Since both Ben Blair and I can work from anywhere, we are dreaming of living abroad for a year (and even making some tentative plans!). Ben Blair has been looking into housing and found this Master’s House. It’s located in a small French village, 2 hours from Paris and 2 miles from the beach. It sits on 4 landscaped acres and shockingly, it’s in our budget. In fact, it’s less than the rent we paid in New York. A dining room for 30, 8 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 6 fireplaces. Oh. And a tennis court. More space than we need. Maybe you will come to visit us and help fill it up. : )
I’m sure it will be taken between now and when we’re actually ready to move, but it’s fun to think about.
What do you think? Would you like living abroad with your family? If you could work from anywhere, where would you pick?
That house is amazing! I bet the inside is even better.
My husband and I are actually making tentative plans to move to Spain for a few years for business school. 2 years seems like just the right amount of time to live abroad. Long enough to really experience it without being permanently transplanted. Just thinking about it makes me excited! Where do you begin looking for places to live in Europe?
That’s Awesome! We would come and visit for sure!
oh my god… beautiful!! it’s a dream house!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I went to Paris twice last year and fell head over heals in love with that city. I would do it, and do it now. Don’t let anyone else take that lovely house. By the way we would love to help you fill it up!
Snap! We’d totally live abroad and my choice would be France! If you need to fill your house – you can count on us!
Oh I hope you do it! I lived in the South of France for a year and would go back in a second. I just need to convince my husband.
saw that your sister wants to do the same things. perfect. i am living abroad but dream of moving back to brazil so that i can be closer to my sisters.
Wow. What an adventure and great story you and the kids would be able to share forever! That home is amazing. I don’t know, the stars are sort of aligning for you to take advantage of this opportunity. It is rare for both parents to actually be able to work from anywhere. Of course it’s much easier said than done, but I say go for it. Especially since it seems like you and your family are the fun, adventurous type:) Let me know when to book our tickets;)
In a word YES!!!!!!!! I’d love this so much, I also would love to go to France period. The ability to take the family for an immersion based experience would be totally radical!
We loved our all-too-brief time in France with our two preschool-aged sons. Two more boys, the gear for all four kids, and their busy lives makes me quake at the thought of moving (and then moving again when the year is over). So glad there are brave ones like you to blaze the way!
I have this plan, too! Because of the kids’ ages, it probably won’t be for a year, but I want to go for summers (or parts of summers) to other places. First up: NYC. I want the kids to see what it’s like to live not only in other cultures, but just other cities that really look different from where we live now. Next: London. I’m conveniently picking places Husband has offices so he doesn’t have to disrupt his work routine too terribly much.
I think that’s mighty kind of me, doncha think? :)
(I’m secretly hoping for an office in Italy)
Our family has chosen to live abroad. We live and work in Mexico. I wouldn’t change a thing! It’s an incredible opportunity that you should definitely take advantage of if you are able.
One suggestion: You may want to consider two years. You’ll just be getting your groove and grasping the language and it’ll be time to pack up if you only stay a year.
I hope you take the plunge!!
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!! The location sounds fantastic!! We are hoping to live in Germany next summer for a visiting scholar program for my husband…we would definitely visit ;)! We’re also hoping the summer leads to a full sabbatical year (my husband is a professor) in Europe in the future. I’d ADORE France or Spain…
Happy dreaming and planning. I really love and admire so much the way that you and Ben Blair truly turn your dreams into actual plans every day :).
we have moved from the uk to nz – I don’t think you can get further away!!
Yes!!! We lived in the Middle East for 3 years with 3 kids, and we all LOVED it! We could have stayed longer & wish we had now… but we’re looking forward to moving abroad again in the future. We’d love to live in Morocco, Oman, Italy, Portugal, the list could go on and on….
I hope you do it–it’s not easy, but it’s so very worth it!
Oh how exciting! I can’t wait to see if this pans out! :)
ONLY 18 DAYS TO GO!!! – Like you we have always wanted to love abroad and experience life at a different pace so in just over 2 weeks my husband, myself and our 3 small children are moving from Queensland, Australia to Tuscany Italy.
We know no one and can speak only limited Italian. Our children will go to the local school and kindergarten and life will evolve in a new and unforgettable way.
Our trip is fairly unscripted so adventures abound – for us and you too hopefully. So many people say they want to and never do – seize the day and whatever happens you will make family memories that everyone of you will never forget.
