Why did you move to Languedoc?
I wanted somewhere in France with good weather, good wine, near the sea and near a great city, Montpellier

What were your reasons for settling in your current location?
I wanted a house with superb views meeting the above criteria.

What do you love most about living here?
My friends, the landscape, the very easygoing lifestyle, the friendliness of the local people, the food and wine.

What do you dislike most about living here?
The absence of any notion of service in many of the supermarkets.

What was your most glaring misconception about living in Languedoc/France before you came?
I had no idea that France was the most "conservative" country on earth. Change in almost anything is fiercely resisted.

What do you miss most about the ‘old country’ you left behind?
Nothing, except family and friends.

What three pieces of advice would you give to people thinking of moving to Languedoc?

1. Research very carefully the area in which you think you want to live.
2. If possible rent a house there for a few weeks/months, particularly if you are thinking of living on the coast.
3. Learn French.

Where’s your favourite place in Languedoc?
My home in Colombières-sur-Orb.

What has been your most magical ‘Languedoc moment’?
Dinner with my daughter on a summer evening on the terrace at the Auberge de Combes.

Why did you move to Languedoc?
It was a life stage thing – we wanted more space and free time, less financial pressure and day-to-day stress.

What were your reasons for settling in your current location?
Living in the Languedoc countryside bored us to tears.

What do you love most about living here?
Being freelance. I can pick and choose my assignments and work flexible hours, which frees up my time to do other stuff (like horse riding).

What do you dislike most about living here?
The chronic lack of customer service, and the fact that in a lot of areas, the French are three beats behind.

What was your most glaring misconception about living in Languedoc/France before you came?
I thought floating around a large, stone-built character home in the countryside wearing a Cath Kidston apron would make me happy.

What do you miss most about the ‘old country’ you left behind?
The people, and the chat: whenever I go back to the UK I natter to everyone, all the time – shopkeepers, cabbies, bus conductors, waiters, strangers at bus stops.

What three pieces of advice would you give to people thinking of moving to Languedoc?

1. Find a job before you come.
2. Marry a French person, or learn French, or both.
3. Save up some money to tide you over the first few years.

Where’s your favourite place in Languedoc?
The rocky countryside about half an hour north of Montpellier. It’s covered in oaks, pines and vines. I go hacking there on sunny weekdays, stopping along the way to stuff my saddle bags with wild thyme and rosemary. It’s a trip.

What has been your most magical ‘Languedoc moment’?
Marrying James at the Domaine de Grammont (Montpellier’s registry office), and our wedding reception at Les Norias, in Cazilhac.

Why did you move to Languedoc?
I wanted to explore somewhere new.

What were your reasons for settling in your current location?
It's one of the most beautiful parts of France - with its olive groves, herby 'garrigue', long empty beaches and views of the Pyrénées mountains in the distance.

What do you love most about living here?
The friendly atmosphere in our village - people really welcome you in if you try to speak the language and show an interest in village life.

What do you dislike most about living here?
Howling dogs! The French often keep their dogs like others would keep goats and chickens - in a shack at the side of the house - and they end up howling for hours on end!

What was your most glaring misconception about living in Languedoc/France before you came?
I had been in France so often before that I knew what to expect.

What do you miss most about the ‘old country’ you left behind?
Going shopping, now and then, in a big city. This is something many people think they won't miss - but you eventually get tired of the same old small shops in a village.

What three pieces of advice would you give to people thinking of moving to Languedoc?

1. Start learning the language as soon as possible
2. Be ready for the 'Midi' lunch break
3. Don't live somewhere too far from everything

Where’s your favourite place in Languedoc?
Our home the 'Lavadou' - with its view of the Montaignes Noirs and the Corbières.

What has been your most magical ‘Languedoc moment’?
The evening sky after sunset.

Why did you move to Languedoc? We wanted to live somewhere other than Britain, and France was always high on the list. But where? The Languedoc, after the first visit, got under our skin. There was really nowhere else after that. It is a sunny, working, rugged, un-precious and beautiful department near to the sea, mountains, Spain and North Africa - what more could you want?

What were your reasons for settling in your current location?
We fell in love with our house, and we have friends nearby.

What do you love most about living here?
Absolutely everything - there isn't a day that passes when we don't pinch ourselves.

