Laidback, I had worked for several years in Monaco and a year in Brussels, and had visited and holidayed in many areas of France. When I retired at 59 I knew I wanted to live in France, preferably in mountains. I had spent a wonderful walking holiday in the Pyrenees, near Lourdes, so I flew to Toulouse, having given myself two weeks to find a property. I took a wrong turn out of the airport and found myself heading West instead of East. I had lunch in the pretty town of Mirepoix and booked into a hotel there. I spent the next few days visiting estate agents and looking at small houses and exploring the area. One day, I parked in the little town of Quillan, about 50 kms from Perpignan, and there was an estate agent facing the car park. I went in and the Scottish lady who worked there offered to show me some properties in more remote places. It was a cold, rainy November day and she drove me up...and up...and up through ravines and gorges, beside a tumbling river, until we emerged in a large, sunlit valley. The little chalet was in a terrible state, with fungus growing in the shower, but it had a nice garden and was on a marked walking route into the mountains. I fell in love at first sight. I put in an offer, had it accepted, then asked at the local hotel in Axat if they could recommend a workman to renovate it. They gave me the number of the electrician who had rewired the hotel, and he agreed to meet me at the house and bring his friend the plumber. We decided what needed to be done and he let me have estimates within two days. I visited the local bank and was granted a mortgage for the renovations.
I then had six days before my flight home, which I spent driving from the Mediterranean coast across the Spanish Pyrenees, crossing back into France near Pau, at 9 pm, in a blizzard! It was a Saturday night and the town was full, but I found a tiny room in the Hotel Bristol. I was too tired to go out to eat, but the receptionist brought me a huge ham baguette and a jug of hot chocolate - it was one of the best meals I have ever had.
Once the buying process was completed, which took about four months, I went back to Quillan and rented a studio for a month, so I could nag Roger and Francois every day until the work was done. They were very good workmen, but rather too fond of the red wine which meant they were not up to working some days! My daughter and her family came to visit in August and Roger was just painting the last bit of the pine cladding the day before they arrived.
I lived there very happily for three years and my large family came out (in batches) several times. Then my daughter was disabled by an incompetent surgeon, lost her business and was about to lose her home, so I had to sell the house and lend her all the proceeds. I am a great believer in finding something positive in anything that life throws at me, so I decided to use the opportunity to rent in several different regions of France, until her medical negligence case was settled (it took seven years). I lived near Limoges in the Dordogne, near Cahors in Lot, in St. Cyprien Plage, near Perpignan, and in Haute Garonne near Toulouse. I used my rented properites as bases to explore the areas for about 200 kms around.
Once she was able to repay me, I decided to look at the Alps but by then, 2010, I was able to do my research on the internet. The Pyrenees are equally beautiful but I wanted to be more central to explore the rest of Europe. I set up appointments to view lots of flats before I flew to Geneva. I no longer wanted a garden or pool, because they need maintaining and the family that would have visited me had emigrated to New Zealand. Once again, I knew as soon as I saw this flat that it was the one for me. It is on the second floor of a chalet-style four-storey block, with a south facing balcony. The altitude is about that of Snowdon and the scenery around is stunning. I visit NZ for about seven weeks each year, in the depths of the Alpine winter, and I can just turn off the electricity and water, close the shutters and lock the door.
I had no intention of ever leaving here, but my daughter wants me to emigrate so she can 'keep an eye on me'. I have about three years to visit as much of Europe as I can!