Where are you from and how did you come to be living in France?
I was brought up in Surrey, England and my husband in Paris, France. We met and married in London and soon after I transferred to work in Brussels where we spent six happy years. Our eldest son (now 11) was born in Brussels (and dislikes me referring to him as my Brussels Sprout) and it was whilst on holiday with him, then a baby of six months, that we came to the Loire Valley for the first time. Our three subsequent children (now three, five and seven) were born here and feel more French than British – though they do enjoy Mr Bean and Digestive biscuits dipped in tea so all is not lost! Seriously though, they have been in the school system here from the start and we have been very happy with it on lots of levels – we have the joy of small village schools (about 45 children over four years at maternelle and primaire) where they benefit from a varied programme of academic, artistic, cultural and sporting activities not forgetting the cooked-fresh-on–the-premises four course lunch every day!
We talk to Charlotte Field from the UK about life as an expat in charming Chinon, Loire Valley where she has lived for eight years and works as a local agent for Leggett Immobilier, the award winning French Estate Agency…