Second Homes

We certainly contribute to the local economy in our area of France, not just the local shops, we do not import food, why bother when the local food is so good, then there is the local award winning cider maker, restaurants, we also employ the local roofer/chimney sweep, garden help, plumber, buy most building, materials in France etc etc.

Good on you Flowerof the west. I know many Brits who live in France who order everything from Tesco or Iceland, get it delivered to a third party who then brings a van with all the stuff to the Dordogne(shire) once a month (:

I only ever carry enough food and drink to get me across the channel and then I go overboard with the shopping in France. I shop at the last supermarket before crossing back to UK so that I have nice food for a week or two.
We usually stay in a house up a lane and up a track so the village butcher and baker gets our trade as does the 8 till 8 ( that closes for two and a half hours at lunchtime )

Love the little supermarkets in France and Belgium. Half the fun of the holiday.

You wonder why they go and live in France, in the narrow sense if they do not want to live in it in the wider sense.

As second home owners, on a patch with one other inhabited house we do not know many French people, but we know no British people. Our next door neighbour takes a crop of hay off our 'lawns' before the grass cutters start and keep us supplied with eggs, a pumpkin and occasional lettuces. When we go to the bar/restaurant our roofer is usually there so we chat and he recommends any tradesmen we need.

Fortunately DH is built and dresses like one of the locals and just fits in. His French is also better than mine.

Half the fun of going to another country is to sample the local produce. The only item I ever take with me is a specific jar of coffee.

Our flights to Italy were always carefully planned, with the bare minimum of clothes, leaving the maximum room in the suitcases for the supplies we intended to bring back. A couple of kilos of Parmigiano, 6 kilos of Risotto rice, assorted coffees, one or two other cheeses, a salami or two, fresh Borlotti beans if it was summer, anything else that caught my eye in the markets and perhaps a bottle of Grappa if there was room. I could usually manage to bring back enough to keep us going till the next holiday.