August 11, 2024 • 48 mins
Looking for the perfect place to settle in France? Join Susan Hays as she shares her journey to finding the ideal home in the Charente Maritime. From bustling markets in Saintes to the peaceful riverside of Port d'Envaux, explore charming towns, essential tips for buying property, and what makes this region special. Whether you're dreaming of a move to France or just curious about its hidden gems, this episode offers practical advice and inspiration. Don't miss out!
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Annie Sargent (00:15):
This is Join Us in France, episode 506, cinq cent six.
Bonjour, I'm Annie Sargent, and Join Usin France is the podcast where we take
a conversational journey through thebeauty, culture, and flavors of France.
Today, I bring you a real life inFrance report with Susan Hayes,
who will share her experiencesliving in the Charentes Maritimes.
(00:40):
This is a region I've had the pleasureof visiting a few times, and it's
truly enchanting, and I think wehaven't talked about it enough.
If you're concerned about overtourism,it's essential to recognize that France
offers many incredible destinationsbeyond Paris, Provence, and Normandy.
So, join us as we uncover the hiddengems of the Charentes Maritimes, stay
(01:03):
tuned, you won't want to miss this.
And if you live in France and want tocome on the podcast to tell us about
why your place is great, please reachout to me annie@joinusinfrance.com.
This podcast is supported by donors andlisteners who buy my tours and services,
including my Itinerary Consult Service,my GPS self-guided tours of Paris on the
(01:26):
VoiceMap app, or take a day trip with mearound the Southwest in my electric car.
You can browse all of that at myboutique: JoinUsInFrance.com/boutique.
Patreon supporters get new episodes assoon as they are ready and ads free.
If that sounds good to you, be likethem, follow the link in the show notes.
(01:48):
There won't be a magazine part of thepodcast today because Christian, the
wonderful person who puts togetherthese episodes and his family are
going on vacation, so I had toschedule this episode early as well.
I hope you understand that, youknow, this is summer, we take
vacations, but I'm putting out anepisode every Sunday, nonetheless.
(02:09):
I do want to send my thanks anda shout out to our new Join Us in
France champions (02:13):
Harvey and Cheryl.
To join this wonderful communityof Francophiles who keep this
podcast going week after week, go toPatreon.com/JoinUs, and to support
Elyse, go to Patreon.com/ElysArt.
(02:40):
I'll keep sharing timely updates onPatreon and on Facebook, and I'll be
back next Sunday with a regular episode.
Bonjour, Susan Hayes, andwelcome to Join Us in France.
Susan Hays (03:01):
Bonjour and thank you so much, it's a real honor to be a part of this.
Annie Sargent (03:06):
Wonderful to have you.
So we are going to talk about theCharentes Maritimes, which is a department
where you live and you have been livingfor a long time, as you'll tell us.
And you reached out to me because you runa website called ourfrenchlifestyle.com,
which I've looked through and Ithink it's very nice, so we'll talk
(03:26):
about that a little bit at the end.
But first, I would like you to introduceyourself and tell us how you came
to live in the Charentes Maritimesand what you like best about it.
Susan Hays (03:37):
Well, we came here about 10 years ago, having previously lived
further south in France, with ourfamily, five children, so they've
all been educated in France, as well.
And actually, I've been coming to Francesince I was a little girl, and so has
my husband, since he was a small child.
And it was always a bit of a dream tolive here, but working in France is always
(03:59):
quite difficult and making a living.
So to start with, we lived here a littlebit and also in other parts of the world.
And we sort of flitted alittle bit between the two.
So we have sort of multicultural children.
Then we came back here in 2014permanently, before we went to the
States for a tiny bit, and then wecame back here again 10 years ago.
(04:21):
And each time, we've lived inProvence, we've lived near to Biarritz.
And each time we have sort of not quitegot it right, you know, it's so easy
to look at all the properties onlineand be totally, it's like a dream.
Everything looks sort of so wonderful,you know, when you think of France,
and it's so easy to get caught intothese properties that are so beautiful.
(04:45):
And then you buy them quickly and then yourealize you've made a bit of a mistake.
Like so many people, we did this and wemade a mistake in Provence and, beautiful
property though it was with distantviews of the Med and everything you could
dream of, olive trees, but it wasn'tthe dreamy lifestyle that we imagined.
Annie Sargent (05:04):
How so?
What made it differentthan what you imagined?
Susan Hays (05:07):
We got burgled.
Annie Sargent (05:08):
Aha.
Susan Hays (05:09):
That was a really, really down thing, we had to fit a very
expensive burglar alarm before anyinsurance company would even touch us.
And we were just in a little villageand I think it was, the police
just said to us, and this is along time ago, so 18 years ago.
And the police said, take a CD ROM,because obviously that was the days of
things like that, as opposed to justyour mobile phone, of every valuable
(05:33):
you have, because they'll be back.
And, you know, it's quite scary,especially when you've got
young kids and they lock thegates and et cetera, et cetera.
So it wasn't quite thelifestyle we wanted.
When we came back here from theStates, 11 years ago, we knew exactly
what we wanted and we made a list.
And having made some very costlymistakes, you know, and lost a lot
(05:56):
of money, we knew what we wanted andwe knew to stick to our checklist.
And we did.
And we knew we wanted to be within20 minutes of a good sized town
that is open all year round, notjust during the tourist season.
We stuck to it quite rigidly.
And came across our property.
We also knew La Rochelle quite well.
We knew this area from coming herewhen we were both quite small.
(06:19):
Roddy, my husband, knew it fromfishing days and it's close
to the coast, which we love.
We didn't want to be too inland.
It is the second sunniest area in France,maybe not this year, but normally.
Annie Sargent (06:33):
Nowhere is sunny this year.
And where is this year exactly?
Nowhere.
After the Mediterranean, you know, thecoastal areas and those places, this
is meant to be the second sunniestarea in France, and also the driest
area after those Mediterranean areas.
So for instance, further south nearer theDordogne and nearer Bordeaux, they get
(06:55):
around 1200 millimetres of rain a year.
I mean, don't quote me, but roughly,we're supposed to get around about 750.
So, a lot less rainfall.
This year, I think we've, we'veblown all records completely.
But, it's good.
I was just telling you thatthis year, 2024, is the second
wettest year in 65 years.
(07:16):
So we've had rain everywhere.
Susan Hays (07:18):
Yeah.
Here they say it's been thewettest winter in living memory,
which I can well believe.
But then I've heard so many wonderfulstories of people saying they had
plants that were nearly dead thathave come alive again, and the
arts this year have been amazing.
So I guess, you know, nature'sdoing what nature does.
The ground needed it.
Annie Sargent (07:36):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I want to second what you said about,you know, don't be so mesmerized by a
beautiful property that you ignore a lotof other considerations, because there
are a ton of places in France where reallylife would be a bit lonely, a bit boring.
Burglaries can happen anywhere,obviously, but the PACA region, so the
(07:59):
Provence Côte d'Azur region is, famousfor having a problem with burglars.
You really want to consider your list.
So if you don't mind me asking,what was on your list of things
you didn't want to compromise on?
Susan Hays (08:13):
What we didn't want to compromise on, I think were
the mistakes we had made, one wascertainly we did want to feel safe.
I mean, obviously burglaries happeneverywhere, but it is nice to feel safe.
We love the idea that thechildren can run out the door.
When they were little, they went to thevillage primary school and they could walk
down the village streets on their own.
(08:34):
That for them, is still one oftheir best childhood memories coming
back from school aged nine and 11.
I mean, they weren't tiny, tiny, but...
and so they would stop at theboulangerie with their friends on the
way home and buy a pain of chocolator a chocolatine as it's called here,
or a little packet of candy for gouté.
And the memories that they just rememberwith their pull along backpacks coming
(08:57):
being able to do things like that.
So that was one thing.
Number two was absolutely had to besomewhere that had life all year round.
Another mistake we had made before, not inProvence, but further south than here, it
was amazing in the summer and we bought inthe summer and we were totally mesmerized.
And then come the winter, wewere fortunate, we were very good
(09:18):
friends with our French neighbors.
But aside from that, we were, it was sortof kind of on our own, there was nobody
else around, it was very lonely, we werein a tiny little area, no shops were
open, there were no villages, it was,let's say there were three other houses.
And for six months of the year, if Iwanted to get a decent cup of coffee,
and see some real civilization, youknow, sit in a cafe and people watch
(09:41):
and have a bit of fun, it would mean anhour's drive down the autoroute to Pau
or an hour's drive down the autorouteto Biarritz, which when you've then got
to strap in children into car seats andit's just too much, who's going to drive
135 kilometers for a cup of coffee?
Annie Sargent (09:56):
Right.
Right.
And some places it wouldn't be that bad,but if you have to get into the car to do
anything, that's something to think about.
Susan Hays (10:04):
Yeah, definitely.
And we wanted good size cities, that wecould, town cities, that we thought we
could get to within a 20 minute drivethat we could pop out, have lunch if you
need to go and get something if you justnot necessarily spend a lot of money.
But if you just want tofeel a part of society.
That was really important to us.
(10:25):
We also wanted to be relativelyclose to the coast because we
like water and we like the coast.
And the climate, we didn't want to besomewhere that was super long winters,
you know, I come from England andeven after we came back from Florida,
I was really keen to go to Brittanyand Roddy said to me, I know it looks
fabulous now after Florida, but justthink of those long grey winters.
(10:50):
And he's right.
I wouldn't have coped with it.
I know I wouldn't.
Even though I adore Brittanyand Normandy, for me, I need a
little bit more of a sunny area.
Annie Sargent (10:59):
Yeah.
Is he also from Britain?
Susan Hays (11:01):
He is, but he's from the Channel Islands, so
going to Jersey, Albany, whichare very, very close to France.
Annie Sargent (11:06):
Awesome.
Okay.
So what are some of the placesthat you enjoy visiting?
Tell us about the towns you like totake visitors to, the towns you like to
visit yourself because they're just fun.
We'd love to, to hear about that.
Susan Hays (11:21):
So starting right here in our own village, we live in a little village
called Port d'Envaux, and it is reallyunusual because it is small village,
650 people or so, which swells quite abit in the summer, but we do have three
restaurants, we have a riverside cafe, wehave a boulangerie, so it is very unusual
(11:42):
that we can walk to all of those thingsin a tiny village, and that is because we
are situated right on the river Charente.
And it has been a designated swimmingarea for 80 years, and you can rent
kayaks and paddleboards, I think isone of two places in the area that
has anything even vaguely like this.
And people come here from all aroundnearby to the restaurants which
(12:05):
are open 12 months of the yearbecause it's sort of like their
mini seaside resort, if you like.
