I lived in Carlisle in the NW of England until I was married. Little did I know that from then on I would travel to and live in many countries. I had started doing an accountancy course and had done a secretarial course before I married which were helpful when looking for work abroad.

Our first country was Nigeria. At the time it was a stable country and easy to adapt to. The climate was the worst part about it. Always hot and humid. After a while it became unsettled and we were happy to finish our contract and leave before the civil war started. In the middle of our tour my husband had to go to the Belgian Congo to do an audit there and as I had some accountancy training I went with him and helped on the audit. The highlight of that trip was learning to water ski on the river Congo with the threat of crocodiles around. A bit hair raising.

The next stop was Frankfurt, Germany. That was more difficult to adapt to as I didn’t speak any German. My husband was fluent in French and German and a qualified Chartered Accountant so was happy to work in a foreign country. By this time we had one child and our second child was born there. We enjoyed walking in the woods and along the riversides and exploring the towns and villages at week ends. We also were introduced to the German wines and learnt to enjoy them. But we weren’t to stay there for long as the company moved us to Holland.

Holland was a very friendly place. A lot of the people spoke some English so I was able to communicate with them more. Unfortunately we weren’t to stay there for too long. An American company enticed my husband back to the UK to work in their English branch. I thought we would then put down roots and stay there. We were able to see more of our families and old friends. We bought a house and settled in. Until the company transferred us to their head office in the US.

This was an exciting move and again I thought it would be permanent. New schools for the children (we now had three) and the possibility that I could work at least part time. I had a few part time jobs starting with organising weddings and other functions at a large restaurant. I then moved on to a fabric store where apart from selling fabric and sewing machines I taught some sewing classes and demonstrated sewing machines. There I developed an interest in patchwork and quilting which became a hobby I continue to enjoy. l then worked in a real estate office preparing the “for sale” advertisements for the newspapers.

My husband wanted to use his languages so he moved to an American company whose European headquarters were in Luxembourg. After a few months they moved us to Luxembourg. There he could use his French and German and he learnt some Hungarian as he travelled there quite a bit. Our younger son went to the International School and from there to university in the UK. He decided to stay in the UK and has now settled in Edinburgh. I worked for a while at the European Union and also the Court of Justice.

Luxembourg was a great place to be to travel in Europe. It has beautiful scenery, towns and vineyards. From there we visited places in Germany, France and Belgium. There were lovely walks to do without having to travel very far and always somewhere nice to stop for refreshments.
Our elder son and daughter have stayed in the US. Our daughter is married with triplet children. Sadly I don’t get to see them much and recently with covid19 around I haven’t seen them for over 2 years.

Our travelling wasn’t yet over though. From Luxembourg we were moved to Saudi Arabia. This was indeed a culture shock for me. No entertainment except what you made yourself. I met some great people and continued my interest in patchwork and quilting and also played a lot of bridge. Only female doctors, nurses and teachers can work there. This meant that there were many wives there with talents they were willing to share. We had Indian and Italian cooking classes, and a German lady showed us how to make an apfel strudel, painting on silk, sewing and there was a large patchwork and quilting club. We were there nearly 4 years and it wasn’t too difficult but I wouldn’t have liked to have lived there for any longer.

We came back to Luxembourg for a year before moving to Spain for the last 4 years of work. We had thought we might retire to Spain so it was a good chance to check it out before making the decision. We decided against it and started looking elsewhere.

We settled on France after spending some time staying with friends and several visits to look around. We didn’t have any particular area in mind and chose the place by finding a house that we liked. Happily we liked everything else about the area and the people. I took French classes and my husband taught French classes. He played a lot of golf, some of it with me, and we went on long walks, enjoying the countryside.

Sadly a few years ago he suffered a massive stroke and died within a few days, so I am left alone with my wonderful memories. The big decision now is do I stay here with my very good friends around me or move either to the UK where my younger son is and other members of my family or to the US where my son is and my daughter and her family are. At the moment I am undecided but will find it difficult to move from France. It won’t be an easy decision.