I moved from depressing London to the south of France – I’ll never go back

 A British woman who left the UK for the south of France to escape the “rat race” says her life is now far more relaxed and she has no plans to ever return.

Claire Ferrant, 50, who is originally from north London, has lived in France for 22 years, and she now teaches English to adults.

Ms Ferrant, the mother of two children aged 17 and 19, told The i Paper that the way of life in France gave her more time to spend with her family than back in Britain.

“I worked in central London for about seven years as an executive assistant and realised I just didn’t want a future in the rat race,” she said. “The climate was really depressing and I remember standing and waiting for the bus one day, asking myself: why?

“I felt the cold in my bones and I didn’t understand why I was doing it. I really couldn’t really see a future there.”

After her mother died in 2000, Ms Ferrant made the decision to move abroad. “She was 53 and I was 25. I thought, ‘I have to travel now, because you don’t know if you’ll ever get to retirement‘.”

She initially left the UK in 2001 to travel across Australia in a second-hand motorhome with her boyfriend for 10 months, with the aim of eventually settling down in the country.

However, she soon felt that Australia was too far from home for her, and she wanted to be closer to friends and family.

“As much as it was fantastic, I felt that I would be alienated in Australia because I would be so far from my friends,” Ms Ferrant said.

They ultimately decided on France, where they moved in 2003.

The couple moved to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France, where they bought a four-bedroom, 112 sq metre bungalow located on a 1,500 sq metre plot of land, in the commune of Mios in 2006.

“We bought it for €150,000 (£102,480) at the time. Now it’s worth over €700,000 (£602,147), so we bought it at the right time.”

Asked whether Ms Ferrant would consider leaving her new life to move back to the UK, she said: “Never. I’ll never go back to England.

“I know France better than Britain. I like their way of life. Weekends are still weekends.

“I remember when I lived and worked in London, there was no downtime. Shops are open seven days a week, some 24 hours a day. Whereas, especially when I first moved to France, Sunday opening didn’t exist.

“You were forced to relax, to be with your family, which I liked. There’s more open now, but still, it’s nothing like London.

“The climate is also much better and it’s definitely increased in temperature over the past 22 years.”

While accustomed to the French way of life, Ms Ferrant also said she enjoyed spending time with British expats.

“Throughout my career here, I have met people of many nationalities – Canadians, Americans, Germans – but I’m pleased I still have my British mates here. As much as I love the French, there are times when I want to express myself in my language.

“There is also a cultural difference. I can’t always be 100 per cent myself because of the differences in French culture.”

Asked whether tourism had taken its toll on her area, she said the only drawback was the traffic. “This time of year I absolutely hate, because if I have to drive somewhere, I have to plan it,” she said.

“It’s very popular where I live. The traffic doubles and triples.

“There is a good industry for tourism. And of course, there’s the wine, but that just depends on the year or the climate.

“The tourism is great, but come October to April, it gets a lot quieter.”