So we love it here because this isquite buzzing all around you see
people cycling and walking down thestreets, And then, if we want something
a bit bigger, we go into Saintes,which is about 10 minutes from us.
It used to be the capital of theCharentes Maritimes, but that has
(12:27):
now been replaced by La Rochelle.
It dates back to pre-Roman times,so you're walking around a city
that existed over 2000 years ago.
Maybe not some of the buildings,but obviously just to get that
sense of age is utterly phenomenal.
It has one of the best preservedRoman amphitheater in Europe, which
(12:49):
I think was built about 200 years A.
D.
And it is absolutely phenomenal.
We also have a Roman arch whichis from about the same time
frame, and it sits on the riverCharente, so it's very beautiful.
It has a pedestrianized area, beautifulmarkets, the beautiful cathedral.
But most of all, I think it'sjust the history that just comes
(13:10):
across somehow in the atmosphere.
You think you're just walkingthese streets that are so old.
Annie Sargent (13:15):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Saintes is a quaintlittle town, I would say.
It's not a big city, but it'sgood to have a medium sized city.
Do you know the populationof Saintes, for chance?
Susan Hays (13:24):
About 26,000 so it's...
Annie Sargent (13:27):
Okay.
Susan Hays (13:28):
I mean, by European standards that's a nice sized town, you know, by
American Standards is absolutely tiny.
Annie Sargent (13:35):
Yes.
But it's big enough to have ahospital, probably to have doctors
of most specialties anyway, tohave a high school or two, to have
some infrastructure for the locals.
Mm hmm.
Susan Hays (13:48):
Absolutely.
Now, I can vouch that ithas a very good hospital.
Our daughter just spent eight daysthere with a ruptured appendix.
Annie Sargent (13:55):
Mmmh oi!
Susan Hays (13:56):
It is a superb hospital, fantastic care.
It doesn't have a university butyeah, it has high schools, it has
everything you need on a regular basis.
And if you want more, LaRochelle is 45 minutes away.
And La Rochelle is about 120,000.
So a lot bigger with a lot more going on.
(14:16):
And then you can go an hour and aquarter down the road and we have
Bordeaux, which is several million.
Annie Sargent (14:22):
Bordeaux is probably half a million, but then if you took all of the
metro, yeah, it's probably over a million.
Wonderful.
So Port d'Envraux is, pardon, Portd'Envaux, I added an r there, it's got
the name port, but it's not on the sea.
It's a riverport.
And I'm looking at pictures and I'mseeing kids splashing in the river,
(14:47):
you mentioned kayaking earlier.
That's probably just sixmonths out of the year, right?
You don't have people rentingkayaks year round, do you?
Susan Hays (14:56):
No, the kayaks, although we have our own kayaks and paddleboards, and
so we sometimes go out in the winter, butno, it's the kayaks and paddleboards and
electric boats are for rent by the cabin,which is, serves drinks and it's very
much outdoors, they have no indoor area.
So when that is open, you can rent things.
(15:18):
It is basically April through to October.
Annie Sargent (15:20):
And the other thing I'm seeing is like sculptures into the rock.
So is there like a fun walk youcan do that where you walk past?
Susan Hays (15:30):
Yeah, so this area, the stone, the Charentes stone, which is extremely
famous, and Crazannes, which is the nextdoor village, about two kilometers away,
their stone, their quarries, stone wasexported and is used to build a great
deal of Versailles, and was also exportedas a gift to the Americans and is used
(15:51):
in the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Annie Sargent (15:54):
Oh, oh!
Susan Hays (15:55):
So that is our local stone from the next door village.
Annie Sargent (15:59):
So is that Crazanne?
Is that what the one you meant?
Susan Hays (16:02):
Yeah, C R A Z A N N E S.
Right.
The stone works here calledL'Iliopédielle, and this is where
they, you can go, you can walk around,it's an old quarry, there are most
incredible carvings in the rocks.
And all year round you can walkaround, there are carvings with
big stones, big pieces of Crazannestone that they have put up.
(16:24):
But in the summer months, startingabout April, they do workshops.
And also people are there, peoplefrom, last year was the New Zealand
year, we had a lot of Maori culture.
And every year they invite differentsculptors who come and create these
incredible pieces out of stone andhuge pieces, you know, three meters
(16:45):
tall and they're standing on laddersand you can just stand there and watch
them chipping away at the stone andwhat they create is out of this world.
Annie Sargent (16:54):
How fun, how fun.
There's also another one that looks notfar from you, the Château de Panloy.
Is that how they say it?
Panloy?
Susan Hays (17:02):
Panloy, yes, that is literally one of our dog walks, it's maybe a five
minute walk down the road, two and ahalf minutes if you walk super fast.
Beautiful Chateau, they have lots ofevents going on, again it overlooks the
river, family owned through and through.
And they have events, they havehaunted chateau evenings, they have...
Annie Sargent (17:21):
Looks like they do something at Easter.
Susan Hays (17:23):
They do the Easter, they do chasse aux oeufs, the Easter egg hunt.
And they also have opera in the parkin August, which is utterly stunning.
You sit on the lawns, take yourown picnic, and watch the opera
in the grounds of the chateau.
That as the backdrop out of this world.
It's the most magical evening.
Annie Sargent (17:42):
That's wonderful that you live in a small village.
I mean, 600 people is teeny tiny, butyou have so much going on at least part
of the year and then the rest of theyear you can look around not too far.
That's wonderful.
Susan Hays (17:56):
So much going on.
And for locals, you know, there isso much sport as well, I mean, in
the Salle Polyvalente, which I'mtrying to think of what you would
call an English name for that.
Annie Sargent (18:06):
It's a kind of a city facility that can
be used for different things.
So a multicultural hall or somesort of something like that.
Susan Hays (18:15):
It's not really a salle, it's very much the sports, you know,
they have an indoor tennis, they canconvert it for an indoor tennis court,
it's that big, and they have badminton,and the badminton club has 30 or so
members from other villages, theyhave badminton twice a week, Monday
and Thursday, our daughter plays.
Fantastic that all of thesethings are going on, and
(18:36):
everybody is so enthusiastic.
Annie Sargent (18:39):
Yeah, you probably have a lot of associations that do
sports and theater and singing.
Susan Hays (18:46):
Of course hiking is so popular.
The local rambling groups, bicycling.
It is, you know, village life, I think iswhat you make of it, but there is so much
going on and everybody is so welcoming.
Annie Sargent (18:58):
Yeah.
Have you, I suspect because youhave five children, you probably
got to know a lot of people justthrough the children's activities.
Susan Hays (19:05):
Absolutely.
I mean, it certainly helps you standat the school gate and you talk
to people and it's the best way.
And then they get to know friendsand then the friends, you know,
and you get to meet the parents.
It's a great way to meet people.
Annie Sargent (19:16):
Yeah, and then this year they want to join the badminton
club, and next year they want tojoin the handball club and whatever.
And they just get to knoweveryone around that way.
Yeah, that's an excellent point.
But it sounds like there'salso a lot for visitors.
So another place youmentioned was Taillebourg.
Susan Hays (19:37):
Yep.
Annie Sargent (19:37):
Tell me about that.
Susan Hays (19:39):
Taillebourg is almost across the river from us.
It's on the other side of the river.
It is a much, much older, again, it's avillage, it's about the same size as Port
d'Envaux here, but it is much, much older.
It has a huge chateau up onthe hill, which overlooks the
river down over the river.
Port d'Envaux is actually not thatold, which going back to this village
(20:01):
for a minute is quite interesting.
So, the actual main part of Portd'Envaux only dates to about 1800.
Annie Sargent (20:08):
Mhm
Susan Hays (20:09):
Which for a French village is not that old.
The main part of the village and actuallywhere our church is, is actually called
Saint Saturnin, which is a communeof Port d'Envaux just down the road.
They have the really old houses, somedate back to the 1200s, 1300s, 1400s,
and that is where our church is,because that used to be the main part.
And then, this part, where the actualvillage is now, where the restaurants,
(20:33):
the boulangerie, and the houses,was all built at the very beginning
of the 1800s for the shipbuilders.
And this is where the money wasmade, hence the port, because
it was a shipbuilding area wherepeople would stop with their boats.
We actually have a big plaque of all thenames of all the boats, and the sloops
that were made, and who built them, andwho the captain was, and were he lived on
(20:56):
what is translated as Shipbuilder's Road.
And so this is where the money wasmade, because the stone was brought here
and then out to sea, taken to anotherport to then go up the Seine to Paris.
And likewise, it was famous for itsalcohol, for brandy, and cognac.
Going back to Taillebourg, Taillebourgis on the other side of the river
(21:17):
and is much, much older, littlenarrow streets, riverside cafes,
a lot of history, more artsy.
And then Saint-Savinien, next door,Saint-Savinien sur Charentes is a
slightly bigger town of about 2000 people.
That is, again, a very, very artsyplace with a lot of galleries and
(21:38):
little shops, little artisanal shops,and the three villages together
are known as the Golden Triangle.
Annie Sargent (21:44):
Hmm.
Very nice.
Yeah, Taillebourg, I'm lookingat photos as you're talking.
It looks lovely as well.
It does have an old chateau,with an old tower...
Susan Hays (21:54):
And the old chateau, interestingly, that is where, in the
grounds of the old chateau, in one ofthe buildings, is the local primary
school, and the main chateau that youcan see, that is the school canteen now.
Annie Sargent (22:06):
That's cool!
Susan Hays (22:08):
Being a little school kid, that's where, I mean, they
would just take it for granted, butthat's where you have your lunch.
I think it's wonderful.
Annie Sargent (22:14):
There's also a Taillebourg in the Lot-et-Garonne.
So, something to mention to listenersis when you're looking for a place
in France, it's good if you know thezip code as well as the name, because
we do have a lot of names that comeback, you know, time and time again.
So if you just tell your GPS, take meto Taillebourg, it might take you to
(22:35):
the wrong place if you're not careful.
Susan Hays (22:37):
Totally.
In fact, we were with someclients yesterday and they tapped
in one address the day beforeand they're from the States.
And they said they ended up in Cognacand they were about an hour from
where they meant to be, but theydidn't know where they were going.
So they just blindly followed the GPS.
Annie Sargent (22:52):
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you don't know any better, whywould you be very worried about it?
Saint-Savinien, why don'tyou tell me about that place?
It also looks lovely, nice river, youknow, all of these places are along the
river, which adds a lot to the charm.
And the river is La Charente, ofcourse, because Charentes Maritimes.
(23:15):
So in this episode, we're nottalking about seaside towns, we're
talking about towns along the river.
