After 5 years in France, and after much deliberation and discussion, having considered many factors we have decided that this year is the time for us to move back to England. The move to France was never meant to be permanent and there are many good reasons to move back this year. So here is the WHY, WHERE and WHEN...

WHY:
It may seem strange to want to leave such a beautiful and sunny place, but we have many good reasons. It is not an easy place to live in terms of day to day things. The language is part of the problem; simple things like going to the doctor can be very difficult and filling in French tax forms etc. is a nightmare. We have also considered Schools for Tom and feel he will be better off at an English school. We have also found it hard to make friends here and miss many of our friends back in England.

WHERE:
Having decided to move back we needed to decide where to go. We have mainly considered schools for both the children and for Jo to teach at, also some good scenery and trails for running and biking, and some good weather, and the sea, and house prices and many other factors. Having considered everything, we have decided to move to Eastbourne on the south coast. There are some very good schools, we will be right on the edge of the South Downs with the 100 mile South Downs Way being ideal for training. Eastbourne is also officially the sunniest place in England. We will also be an easy train ride to London where many of our friends live.

WHEN:
We are aiming to be moved by next winter but we should be in a position to buy a house by June. We will be spending time over the summer looking for a house and aim to move around September.

It will be an interesting year and we are looking forward to catching up with all our friends back in England. I'll be keeping everyone updated with progress here on the blog over the next few months.