LIVING THE DREAM

How looking after a house in France turned into ‘I'm leaving’

Near the town of Arnay-le-Duc in the Côte d'Or department is a beautiful lake with several recreational facilities. Against the dyke of l'Etang Fouché Moulin Fouché is situated. It’s a former watermill dating from 1750. When Robert Thom from France4U showed us this location, we both instantly fell in love. It is an idyllic spot, surrounded by greenery, yet close to all amenities. The pigeon tower and beautiful garden give it a fairytale feel. In 21 years, the former Dutch owner had turned it into a beautiful holiday home with two gîtes.

We are Frédérique Schoenmakers - de Groot (53) and Nico Schoenmakers (57). We lived in a small village, called Berlicum in the province of Noord-Brabant, near the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. We have now officially emigrated to France. Frédérique has long been a customer advisor in tourism, at banks and housing associations. For the last four years, she worked as a professional storyteller. Nico has worked as a communications consultant for national sport umbrella organisations and an educational institution. He was also an art teacher at a secondary school in the town of Veghel for many years.

Dreaming of a different life
We had long dreamed of running a B&B in the Netherlands. But it is not easy to really make a living doing that. Another serious option was to start a guesthouse in Myanmar. In that country, we are active in development work with our two foundations World Child Care and Care for Children. But that country is currently at war. Still, we felt it was time for something different.

The seed for an adventure in France was planted in May-June 2022. During that period, we spent a month looking after the house of our cousin Jan and his wife Estha. They live in the village of La Frasnée in the Jura and run the gîte La Tulipe. We liked life there so much that we decided to quit our jobs, sell the house in the Netherlands and find a nice place to stay in France. Once you make the decision to emigrate, things can suddenly move fast. We sold our house within three weeks, then packed all our household goods and arranged everything for our ‘I'm leaving’ adventure.

Our search in France
In the summer of 2022, we looked at four houses in the Haute-Marne. That was a nice experience. But then the date of 1 November was fast approaching. That was the moment we had to hand over our house in the Netherlands. Fortunately, we found a temporary home with our cousin and his wife in the Jura, where it all started. Logically, we continued our search there. After looking at two houses in the Jura, on 18 November 2022 we found the former watermill in Arnay-le-Duc on France4U's website. We had never been to the Côte d'Or before and did not know that area. High time to delve into that region. The landscape here is lovely and hilly. It is a patchwork of forests, meadows, rapeseed fields, vineyards, lakes and rivers. There are many picturesque villages and towns. There are also endless castles.

We remember well the first meeting with our estate agent and the owner of Moulin Fouché. Robert immediately made us feel we could rely on him and Diana's enthusiasm was contagious. After the viewing, we talked for a long time and decided the next day to buy the watermill. The purchase was well prepared and went smoothly. On 1 February 2023, the key was handed over. Afterwards, of course, we still had many questions, but thanks to Robert from France4U's expert aftercare and good contact with former owner Diana, all those questions were answered.

Two successful rental seasons further
Of course, there was still a lot to be done before we entered our first rental season. Fortunately, we are very handy and how cool is it to realise your dream together. While Frédérique started tidying and cleaning, Nico started renovating the two gîtes. The garden also needed attention and the grounds needed tidying up. In three months, Moulin Fouché brightened up into a true little paradise. On 27 May 2023, we were able to open its doors. The first season was an immediate success. When we waved goodbye to the last guests on 14 October, we had achieved an occupancy rate of 90%. The second season, which started a little earlier, also went extremely well.

Feelings of happiness, but sometimes doubts

On 1 February 2025, we already were the proud owners of Moulin Fouché for two years. How much has happened and how much work has been done! And what nice people we have welcomed in our gîtes. We are having a great time here! But of course we also have our doubts sometimes. For instance, our septic tanks were immediately condemned and a new sewage system had to be installed. That was a huge project and our whole property was excavated. For a while we thought: This will never work out. But thanks to the support of our real estate agent and thanks to good workmen, we now have an excellent functioning sewage system, as well as a drainage system. In spring 2024, our property flooded three times due to persistent rainfall and the water came inside. We cleaned the stream past the house and raised the level of the garden, with help from new Dutch and French friends. Then it turned out that the roof was in worse shape than thought. We had quotes for renovation and were shocked about the cost. We now have a beautiful new roof and are sure that it will never leak inside again. During all this work, we sometimes thought: Didn't we buy too much with our hearts and not enough with our minds? But then, when everything is ready and you have received help from all directions, that thought quickly subsides and we enjoy the hard work and the final result. And with us our guests!

Taking the initiative yourself
Integration is also going well! We notice that we have to make contact with the French ourselves. But once the ice is broken, they are there for you. The evening before we welcomed the first guests in our gîtes, we invited all the neighbours for a tour and an aperitif. That was a good move. We enjoy making music and both sing. Nico also plays the piano. In summer, the Estival Nocturnes takes place on six Thursday evenings in Arnay-le-Duc. The first year, we performed one evening with a Dutch friend. Last year, two French friends played along on guitar and accordion. Our repertoire consists of French chansons and some English and Dutch songs.

Since we have a micro enterprise, we joined the local business association. This way, we met even more nice people. We also joined the local pop choir. In June, we will have three big performances together with a pop choir from around Dijon. Although our French is slowly improving, it is still a challenge to be able to sing everything by heart!

It comes as it comes
Despite the occasional setback, we do not regret for a moment our decision to emigrate to France and build a new life here! During summer, we live outside a lot and it is wonderful. Partly this is a choice and partly it is by necessity, because our private quarters are not ready yet. We live in a large mobile home, with a covered outdoor kitchen and bathroom next to it. The large gite, where we stay ourselves in the winter months, is rented out in the summer. If people had said beforehand that we would be living in a caravan in the summer, we would have told them they were crazy. But we love it! What is also wonderful is that we spend much more time together than before. Since we left, we no longer plan. It comes as it comes! When guests want to have a nice chat or friends come over, we just leave work for a while. That gives a lot of peace of mind. We also like to discover the beautiful surroundings and numerous sights of Burgundy. We are now working on a hiker's hut and are already fantasising further. And who knows, maybe one day the exciting stories and fairy tales of storyteller Frédérique will come to life here again in our own little open-air theatre in the garden.

Take a look around
Are you curious and want to know how we live? Or would you like to spend a holiday with us? Then take a look at www.moulinfouche.fr. Who knows, maybe we'll welcome you here soon. Bienvenue au Moulin Fouché!