Richard and his wife Susan bought a huge farmhouse in the village of Brux, just outside Poitiers in the south west France. Four years later they would be back in the UK, but not before experiencing the highs and lows of moving to France and the challenge of renovating a property abroad.

Like many who have made similar moves, Richard felt that he was in need of a new challenge. He had always wanted to move to France, loved the quality and way of life there, and at the age of fifty, work and personal circumstance finally united to give him the opportunity to fulfil this dream. Says Richard, "I decided to go out there with the family and semi-retire. I had no illusions about getting work. I'd done my research and knew how hard it was to get employment as a foreigner in France; but it just really felt like it was the right thing to do."

The property Richard chose was a large, rambling farmhouse, with two barns attached, set in large grounds dotted with cherry, apple, plum and fig trees. The barns needed work, but the main farmhouse was sound. "My wife was pregnant so we needed something habitable," explains Richard. "I went over with a builder friend before buying and he checked the integral quality of the building. I didn't want to be left with a building disaster on my hands."

 During the first winter, the Longs found out the hard way just what a challenge they had undertaken. "The previous owner used to up sticks and go to Guadaloupe in the winter, so he'd never really had to spend the cold months there. During that winter we found out just how draughty the place was. The wind whistled in through the stonework." Susan gave birth to their second child on Christmas Day. "I remember saying to Susan, 'just say the word and we can go'," recalls Richard. "But she never did. We stuck it out." The Long's original plan was to do up the barns as gîtes and rent them out. "We thought it would take five to six months," says Richard. "But it ended up taking two years! Four years on, one of the barns is completely done, but the other is just about to have its kitchen put in."

Why has it all taken so long? "It isn't that the builders are no good," Richard continues. "Overall, the quality of work has been excellent. But there's a lot of work for them out here, and so you have builders juggling contracts and dropping in and out a lot." Partly because of this, Richard ended up doing some of the basic building himself. "Living there while the work was being done, I learnt the skills to hurry things along, carrying out plasterwork, basic masonry, woodwork and so on." "I also had to be quite strong willed to get what I wanted. The builders didn't always want to keep the features that we wanted. For example, they wanted to cover the old oak beams, but I persuaded them to keep them exposed. It was the same with the walls. They wanted to cover these beautiful old stone walls with plaster, but in the ends we left most exposed. When they are built and filled properly, draughts don't get in, so the winters are much nicer now!""

Notwithstanding the challenges of slow builders, French bureaucracy and exposed beams, Richard remained positive. "It's not the time it takes that matters," explains Richard. "It's more understanding that it will take longer than you thought it would. If you can understand and accept this then you can cope with it." In addition, Richard made an effort to immerse himself in French culture. He improved his French, chatted to locals in bars, played boules and sang in choirs. In fact, Richard even set up a choir of his own in France. "I didn't want to be one of those expats who made no effort to integrate," comments Richard. "There's no point in going over there if you're going to do that."

The end result of all the Long's hard work is a property full of character and life. The farmhouse has a huge fireplace in the kitchen, a dining room with a table that fits 14, large sideboards, a grand piano, seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, a swimming pool... the list goes on. And yet, despite all this, Richard is now back working in England and looking for buyers for his beloved French home. Why is this? "After four great and challenging years, I felt I needed the challenge of work again. I heard about a job that interested me back in the UK, got it, and we decided to make the move." With only four and half weeks holiday a year, there is little time to enjoy his French home. Richard, though, has no regrets about his time in France and aims to return one day. "It's about the quality of life," he explains. "I'd love the children to be brought up here. We'll be back..."

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Article published in June 2007