WoW! Alex – hats off to you and your family…. hmmmm… sigh! I’m in awe!
DOH! Gabrieeellllleee! (read me stamping my feet!) This is one of my all time dreams. One day to take my family to France and live , breath and experience all it has to offer. My parents are from France and we have relatives there – that we don’t speak with ofcourse! I would love for my family to see all the things / places that my parents speak about – I would love to take my mother back too – so she could see her home again, she could show us around her neighborhood. Awwhhh, If you need help filling that beautiful house we are 6 – we can fill it up quickly Hee hee!!
That sounds so fun! And my husband is fluent in french.
oh, how I dream of living abroad!
and that master’s house looks so lovely how can you resist??????
i grew up in a family who moved alot…and in fact was born in Saudi Arabia while my folks were over there working (dad’s in OIL)…
however growing up we just moved around the U.S. — no overseas homes —
i had such a huge travel bug that i got a job working for an airline and was always on the GO! LOVED IT!
now i’m married to a man who has his own biz…LOCAL…no chance of being transferred…let alone a chance to live abroad… :(
so I dream…and dream…and live vicariously through friends and family who are able to live abroad…and am just a *little* bit jealous! :)
if we could live abroad, it would probably be in Slovenia… My husband served his mission there + his ancestors (mom’s side) are from there + I’ve already been there twice and LOVE it there…
AGH! I need to stop before I get really sad…and refocus myself on HOW BLESSED we are to live in awesome Huntington Beach, CA……
Well….my husband and I did live in france for 1 year from October 08-October 09. We have always had a love affair with france and have travelled to France every year for 10 years. We owned an art studio for children, so we found someone to teach the classes for us and we headed over. Before we moved we visited a very rural region just northeast of Toulouse – the’s where the departments of the Aveyron, Tarn, Tarn-et-garonne and Lot intersect. Stunning and beautiful. We rented a 200 year old stone farmhouse and packed up our dogs and bikes (we are huge cyclists) and 1 piece of luggage each and off we went.
It changed our lives. So much that when we came back in October we sold our business and will be returning for good in the fall. We opened another business where we will offer women’s retreats and summer camps for kids (from the US and all over the world). We took our first group of kids over 3 weeks ago for 18 days.
If you can do a sabbatical I highly recommend it. Life is short and it will change your life and if you have children (they adapt) and it will open their eyes to a whole new world.
One more thing…if you can’t do a year, maybe d0 6 months, even 3 months would be amazing.
that would be absolutely amazing. i lived in rome (trastevere neightborhood) for 5 months and it was truely the expereince of a lifetime. I know for all of your precious children it will be a fabulous opportunity to learn about another culture as well. i am about to move to nyc next week, wish you still lived there i would love to meet up. best of luck with your search on a fun abroad home!
A year ago my family and I moved to Ireland for 9 months -an incredible experience and life changing. I say “go for it!”
I have always dreamed of doing this and am constantly asking my husband if he can get transfered to Europe. I worked in film in Prague for several years when I was younger and have always wanted my kids to experience a different way of life early on so that they may be more accepting an open to things that are new and different. Do it! I hope that we get to one day, too…
I dream of moving oversees too. The scope of it seems overwhelming to me, so if you do it, please post about the details involved to live there as Americans. At this point we’re thinking it will be where we retire. Good luck, or should I say Bonne Chance!
Ulgh, I meant overseas!
what an adventure that would be…I spent 2 of my summers in college abroad, one was living on the Italian Riviera and I would go to Nice and Monaco a lot…but if I could go live somewhere for a year, right now, I think I would choose Venice, Italy… I love it there soooo much.
hands down, whistler, canada. with frequent trips to the islands.
we are in the process of trying to make a whole summer up there work for us. i wish you good luck in pursuing what i like to think of as a gypsy life.
I would love to live abroad. It’s the only way to truly discover what the country is like (ie. culture, everyday life, hidden little spots only locals know about, etc.) My brain would say YES! YES! YES! Let’s do it! But my heart would break in two knowing that I would be so far from my parents and in-laws. Taking away the grandkids while they are small. I don’t think my heart could bear it. Sigh… guess I’ll have to wait until the wee ones are big and hubby is retired. ‘Til then I can dream :).
How very, VERY, exciting to dream about and actually consider… even better. There is nothing more admirable and inspiring than seeing others transform their dreams into realities.
Me? Italy… despite the fact that I’d gain 50 lbs.
