Why I love France

Many people ask me why I want to live here in France rather than the UK. One element of the decision is obviously getting more house for your money here, but the other is the lifestyle.  Here are some instances which have happened over the last couple of days which illustrate exactly what I'm getting at.

1. It was a hot day in Dieppe last weekend and in the sidestreets everyone had their windows wide open. On the first floor, opposite the restaurant we were frequenting, a bare-chested rotund Frenchman was leaning out of his window chatting to his neighbour on the other side of the road. As they were laughing and joking, a man came along the road taking his dog for a walk and joined in on the conversation for about 5 mintues, then continued on his way.
2. We were in the local bar (Bar Doris - not a girl's name, but a type of boat) on Tuesday evening with the regulars when a young chap came in, shook hands with all the patrons, went to the cigarette counter to buy his cigarettes and then left. It was a good job there were only 6 of us, otherwise it would have taken all night! I doubt this would happen in the larger towns, obviously, but here in the country it is expected that you acknowledge everyone. Back home in Tonwell the locals would have a heart attack if a stranger came up and shook hands with them - you barely get a nod in acknowledgement from some of them and that's after 20+ years of living there.
3. That same night, there was a mobile Pizza van operating opposite the bar - with a wood-burning pizza oven even!  Patrick and his wife (the local painter and odd-job man) bought a pizza and brought it back into the bar and then promptly cut it up and gave us all a piece. Again, in Tonwell no way.  It is also the tradition that you buy each other drinks, and if you've spent enough in the bar, Daniel will buy you a drink. The only time Julian in the Robin Hood has bought us a drink was one New Year's Eve when we had a power cut until almost midnight so he couldn't cook the food we had come for. He was quite drunk at the time!
4. Sitting in the garden having lunch yesterday, a red squirrel ran into the garden, then departed before we could get a picture of it.

That is just one week here - so you can see why we like the lifestyle so much. Perhaps you could get it in the UK, but it is getting increasingly difficult to find.