Aussie and Scot – larrikin meets money wise with a common dream
Hamish and I met in 2007 whilst both working on very large yet separate projects in the Middle East, each a career dream job. As an Australian girl living alone and recently divorced taking on a new life there was both daunting and exciting.
We met during my first few weeks on the job. Hamish was a breath of fresh air with his own unique way off doing things and his fresh and can-do management style and our friendship and mutual respect grew quickly.
His acerbic sense of humour and quick wit was irresistible. He claims it was my “sparky” personality that attracted him. Something a little disappointing to me at the time as most girls hope it is more related to style, attractiveness or rating off the charts on the “sexy” meter. He has since claimed they were a close second.
Wedding bells
Whilst romance took much longer to develop we finally married in Dubai 2010.
Our new future together included a dream to take an old tired house and renovate her, although neither of us had ever done anything similar before.
Hamish and I came from totally different career backgrounds that include motor sport, Olympics, event creation, entertainment/intellectual property and consumer products. Due to our differences we have constantly been a great balance to one another. Senior management skills, international project management experience matched with mountains of enthusiasm came together to help us succeed here and to deliver our dream.
Unknown to us at the time, was how well our differences and passions would come together.
As both of us were solutions oriented from our past lives and certainly well practiced in areas of conflict resolution and “Plan B” thinking, we thought it would be enough to see us through. So far, we have been proven right.
Hamish and I met in the Middle East whilst each was on a separate yet related project. Having both lived in various postings outside of our native countries during our fun and dynamic careers, the thought of relocating to yet another was not as daunting as it perhaps it should have been.
Becoming Francophiles
Planning the where, what and how was in itself an exciting project. The decision making process that lead us to the Gers in South West France was taken very seriously. It was nearly three years of European country, region and house-hunting trips that finally lead us to our new home here.
Here is how we went about it after finally deciding France would be our new resident country. Tips to assist buying property in France
There were very few illusions about how hard it would be. With limited DIY skills, little if any French language ability and of course, the giving up of full-time much loved careers, knew it was a formidable project. Above all our project was to be both life changing probably sucking up a lot of our savings and physical resources. And it was and remains so.
Our final house choice was made on the way to the London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Sitting at the departure gate quickly typing up our offer whilst a flight attendant harassed us to board the plane.
Living our dream
We have no regrets, have learnt a lot, become a strong and reasonably skilled team and created a new life beyond our dream.
With so much learnt, some of it the hard way, we wanted to share our experiences and new-found know-how. This includes:
- Living in France.
- The renovation planning, process, tips and hard knocks.
- Decoration – especially budget saving upcycling and recycling.
- Renovation budgets and costs plus individual element costs and potential risks.
- Garden and Landscaping projects.
- Food and drink recipes we created using produce from our own gardens and regional specialties.
- Miscellaneous fun things from our new French life
With so many expats now living here in France, our story is not unique. However, we think our “team” style has resulted in us approaching so many things in a fresh or different way. It also has made our marriage and life partnership stronger.
Welcome to our eclectic ramblings.