THE DORDOGNE CAMPSITE OWNERS
R
uss and Lorna Watsham
from Hampshire had always loved
the outdoor
life, especially camping
with their three children
under two. In 2013, after various
trips to the Dordogne, they decided to
make the permanent move to
France.
"We realised in seeking out
good family-friendly campsites that
some businesses did it much better than
others and we developed
a good idea of how we would like
to run one ourselves," says Lorna,
47. "We bought a 26-acre site in
St-Jory-de-Chalais in Perigord Vert
called Camping Maisonneuve that
had been well run for 20 years by a
German couple."
"By buying an existing business
- which is classed as an "entreprise
individuel" - we were lucky all the
legwork had been done efficiently,"
says Lorna. "We did a bar licence
course, for two and a half days (with
a written test in French) and it was
also invaluable to have a handover
period with the former owners. I
would recommend this."
The couple run the bar and
40-cover restaurant, and although
they work seven nights a week for
seven months, they then get five
months off (when the site is closed)
for their own travel. "When you
move to France you have to work
the dream, not just live it," adds Lorna. "The
children have a great life
growing up on the campsite and are
constantly making new friends. We
hope they'll take over the business
one day!"
www.camping-maisonneuve.com.
CHAMBRE D'HÔTE IN THE CHARENTE-MARITIME
A
stressful job in London combined
with the
desire for a better life
drove Grant Muddiman
and his wife Karen to
seek a new life in St-Jean-d'Angély,
with their children. They run a five
bedroomed chambres d'hÔtes (six
or more is classed as a hotel) in a
beautiful house, and a property
management company (run as a
micro-bic entreprise) servicing the
houses, gardens and pools of other expats.
The micro-bic entreprise
allows individuals to earn up to a
threshold of €32,000 without punitive
tax per year. Grant also works
for a company looking after a number of
homes near La Rochelle as
well as earning income from a number of
investment properties.
"We felt the time was right to
move the children to France, so
they were young enough to adapt
and we could spend time with them
doing the things we loved," says
Karen, 57. "The Charente-Maritime
has a great climate, we are only 45
minutes to the beach and six hours
drive from the ferry ports. Integrating
has been an adventure but
our welcoming French neighbours
made it very easy. Our children are
now 18 and 20, are bilingual, and
have enjoyed a childhood that was
much freer than they would have
had in the UK and we don't miss a
thing about life in Britain."
http://www.chambresdhotes17.fr 37
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