My husband and I decided to move to the southeast of France after spending almost a year in Normandy. So far, in France we have lived for 2 months in Marseille, 9 months in Bordeaux and 9 months in Lantheuil. After all this moving around we are finally looking to settle down somewhere for at least 2 years. We both work online so we can live wherever we want, as long as there is a strong Internet connection.
Our biggest requirement is that we wanted to live in a small village near a big city. This way we can enjoy the comfortable, relaxing life of being in the countryside while still being near a big city’s conveniences. We need to be close to a hospital, school and grocery store. I also do not want to live downtown, but to live a short walk from commerce. We are only interested in houses, not duplexes, that have a garden and are not on top of neighbors. Yes, we are picky.
Through leboncoin.fr, we found a cute gite in the village of Banon. It is a charming village, even under a blanket of snow. It has around 1,100 inhabitants, cafés, restaurants and some other small commerce. We went for a long walk yesterday through the village and up the hill to view the old part of the village. It was beautiful and I will definitely bring my camera next time. The town has everything we need to survive, including a small hospital, doctors, kiné, small grocery store, butcher, boulangerie, etc. Yes, we would need a boulangerie to survive.We decided to rent the gite for 3 months while we search for a permanent place. Our plan was to get to know Banon and surrounding villages to see what place suites us best. The proprietor said he was open to renting long-term, furnished or unfurnished, if we like his gite. That was an added bonus.
When I first entered the gite, the first thing I noticed was the view. The front door opens to a large room divided into the living room and dining room. At the far side, are large glass sliding doors that open to a balcony and view of the mountains. Well, it could be hills but they look like mountains to this Floridian.
The house has three bedrooms, garage and a big garden. The neighbors are spaced away from us, so we have plenty of privacy – which is a relief after spending 9 months with the landlord living underneath us in a converted basement. The house is 100 m2 and comes with a dishwasher, washing machine and everything else that we could need. The fridge is tiny, like one you would find in a college dorm. We will see if we can survive with it, otherwise, if we decide to stay here on a long-term lease we may have to buy a larger one. I would also like to get a desk so I am not working on the dining room table or a children’s desk.
All the furniture and decorations are new. We have new bedding, dishes, cookware, towels, etc. The windows and the glass sliding doors have electric blinds, so at a touch of a button you can close up the house at night. Or, you can take a sieste (nap) during the day in the dark. The balcony also has an electric awning that shades most of the balcony on those sunny days. The proprietor must love electric things, because even our bed is electric! We can adjust the head and foot areas of each side of the bed separately, reminds me of hospital beds.
The walls are a cheerful yellowish-orange color and the decorations are typical to Provence. With all the big windows and the glass door, the house feels very open and sunny. We are also located at the edge of the hill, so we are high up and have a view of the fields below and mountains around us. The proprietor informed us that we will have breathtaking views of lavendar fields in the summer from the balcony.
Even though this house is wonderful, we decided to still search for houses to rent to see if we can find a better deal. So far, I have not come across anything comparable, or even worth our time to visit. After being in this house and having this view, it will be hard to find anything better. I am quickly falling in love with it.
What we love about this gite is that we feel at home with its furnishings and decoration, and it is located conveniently to the village. It is less than a 5 minutes walk from the village. This way we can walk instead of driving everywhere. After living in downtown Bordeaux, I grew fond of walking everywhere instead of taking the car. It is great exercise, and Juliana enjoys walks in her stroller.
The biggest disadvantage of living in Banon is that there is not a regular-sized grocery store. The one in town is very small – like a corner store with just the basics. We can get our meats from the butcher, cheese from the fromagerie and bread from the boulangerie. We will see what life is like to use the corner store for fruits and vegetables and then drive once or twice a month to a nearby village for the big things.
We were told that the nearest large grocery store is in Manosque, about 45 minutes away. I searched online and found another village about 30 minutes away with a large supermarché. We will try this other store. I just hope it is easier to get to! There were several times on the drive to Manosque that I started hanging on to the car door for dear life. We had to drive on narrow, curvy roads along the sides of mountains without a barrier to stop a car from running of the cliff – I wanted to get out of the car and walk.
Until we make a decision about where to live in the south of France, I will thoroughly enjoy my time at this gite and in Banon. I cannot wait to investigate the city more and to see it when spring arrives. This is such a lovely area and I feel fortunate to be able to live here.
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celadon says
Bienvenue chez nous!
Vous avez un supermarché à Forcalquier et un Carrefour à La Brillanne ce qui est un peu moins loin que Manosque !!! Le top du Top est bien sûr Aix en Provence pour les belles Boutiques!!!