World famous author George East wrote this about us.


Brits in Brittany

How the authorities could know is unknown, but there are said to be up to 200,000 Britons either owning a property or living permanently in Brittany. Some Brittany Brits will be second home owners who visit on a regular basis, and some will have retired to the region. But many thousands have taken on the challenge of starting a new business as well as a new life in another land.

If you’ve ever dreamed of running a gite, bar, restaurant, tea-shop or bicycle hire centre in France, read on. In these pages, we’ll be featuring the stories of Britons who have started a business in Brittany, and passing on their tips as to how best to survive… and even prosper.

Half Acre Farm


Paul and Roz Chapman are a classic example of a couple who made exactly the right move when they took the big gamble and crossed the Channel to live in France.


As they say, they wanted a life-style change, but that change was simply unaffordable in the United Kingdom:


“ For us,” says Paul, “ England had changed dramatically over a couple of decades; the roads and streets had become too busy, the yob culture was growing apace and political correctness had turned our country into a place we hardly recognised. We loved France and figured we must be able to do a better job of surviving there than George had in Normandy, so moved to South Brittany to give it a go.”


“ We sold up and moved over before buying in Brittany,” explains Roz, “ as we thought we would be able to move back to England if we did not find anywhere to buy- or did not enjoy living here. We came over in 2005, and property prices had been zooming up for a couple of years. Our total budget to buy and fix a property was 80,000 euros, and I know a lot of people thought we would not find much for that sort of money.”


“ I wouldn’t say we fell in love with the house we bought or anything romantic like that,” adds Paul, “…but it ticked enough boxes to suit our needs, especially as far as the price went!”


Non-Starter


Having bought their potential half acre of Heaven and started on the renovations and improvements, it was time for Paul and son Michael to look around for work: “ The original plan was to get the house set up and then for me to go lorry driving, something I was very experienced at. Unfortunately, it was not until I applied for a commercial driving job that I realised I needed an expensive training course, and all in French! Obviously, that was gojng to be a non-starter for a while. ”


Dead Pigs


“ Having made a start on the house we needed cash desperately, so it was off to the agencies in search of work. All we could find was a job at an abattoir in Josselin, and I feared it would be some grubby shed with bits of dead pig lying around! As it happened, the place was a very modern and clean and sophisticated factory, and after a month there we were offered a year’s training course so that we could become pork butchers. As that meant a year’s contract, we said ‘yes’ right away. Half way through the course our eldest son Dan (23) arrived to live with us, and he was taken on by the abattoir like a shot. In fact, the management said that if we had any more family members looking for a job, they could start the next day!”


Accreditation


“ At the end of our training, we were all given CDI’s. This means a great deal for workers in France, as it means you have a safe job and can borrow money on this accreditation. So, there we were, with steady jobs and security. We have moved on to another abattoir since then, and the money is much better.”


So, looking back on the past three years, how do the Chapmans feel their gamble has paid off?


“ I think it has been hardest for Roz,” says Paul, “ as she has struggled a bit with the language. It was naturally much easier for us as we were working with French people all day. She returns to England to see her parents regularly, but, as she says, she would never go back for any other reason as she is too busy looking after all her animals- and us, of course! Dan says he misses the night life in England, but Mike now has his own house and is living with his French fiancee, and says there is absolutely no chance of him going back to Blighty.”


For the future, Paul plans to go for his HGV lorry driving course, be self-sufficient for meat by next year thanks to their mini-farm and Roz’s hard work, and also extend the house:


“ We have lots of friends both French and British ( and Dutch!) and great neighbours. We could never have a life style like this in the UK, and all in all it has worked out wonderfully well. But as they say, if you want to live in Brittany, you must enjoy weather. When we visited France in the past, we always went south, and we were really surprised at how green and verdant it is in Brittany. Then we realised that it’s so green here because it rains quite a lot! That’s fine by me, but Roz says she would like to hibernate From January to March!”


To catch up with the Chapmans and their adventures on the Half Acre Farm project, visit: www.halfacrefarm.bretondiary.com


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