SIPPING a glass of red on a garden bench as the sun sets over the neighbouring chateaux, mum Nicola Glover relishes the silence bar the therapeutic sound of evening crickets.
It’s a world away from her former life in , where she felt constantly stressed in her job working “ridiculous”; hours as a primary school to cover off her £1,000-a-month mortgage and .
“In 2020, I split with my first husband and was re-evaluating my life and what I wanted to do,”; Nicola, 50, tells The Sun.
“I wasn’t happy in my teaching job I’d been at for 14 years – I was very stressed and worked ridiculous hours with deadlines and performance targets that seemed impossible at times. It was always busy.
“I felt like I was on a hamster wheel and was longing for a more slow-paced life.”;
A few months after her marriage ended she began chatting to a man called Pete, now 58 and originally from , in a community group for people considering a move to .
With Pete, an , having also tired of the daily grind in the UK, the pair bonded over their love of the country.
They began dating in August 2020, and decided to pursue their pipe dream to move across the Channel to start a new quieter, rural life together.
“I used to go to France every year as a child, and went to Strasbourg University,”; Nicola explains. “I’ve always loved everything to do with France.
“Pete was working as an HGV driver with very early starts and long days. He was fed up with traffic jams and the conditions of the roads.
“So we explored different areas of France to see which area we’d like to move to, and figure out what we could do as a business.”;
The couple eventually settled on the traditional French village of Affieux in the southern Corrèze region – a relatively undiscovered spot that’s less popular than the neighbouring, touristy region of Dordogne.
Primarily populated with native French people, Nicola adds: “It has a rainforest vibe – it’s green with lots of lakes. Although we do get quite a lot of rain, it’s very hot in the summer.”;
Prior to moving the couple outright bought a 19th century stone cottage with an acre of land and five bedrooms for €175,000 (£149K) in April 2023.
They used their combined savings to purchase the house and used the sale of Nicola’s house in the UK to fund renovations to the property, turning it into a boutique bed and breakfast.
“It’s in the heart of the village of Affieux,”; Nicola says.
“It’s rural and very quiet, with amazing views. The architecture and buildings are medieval and stunning.”;
All you can hear are cows in the field behind the house and crickets
Nicola Glover
It took nearly a year to sort out the paperwork – visas, business plans, and police checks – before the couple finally moved to France in February 2024, both quitting their jobs in the UK.
Nicola says: “There is so much stuff that needs to be done before you can move over.
“You get a visa for 12 months initially, and once you’re here you have to re-apply every 12 months to the local prefecture unless you get a multi-year visa.
“To get the multi-year visa, you have to meet certain criteria, which I managed to get.”;
Compulsory French
However, with Pete’s French language level not as high as Nicola’s, his visa was only renewed for an extra year.
“Pete spoke relatively little French when we moved here but has since passed his A1 level French after receiving compulsory free lessons from the government,”; Nicola explains.
“Everyone on a working visa is assessed on their French level when they move here and if your French isn’t good enough you will be assigned free lessons.
“He is still continuing with French learning: online, books and apps.”;
In her previous life Nicola says she was constantly on the go commuting, working, shopping, ferrying teenagers around, fitting in a social life, sorting admin and cleaning.
Since moving to France, Nicola has loved the “calm and quiet”; of the old-school village she now calls home.
“All you can hear are cows in the field behind the house and crickets,”; she says.
“There is hardly any traffic. It’s all country roads unless you’re going to one of the big cities.”;
She reckons this slow pace of living is in part due to French culture.
“I think the French put more importance on downtime,”; she says. “It’s not all ‘work, work, work’.
“As soon as we go back to the UK we feel stressed. Everyone seems like they are in a rush.
“Here it’s very slowed down. Everyone shuts for lunch, and hardly anywhere is open on a Sunday. You have to plan your day around it, which has taken some getting used to.”;
Community feel
Nicola and Pete have the full support of their grown-up children, who now often visit for holidays.
The couple married in September 2024, and now feel they have much more time for themselves and each other, alongside running their bed and breakfast.
“We play , go for walks, explore the area, and cook together,”; Nicola says.
“We both love renovating and I do a lot of upcycling furniture. We spend time together in our garden, our allotment, and then work on the house.”;
The community feel of Affieux has been a much-loved benefit of the move, Nicola adds.
“There is always a village fete, festival, or evening event. Our neighbours have all been really welcoming.
“We’ve been around to theirs for drinks in the evening, and lunch. They talk to us about our lives.
“They don’t speak in English – we have to integrate in French. They’ve all been so helpful with any information I’ve ever needed.”;
Although most costs are similar to the UK, Nicola says the house prices in the Corrèze region are cheaper, as she was able to get much more for her money.
Her bills are also cheaper, especially given her house in France is considerably bigger than the small home she had in the UK.
Her water bill is £200 a year cheaper, council tax is £400 cheaper, gas and electricity is £1,500 a year and her weekly shop is two thirds of the cost it was back in Blighty.
Wine is also a lot cheaper, with a basic cheap bottle costing just over a euro, and a nice bottle setting them back just €4.
For a “fancy”; three-course lunch, Nicola would expect to pay no more than €25.
Nicola says: “We only buy food that’s in season here, and we waste less food. We also grow a lot of our food now, which we didn’t do in the UK.
We only buy food that’s in season here, and we waste less food. We also grow a lot of our food now, which we didn’t do in the UK
Nicola Glover
“We have room for our own allotment on our land here and have a 30ft polytunnel in our garden. We’re currently growing all sorts which will save us even more money.
“People in France generally rely less on ready meals and convenience foods than in the UK, most meals are prepared from scratch.
“If fruit and veg is not in season it’s generally more expensive – I’ve seen cauliflowers out of season for sale at €5.99 in one supermarket!
“In the UK, we are so used to getting anything at any time. They don’t do that here.
“Seafood is much cheaper though – 12 large tiger prawns cost me €2.25 yesterday!”;
Nicola and Pete brought their own car to France and had it registered there, something that proved quite costly.
“We wanted to keep a right hand drive vehicle and cars are more expensive here than in the UK,”; Nicola says.
“This was a long-winded process though and cost quite a bit as we had to change the headlights.”;
is much the same as in the UK, but they don’t pay an annual tax on cars in France, and MOTs are done every two years.
Another thing that Nicola says is more expensive in France are clothes – but outside of the big cities she’s noticed there isn’t an emphasis on fashion, so she doesn’t feel pressure to keep up with the latest style.
“It’s very casual – jeans, trainers, top and blazer,”; she says.
“There aren’t many charity shops like there are in the UK. People hold onto their clothes forever.”;
There aren’t many charity shops like there are in the UK. People hold onto their clothes forever
Nicola Glover
With the increased number of sunny days in France compared to the UK, Nicola spends lots of time outside with her dog or in her allotment.
“It’s nice to be outdoors more,”; she says. “The blue sky and sunny days help with your mental health.”;
Although she misses her twin daughters, both at university in the UK, as well as Marmite and Dairy Milk chocolate, Nicola can’t see herself moving back to the UK and would recommend rural France to anyone seeking a slower pace of life.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead, but we’re happy where we are right now,”; she says.
Read more about how you can visit Nicola’s B&B here.