Susan Hays (23:21):
Absolutely.
So, Saint-Savinien is, as I say, part ofthe golden triangle of these three, Port
d'Envaux, Taillebourg, Saint-Savinien.
Saint-Savinien is the biggestit has banks, and more shops, so
it's definitely classified as atown, as opposed to a village.
It has a middle school aswell as a primary school.
(23:41):
It has a big supermarket on theoutskirts, big garden center.
But it's the old part of thetown that is so fascinating.
There are little streets that wind,the big houses again overlook the
river, but then the little streets goalong beside the river or just behind
and wind uphill towards the church.
And there are so manyartists gathered there.
(24:04):
There are lots of little artists'galleries, little artisanal
shops, boutiques owned, youknow, very much individually.
It is exceedingly charming town.
You can grab a coffee, you cango to the boulangerie, there's
a couple of little restaurants.
A lively place all year round, again,with great clubs, great social life.
(24:25):
And it is just beautiful,very, very beautiful.
It used to suffer a lot from flooding,but oh gosh, about 50, 60 years ago,
they started on the lock, which hashelped immensely because now they
can regulate the water and things, soyou know, it's very, very rare now.
Annie Sargent (24:41):
Yeah, it looks like one of the main activities to do there is to
get on a boat and float along the river.
So I assume they have group cruises andthey probably have little electric boats
that you can rent and things like that.
Susan Hays (24:56):
Absolutely, the whole thing.
And there's a big riverboat thatcomes from Saintes all the way
down as far as Saint-Savinien.
You can have dinner on the boat, oraperitifs, or you can just do just a
cruise on its own, whichever you wouldrather, but it's a big boat, it takes
you all the way from Saintes past here.
It calls in on Port d'Envauxquite often on the way back.
It's just a big river boat, superpopular, it's a very popular river.
(25:21):
You'll find a lot of people are havingfishing beside it, families picnicking,
but also as you say, people takinglittle boats and going up and down.
It's very much, you know, we'reonly 40 minutes from the coast
at the most, 35 on a good day.
But this is where everybody comes.
It's like our own little seaside.
Annie Sargent (25:40):
Yeah, yeah, so there's a little company, there's a company
called Les Petits Bateaux sur l'Eau,and it's 30 years old apparently, and
they rent funky looking little boats.
It looks like they have anindustrial crane like they would
be, I don't know, it's a reminderof the industrial past of the area.
I bet kids love that.
If kids can tool around,no, that's fantastic.
(26:03):
Would you say there are alot of visitors in that area?
Susan Hays (26:06):
Huge amount.
The population swells enormously inthe summer, but never to the degree
that you think, Oh my goodness,you can't move, I'm just inundated.
I mean, it is busy, and definitelypeople and bicycles are the main
priority down, certainly down thevillage roads here, as opposed to cars.
But it's not so heaving that youjust think, I can't stand this.
(26:30):
It's a lovely kind of busy.
It's a kind of busy, it just has,because it's families, it's not a
nasty, there's no undercurrent or even,you know, the French drink in a very
different way to a lot of other cultures.
It's always very social, butnot over drinking as such.
And it just, there is a lovelyatmosphere all summer when it's
(26:51):
full and in the winter, yes, youdon't get so many visitors, but we
do still get people that come here.
So, yeah, it is quitetouristy, but not in a bad way.
Annie Sargent (27:00):
Right.
Yeah.
It's a very good point that Frenchpeople drink in a very different way,
because, technically, if you drink twoglasses of wine at lunch and two glasses
of wine at dinner, you're an alcoholiccategory, but it's not, it doesn't feel
the same as binge drinking four glassesof wine in 10 minutes or two pints of
beer in five minutes or whatever it is.
(27:20):
You know, it doesn't have the same effect.
It's more like throughout the day.
There are people who drink alittle bit throughout the day,
especially when they're on vacation.
We drink less and less as far asdaily life, but when people are on
vacation, they're probably goingto have a couple of drinks at lunch
and a couple of drinks at dinner.
And it's, you know, they're not drunk.
They're just having a good time, I guess.
Susan Hays (27:42):
I agree.
I never drink during the daybecause I always end up having
to get in a car or go somewhere.
So, and I don't likedrinking during the day.
I don't drink very much anyway,you know, one glass of wine at
night and that's me completely.
But I think, you're right, what theFrench do is they tend to, they don't
just go, oh, drink and knock it back andthen a second one, and then a third one.
(28:03):
A glass of wine lasts quite a long time.
It's a very different, as you say, theydrink probably more in some ways, but
it's a very different way of drinking.
Annie Sargent (28:13):
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
And you mentioned La Rochelle, briefly,and L'île de Ré, as well as Jonzac.
I want to go talk about those alittle bit, and then we'll talk about
the type of business that you run.
La Rochelle, we've had awhole episode about it.
It is a lovely, lovely town to visit.
I spent two days there.
I wish I had had more.
(28:34):
I think it's a great town to spenda whole week because there is so
much to do around there as well.
What do you think?
Susan Hays (28:41):
I think La Rochelle is absolutely beautiful.
As you said, there isso much to do around.
It's a big city.
The shops are beautiful.
The old archways walking down the streets.
The market is sublime.
And the coast, you've got, you know, thetwo fortresses that overlook where, from
the marina where the boats go out to sea.
(29:02):
It is a beautiful, beautiful city, alot of history, well preserved, lovely
parks, superb food, great restaurants.
Fantastic.
And then of course you can hop overthe bridge by car, which is a big
bridge built in the 60s, 2.6, 2.5kilometers long, to the L'île de
Ré, which is absolutely fantastic.
(29:23):
It's a fantastic island, extremelyexpensive to buy property there,
but most people rent bikes and goaround, it's the best way to see,
but you can just go by car, it'sjust stunning, a wonderful place.
So there is so much going on here.
People come and stay with us for aweek and then say, Oh God, we haven't
(29:43):
even scratched the surface of theplaces we want to go and visit.
Annie Sargent (29:46):
Right.
Yeah, because you have the MaraisPoitevin, which is not far as
well, that's worth a day or two.
And the other town you mentionedis Jonzac, but that one is
south of Saintes, isn't it?
Susan Hays (29:58):
Yep, Jonzac is further south, and when you, like so many
French towns, when you drive throughthe outskirts, you just sort of think,
oh, and keep going, because they tendto build their modern buildings on the
outskirts with their, you know, the modernshops and the big commercial centres.
But when you actually then park in thecentre, and it is all pedestrianised,
(30:19):
really beautiful, and they havea lovely, during the summer, the
summer market, and they have a lotof food stalls and all the tables
are lined up in long trestle tables.
And you just go and buy whatever food youfeel like buying from the food stalls.
And sit at the trestle tables alongwith hundreds of other people.
(30:39):
And they have a live band playingand it's so convivial and you're just
eating whatever you happen to choose.
And you'll have, you know,little kids of six dancing,
teenagers, adults, grandparents.
That is one thing I love about French wayof life is this, there's not this sort
of stigma of teenagers being seen withparents, or being seen with grandparents.
(31:00):
People do tend to mix together, it isfar more socially acceptable that you
can dance with your granny, or dancewith your mother, or your father and...
Annie Sargent (31:09):
Yes.
Susan Hays (31:10):
And I think that is fabulous.
It's a far more familyorientated way of thinking.
Annie Sargent (31:15):
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah.
So if I'm looking at the map of allthe places that we mentioned, the
furthest south is Jonzac, then yougo up to Saintes, then there's a bit
of a triangle with Port d'Envaux,Taillebourg and Saint-Savinien.
And then you continue on, you will drivethrough Rochefort, next to Fouras, which
(31:39):
is, or perhaps they say Fouras, I'mnot sure if they say the S in that one.
Susan Hays (31:42):
Without the S.
Annie Sargent (31:43):
Okay, so Fouras.
Fouras, I thought was alovely, lovely little town.
Then you drive north some more.
I don't know anything aboutChâtelaillon-Plage, but
that sounds intriguing.
Susan Hays (31:56):
Châtelaillon-Plage is really, really pretty.
Quite newly built.
It was bombed quite heavily duringthe war, so it's a bit like Royan,
which is further south on the coast.
Again, bombed heavily during the war.
So you've got a lot of not suchold buildings, but it is lovely.
And the other thing along the coastis we have not just the Île de Ré,
(32:17):
we also have the Ile d'Aix, which isonly accessible by boat from Fouras.
It's a foot boat.
There are no cars except forservice vehicles on the island.
I think about 200 people live therepermanently and it has lots of
little cafes to go in and a wonderfulplace to visit in the summer.
And Napoleon's last place on Frenchsoil, last house where he lived on French
(32:42):
soil before he was exiled to St Helena.
So there was a museum there, wonderfulagain for a day trip to take the boat.
That's Ile d'Aix.
Yep.
So we have the islands.
We also have the l'Ile Madame,which is only no houses.
You just walk around very wild, fabulousfor nature, accessible only at low tide
(33:03):
because you walk across the causeway.
And then of course we have theI'Ile d'Oléron, which is the
further south of the four islands.
Again, heavily populated.
Annie Sargent (33:13):
Yeah.
Susan Hays (33:13):
Fantastic Atlantic beaches, it's where all the
surfers go, amazing surf.
And another very, very pretty island, ifyou like island life, again, connected
by a bridge that's over 2km long.
Annie Sargent (33:24):
So it looks like Fort de l'Ile Madame is something
you can visit and it is connectedto the land by a causeway.
There's this thing called Passe AuBoeuf where it's a hiking trail.
Susan Hays (33:38):
It is, it's a wonderful hike all the way around the island,
but as I say, when it's high tide,you can't get across the causeway.
Annie Sargent (33:44):
Right, right.
So you have to go at theright time for those.
And then Ile d'Aix where youjust have to take a boat.
Susan Hays (33:52):
Absolutely.
Annie Sargent (33:53):
Only from Fouras, or do they also have boats from other towns?
Susan Hays (33:57):
No, only from Fouras.
It's a big, it's quite a big boat.
And you can take your bicycle,or it's foot passages.
Annie Sargent (34:06):
Yeah, yeah.
And, so I said it wrong, thetown is Châtelaillon-Plage.
Châtelaillon-Plage.
Wow, that's a mouthful.
Susan Hays (34:16):
It is very, very pretty again on the Atlantic, a seaside town, but super
pretty, definitely well worth a visit.
Annie Sargent (34:26):
Yeah.
Okay.
Then you go further north and you'reat La Rochelle and then L'île de Ré.
So it's kind of a long, it's 160kilometers between Jonzac and
L'île de Ré if you're driving.
