A lovely detached house in the Surrey suburbs, nice garden, and an interesting job as an NHS psychologist, with a self-employed husband: life wasn’t so bad. But the weekly shopping trips to Tesco, the hideous school run, the council tax and the weather were enough to make us look for a life elsewhere.

In 2003, we remortgaged our property and bought a semi-habitable farmhouse, with an attached barn and cornfield, for about £115,000, in Aux-Aussat, a tiny village in the Gers. In 2005, we moved there with our three youngest children — Evan, now 16, Timothy, 11, and Dominic, now 6 — and began our adventure. The idea was to do a property renovation, have some quality family time, learn another language and give the children a different experience — then return to the UK.

We arrived just before the school summer holidays and were able to give the older two children a taste of school before re-doubling (going back a school year) in the September. The summer was not easy the house was dirty, dusty and uncomfortable. The language barrier made every task a mountainous chore and I lost sleep worrying about the children’s education. Our savings, including a contingency fund, were not going to last long with the ever-growing list of unexpected expenses. But, it was great, the sun was shining, every day was a new adventure and we felt fit and invigorated with our new outdoor lifestyle.

The first months were a struggle — the language was a barrier — but we are now making a success of things. We have spent about £40,000 renovating the farmhouse and barn, to create a four-bedroom home. The rooms in the farmhouse were large, but in terrible condition; the barn had no internal walls or ceilings and had been inhabited only by animals. Wenow have a large kitchen, dining room and family room downstairs, and four bedrooms upstairs, plus an outdoor swimming pool. We have tried to keep the farmhouse feel, and were able to salvage some windows and old pieces of oak being thrown out by our French neighbours, who prefer everything modern.

After 18 months, when the money had finally run out Mike registered as an Artisan and began helping other, mostly English people, renovate their houses. Work on our own property slowed down but we had made enough progress not to be too worried about this.

By now we were more established, the children were playing tennis and practising judo each week, the eldest was in a theatre group, the youngest was now full time at the local maternelle and we had all learned to ski, the Pyrenees being an hours drive away. We had acquired dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, sheep and goats. We began to realise that the two year adventure would have to be extended. If the children were to maintain their French language skills, and continue to benefit from the excellent education they were receiving, if we were to ever finish our property, and actually we still had that ‘being on holiday’ feeling, we couldn’t stop here.

Towards the end of our second year an opportunity fell into our laps. The President of the Judo Association asked if we knew anyone interested in buying a building in a nearby village, her husband had been the village Notaire and had retired, his office was for sale. It was perfect. A three story ancient building, in the central square of an old Bastide, in a very dilapidated condition, hence being sold at a bargain price. We could immediately see the potential, Mike having always dreamed of owning his own kitchen shop could see the ground floor already converted in his mind. The old Notaire’s office at the back of the building, with its separate entrance made a perfect therapy room for a private psychology practice. The two floors upstairs could be converted into apartments and rented out.

We took the decision, fortunately just before the collapse in property prices, to sell our flat in the UK. My daughter was working for a year as a Nurse in Sydney, Australia and had become engaged to be married. My eldest son was about to set off on a career travelling with a large American company and too had plans to marry. We had no need to keep the apartment and this would fund the purchase and renovation of this new project in France.

Mike opened his kitchen shop in March (www.justkitchens.fr), and I am now officially registered as a psychologue — there is a demand here for therapy sessions for English-speaking people. I am not sure how long we will stay, but I notice Helena Frith Powell has moved to Abu Dhabi. Hmm ...

Want a renovation project in Gers? Unrestored farmhouses start at about £115,000 (www.gersproperty.com)

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