So, we sold everything, burnt the bridges, you come across, you've got to make a success.

Well how? And what is it about the South West of France that attracts you so much?

The food, the wine.

What do you miss? Is there something specific which you...

What would we miss?

Culturally or...

Great toast!

You have to meet French to get to know them and of course in our context we meet English language speakers.

How have you integrated into French life?

It's not possible.

It's not possible?

No.

No?

No, you just can't.

The key is learning the language, so the better you speak French, the easier and more confident you are in integrating.

I don't know why we came to France, I was happy to do it.

Hi everybody, welcome to a new episode of Easy English.

In 2019 there was an estimated 180,000 British citizens living in France.

26% of those living in the specific region of the South West.

So we thought we'd head to one of the traditional morning markets to find Brits who have settled outside of the UK and ask them...

What brought them to this specific region of France?

What they like about France?

What they miss about the UK?

And most importantly, how they've managed to integrate into French culture, language and life.

Before we get started, if you're a regular Easy English viewer and you want to improve your English or just help support us, then you can with the link up here.

Here we go.

What are you two doing in France, in the South West of France to be specific?

Well, we're both retired and we decided to retire to the South of France for the lifestyle.

I'd already been in France before, in the South East, Nice.

What are you doing in the South West of France?

Well, we have a second home here, which we've had for 22 years.

What brought you to the South West of France?

A whim.

A whim.

A whim?

Yeah.

On a whim?

On a whim.

What, you threw a dart at the globe or something?

No, we just thought we'd go and live in France.

And then you swapped the Côte d'Azur for...

Yes.

And what was that?

I mean, the Côte d'Azur is nice, but it's...

I called it golf cabriolet country.

It was all a bit showy.

There were too many people there just to be seen.

You know how you pay extra if you want to sit out in the terrace?

Then if you're sat inside, because there's a value to being seen.

Wow.

What is it that brings you to this region of France, this sort of infamous or famous region of France?

Well, we've lived here for 11 years.

So we used to come here just for our holidays, which is about six weeks a year, but we've been retired now for eight years, so we're able to come down for five months or so during the year.

So we sold everything, burnt the bridges, you come across, you've got to make a success.

Wow.

What then, apart from the showiness of the East, what brought you out to the West?

Well, my parents moved here in 1995.

And was it a successful whim?

I've been here almost 25 years.

Really?

Oh, yeah.

Tell me what it is about this area that you love so much.

Well, we spent lots of holidays in the Dordogne, because it was too crowded, and this area is much nicer.

It's more agricultural and not so many people and traffic.

And we love the food.

Could you elaborate on the lifestyle that you like about France?

It's very relaxed.

Yeah.

It's very, very cordial.

The people are very friendly, especially if you try to speak some French.

How easy is it to integrate into French life, French culture?

I think it does help if you've got an open attitude straight away, and then if you have some language skills.

Because you can get much more out of the culture.

You can learn about the cuisine, you can learn about the politics, if you want to.

There's always politics involved in that.

But politics is everything.

It's the state of the roads, the state of the schools, the potholes, whatever.

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How have you integrated into French life?

It's not possible.

It's not possible?

No.

No?

No, you just can't.

Why's that?

If you went to live in England, you would be avoided by the English.

There's a site that dealt with more of the cultural things, which is called Commune Francaise, and it's a French lady in Grenoble who gives courses and talks a lot about the cultural background.

Simple things like, don't put your bread on the table upside down because it brings bad luck.

My French is pretty good, actually.

That's what I've noticed.

It's been much easier to integrate with French people, if you speak a significant amount of French, really.

They really appreciate it as well, I guess.

They appreciate it, and then they try and speak a little bit of English themselves.

Nice. It's like tandem learning.

We're both learning French.

We now attend a French class, which is much better.

The French are very welcoming and generous.

If you take a step towards them, they will at least meet you, coming towards you.

Linguistically, they're generous.

I mean, half of English is French.

And how's your French?

Non-existent.

Non-existent.

Did you ever consider picking up a bit of it or French lessons?

Oh, I've tried and tried.

It just doesn't come.

No?

No, I'm not very good with sound.

But then I noticed that here, this isn't a very typical sort of British-y French market.

So how do you get around?

How do you get by with buying stuff?

I take the wife with me.

Do you miss anything from the UK?

He's been here too long to say that.

Perhaps of a Sunday,

I do miss a good old-fashioned English pub.

What do you miss? Is there something specific?

What would we miss?

Waitress.

There's not much we miss, really.

We don't miss very much.

The traffic's horrendous over there still.

It's much cleaner and tidier over here.

What is it that you miss when you're away from England, when you're in France?

Family, mainly.

Our daughter.

We lived on the...

I mean, living in Sheffield, we lived on the edge of the Peak District.

So being able to walk off roads with the right to wander and the scenery of the Peak District.

That's the one thing I miss.

That's the one thing we do miss.

What would you say you miss most about England, not being there for 25 years?

If you wanted a magazine in English, you have to have it delivered.

Right.

You can't go in a shop and flick through them.

But really, there isn't anything.

Is there any difference, or what differences are there between the Brits and the French, of the French people that you know here?

Well, I think generally, people are much more polite.

Living in France now reminds me of actually growing up in the 50s and 60s in the UK.

I mean, everywhere you go, everyone will say bonjour, whatever context, will say bonjourné.

They're very, very polite.

Even children.

When we first came, and we were looking around, and we'd have a picnic somewhere, and children walked by, they'd say, bon appétit.

The children are much more better behaved in restaurants, for example.

They don't tear around screaming.

Because they're used to staying up late for family meals.

Evening markets.

Oh yes, evening markets.

Which would be banned in England from health and safety.

We love the evening markets.

Yes, and they have lots of music.

It's really nice.

There's a negative stereotype that comes with this region in Brits, right?

Or, I don't know, is that fair to say?

Yeah, part of it, there's one side where there's the positive that people buy up derelict houses and renovate them, because a lot of the French people wouldn't bother.

And then the other side, as you do in any country, expatriates or immigrants tend to clump together, which can lead to some tension.

Yeah, for comfort.

But I heard one thing, an English conversation, not far from here, where people were complaining about they'd gone back to England, and there was a small section of Polish food in their local supermarket, as opposed to the small section of English food in the supermarket.

You've been here quite some time now, and how do you feel about this kind of stereotypical little Britain feeling that this area has?

Is it good for English?

Is it good for the French?

Is it good for anyone?

What are the connotations?

I think the English are probably slightly reassured by having compatriots around, people who they can talk to.

Because the English are the worst in Europe for language speaking.

The French aren't that much better, by the way, but at least they make an effort.

I mean, yes, if you can speak the language, it just helps to get more back out of the society.

You reap what you sow, basically.

Thanks for watching this week.

What was your take on this week's episode?

How do you feel about this little Britain area in the southwest of France?

Would you like to go?

Would you like to move there?

And what tips can you give for helping people integrate into a new language or culture?

And as always, we'll see you next time.

Ta-ra!