So it's only three hours drive total,but so many places where you can stop
along the way that you can probably spendtwo weeks just doing that, you know.
Susan Hays (34:47):
Oh, absolutely.
Annie Sargent (34:48):
Well, if you're interested in a leisurely exploration of the
Charentes Maritimes, that would bea very nice way to do it because you
do some inland, some on the ocean.
Of course, these are not the only places.
Again, I have to say this allthe time, you know, we select
a few places to tell you about.
This doesn't mean that there'snot more interesting places.
(35:10):
We just have to pick a few.
Susan Hays (35:12):
Exactly.
And, you know, for foodie and winey,you know, wine buffs, of course,
we are covered in vineyards here.
Very famous for the local drink,which is the Pinot des Charentes,
as well as Cognac, obviously.
So you can go on wine tours.
Plenty do that.
And also, if you head to the coast,Marennes, which is just before you get to
(35:35):
the I'Ile d'Oléron, is the oyster capital.
It's absolutely famous for its oysters.
And you literally, you can drivealong and there are loads of little
seaside wooden shacks that you pass on.
Literally shacks, I say, because youpass them on the road and they look like
they would blow down in a puff of wind.
And they're selling oysters, or mussels,and you can literally just sit beside the
(35:57):
road, the little table and have your glassof pinot or whatever, and your oysters.
Fantastic for seafood, and you can pickyour own live seafood if you want to
choose, langoustine or whatever you want.
It is really the seafood capital.
Annie Sargent (36:11):
So briefly, let's mention your business, you are a realtor, I guess?
Susan Hays (36:16):
Well, no, yes and no.
Basically, we are house hunters, so wehelp people find the right property.
We don't sell propertiesfor people at all.
That is not, I guess we're not realestate, we don't sell properties.
We have learned through our ownexperiences and our own very costly
(36:37):
mistakes that especially moving to aforeign country, although we do have
clients from Paris and French peopletoo, that it is really difficult to
find the perfect house in the perfectarea, especially in France, because
there's not real estate agents.
The listings tend not to bevery, they're not fabulous.
You know, you don't really see anawful lot of what you're going to get.
(37:00):
The photos aren't always the best.
They tend to leave out quite a few things.
And as you say, you can go onlineand you can look at a million
beautiful properties, but how doyou know if that area is going
to suit you, or if that propertyreally is quite what they say it is.
Annie Sargent (37:15):
It's more of a custom, kind of, you chat with your potential customers
and you help them find the right place.
Susan Hays (37:21):
We help them find the right property because you know here
houses is not common to have a surveydone so you know people don't...
there are not surveyors who go aroundand you pay like in England for example
as x amount a few hundred poundsto have your house surveyed so you
know exactly what is wrong with it.
Here there is the standard diagnosticwhich does your lead, and your plumb
(37:41):
lead, and your electrics and that's it.
Annie Sargent (37:44):
Yeah.
And they tell you if the place isefficient as far as heating and
cooling, but that's it's pretty basic.
Yeah.
Susan Hays (37:51):
We basically help people, we talk to them, we
find out exactly what they want.
If this area is going to suit them,because obviously we only work in
this area because this is where weknow, and it would be wrong to advise
people on an area we don't know about.
Annie Sargent (38:06):
Sure.
Sure.
And you have a cottage that you rent out?
Susan Hays (38:12):
We do, we have, it's just one bedroom, it's in the gardens, it's
called La Cachette, which means the hidingplace, because it is really hidden in the
gardens, it's only accessible on foot.
There is no parking outside, andyou walk down through the garden,
and it's a south facing terrace,overlooking the swimming pool.
And it's our little pride andjoy, we absolutely love it, and
(38:35):
we so enjoy welcoming guests here.
It is just for two people, werespect that a lot of people
want privacy and we respect that.
But when people want to chat, wealso love sitting in the evening
having a glass of wine, chatting andtalking and getting to know people.
It's really, so lovehaving the guest cottage.
Annie Sargent (38:54):
You also have a selection of products that you sell, etc.
So, so yes everybody who's interested inany of this, go to ourfrenchlifestyle.com
and you'll find it all there.
Susan Hays (39:05):
Thank you, thank you.
Annie Sargent (39:06):
Yes.
Yes.
So Susan, do you have general advice forpeople who are hoping to come to France?
Perhaps scouting out the right areato live in, or perhaps just wanting
to explore the area for a week or two.
Things that they should think aboutbefore embarking on a journey like this.
Susan Hays (39:28):
I think it's different if you're coming for a holiday
or if you're coming with the ideaof potentially buying somewhere.
If you're coming for holiday then,I always like to do a little bit
of research before I go anywhere,so I know roughly where I'm going
and what I hope to go and see.
If you're coming with the idea ofpossibly moving here or buying a
second home here, then I think the mostimportant thing is just have a wish list.
(39:52):
You might not stick to it and accept thefact that, you know, compromises do have
to be made, but write down very clearlywhat you would like in an ideal world,
and then mark the things that perhapsyou would be willing to compromise on.
And likewise, mark the thingsthat are absolutely non negotiable
and stick to those because Ithink those are really important.
Annie Sargent (40:15):
I'm just curious about your kids, are they all grown
by now or are they still young?
Susan Hays (40:20):
No, the youngest is 17 and the eldest is 27 so there are five
of them and they're 10 years apart.
Our eldest works and lives in Londonbut comes over here about once a month.
She loves coming back here all the time.
Our second eldest is in theChannel Islands in Guernsey
and she's getting married nextyear, which is super exciting.
(40:41):
My son has just finished university inBordeaux, and he did fine art in Bordeaux
and he is currently thinking about thefuture and working in the local riverside
cafe for, you know, good summer money and.
Yeah.
And then our second youngestdaughter is having a gap year in
(41:01):
between high school and university.
And then she starts, she was goingto start university this year
doing international economics.
Didn't really know what to do, didn'treally want to do it, it was sort
of something she put her back and,you know, sort of fell into and
she thought, no, this is not right.
So she's actually been volunteeringat the local primary school all year.
Annie Sargent (41:23):
Well...
Susan Hays (41:24):
A French thing called Service Civique, which basically, yeah,
you're a volunteer, you have to do Xnumber of days per year and you get paid
600 a month, so not very much money.
But you could, obviously you wouldn'tbe able to work in the school
otherwise, because you wouldn'thave any qualifications, so she
has really enjoyed helping out.
In fact, she now does the Englishclasses all on her own to these
(41:47):
little kids, because she speaks moreEnglish than the other teachers, and
maths, the art, so she's done that.
And she's also reached out, she thoughtshe might want to go into graphic design
and arts, so she reached out to a lotof local societies and clubs and offered
to do their artwork for them for free.
(42:08):
And she has, she's helpingan art gallery at the moment
across the river in Taillebourg.
And then the mayor said, could she comeand help him with some work for the mayor?
And she's done the local badminton clublogo here and the local tennis club.
So, you know, she's beenreally active doing her thing.
Annie Sargent (42:25):
She's building a portfolio, that's great.
Susan Hays (42:28):
Absolutely.
And then our youngest daughteris 17 and in her last year of
school, but she's homeschooled.
She is semi pro tennis player andplaying on the international circuit.
Annie Sargent (42:38):
Wow.
Wow.
Well, you have quite the family.
That's wonderful.
Wonderful.
So do you think this is apermanent residence for you?
Are you thinking of stayingput for the time being?
Susan Hays (42:49):
Yeah, it's perfect.
I mean, I think if we moved the childrenwould kill us for a start, because they
just say this is absolute heaven on earth.
And even, you know, 10 yearslater, I'd have to pinch myself
that we actually live here.
Sometimes it still feelslike a bit of a dream.
Annie Sargent (43:04):
Is this an area that has a lot of English people that move to?
Susan Hays (43:09):
Well, it has quite a few foreigners, and not just English.
We have American, we haveDutch, we have German, Belgians,
Canadians, New Zealanders.
But not totally overrun.
There are places inland that arefar more heavily populated because
obviously, the further you go inland,the less expensive it becomes.
(43:31):
Like anywhere in the world whenyou're relatively close to the
coast, the price tag goes up.
So there are a nice amountof English, or expats.
There is a nice community, withoutfeeling totally overwhelmed.
You can still, I mean, our kidswere the first ever English
children in the primary school.
So it's not, and I think that's nice.
(43:51):
It's a nice amount.
Annie Sargent (43:52):
Well, so clearly your kids are bilingual.
Have you and your husbandlearned much French?
Susan Hays (43:57):
Yeah, I would say we're pretty much bilingual.
I mean, I still get verbs occasionallywrong and my children shout at me
and correct me absolutely instantly.
In front of whoever you're speaking to,you sort of want the ground to open up.
Annie Sargent (44:10):
Right, but you're comfortable picking up the phone
and making an appointment with...
Susan Hays (44:15):
Absolutely, and going to dinner parties with French
people and mix, we have manyFrench friends, totally, at home.
Annie Sargent (44:21):
That's really important because if you're permanently in fear of
needing to speak French, either becauseof a medical situation or because of
a, I don't know, paperwork you needto do, or, you know, if that stresses
you out, then that really means youneed to work on your French because...
yeah, this is France, you need to learn.
Susan Hays (44:42):
Yeah, you need to get more out of the, you know, I think
it would be awful to be, if you livehere permanently, and you've been
here for a long time, to walk down theroad to the shops and not to be able
to have a conversation with somebody.
Annie Sargent (44:56):
Yeah, that's absolutely vital.
All right, Susan, you havebeen a delight to talk to.
Thank you so much for sharing about thispart of France, which I have not seen most
of the towns, especially in the trianglethat you mentioned, I have not seen them.
They look really appealing.
I would like to go.
They look like the kind of placewhere you could spend a wonderful
few days and have a wonderful time.
Susan Hays (45:17):
It's known as a pretty well kept secret.
And I think, just a quick additionI should have mentioned, what keeps
it so buzzing, and so it's quitea cosmopolitan area, is because
it is really loved by parisians.
A lot of parisians have secondhomes here, because it's very
easily accessible from Paris.
It's three and a half hours by train, fourand a half hours by car, and this is where
(45:40):
they all come for their summer holidays.
If they don't head south, they come here.
And so this is what keepsit buzzing all year round.
Annie Sargent (45:47):
Wonderful.
Susan, thank you so much fortalking to me, and hopefully
I'll go visit and say hi to you.
Susan Hays (45:53):
Absolutely, we'd love to welcome you here.
Annie Sargent (45:55):
Merci beaucoup, Susan.
Susan Hays (45:57):
Merci.
Au revoir.
Annie Sargent (45:59):
Au revoir.