What do you dislike most about living here?
Feeling clumsy for the first three years. We can be subtle in English, but we were clod-hoppers in French.

What was your most glaring misconception about living in Languedoc/France before you came?
We didn't realise that houses built for the heat of the summer would be quite so chilly in the winter.

What do you miss most about the ‘old country’ you left behind?
Being able to phone out for an Indian, Chinese, Lebanese meal - we lived in Brighton - you could phone for anything!

What three pieces of advice would you give to people thinking of moving to Languedoc?

1. Learn French.
2. Only watch French TV
3. Never thinks that sunshine can heal over the cracks in a fragile relationship - it won't. The cracks will only grow wider under the pressure of living in a new culture.

Where’s your favourite place in Languedoc?
Chateau Mal Au Dos - our vineyard, from which we can see the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees on a clear day.

What has been your most magical ‘Languedoc moment’?
The day we moved into Le Couvent, Roujan.

Why did you move to Languedoc?
Much less developed than Provence – and cheaper

What were your reasons for settling in your current location?
We found an excellent estate agent on the net at a time when this was not common

What do you love most about living here?
The pace of life, the lack of stress in day-to-day affairs, the climate

What do you dislike most about living here?
The fact I have to get out of bed so early every morning if I’m to catch the shops before they close for lunch

What was your most glaring misconception about living in Languedoc/France before you came?
That France was not nearly as organised as it is

What do you miss most about the ‘old country’ you left behind?
The Yorkshire Dales

What three pieces of advice would you give to people thinking of moving to Languedoc?

1. Choose somewhere with airport access
2. Make sure you have heating for the winter
3. Buy somewhere if possible with a garden or land to enjoy the outdoor life

Where’s your favourite place in Languedoc?
The Cévennes mountains

What has been your most magical ‘Languedoc moment’?
A man who gave me a crate of wine for returning his wallet

Why did you move to Languedoc?
Rupert met someone who lived outside Pezenas and thought that we could have a life that was as nice as his if we moved. We both worked from home mainly so it seemed an easy choice to have a bigger nicer house and better life.

What were your reasons for settling in your current location?
The house. We searched for over a year before we found what we wanted.

What do love most about living here?
The ease of living, bringing up children, climate and nature.

What do you dislike most about living here?
Social security charges, lack of broadband where we live, constant building of crappy houses.

What was your most glaring misconception about living in Languedoc/France before you came?
That French would be easy to learn!

What do you miss most about the ‘old country’ you left behind?
Friends, M&S and Waitrose.

What three pieces of advice would you give to people thinking of moving to Languedoc?

1. Wear sun-screen
2. Eat seasonally
3. Make sure there is no chance of a building estate springing up in the vineyard next door

Where’s your favourite place in Languedoc?
My home.

What has been your most magical ‘Languedoc moment’?
My middle daughter’s first birthday on the Canal du Midi.

Why did you move to Languedoc?
We wanted to get a bit more ‘work/life balance’ and also be able to buy the sort of property that we would never be able to afford in London – ‘I love renovating old and interesting properties and the Languedoc is full of them’ says Debrah. We also needed somewhere that was easy to get to from London and find somewhere that was well placed to access sea, mountain, country and also the rest of Europe, if the mood took us.

What were your reasons for settling in your current location?
Unlike most Brits we wanted to be in the middle of a French town, to be able to pop out for baguettes, take coffee with the locals, walk to markets and restaurants etc so we chose a centrally located apartment. We also needed an easy commute and didn’t want to be lumbered with gardens, grounds or a high maintenance property. Carcassonne is ideal – we can do the journey door to door in 4 hours and love living like locals.

What do love most about living here?
A more laid back pace, stopping work for a proper lunch, fabulous food and superb wine, being able to be in completely isolated countryside within 10 minutes, taking time to buy and prepare proper food, the diversity -busy market town one minute, beautiful countryside, medieval bastides and natural wonders the next, discovering special places and feeling like we are the only ones that know about it, taking a long Sunday drive with the roof down, the feeling that you are part of a community and knowing our neighbours, all the free entertainment that goes on year round in Carcassonne, listening to the bells on Sunday morning whilst eating fresh boiled eggs, the fact that parking is free at lunch-time because it’s your right to have a good unencumbered lunch, the history and mystery of the region, being greeted as ‘monsieurs’dames’ in shops and the feeling that we are in a region that is just re-discovering it’s personality.

