Leaping out of London life

HOURS spent commuting and a new baby daughter were the reasons behind a young British couple’s decision to head to France.

Simon White and Sophie Adair had both forged successful careers in London, but when their daughter Isabelle, or Izzy, was born their outlook began to change.

Caught up in a marketing and media whirl Simon, 34, was spending too long getting to work, too long at work and not enough time with Izzy.

“It would take an hour and a half to get to work, and just as long to get back and I would never get home before Issy had gone to bed,” said Simon.

“And my work was advertising and marketing so you do long hours, often during the weekend and it was with companies like Shell and Volkswagen so it had to be spot on.

“I came home one evening had a bit of an argument with Sophie and thought there must be more than this?”

Since the birth of Izzy nearly two years ago, 36-year-old mum Sophie had carried on her work as a tax consultant from home, heading in to the office a few times a month.

“I was lucky that my company were willing to let me work like that,” explained Sophie.

“But what I didn’t like was the fact that Izzy wouldn’t see Simon and he was missing out on her growing up.

“So I said that if London is the problem, let’s take it out of the equation and head over to France but make it a bit of an adventure.”

Simon, Sophie and Izzy are letting a house for the winter with converted barn and cavernous stone fireplaces, which is surrounded by five acres of fields.

A change from their two bed roomed semi-detached in Kingston.

“Like most UK houses ours had gone up in value so we freed up some of the equity and looked for somewhere with a rural setting, which we have in Juillac,” Sophie said.

“I’m able to carry on with my work via the internet and Simon wanted to concentrate on his writing, as well as spend time with Izzy.”

In this quiet corner of France the hills are heavily wooded, with dairy and sheep farming in the fields, the nearest shops are a short drive away.

“I didn’t see the benefit of doing village life in France over that of England, so I said we might as well find somewhere in the country,” Simon said.

“And we have that here and we are learning more French every day so that we can enjoy and experience the social side of things, which is so important.”

Sitting back in the afternoon sun Sophie said, “You can’t describe the atmosphere and no camera can capture the views over the hills.

“We are not sure what we will do once we leave here, but anyone can do it, you’ve just got to make the leap.”