The Join Us in France travelpodcast is written, hosted, and
produced by Annie Sargent andCopyright 2024 by AddictedToFrance.
It is released under a CreativeCommons, attribution, non-commercial,
(46:19):
no derivatives license.
This is Join Us in France, episode 506, cinq cent six.
Bonjour, I'm Annie Sargent, and Join Usin France is the podcast where we take
a conversational journey through thebeauty, culture, and flavors of France.
Today, I bring you a real life inFrance report with Susan Hayes,
who will share her experiencesliving in the Charentes Maritimes.
(00:40):
This is a region I've had the pleasureof visiting a few times, and it's
truly enchanting, and I think wehaven't talked about it enough.
If you're concerned about overtourism,it's essential to recognize that France
offers many incredible destinationsbeyond Paris, Provence, and Normandy.
So, join us as we uncover the hiddengems of the Charentes Maritimes, stay
(01:03):
tuned, you won't want to miss this.
And if you live in France and want tocome on the podcast to tell us about
why your place is great, please reachout to me annie@joinusinfrance.com.
This podcast is supported by donors andlisteners who buy my tours and services,
including my Itinerary Consult Service,my GPS self-guided tours of Paris on the
(01:26):
VoiceMap app, or take a day trip with mearound the Southwest in my electric car.
You can browse all of that at myboutique: JoinUsInFrance.com/boutique.
Patreon supporters get new episodes assoon as they are ready and ads free.
If that sounds good to you, be likethem, follow the link in the show notes.
(01:48):
There won't be a magazine part of thepodcast today because Christian, the
wonderful person who puts togetherthese episodes and his family are
going on vacation, so I had toschedule this episode early as well.
I hope you understand that, youknow, this is summer, we take
vacations, but I'm putting out anepisode every Sunday, nonetheless.
(02:09):
I do want to send my thanks anda shout out to our new Join Us in
France champions (02:13):
Harvey and Cheryl.
To join this wonderful communityof Francophiles who keep this
podcast going week after week, go toPatreon.com/JoinUs, and to support
Elyse, go to Patreon.com/ElysArt.
(02:40):
I'll keep sharing timely updates onPatreon and on Facebook, and I'll be
back next Sunday with a regular episode.
Bonjour, Susan Hayes, andwelcome to Join Us in France.
Susan Hays (03:01):
Bonjour and thank you so much, it's a real honor to be a part of this.
Annie Sargent (03:06):
Wonderful to have you.
So we are going to talk about theCharentes Maritimes, which is a department
where you live and you have been livingfor a long time, as you'll tell us.
And you reached out to me because you runa website called ourfrenchlifestyle.com,
which I've looked through and Ithink it's very nice, so we'll talk
(03:26):
about that a little bit at the end.
But first, I would like you to introduceyourself and tell us how you came
to live in the Charentes Maritimesand what you like best about it.
Susan Hays (03:37):
Well, we came here about 10 years ago, having previously lived
further south in France, with ourfamily, five children, so they've
all been educated in France, as well.
And actually, I've been coming to Francesince I was a little girl, and so has
my husband, since he was a small child.
And it was always a bit of a dream tolive here, but working in France is always
(03:59):
quite difficult and making a living.
So to start with, we lived here a littlebit and also in other parts of the world.
And we sort of flitted alittle bit between the two.
So we have sort of multicultural children.
Then we came back here in 2014permanently, before we went to the
States for a tiny bit, and then wecame back here again 10 years ago.
(04:21):
And each time, we've lived inProvence, we've lived near to Biarritz.
And each time we have sort of not quitegot it right, you know, it's so easy
to look at all the properties onlineand be totally, it's like a dream.
Everything looks sort of so wonderful,you know, when you think of France,
and it's so easy to get caught intothese properties that are so beautiful.
(04:45):
And then you buy them quickly and then yourealize you've made a bit of a mistake.
Like so many people, we did this and wemade a mistake in Provence and, beautiful
property though it was with distantviews of the Med and everything you could
dream of, olive trees, but it wasn'tthe dreamy lifestyle that we imagined.
Annie Sargent (05:04):
How so?
What made it differentthan what you imagined?
Susan Hays (05:07):
We got burgled.
Annie Sargent (05:08):
Aha.
Susan Hays (05:09):
That was a really, really down thing, we had to fit a very
expensive burglar alarm before anyinsurance company would even touch us.
And we were just in a little villageand I think it was, the police
just said to us, and this is along time ago, so 18 years ago.
And the police said, take a CD ROM,because obviously that was the days of
things like that, as opposed to justyour mobile phone, of every valuable
(05:33):
you have, because they'll be back.
And, you know, it's quite scary,especially when you've got
young kids and they lock thegates and et cetera, et cetera.
So it wasn't quite thelifestyle we wanted.
When we came back here from theStates, 11 years ago, we knew exactly
what we wanted and we made a list.
And having made some very costlymistakes, you know, and lost a lot
(05:56):
of money, we knew what we wanted andwe knew to stick to our checklist.
And we did.
And we knew we wanted to be within20 minutes of a good sized town
that is open all year round, notjust during the tourist season.
We stuck to it quite rigidly.
And came across our property.
We also knew La Rochelle quite well.
We knew this area from coming herewhen we were both quite small.
(06:19):
Roddy, my husband, knew it fromfishing days and it's close
to the coast, which we love.
We didn't want to be too inland.
It is the second sunniest area in France,maybe not this year, but normally.
Annie Sargent (06:33):
Nowhere is sunny this year.
And where is this year exactly?
Nowhere.
After the Mediterranean, you know, thecoastal areas and those places, this
is meant to be the second sunniestarea in France, and also the driest
area after those Mediterranean areas.
So for instance, further south nearer theDordogne and nearer Bordeaux, they get
(06:55):
around 1200 millimetres of rain a year.
I mean, don't quote me, but roughly,we're supposed to get around about 750.
So, a lot less rainfall.
This year, I think we've, we'veblown all records completely.
But, it's good.
I was just telling you thatthis year, 2024, is the second
wettest year in 65 years.
(07:16):
So we've had rain everywhere.
Susan Hays (07:18):
Yeah.
Here they say it's been thewettest winter in living memory,
which I can well believe.
But then I've heard so many wonderfulstories of people saying they had
plants that were nearly dead thathave come alive again, and the
arts this year have been amazing.
So I guess, you know, nature'sdoing what nature does.
The ground needed it.
Annie Sargent (07:36):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I want to second what you said about,you know, don't be so mesmerized by a
beautiful property that you ignore a lotof other considerations, because there
are a ton of places in France where reallylife would be a bit lonely, a bit boring.
Burglaries can happen anywhere,obviously, but the PACA region, so the
(07:59):
Provence Côte d'Azur region is, famousfor having a problem with burglars.
You really want to consider your list.
So if you don't mind me asking,what was on your list of things
you didn't want to compromise on?
Susan Hays (08:13):
What we didn't want to compromise on, I think were
the mistakes we had made, one wascertainly we did want to feel safe.
I mean, obviously burglaries happeneverywhere, but it is nice to feel safe.
We love the idea that thechildren can run out the door.
When they were little, they went to thevillage primary school and they could walk
down the village streets on their own.
(08:34):
That for them, is still one oftheir best childhood memories coming
back from school aged nine and 11.
I mean, they weren't tiny, tiny, but...
and so they would stop at theboulangerie with their friends on the
way home and buy a pain of chocolator a chocolatine as it's called here,
or a little packet of candy for gouté.
And the memories that they just rememberwith their pull along backpacks coming
(08:57):
being able to do things like that.
So that was one thing.
Number two was absolutely had to besomewhere that had life all year round.
Another mistake we had made before, not inProvence, but further south than here, it
was amazing in the summer and we bought inthe summer and we were totally mesmerized.
And then come the winter, wewere fortunate, we were very good
(09:18):
friends with our French neighbors.
But aside from that, we were, it was sortof kind of on our own, there was nobody
else around, it was very lonely, we werein a tiny little area, no shops were
open, there were no villages, it was,let's say there were three other houses.
And for six months of the year, if Iwanted to get a decent cup of coffee,
and see some real civilization, youknow, sit in a cafe and people watch
(09:41):
and have a bit of fun, it would mean anhour's drive down the autoroute to Pau
or an hour's drive down the autorouteto Biarritz, which when you've then got
to strap in children into car seats andit's just too much, who's going to drive
135 kilometers for a cup of coffee?
Annie Sargent (09:56):
Right.
Right.
And some places it wouldn't be that bad,but if you have to get into the car to do
anything, that's something to think about.
Susan Hays (10:04):
Yeah, definitely.
And we wanted good size cities, that wecould, town cities, that we thought we
could get to within a 20 minute drivethat we could pop out, have lunch if you
need to go and get something if you justnot necessarily spend a lot of money.
But if you just want tofeel a part of society.
That was really important to us.
(10:25):
We also wanted to be relativelyclose to the coast because we
like water and we like the coast.
And the climate, we didn't want to besomewhere that was super long winters,
you know, I come from England andeven after we came back from Florida,
I was really keen to go to Brittanyand Roddy said to me, I know it looks
fabulous now after Florida, but justthink of those long grey winters.
(10:50):
And he's right.
I wouldn't have coped with it.
I know I wouldn't.
Even though I adore Brittanyand Normandy, for me, I need a
little bit more of a sunny area.
Annie Sargent (10:59):
Yeah.
Is he also from Britain?
Susan Hays (11:01):
He is, but he's from the Channel Islands, so
going to Jersey, Albany, whichare very, very close to France.
Annie Sargent (11:06):
Awesome.
Okay.
So what are some of the placesthat you enjoy visiting?
Tell us about the towns you like totake visitors to, the towns you like to
visit yourself because they're just fun.
We'd love to, to hear about that.
Susan Hays (11:21):
So starting right here in our own village, we live in a little village
called Port d'Envaux, and it is reallyunusual because it is small village,
650 people or so, which swells quite abit in the summer, but we do have three
restaurants, we have a riverside cafe, wehave a boulangerie, so it is very unusual
(11:42):
that we can walk to all of those thingsin a tiny village, and that is because we
are situated right on the river Charente.
And it has been a designated swimmingarea for 80 years, and you can rent
kayaks and paddleboards, I think isone of two places in the area that
has anything even vaguely like this.
And people come here from all aroundnearby to the restaurants which
(12:05):
are open 12 months of the yearbecause it's sort of like their
mini seaside resort, if you like.
So we love it here because this isquite buzzing all around you see
people cycling and walking down thestreets, And then, if we want something
a bit bigger, we go into Saintes,which is about 10 minutes from us.
