What living in rural France did to my mindset, routine & happiness

Bonjour, tout le monde! I’m coming to you today with a guest post from one of my readers all about rural French life. American-born Trish Jasinski moved to Paris in 2008, taking advantage of an opportunity for a job transfer. She spent much of her career in marketing, working for large international companies and spent over a decade in Paris until she relocated to the countryside where she bought a petit 14th century château.

Trish left corporate life last year to start a business hosting small group retreats, getaways and events at Château de Gère, which is situated in the Vallée d’Ossau at the foot of the southwest Pyrénées mountains. Take it away, Trish….

When I decided to sell my Parisian apartment, the plan was to move somewhere that was a bit quieter. I had a great run in Paris for more than a decade, but as I grew older, the noise, pollution and fast pace of city life was getting to me. I love France and have built a life here with a job, friends and even obtained French nationality, so I knew I wanted to stay.

I had been making a list of places that I might want to eventually move to, but I didn’t think it would happen until I was closer to retirement since I was still employed in Paris. But then COVID hit and while confined to my small apartment, I knew it was time to make a move. So I listed my apartment for sale and fairly quickly received a full price offer.

I found a cute village called Bois le Roi near the Fontainebleau forest that was a 20 minute train ride to Paris – a very doable commute. I started looking at properties when a friend planted the idea of buying a château, which I understand is defined as a stately home or fortress that has been lived in by someone of nobility. I was intrigued and expanded my search to include châteaux. Before I knew it, I was heading towards the southwest Pyrénées to go château shopping.

If I’m honest, I was half serious about buying a château. But I was turning 50 and this trip was a way to mark the occasion since travel restrictions limited my options for a big birthday adventure. So I lined up a few appointments, open to the possibility I might find something, but my expectations were low.

The first two châteaux were very different, one very modern and livable on a busy road and the other largely inhabitable and secluded. The third château wasn’t on my initial list but I was looking at another one in the area and the agent asked if I wanted to see it.

The way it was described to me as being more modern than the other château lowered my expectations even further… but then I saw it. After about 20 minutes of touring inside and out, I was in love and made an offer a few hours later. There was something that just felt right about it and when you know, you know!

It sounds crazy now thinking back about how spontaneous of a decision it was. At that point, I didn’t plan to live there, but thought it could be a great vacation home that I could rent out when I wasn’t using it. But then the bank mistakenly processed the loan as my primary residence which would mean that I would have to live there for at least eight months of the year.

And since I was working remotely for the foreseeable future, I decided to move in full time, thinking that when and if I would need to return to the office, I would figure it out then (spoiler alert, I never went back).

The château is in a village that has about 200 residents and over 400 sheep. Having grown up in a small New England town in the U.S., I was somewhat familiar with rural life. But this is different. Very different. And over the past 4 1/2 years, a lot has changed for me in terms of my mindset, routine and happiness… and all for the better.

Life moves at a slower pace in the French countryside compared to what I had been used to in Paris. Most shops in the countryside are closed between 12 and 2 p.m. and many restaurants only serve lunch during those hours, so I learned to plan accordingly and now it’s normal.

There aren’t any shops in my small village. Because we’re in France and it’s important to have fresh bread, a woman from the local bakery loads up her car each morning with baguettes, croissants and chocolatines and drives through the villages, honking her horn to alert everyone that she’s coming through. You can either meet her at the car and have a chat while she’s filling your order, or leave a bread bag and a note with your order on your gate and when you check back later, voilà, a fresh baguette and pastry delivered by the bread fairy!

Living in rural France also helped me become more patient. It’s not unusual to get stuck in a sheep traffic jam as the farmers lead their herds to and from the fields where they graze. I’ve learned to leave enough time for traffic if I’m heading out during ‘rush hour’ and just enjoy the show. And when I do my grocery shopping at the weekly outdoor market, I no longer rush through to get the things on my list, but rather take time to have a chat with the vendors and enjoy the moment.

How I spend my time has also changed quite a bit. In Paris, I worked a lot and had a 30-minute commute. My free time was mostly meeting friends for drinks, dinner or an event in the city as well as quite a bit of travel. I also had most everything within a few minutes walk such as a bakery, grocery store, restaurant, and metro.

Now that I own a 14th century château along with a few acres of land, I have to make time for maintenance, repairs and DIY projects, which I actually enjoy. I now spend a lot more time outdoors mowing the lawn, maintaining the grounds and gardening. I’ve surprised myself at the skills I’ve developed as I’ve updated the kitchen, re-built a bridge, put in new decking, and several other projects, many of which can be seen on the UK television show, Château DIY.

Most projects I do myself, but certain things like electricity, plumbing and anything structural I leave to the professionals. It is more difficult to find artisans in the countryside and there is often a long lead time for getting work done, but I’ve learned to adapt.

Since moving to the countryside, I left my corporate job and started a business hosting small group retreats, getaways and events at my château. And while I am grateful for the career I had and all the opportunities that came with it, I’m really enjoying not spending my day in front of a laptop and on conference calls.

Instead, I have the pleasure of welcoming guests and introducing them to the things I love to see, do and savor in and around the beautiful Vallée d’Ossau.

This has also been a great way to meet and build relationships with local business owners. I love introducing guests to the vendors at the weekly outdoor market, bringing them to my favorite restaurants and local events, visiting my neighbors to see how they make cheese, and organizing activities like wine tasting, hiking or e-bike touring.

As a foreigner with a strong American accent, I was so surprised at how welcoming my neighbors have been and how much I feel part of the community. People are so kind, helpful and generous, which has made it so much easier to transition from city dweller to life in the countryside.

In just under 5 years of living in rural France, I’ve been able to slow down and move more, continue to learn new skills, and meet many wonderful people, all while discovering a different and wonderful side of France.

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Thanks again to Trish for guest posting. Check out Château de Gère here and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Want more? Check out this guest post on why the French are afraid of air conditioning and what it’s like being a vegetarian in France.