What do you dislike most about living here?
Our struggles with the accent and language, finding it almost impossible to buy decent furniture, not being able to get lunch after 2pm or dinner after 9pm, the 35 hour week and the slight ‘no can do’ attitude, kids on motorbikes - but we are being picky and had to struggle to come up with these.

What was your most glaring misconception about living in Languedoc/France before you came?
That renovating an old property would be easy and cheaper than the UK, it’s not. It is difficult to find good people to help you achieve the standards that you want for a decent price. We thought we would have our renovations done in 6 months – it ended up taking 2 years and we spent twice as much as we had budgeted for. Also the cost of living is more than you expect. On the positive side, we expected a certain degree of hostility as outsiders but have received nothing but help, kindness and praise for what we have been doing.

What do you miss most about the ‘old country’ you left behind?
Not really relevant for us as we are back and on a regular basis, but as we haven’t got satellite TV Peter misses English sport and I miss the BBC. The lack of swanky bars, sushi, cheddar cheese and bacon sandwiches although to be honest, we can, and do, survive without all these things quite happily as the benefits outweigh the cons.

What three pieces of advice would you give to people thinking of moving to Languedoc?

1. Choose your area and property carefully – know what you want and where you can find it and stick to it otherwise you will end up being seduced by an isolated manor house when what you really wanted was an easy bolthole in a buzzy town.
2. Do plenty of research on builders and artisans and expect your costs and timetable to spiral out of control and remember everything takes much longer here than in the UK.
3. Be prepared for the change of pace – we often joke to each other about ‘being a bit London’ – it takes a while to adapt to the slower pace, pre-ordering materials, not being able to buy things when you need them, the 20 minutes between being given a menu and ordering, etc. Give in to it and learn to love the fact that you can’t go shopping on a Sunday or get anything done between 12.00 and 2.00pm. It’s actually a good thing!

Where’s your favourite place in Languedoc?
Our fabulous apartments – we just love everything about being here. Also the ‘low town’ (Bastide St Louis) in Carcassonne – the Cité gets all the press but the real action is here. We get free concerts all summer, fantastically kitsch entertainment at Christmas and plenty in between. This is the true working heart of Carcassonne and we wouldn’t be anywhere else. Everything we need is local and we can drive to amazing places in no time at all. We also love Lagrasse, the Gorges de Calamus, the Montaine Noire, villages like Montolieu and finding a secret river swimming place. We are discovering new places all the time though and that is part of the reason we love it here.

What has been your most magical ‘Languedoc moment’?
So many… an eagle flying straight at us when we were out on a drive in the mountains, finding a herd of white horses cantering across a field, spending my birthday with my favourite friends picnicking on the banks of the river in Lagrasse, buying and dressing a 4 metre high Christmas tree, sipping a glass of champagne on a friends balcony watching the 14th July fireworks over the Cité, eating fresh fish at a beachside shack, cycling along the banks of the Aude on a sunny morning, bringing our 18th century apartments back to their original splendour, having the time and space to realise that happiness is time spent with the people that you love.

Why did you move to Languedoc?
We always planned to move back to France and open another restaurant, it just happened to be this region.

What were your reasons for settling in your current location?
It is a perfect location and tranquil setting for the restaurant, situated on the side of the Canal du Midi with stunning views to the Pyrénées. We were drawn to it immediately.

What do you love most about living here?
Even though we work very hard we have a very nice relaxed lifestyle. In our free time we enjoy all this region has to offer, it's proximity to the sea, mountains for skiing and the beautiful countryside.

What do you dislike most about living here?
We don't have much to dislike as we try and make the best of all situations.

What was your most glaring misconception about living in Languedoc/France before you came?
We have lived and worked in France before so we were prepared for a different way of doing things, but we still
approach Roundabouts with trepidation!

What do you miss most about the ‘old country’ you left behind?
Nothing.

What three pieces of advice would you give to people thinking of moving to Languedoc?

1. Learn the language so you can communicate integrate and not become isolated
2. Find a job or have a large Bank Balance
3. Take each day as it comes.

Where’s your favourite place in Languedoc?
Sitting on the terrace of the Cafe du Port with a large glass of wine - when we get a chance!

What has been your most magical ‘Languedoc moment’?
Every moment is magical - it is our home.

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