It used to be the capital of theCharentes Maritimes, but that has
(12:27):
now been replaced by La Rochelle.
It dates back to pre-Roman times,so you're walking around a city
that existed over 2000 years ago.
Maybe not some of the buildings,but obviously just to get that
sense of age is utterly phenomenal.
It has one of the best preservedRoman amphitheater in Europe, which
(12:49):
I think was built about 200 years A.
D.
And it is absolutely phenomenal.
We also have a Roman arch whichis from about the same time
frame, and it sits on the riverCharente, so it's very beautiful.
It has a pedestrianized area, beautifulmarkets, the beautiful cathedral.
But most of all, I think it'sjust the history that just comes
(13:10):
across somehow in the atmosphere.
You think you're just walkingthese streets that are so old.
Annie Sargent (13:15):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Saintes is a quaintlittle town, I would say.
It's not a big city, but it'sgood to have a medium sized city.
Do you know the populationof Saintes, for chance?
Susan Hays (13:24):
About 26,000 so it's...
Annie Sargent (13:27):
Okay.
Susan Hays (13:28):
I mean, by European standards that's a nice sized town, you know, by
American Standards is absolutely tiny.
Annie Sargent (13:35):
Yes.
But it's big enough to have ahospital, probably to have doctors
of most specialties anyway, tohave a high school or two, to have
some infrastructure for the locals.
Mm hmm.
Susan Hays (13:48):
Absolutely.
Now, I can vouch that ithas a very good hospital.
Our daughter just spent eight daysthere with a ruptured appendix.
Annie Sargent (13:55):
Mmmh oi!
Susan Hays (13:56):
It is a superb hospital, fantastic care.
It doesn't have a university butyeah, it has high schools, it has
everything you need on a regular basis.
And if you want more, LaRochelle is 45 minutes away.
And La Rochelle is about 120,000.
So a lot bigger with a lot more going on.
(14:16):
And then you can go an hour and aquarter down the road and we have
Bordeaux, which is several million.
Annie Sargent (14:22):
Bordeaux is probably half a million, but then if you took all of the
metro, yeah, it's probably over a million.
Wonderful.
So Port d'Envraux is, pardon, Portd'Envaux, I added an r there, it's got
the name port, but it's not on the sea.
It's a riverport.
And I'm looking at pictures and I'mseeing kids splashing in the river,
(14:47):
you mentioned kayaking earlier.
That's probably just sixmonths out of the year, right?
You don't have people rentingkayaks year round, do you?
Susan Hays (14:56):
No, the kayaks, although we have our own kayaks and paddleboards, and
so we sometimes go out in the winter, butno, it's the kayaks and paddleboards and
electric boats are for rent by the cabin,which is, serves drinks and it's very
much outdoors, they have no indoor area.
So when that is open, you can rent things.
(15:18):
It is basically April through to October.
Annie Sargent (15:20):
And the other thing I'm seeing is like sculptures into the rock.
So is there like a fun walk youcan do that where you walk past?
Susan Hays (15:30):
Yeah, so this area, the stone, the Charentes stone, which is extremely
famous, and Crazannes, which is the nextdoor village, about two kilometers away,
their stone, their quarries, stone wasexported and is used to build a great
deal of Versailles, and was also exportedas a gift to the Americans and is used
(15:51):
in the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Annie Sargent (15:54):
Oh, oh!
Susan Hays (15:55):
So that is our local stone from the next door village.
Annie Sargent (15:59):
So is that Crazanne?
Is that what the one you meant?
Susan Hays (16:02):
Yeah, C R A Z A N N E S.
Right.
The stone works here calledL'Iliopédielle, and this is where
they, you can go, you can walk around,it's an old quarry, there are most
incredible carvings in the rocks.
And all year round you can walkaround, there are carvings with
big stones, big pieces of Crazannestone that they have put up.
(16:24):
But in the summer months, startingabout April, they do workshops.
And also people are there, peoplefrom, last year was the New Zealand
year, we had a lot of Maori culture.
And every year they invite differentsculptors who come and create these
incredible pieces out of stone andhuge pieces, you know, three meters
(16:45):
tall and they're standing on laddersand you can just stand there and watch
them chipping away at the stone andwhat they create is out of this world.
Annie Sargent (16:54):
How fun, how fun.
There's also another one that looks notfar from you, the Château de Panloy.
Is that how they say it?
Panloy?
Susan Hays (17:02):
Panloy, yes, that is literally one of our dog walks, it's maybe a five
minute walk down the road, two and ahalf minutes if you walk super fast.
Beautiful Chateau, they have lots ofevents going on, again it overlooks the
river, family owned through and through.
And they have events, they havehaunted chateau evenings, they have...
Annie Sargent (17:21):
Looks like they do something at Easter.
Susan Hays (17:23):
They do the Easter, they do chasse aux oeufs, the Easter egg hunt.
And they also have opera in the parkin August, which is utterly stunning.
You sit on the lawns, take yourown picnic, and watch the opera
in the grounds of the chateau.
That as the backdrop out of this world.
It's the most magical evening.
Annie Sargent (17:42):
That's wonderful that you live in a small village.
I mean, 600 people is teeny tiny, butyou have so much going on at least part
of the year and then the rest of theyear you can look around not too far.
That's wonderful.
Susan Hays (17:56):
So much going on.
And for locals, you know, there isso much sport as well, I mean, in
the Salle Polyvalente, which I'mtrying to think of what you would
call an English name for that.
Annie Sargent (18:06):
It's a kind of a city facility that can
be used for different things.
So a multicultural hall or somesort of something like that.
Susan Hays (18:15):
It's not really a salle, it's very much the sports, you know,
they have an indoor tennis, they canconvert it for an indoor tennis court,
it's that big, and they have badminton,and the badminton club has 30 or so
members from other villages, theyhave badminton twice a week, Monday
and Thursday, our daughter plays.
Fantastic that all of thesethings are going on, and
(18:36):
everybody is so enthusiastic.
Annie Sargent (18:39):
Yeah, you probably have a lot of associations that do
sports and theater and singing.
Susan Hays (18:46):
Of course hiking is so popular.
The local rambling groups, bicycling.
It is, you know, village life, I think iswhat you make of it, but there is so much
going on and everybody is so welcoming.
Annie Sargent (18:58):
Yeah.
Have you, I suspect because youhave five children, you probably
got to know a lot of people justthrough the children's activities.
Susan Hays (19:05):
Absolutely.
I mean, it certainly helps you standat the school gate and you talk
to people and it's the best way.
And then they get to know friendsand then the friends, you know,
and you get to meet the parents.
It's a great way to meet people.
Annie Sargent (19:16):
Yeah, and then this year they want to join the badminton
club, and next year they want tojoin the handball club and whatever.
And they just get to knoweveryone around that way.
Yeah, that's an excellent point.
But it sounds like there'salso a lot for visitors.
So another place youmentioned was Taillebourg.
Susan Hays (19:37):
Yep.
Annie Sargent (19:37):
Tell me about that.
Susan Hays (19:39):
Taillebourg is almost across the river from us.
It's on the other side of the river.
It is a much, much older, again, it's avillage, it's about the same size as Port
d'Envaux here, but it is much, much older.
It has a huge chateau up onthe hill, which overlooks the
river down over the river.
Port d'Envaux is actually not thatold, which going back to this village
(20:01):
for a minute is quite interesting.
So, the actual main part of Portd'Envaux only dates to about 1800.
Annie Sargent (20:08):
Mhm
Susan Hays (20:09):
Which for a French village is not that old.
The main part of the village and actuallywhere our church is, is actually called
Saint Saturnin, which is a communeof Port d'Envaux just down the road.
They have the really old houses, somedate back to the 1200s, 1300s, 1400s,
and that is where our church is,because that used to be the main part.
And then, this part, where the actualvillage is now, where the restaurants,
(20:33):
the boulangerie, and the houses,was all built at the very beginning
of the 1800s for the shipbuilders.
And this is where the money wasmade, hence the port, because
it was a shipbuilding area wherepeople would stop with their boats.
We actually have a big plaque of all thenames of all the boats, and the sloops
that were made, and who built them, andwho the captain was, and were he lived on
(20:56):
what is translated as Shipbuilder's Road.
And so this is where the money wasmade, because the stone was brought here
and then out to sea, taken to anotherport to then go up the Seine to Paris.
And likewise, it was famous for itsalcohol, for brandy, and cognac.
Going back to Taillebourg, Taillebourgis on the other side of the river
(21:17):
and is much, much older, littlenarrow streets, riverside cafes,
a lot of history, more artsy.
And then Saint-Savinien, next door,Saint-Savinien sur Charentes is a
slightly bigger town of about 2000 people.
That is, again, a very, very artsyplace with a lot of galleries and
(21:38):
little shops, little artisanal shops,and the three villages together
are known as the Golden Triangle.
Annie Sargent (21:44):
Hmm.
Very nice.
Yeah, Taillebourg, I'm lookingat photos as you're talking.
It looks lovely as well.
It does have an old chateau,with an old tower...
Susan Hays (21:54):
And the old chateau, interestingly, that is where, in the
grounds of the old chateau, in one ofthe buildings, is the local primary
school, and the main chateau that youcan see, that is the school canteen now.
Annie Sargent (22:06):
That's cool!
Susan Hays (22:08):
Being a little school kid, that's where, I mean, they
would just take it for granted, butthat's where you have your lunch.
I think it's wonderful.
Annie Sargent (22:14):
There's also a Taillebourg in the Lot-et-Garonne.
So, something to mention to listenersis when you're looking for a place
in France, it's good if you know thezip code as well as the name, because
we do have a lot of names that comeback, you know, time and time again.
So if you just tell your GPS, take meto Taillebourg, it might take you to
(22:35):
the wrong place if you're not careful.
Susan Hays (22:37):
Totally.
In fact, we were with someclients yesterday and they tapped
in one address the day beforeand they're from the States.
And they said they ended up in Cognacand they were about an hour from
where they meant to be, but theydidn't know where they were going.
So they just blindly followed the GPS.
Annie Sargent (22:52):
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you don't know any better, whywould you be very worried about it?
Saint-Savinien, why don'tyou tell me about that place?
It also looks lovely, nice river, youknow, all of these places are along the
river, which adds a lot to the charm.
And the river is La Charente, ofcourse, because Charentes Maritimes.
(23:15):
So in this episode, we're nottalking about seaside towns, we're
talking about towns along the river.
Susan Hays (23:21):
Absolutely.
So, Saint-Savinien is, as I say, part ofthe golden triangle of these three, Port
d'Envaux, Taillebourg, Saint-Savinien.
