Henk & Wilma(56)

The idea started at a campsite in the Dordogne, seven years ago. Wilma and I were sitting on a terrace overlooking the walnut orchards and both said at the same time: "This is where we want to live." That feeling never left us. Every year we went back, visited estate agents and kept dreaming. When the kids moved out and I could take early retirement, there were no more excuses.

We bought a fermette — an old farmhouse with outbuildings — in a hamlet near Sarlat-la-Canéda. Cost: €185,000 for the house, barn and half a hectare of land. In Amersfoort we couldn't even have bought a garage for that. The notaire handled the acte de vente, which is comparable to a notarial deed in the Netherlands but with more formalities. We also had to get a diagnostics dossier prepared: asbestos, lead, energy label and termites.

The renovation was the biggest adventure. French builders work differently from Dutch ones. Everything runs through bouche à oreille — word of mouth. Our neighbor Pierre sent us to his nephew who's a roofer, and he knew an electrician. Quality is excellent, but you need patience. A quote is called a devis here, and it's binding. We had the roof, plumbing and kitchen done for €65,000 — in the Netherlands that would have been triple.

Rural life is exactly what we were looking for. We have chickens, a vegetable garden and two cats that appeared out of nowhere (apparently that's normal here). Every Tuesday there's a marché in Sarlat where we buy fresh foie gras, walnuts and chèvre. The boulangerie is five minutes by car. The rhythm is slower, but fuller.

The carte vitale — the French health card — was essential to arrange. As EU citizens you can register with the CPAM (Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie). We had to request an S1 form from the CAK in the Netherlands, which entitles you to the French Sécurité Sociale. The GP (médecin traitant) we chose doesn't speak a word of English, but with our now reasonable French it works fine. Healthcare is excellent and cheaper than in the Netherlands.

What we've learned: France isn't a holiday, it's a life. The bureaucracy is heavier than in the Netherlands — everything goes through the préfecture or the mairie, and documents often need to be submitted in person. But if you accept that and learn the language, you're rewarded with a life richer than we ever imagined. Our neighbors invite us for apéro, we've joined a hiking club and Wilma takes cooking lessons from a local chef. We don't miss the Netherlands.