Living in the Languedoc

Getting to know your neighbour.

We moved from London, to a tiny village in the Languedoc region in the south of France about three years ago, naively thinking that we`d be one of just a few non-French to live here. It soon became apparent, though, that we were not alone in our “foreigness” but indeed one of many ex-patriots who have relocated to this quiet back of beyond. What`s more, what we thought of as the typical ex-pat, the semi or fully retired type, enjoying copious amounts of wine, cheese and sunshine, whilst certainly present in our village, are not the dominant age-group here. In fact added to the retirees what we have here is a large number of thirty to forty somethings (including ourselves), many with young children, boldly forging new lives for themselves miles away from the city life most of them were used to.

It`s a vibrant and exciting group of people we`ve met – full of enthusiasm for their new home, and determined to work their heads round the famous French bureaucracy so as to set us businesses and make a living here. We`re doing all sorts of things: from property development, to running boutique hotels, from internet marketing to working the organic food stalls at the local market. We`re a mixed bag, and this is the best part of it. What we`ve found particularly joyful about our move here, is that the ex-pat population is made up of a wealth of different kinds of people who I would never have met in back in London. We`ve met people from different parts of the UK, people from entirely opposite backgrounds from our own, people who used to work in industries we hardly realised existed, and people who`ve travelled all over the world with lots of stories to tell.

Ex-pats in France

Now there are some “living in France” purists who poo-poo the idea of even saying “bonjour” to a non-French person; for them the whole point of moving here was to embrace France and attempt the impossible transformation into becoming French themselves. They often say things like “Well, we came here to get to know French people – and we can meet English people all the time”. But the fact is that we`ve met lots of French too. Furthermore, as we`ve gotten to know local people and local history in our part of the Languedoc-Roussillon, we`ve found that the region is a melting-pot of nationalities. In our village many local families are actually second or third generation Spanish; and the family who own the pizzeria are Afganistani. In a neighbouring village, the legacy of WW2 means that a large Italian community is established there. The very location of the Languedoc-Roussillon means that it has forever been the meeting point of many cultures, races and nationalities. Nestled between the Pyrenees Mountains to the south and the plains of Provence to the east, the Languedoc-Roussillon has been an important trade thoroughfare for centuries. And so, today, its population is as diverse as its landscape.

For us the bonus of sharing our social life with the English speaking people we`ve met (for some are Irish, some are South-African, some are Australian) is that we all share a common denominator – we all love this region, and we`re all here to enjoy life. This means also, that we offer each other support through the tricky stuff of settling in a foreign country. We found that it has been particularly useful having people to compare bureaucracy notes with, and to be amongst people who are dealing with “real life” issues such as settling children into local schools, finding the right doctor or medical consultant, and learning French. And whilst we`re all learning about life in France we are also learning things about each other too because we`re from such different backgrounds. We`ve been in the Languedoc-Roussillon for three years now, and not only have we learnt more about the French way of life and local customs, but we`ve also learnt about Irish music and South-African stews, the UK prison service and working on luxury yachts!

So, far from feeling non-plussed that we are not the only “Anglais” in the village, the experience of being part of the ex-pat population has been enriching. That`s not to say that everyone we`ve met has been brilliant – there are some ex-pats that give everyone a bad name by doing nothing to integrate into the local community. We simply choose to give them a wide berth and carry on making our contribution to this diverse, typical (non-French) Languedoc-Roussillon village.