Saint-Savinien is the biggestit has banks, and more shops, so
it's definitely classified as atown, as opposed to a village.
It has a middle school aswell as a primary school.
(23:41):
It has a big supermarket on theoutskirts, big garden center.
But it's the old part of thetown that is so fascinating.
There are little streets that wind,the big houses again overlook the
river, but then the little streets goalong beside the river or just behind
and wind uphill towards the church.
And there are so manyartists gathered there.
(24:04):
There are lots of little artists'galleries, little artisanal
shops, boutiques owned, youknow, very much individually.
It is exceedingly charming town.
You can grab a coffee, you cango to the boulangerie, there's
a couple of little restaurants.
A lively place all year round, again,with great clubs, great social life.
(24:25):
And it is just beautiful,very, very beautiful.
It used to suffer a lot from flooding,but oh gosh, about 50, 60 years ago,
they started on the lock, which hashelped immensely because now they
can regulate the water and things, soyou know, it's very, very rare now.
Annie Sargent (24:41):
Yeah, it looks like one of the main activities to do there is to
get on a boat and float along the river.
So I assume they have group cruises andthey probably have little electric boats
that you can rent and things like that.
Susan Hays (24:56):
Absolutely, the whole thing.
And there's a big riverboat thatcomes from Saintes all the way
down as far as Saint-Savinien.
You can have dinner on the boat, oraperitifs, or you can just do just a
cruise on its own, whichever you wouldrather, but it's a big boat, it takes
you all the way from Saintes past here.
It calls in on Port d'Envauxquite often on the way back.
It's just a big river boat, superpopular, it's a very popular river.
(25:21):
You'll find a lot of people are havingfishing beside it, families picnicking,
but also as you say, people takinglittle boats and going up and down.
It's very much, you know, we'reonly 40 minutes from the coast
at the most, 35 on a good day.
But this is where everybody comes.
It's like our own little seaside.
Annie Sargent (25:40):
Yeah, yeah, so there's a little company, there's a company
called Les Petits Bateaux sur l'Eau,and it's 30 years old apparently, and
they rent funky looking little boats.
It looks like they have anindustrial crane like they would
be, I don't know, it's a reminderof the industrial past of the area.
I bet kids love that.
If kids can tool around,no, that's fantastic.
(26:03):
Would you say there are alot of visitors in that area?
Susan Hays (26:06):
Huge amount.
The population swells enormously inthe summer, but never to the degree
that you think, Oh my goodness,you can't move, I'm just inundated.
I mean, it is busy, and definitelypeople and bicycles are the main
priority down, certainly down thevillage roads here, as opposed to cars.
But it's not so heaving that youjust think, I can't stand this.
(26:30):
It's a lovely kind of busy.
It's a kind of busy, it just has,because it's families, it's not a
nasty, there's no undercurrent or even,you know, the French drink in a very
different way to a lot of other cultures.
It's always very social, butnot over drinking as such.
And it just, there is a lovelyatmosphere all summer when it's
(26:51):
full and in the winter, yes, youdon't get so many visitors, but we
do still get people that come here.
So, yeah, it is quitetouristy, but not in a bad way.
Annie Sargent (27:00):
Right.
Yeah.
It's a very good point that Frenchpeople drink in a very different way,
because, technically, if you drink twoglasses of wine at lunch and two glasses
of wine at dinner, you're an alcoholiccategory, but it's not, it doesn't feel
the same as binge drinking four glassesof wine in 10 minutes or two pints of
beer in five minutes or whatever it is.
(27:20):
You know, it doesn't have the same effect.
It's more like throughout the day.
There are people who drink alittle bit throughout the day,
especially when they're on vacation.
We drink less and less as far asdaily life, but when people are on
vacation, they're probably goingto have a couple of drinks at lunch
and a couple of drinks at dinner.
And it's, you know, they're not drunk.
They're just having a good time, I guess.
Susan Hays (27:42):
I agree.
I never drink during the daybecause I always end up having
to get in a car or go somewhere.
So, and I don't likedrinking during the day.
I don't drink very much anyway,you know, one glass of wine at
night and that's me completely.
But I think, you're right, what theFrench do is they tend to, they don't
just go, oh, drink and knock it back andthen a second one, and then a third one.
(28:03):
A glass of wine lasts quite a long time.
It's a very different, as you say, theydrink probably more in some ways, but
it's a very different way of drinking.
Annie Sargent (28:13):
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
And you mentioned La Rochelle, briefly,and L'île de Ré, as well as Jonzac.
I want to go talk about those alittle bit, and then we'll talk about
the type of business that you run.
La Rochelle, we've had awhole episode about it.
It is a lovely, lovely town to visit.
I spent two days there.
I wish I had had more.
(28:34):
I think it's a great town to spenda whole week because there is so
much to do around there as well.
What do you think?
Susan Hays (28:41):
I think La Rochelle is absolutely beautiful.
As you said, there isso much to do around.
It's a big city.
The shops are beautiful.
The old archways walking down the streets.
The market is sublime.
And the coast, you've got, you know, thetwo fortresses that overlook where, from
the marina where the boats go out to sea.
(29:02):
It is a beautiful, beautiful city, alot of history, well preserved, lovely
parks, superb food, great restaurants.
Fantastic.
And then of course you can hop overthe bridge by car, which is a big
bridge built in the 60s, 2.6, 2.5kilometers long, to the L'île de
Ré, which is absolutely fantastic.
(29:23):
It's a fantastic island, extremelyexpensive to buy property there,
but most people rent bikes and goaround, it's the best way to see,
but you can just go by car, it'sjust stunning, a wonderful place.
So there is so much going on here.
People come and stay with us for aweek and then say, Oh God, we haven't
(29:43):
even scratched the surface of theplaces we want to go and visit.
Annie Sargent (29:46):
Right.
Yeah, because you have the MaraisPoitevin, which is not far as
well, that's worth a day or two.
And the other town you mentionedis Jonzac, but that one is
south of Saintes, isn't it?
Susan Hays (29:58):
Yep, Jonzac is further south, and when you, like so many
French towns, when you drive throughthe outskirts, you just sort of think,
oh, and keep going, because they tendto build their modern buildings on the
outskirts with their, you know, the modernshops and the big commercial centres.
But when you actually then park in thecentre, and it is all pedestrianised,
(30:19):
really beautiful, and they havea lovely, during the summer, the
summer market, and they have a lotof food stalls and all the tables
are lined up in long trestle tables.
And you just go and buy whatever food youfeel like buying from the food stalls.
And sit at the trestle tables alongwith hundreds of other people.
(30:39):
And they have a live band playingand it's so convivial and you're just
eating whatever you happen to choose.
And you'll have, you know,little kids of six dancing,
teenagers, adults, grandparents.
That is one thing I love about French wayof life is this, there's not this sort
of stigma of teenagers being seen withparents, or being seen with grandparents.
(31:00):
People do tend to mix together, it isfar more socially acceptable that you
can dance with your granny, or dancewith your mother, or your father and...
Annie Sargent (31:09):
Yes.
Susan Hays (31:10):
And I think that is fabulous.
It's a far more familyorientated way of thinking.
Annie Sargent (31:15):
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah.
So if I'm looking at the map of allthe places that we mentioned, the
furthest south is Jonzac, then yougo up to Saintes, then there's a bit
of a triangle with Port d'Envaux,Taillebourg and Saint-Savinien.
And then you continue on, you will drivethrough Rochefort, next to Fouras, which
(31:39):
is, or perhaps they say Fouras, I'mnot sure if they say the S in that one.
Susan Hays (31:42):
Without the S.
Annie Sargent (31:43):
Okay, so Fouras.
Fouras, I thought was alovely, lovely little town.
Then you drive north some more.
I don't know anything aboutChâtelaillon-Plage, but
that sounds intriguing.
Susan Hays (31:56):
Châtelaillon-Plage is really, really pretty.
Quite newly built.
It was bombed quite heavily duringthe war, so it's a bit like Royan,
which is further south on the coast.
Again, bombed heavily during the war.
So you've got a lot of not suchold buildings, but it is lovely.
And the other thing along the coastis we have not just the Île de Ré,
(32:17):
we also have the Ile d'Aix, which isonly accessible by boat from Fouras.
It's a foot boat.
There are no cars except forservice vehicles on the island.
I think about 200 people live therepermanently and it has lots of
little cafes to go in and a wonderfulplace to visit in the summer.
And Napoleon's last place on Frenchsoil, last house where he lived on French
(32:42):
soil before he was exiled to St Helena.
So there was a museum there, wonderfulagain for a day trip to take the boat.
That's Ile d'Aix.
Yep.
So we have the islands.
We also have the l'Ile Madame,which is only no houses.
You just walk around very wild, fabulousfor nature, accessible only at low tide
(33:03):
because you walk across the causeway.
And then of course we have theI'Ile d'Oléron, which is the
further south of the four islands.
Again, heavily populated.
Annie Sargent (33:13):
Yeah.
Susan Hays (33:13):
Fantastic Atlantic beaches, it's where all the
surfers go, amazing surf.
And another very, very pretty island, ifyou like island life, again, connected
by a bridge that's over 2km long.
Annie Sargent (33:24):
So it looks like Fort de l'Ile Madame is something
you can visit and it is connectedto the land by a causeway.
There's this thing called Passe AuBoeuf where it's a hiking trail.
Susan Hays (33:38):
It is, it's a wonderful hike all the way around the island,
but as I say, when it's high tide,you can't get across the causeway.
Annie Sargent (33:44):
Right, right.
So you have to go at theright time for those.
And then Ile d'Aix where youjust have to take a boat.
Susan Hays (33:52):
Absolutely.
Annie Sargent (33:53):
Only from Fouras, or do they also have boats from other towns?
Susan Hays (33:57):
No, only from Fouras.
It's a big, it's quite a big boat.
And you can take your bicycle,or it's foot passages.
Annie Sargent (34:06):
Yeah, yeah.
And, so I said it wrong, thetown is Châtelaillon-Plage.
Châtelaillon-Plage.
Wow, that's a mouthful.
Susan Hays (34:16):
It is very, very pretty again on the Atlantic, a seaside town, but super
pretty, definitely well worth a visit.
Annie Sargent (34:26):
Yeah.
Okay.
Then you go further north and you'reat La Rochelle and then L'île de Ré.
So it's kind of a long, it's 160kilometers between Jonzac and
L'île de Ré if you're driving.
So it's only three hours drive total,but so many places where you can stop
along the way that you can probably spendtwo weeks just doing that, you know.
Susan Hays (34:47):
Oh, absolutely.
