Tomorrow, we’re off to explore southwest France! After our last househunting trip, I decided to switch things up and look at the region first instead of a house that caught my eye. So why not check out an area where just over an hour’s drive will take you to the mountains in one direction, or the ocean in another? And apparently, the southwest has a temperate climate which makes it cooler and greener than true “South of France” cities like Nice with their hot Mediterranean climates. We’ve booked two nights in Pau (rhymes with snow!) and four nights in Bordeaux. It’s extra exciting because neither of us has been to either of these places!

Ralph has been joking (ok, he might be serious) that he wants to live in Spain so he doesn’t need to learn French. Well, that’s not happening. We plan to attend intensive language classes together and bond over the shared experience, haha! If you’ve ever read “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by humorist David Sedaris, you know what I’m talking about. But Pau is about 30 miles from the Spanish border, which makes it easy to visit places like San Sebastian and Pamplona. Will this be the compromise we’re looking for? Hmmm…

One of the things I’m looking forward to most on this trip is meeting up with a few expats to learn what their lives are like. This all happened because a friend put me in touch with a friend, who put me in touch with her friends…and then bam! We plan to meet for coffee, which will turn into lunch, and then some riveting conversations with questions like “Why did you decide to call southwest France home? What were some of your biggest obstacles? And what are some of your best memories?” I’m so grateful that they’re willing to take time out of their days to meet with strangers on a similar journey. What an incredible world this can be…

I couldn’t call this a house-hunting trip without having a few houses to visit, could I? You know I’ve been scoping out my sites like crazy! We’re seeing one in the town of Gan, two more further inland in the beautiful villages of Villeréal and Monflanquin, and two more near Saint-Émilion, not far from Bordeaux (and apparently, where some of the best wine can be found!). One house needs remodeling yet is just a few steps from a lively town square. Another has an interesting layout because it’s probably 500 years old. One is not walkable, but a very short drive to shops and restaurants – would we compromise on that? 

I keep reminding myself that we don’t have to make any rash decisions. We knew before when the place was right and we’ll get that feeling again. So off we go, to see what we can see!