their own possible move to rural France. I decided, therefore, to turn my diary into a book that would try to satisfy this curiosity, giving a blow-by-blow account of the move, while also sharing the experiences and lessons we learned along the way. In writing this book I have tried to be as honest and frank as possible and as you read on one thing you will discover, as we did, is that moving to the south of France has been nothing like we expected.

We started out with romantic notions of a leisurely family life in the French countryside but the reality has been completely different. That is not to say it has been all bad, which is not the case. It has just been different: some of the things we expected and hoped for we have struggled with, while other things we didnt even contemplate have now become important and treasured aspects of our lives. Along the way, we have grown and matured as a family and as individuals. We have learned some valuable lessons about life, which apply not just in rural France but anywhere people seek to change their lives for the better. Ultimately, this is a book about people, place and relationships and how these impact on our lives and our sense of who we are and what we do.

This book covers the period from the later stages of our property search right up to the end of our second year in France. This was a crucial period in terms of the move, from the excitement of finding the property of our dreams through to the challenges we encountered in trying to settle into our new life in a new community. At the end of the book I take the story right up to the present, with an update on our current situation and how we feel about the move four years on.

I hope you find our story enjoyable and useful, but also inspirational. Having been through this experience, I am convinced more than ever that life change is a realistic goal for anyone who desires it. I hope this book will help you on this journey and, even if it doesnt inspire you to move to rural France, I am certain it will provide some useful insights into how you can change your life for the better. In the words of George Eliot, It is never too late to be who you might have been.

Somewhere in back of my mind, my subconscious has been busy for many years, creating a picture of what might be an idyllic lifestyle. Every now and then, during those dreamy moments between sleep and wake, I would get a glimpse of it. It seemed attractive, but always remote and somewhat fictional. In this picture, I would relocate with my family to somewhere in the French countryside to pursue my dream of being a writer. We would live in an old French chteau or farmhouse, full of character, with a big old fireplace, lots of oak beams, and full-length French windows leading out onto a shaded terrace. There, my wife Tanya and I would sit with our chilled glasses of ros, surveying the gardens, the orchard and the 20 or so acres of land that lay beyond, while I pondered the words I had just penned.