Annie Sargent (34:48):
Well, if you're interested in a leisurely exploration of the
Charentes Maritimes, that would bea very nice way to do it because you
do some inland, some on the ocean.
Of course, these are not the only places.
Again, I have to say this allthe time, you know, we select
a few places to tell you about.
This doesn't mean that there'snot more interesting places.
(35:10):
We just have to pick a few.
Susan Hays (35:12):
Exactly.
And, you know, for foodie and winey,you know, wine buffs, of course,
we are covered in vineyards here.
Very famous for the local drink,which is the Pinot des Charentes,
as well as Cognac, obviously.
So you can go on wine tours.
Plenty do that.
And also, if you head to the coast,Marennes, which is just before you get to
(35:35):
the I'Ile d'Oléron, is the oyster capital.
It's absolutely famous for its oysters.
And you literally, you can drivealong and there are loads of little
seaside wooden shacks that you pass on.
Literally shacks, I say, because youpass them on the road and they look like
they would blow down in a puff of wind.
And they're selling oysters, or mussels,and you can literally just sit beside the
(35:57):
road, the little table and have your glassof pinot or whatever, and your oysters.
Fantastic for seafood, and you can pickyour own live seafood if you want to
choose, langoustine or whatever you want.
It is really the seafood capital.
Annie Sargent (36:11):
So briefly, let's mention your business, you are a realtor, I guess?
Susan Hays (36:16):
Well, no, yes and no.
Basically, we are house hunters, so wehelp people find the right property.
We don't sell propertiesfor people at all.
That is not, I guess we're not realestate, we don't sell properties.
We have learned through our ownexperiences and our own very costly
(36:37):
mistakes that especially moving to aforeign country, although we do have
clients from Paris and French peopletoo, that it is really difficult to
find the perfect house in the perfectarea, especially in France, because
there's not real estate agents.
The listings tend not to bevery, they're not fabulous.
You know, you don't really see anawful lot of what you're going to get.
(37:00):
The photos aren't always the best.
They tend to leave out quite a few things.
And as you say, you can go onlineand you can look at a million
beautiful properties, but how doyou know if that area is going
to suit you, or if that propertyreally is quite what they say it is.
Annie Sargent (37:15):
It's more of a custom, kind of, you chat with your potential customers
and you help them find the right place.
Susan Hays (37:21):
We help them find the right property because you know here
houses is not common to have a surveydone so you know people don't...
there are not surveyors who go aroundand you pay like in England for example
as x amount a few hundred poundsto have your house surveyed so you
know exactly what is wrong with it.
Here there is the standard diagnosticwhich does your lead, and your plumb
(37:41):
lead, and your electrics and that's it.
Annie Sargent (37:44):
Yeah.
And they tell you if the place isefficient as far as heating and
cooling, but that's it's pretty basic.
Yeah.
Susan Hays (37:51):
We basically help people, we talk to them, we
find out exactly what they want.
If this area is going to suit them,because obviously we only work in
this area because this is where weknow, and it would be wrong to advise
people on an area we don't know about.
Annie Sargent (38:06):
Sure.
Sure.
And you have a cottage that you rent out?
Susan Hays (38:12):
We do, we have, it's just one bedroom, it's in the gardens, it's
called La Cachette, which means the hidingplace, because it is really hidden in the
gardens, it's only accessible on foot.
There is no parking outside, andyou walk down through the garden,
and it's a south facing terrace,overlooking the swimming pool.
And it's our little pride andjoy, we absolutely love it, and
(38:35):
we so enjoy welcoming guests here.
It is just for two people, werespect that a lot of people
want privacy and we respect that.
But when people want to chat, wealso love sitting in the evening
having a glass of wine, chatting andtalking and getting to know people.
It's really, so lovehaving the guest cottage.
Annie Sargent (38:54):
You also have a selection of products that you sell, etc.
So, so yes everybody who's interested inany of this, go to ourfrenchlifestyle.com
and you'll find it all there.
Susan Hays (39:05):
Thank you, thank you.
Annie Sargent (39:06):
Yes.
Yes.
So Susan, do you have general advice forpeople who are hoping to come to France?
Perhaps scouting out the right areato live in, or perhaps just wanting
to explore the area for a week or two.
Things that they should think aboutbefore embarking on a journey like this.
Susan Hays (39:28):
I think it's different if you're coming for a holiday
or if you're coming with the ideaof potentially buying somewhere.
If you're coming for holiday then,I always like to do a little bit
of research before I go anywhere,so I know roughly where I'm going
and what I hope to go and see.
If you're coming with the idea ofpossibly moving here or buying a
second home here, then I think the mostimportant thing is just have a wish list.
(39:52):
You might not stick to it and accept thefact that, you know, compromises do have
to be made, but write down very clearlywhat you would like in an ideal world,
and then mark the things that perhapsyou would be willing to compromise on.
And likewise, mark the thingsthat are absolutely non negotiable
and stick to those because Ithink those are really important.
Annie Sargent (40:15):
I'm just curious about your kids, are they all grown
by now or are they still young?
Susan Hays (40:20):
No, the youngest is 17 and the eldest is 27 so there are five
of them and they're 10 years apart.
Our eldest works and lives in Londonbut comes over here about once a month.
She loves coming back here all the time.
Our second eldest is in theChannel Islands in Guernsey
and she's getting married nextyear, which is super exciting.
(40:41):
My son has just finished university inBordeaux, and he did fine art in Bordeaux
and he is currently thinking about thefuture and working in the local riverside
cafe for, you know, good summer money and.
Yeah.
And then our second youngestdaughter is having a gap year in
(41:01):
between high school and university.
And then she starts, she was goingto start university this year
doing international economics.
Didn't really know what to do, didn'treally want to do it, it was sort
of something she put her back and,you know, sort of fell into and
she thought, no, this is not right.
So she's actually been volunteeringat the local primary school all year.
Annie Sargent (41:23):
Well...
Susan Hays (41:24):
A French thing called Service Civique, which basically, yeah,
you're a volunteer, you have to do Xnumber of days per year and you get paid
600 a month, so not very much money.
But you could, obviously you wouldn'tbe able to work in the school
otherwise, because you wouldn'thave any qualifications, so she
has really enjoyed helping out.
In fact, she now does the Englishclasses all on her own to these
(41:47):
little kids, because she speaks moreEnglish than the other teachers, and
maths, the art, so she's done that.
And she's also reached out, she thoughtshe might want to go into graphic design
and arts, so she reached out to a lotof local societies and clubs and offered
to do their artwork for them for free.
(42:08):
And she has, she's helpingan art gallery at the moment
across the river in Taillebourg.
And then the mayor said, could she comeand help him with some work for the mayor?
And she's done the local badminton clublogo here and the local tennis club.
So, you know, she's beenreally active doing her thing.
Annie Sargent (42:25):
She's building a portfolio, that's great.
Susan Hays (42:28):
Absolutely.
And then our youngest daughteris 17 and in her last year of
school, but she's homeschooled.
She is semi pro tennis player andplaying on the international circuit.
Annie Sargent (42:38):
Wow.
Wow.
Well, you have quite the family.
That's wonderful.
Wonderful.
So do you think this is apermanent residence for you?
Are you thinking of stayingput for the time being?
Susan Hays (42:49):
Yeah, it's perfect.
I mean, I think if we moved the childrenwould kill us for a start, because they
just say this is absolute heaven on earth.
And even, you know, 10 yearslater, I'd have to pinch myself
that we actually live here.
Sometimes it still feelslike a bit of a dream.
Annie Sargent (43:04):
Is this an area that has a lot of English people that move to?
Susan Hays (43:09):
Well, it has quite a few foreigners, and not just English.
We have American, we haveDutch, we have German, Belgians,
Canadians, New Zealanders.
But not totally overrun.
There are places inland that arefar more heavily populated because
obviously, the further you go inland,the less expensive it becomes.
(43:31):
Like anywhere in the world whenyou're relatively close to the
coast, the price tag goes up.
So there are a nice amountof English, or expats.
There is a nice community, withoutfeeling totally overwhelmed.
You can still, I mean, our kidswere the first ever English
children in the primary school.
So it's not, and I think that's nice.
(43:51):
It's a nice amount.
Annie Sargent (43:52):
Well, so clearly your kids are bilingual.
Have you and your husbandlearned much French?
Susan Hays (43:57):
Yeah, I would say we're pretty much bilingual.
I mean, I still get verbs occasionallywrong and my children shout at me
and correct me absolutely instantly.
In front of whoever you're speaking to,you sort of want the ground to open up.
Annie Sargent (44:10):
Right, but you're comfortable picking up the phone
and making an appointment with...
Susan Hays (44:15):
Absolutely, and going to dinner parties with French
people and mix, we have manyFrench friends, totally, at home.
Annie Sargent (44:21):
That's really important because if you're permanently in fear of
needing to speak French, either becauseof a medical situation or because of
a, I don't know, paperwork you needto do, or, you know, if that stresses
you out, then that really means youneed to work on your French because...
yeah, this is France, you need to learn.
Susan Hays (44:42):
Yeah, you need to get more out of the, you know, I think
it would be awful to be, if you livehere permanently, and you've been
here for a long time, to walk down theroad to the shops and not to be able
to have a conversation with somebody.
Annie Sargent (44:56):
Yeah, that's absolutely vital.
All right, Susan, you havebeen a delight to talk to.
Thank you so much for sharing about thispart of France, which I have not seen most
of the towns, especially in the trianglethat you mentioned, I have not seen them.
They look really appealing.
I would like to go.
They look like the kind of placewhere you could spend a wonderful
few days and have a wonderful time.
Susan Hays (45:17):
It's known as a pretty well kept secret.
And I think, just a quick additionI should have mentioned, what keeps
it so buzzing, and so it's quitea cosmopolitan area, is because
it is really loved by parisians.
A lot of parisians have secondhomes here, because it's very
easily accessible from Paris.
It's three and a half hours by train, fourand a half hours by car, and this is where
(45:40):
they all come for their summer holidays.
If they don't head south, they come here.
And so this is what keepsit buzzing all year round.
Annie Sargent (45:47):
Wonderful.
Susan, thank you so much fortalking to me, and hopefully
I'll go visit and say hi to you.
Susan Hays (45:53):
Absolutely, we'd love to welcome you here.
Annie Sargent (45:55):
Merci beaucoup, Susan.
Susan Hays (45:57):
Merci.
Au revoir.
Annie Sargent (45:59):
Au revoir.
The Join Us in France travelpodcast is written, hosted, and
produced by Annie Sargent andCopyright 2024 by AddictedToFrance.
It is released under a CreativeCommons, attribution, non-commercial,
(46:19):
no derivatives license.
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