How is Erik and Brigitte’s French dream going now? – I leave

In the broadcast of April 16, 2022, we see how Erik and Brigitte want to realize their dream in France. In the Dordogne, the couple has bought a stately building that will accommodate four luxurious guest rooms. But the renovation turned out to be much more difficult and larger than expected. Has their dream come true?

Update Erik and Brigitte

We have been living in Chancelade in the Dordogne for almost a year now and what an adventure it has been, from the moment we decided to emigrate to France until today. Every day our dream is getting closer to be a host and hostess in France.

Our goal …

From day one we have only been busy renovating. On some days it was very hard and we lost our courage but luckily one could pick up the other and we continued. After a few months, fatigue set in. We didn’t have time to give in to this because we had to move on. Fortunately, friends and family have supported us.

Our goal to have the chambre d’hôtes ready in December 2021 did not succeed. We really misjudged the amount of work. Even with a simple job there was always something that would make the work take longer. Finishing the first room was our first goal, but the lounge/dining room and entrance are also ready and we are proud of the result. When the sun shines, we work in the garden.

Plan of action

There are certainly things that we could have handled better or more conveniently. We started too soon without first making a plan of action. Sometimes listened too much to others and not to our feelings or intuition. We have learned from this and things are getting better and better. We are becoming more and more handy and the renovation of the 2nd guest room is going much faster and is almost ready. Brigitte is now busy with her beloved place, the conservatory. We want to finish this before May 1 and we will succeed.

We have now received a number of guests and it leaves us wanting more. How nice it is to give guests a pleasant stay. It’s exciting to hear what they think of our chambre d’hôtes. Fortunately, we have received positive reactions and it motivates us to continue.

an addition to everything, this only makes you happier

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We feel more and more at home in France. The longer we are here, the less we miss the Netherlands. We are in regular contact with friends and family in the Netherlands and they regularly come over to lend us a hand.

Future dreams

In 5 years our chambre d’hôtes will be completely ready. We have four beautiful guest rooms and a beautiful overgrown garden with swimming pool and/or hot tub. Who knows, maybe we’ll give cooking workshops and maybe we’ll also have bought the piece of land next to us. They are all dreams of the future but the ideas are there.

We can say that our relationship has become even closer, we are having a great time here. Our dog Jack is the sweetest and will never leave, but raising a puppy turned out to be harder than we expected.

This is the life we ​​envisioned, building something that really belongs to us together.

Bridget and Me

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