I LOVE living in Costa Rica. Has taken some getting used to. I say, don’t dream….plan. It’ll change your kids forever.
Are you kidding me?
YES we would love to oprote the family of four how ever we would love to go overthere to the big apple and then suddenly it becomes somewhat harder for a designer with no NY experience :-D
That house! How could you possibly wake up in that house without a smile on your face? And living in France would be such a fabulous experience for the kids! I can’t wait to take my daughter on a girls only trip to France. I am infatuated with Versaille and I can’t wait to watch her experience it. I hope it all works out for you!
We would DEFINITELY come to visit!!
Oh man, if you guys can do it-I say go! Would be an amazing experience for the kids (and you.) My Dad was in the Army when I was kid and we lived in Germany for three years-it was a great travel base and I’ve always felt so blessed for the experiences. My dream-make that, when I win the lottery-would be to have a flat in London. My favorite place on the planet!
where else but france???
my family and i are spending our second summer here. . . also in the countryside a few hours from paris. can’t get enough of this place.
maybe we’ll be neighbors out here next summer?
best of luck with your making it happen!
AWESOME!!! Go you guys-go for it! Gorgeous home and property! YES I’d move abroad with a family. We’ve talked about it and played with the idea and looked into opportunities but not made the big plunge. Seeing this makes me think we should. I think it would be great for any family! Please do keep us informed!
Oh my gosh – I would even pretend moving to NYC is living abroad! I want to do this so badly, I can taste it. Sadly, my husband works for the University of Phoenix in their IT department managing some of their proprietary software. U of P doesn’t have much of a need in other parts of the world for IT professionals. :(
We’re hoping Sidney or Brussels within the next couple of years will be our home away from home soon.
that’s it. we’re coming too. i’ll be the nanny.
i’ll check out the digs when we are in france in 4 weeks time (yay! gulp!)
x
Absolutely! We in fact have been thinking about London. Go for it Gabrielle! What an awesome experience for your entire family!!
YES! If I had the chance I would move to Spain (Barcelona) anytime now! :)
I just want to say that my dream was also to live abroad. My husband is German and we met in Texas. I have 2 small children, however, not to burst anyones bubble. It can be taxing to be abroad, and the ‘dream’ can sometimes not ‘relate to reality’. Its great to have dreams, but remember even moving to a new country albeit Western just like America, can be very challenging. And with a Family, finding time to learn the language, unless you already know it, can be stressful and tiring…along with watching 2 small kids. It is also a tremendous experience, and you learn to qickly rely on yourself. But all the things one takes for granted that you can get so readily back home, it takes time and months to cultinvate finding.
This is awesome! You should totally do it! I lived in the south of France for two years in several different cities. Carcassonne, Montpellier, Perpignan and St. Raphael which is near Cannes. It was amazing. Where did you find this house? I’m interested in going back and maybe trying to the north. Was it a particular website? Darling blog, btw!
You should go for it! Amazing! I lived in Prague, Los Angeles, now my husband and I are living in Salzburg, Austria and are already planning the next move to Barcelona, Spain.. and maybe in the future somewhere in Asia (probably island of Koh Samui) We are absolutely addicted to traveling and would love to live everywhere! Definitely changes your view of the world!!!!
Your family would surely make the most of that amazing house! And I would very much like too se the kinds of posts you’d come up with while living in France. What fun you’d have if you were there at the same time as Jordan!!
Oh. My. Great. Goodness.
I could live in a basement apartment if it meant being abroad for a year (can’t talk my stateside husband into it – YET). This house…
Gasp.
Count me in as a quasi-perm house guest. :b
Fantastic dream! My husband and I have discussed living abroad in places like his beautiful hometown, San Miguel de Allende which is a jewel of a town nestled in a valley just four hours north of Mexico City. We’ve also talked about Paris,
Madrid or Rome. The beauty is that I know how possible and real the dream is- it’s simply a matter of really wanting
it and
Taking
Baby steps to make it happen. Go for it! You lose NOTHING!!
Would and have! I actually picked up and married a Brit, taking my 3 kids in tow then adding 3 more (so far…). We picked up and moved ‘abroad’ back to the US for 18 months and now are returing to England and buying a holiday home in France because it’s where we think of ‘summer’ and the in-laws are already there too. I love it, the pace, the lifestyle, the schools, school Nativity plays….not so crazy about the harder driving test or price of imports like Reese Cups but Lindt and the TGV makes up for it ;o)