Theo(71)

For forty years I painted landscapes from my studio in Haarlem. Oil on canvas, always the Dutch light — soft, grey, watery. After my wife's passing and my retirement as a visual arts teacher, I wanted something radical. I remembered the Lot valley from a painting holiday ten years earlier: the limestone cliffs, the oak forests, the golden light that puts everything in a warm palette.

I bought a maison en pierre (stone house) in a village near Cahors for €115,000. The house is 120m² with a garden overlooking the Lot river. The acte de vente went through a notaire in Cahors. I had to open a compte bancaire at Banque Populaire — you need a French bank account for the notaire, taxes and utilities. Opening it took me three visits and six weeks of patience.

I set up my studio in the ancienne grange — the old barn next to the house. Large north-facing windows for stable light, concrete floor for the paint and enough space for twenty canvases at once. The Lot offers endless motifs: the Pont Valentré in Cahors, the cliff villages (villages perchés), the Malbec vineyards and the walnut groves along the riverbanks.

I arranged healthcare through the S1 form from the CAK. At the CPAM in Cahors I was registered and after eight weeks I had my carte vitale. The pharmacist in the village knows me by name now — I collect my blood pressure medication monthly. The co-payment is low: €1 for a box of medication that costs €12 in the Netherlands. With my mutuelle at €55 per month everything is covered.

The social isolation people fear when emigrating later in life hasn't materialized in my case. The Lot has an active community of expats — British, Dutch, Belgians — who meet regularly. I give painting lessons at a local association culturelle, which also brings me French contacts. The Saturday marché in Cahors is my weekly social event: rocamadour cheese, truffles in season and local Cahors wine for €4 per bottle.

My life in the Lot is simpler than in Haarlem, and therefore richer. I paint every morning, walk along the river every afternoon and cook in the evening with ingredients from the marché. The taxe foncière is only €480 per year. My state pension plus a small pension of €1,400 net is more than enough. The light here has transformed my work — warmer, bolder, more vibrant. I now exhibit in a gallery in Cahors and sell more than I ever did in Haarlem.