March 2006 we, Rens and Annette, arrived in Isle et Bardais. A little village in the north of the Allier. Only seven people/km live in this area. Here we found the quiet, the beautiful nature, the friendly people and the possibility to transfer an old farm (longère) into our home with a seperate bed and breakfast to welcome our guests.
Together with Koos, our six year old boxer, a lot of courage and a small budget we live the life we could only dream of living in the Netherlands… The freedom, not only by space but also in the mind. The freedom of thinking, which wakens up your creativity. Allthough we work here harder then ever in our life… we enjoy it every minute. Emigration has offcourse its dark sites. Your son, your family, your good friends and last but not least your mother. Where is the time that you could pay them a spontaneous visit? Sometimes you wished you had a time machine and drink a coffee with them.
Anyway, Isle et Bardais is not the other side of the world and in seven to eight hours we can see them and, offcourse, the other way around. We have no regrets!
