Silver Linings

One of the silver linings to distancing last year has been the connections I’ve made on social media. What started most evenings as a quick scroll, often turned into meeting some of the kindest people - people I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet. One such person is David, creator of the beautiful Instagram account, A Provençal Life.

Meeting

David, who is originally from Boston, moved full-time to the Luberon region of Provence a few years ago. We finally had the chance to meet in person when he was home recently, visiting his parents, and made the trip to the shop to say hello. I had to smile and thank this little account for bringing total strangers together!

During his visit, David was willing to answer a few questions about his move and life in Provence. I’m thrilled to share his responses below, along with a few of his stunning photographs!

An American in Provence

What led you to Provence?

My heritage is French on both sides of my family, though I was not raised with any specific ethnic connection to France. Well, other than that my grandmother would speak French to my father when she didn't want us to understand! But from a young age I was drawn to Europe. I loved learning languages and I studied abroad while at university. I knew that someday I would return to Europe. Fast forward many years and a challenging professional life in the US. The tug of Europe became more acute and after years of travel throughout Europe I realized France was where I felt an emotional connection. Maybe it was my ancestors calling me back!

What was the journey to finding where you settled? And what was the process of purchasing a home in France?

After living my entire life in New England in the US, I knew that when buying a second home in France I wanted warmth and sunshine.  I am also drawn to nature and a lifestyle that is based on a connection to it.  I am a gardener and I have always loved lavender.  So, after my first trip to Provence in 2012, I had a visceral reaction to everything about it - the history, the architecture, the Mediterranean climate, the vineyards and olive groves, and the very laid-back lifestyle. And I found the French in Provence to be friendly and happy. I wanted to live there!

Over the next few years I began doing a lot of research online and looking at houses virtually. I made a few more trips to other parts of France to make sure that Provence was really right. Finally in 2015 I found a house online that was for sale. I contacted the listing broker and told him I wanted to schedule a week-long house hunting trip and to arrange as many houses for me to see as possible, including the one I had found online. I knew I wanted a village house and an old house with character. I had decided I wanted to be in the Luberon Valley, not just because it's incredibly pretty, but because it had the lavender fields, orchards, vineyards, villages and the lifestyle I knew I wanted. It is also not overdeveloped like much of the Côte D'Azur (French Riviera).

I flew in from Boston during an early spring week in April and saw 13 houses over three days. I saw several houses in villages I loved (Bonnieux, Lacoste, Saint Saturnin) but none of the houses resonated with me for one reason or another. I kept asking the realtor when I would see the house I had found online. Finally, it was the last house I saw and from the moment I entered and then looked out the windows at the tiny village square, I remember saying to him "I can live here!"

I made an offer that very day and it was accepted the following day.  Like everything in France, it was a bit bureaucratic with lots of paperwork, but the process went mostly smoothly. I returned to France in July to close on the house and to move in. For the next five years, I went to Provence for vacations and also renovated part of the property remotely from abroad.  I finally decided in 2019 that I wanted to retire early and move to France full-time.  I did just that in early 2020.  I couldn't be happier with that decision.

You have a strong community following your life in Provence. What has been the most incredible part about sharing your journey with others?

I have always loved photography and it has been a lifelong hobby. When I retired to Provence, I decided to start an Instagram account @provencallife as a place to share photos and celebrate my good fortune of waking up every morning in Provence! As I mentioned, I arrived in Provence in February 2020, just as the pandemic was happening. France went into a two-month strict lockdown shortly thereafter. The Instagram account became a connection to the outside world.  I was alone in a little village in Provence but I began making virtual connections to people nearby and to people around the world.

I have always believed that life is a story. I began trying to tell my narrative through my photographs. It seemed to resonate with lots of people, I think partly (mostly) because we were all in some sort of confinement (lockdown) worldwide and my photos of my life in a little village in Provence allowed people to travel and to escape.

For all that is said about the ills of some social media, I have made some wonderful virtual friends (I call them Insta-amis. Now that France is opening up and people are vaccinated, I've met some people in person, like you Sandra, which has been wonderful. Several of the people I have met in France are becoming good friends. For a foreigner abroad, it has been a good way to meet new people who share similar interests.

What is your favorite part about living in Provence?

Everything!  Seriously, I really am happy every morning I wake up. It's a new adventure. Some of that is being newly retired after a long professional career, but most of it is being surrounded by beauty and an easy life, the daily markets, frequent brocantes (antique markets), and the ability to walk out into the countryside right outside my door. It is also sunny 300 days a year. I have been so warmly welcomed by my French neighbors, and they have become the dearest of friends. I was describing to a French friend that I am not sure if the English word "home" really translates to the French word "chez moi". In English, the word home is as much a state of mind as a description of "my place."  However it translates, Provence is now home in all senses of the word. Je suis chez moi.

For someone who has never visited, what are your top 3 recommendations for things to do?

My first bit of advice is to come to Provence in April, May or June or very early July or else in September. The summer is the most popular season but it is usually very hot and crowded and lots of places don't have air conditioning.  The lavender blooms from mid June to mid July so if you come in August, you are out of luck.

My second bit of advice is to stay somewhere centrally located in Luberon so you are more accessible to the diversity of villages in the valley.  My favorite villages are Menerbes, Bonnieux, Lourmarin and Saint Saturnin-les-Apt.

My third bit of advice is to not over schedule when you visit. Plan a day to a village that is hosting a market that morning, then take two hours for lunch (like the French) and then a walk around afterwards to explore.  You can see several villages in one day but part of the pleasure of Provence is slow living. Embrace it, it is therapeutic, it is French!

To see more of David’s beautiful photos, follow @provencallife on Instagram.

Merci David! It was such a pleasure to meet you.

XOXO,
Sandra