Michael and April Meyer’s love affair with France began with a trip to the country five years ago to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
“I wanted to surprise April with something, and I knew she loved art but had never really been to Europe,” Michael, 56, told Business Insider. “We usually went to Hawaii for vacation, but it was our 25th anniversary, so I surprised him with a trip to Paris.”
The couple, originally from Sacramento, were charmed by every corner of the city: the culture, the food, the people.
Michael and April Meyer posing in front of their stone house in the French countryside. Michael and April Meyer/@FrenchStoneHouseLife
“It was sort of transformative, and we went back to it almost immediately, about six months later,” Michael said. The couple visited other parts of France and returned on vacation whenever they could.
“But we still loved it. We kept going back, trying to get bored, and it just didn’t happen,” April, 54, told BI.
They liked the idea of spending more time in France, but it wasn’t until Michael retired from his engineering job last year that they decided they were ready for a new adventure.
The couple had recently downsized their home and their children had moved out. He said: “We said, ‘OK, what are we going to do?'”
The facade of the stone house. Michael and April Meyer/@FrenchStoneHouseLife
“So we decided to go visit some houses,” added April, a teacher.
Looking for accommodation in the countryside
The couple knew they wanted to be in central or northern France because that’s where they thought their dollar would bring in the most, April said.
They ended up organizing a six-week trip through the French countryside, going from Burgundy to Bordeaux and then on to the Loire Valley, to view some houses for sale.
“It was like our Tour de France,” Michael said.
An alternative view of the living room and fireplace. Michael and April Meyer/@FrenchStoneHouseLife
The couple were going through a list of properties they were interested in, which included a picturesque stone house worth €85,000, or about $92,000, located in a small hamlet about 20 km north of Limoge, a town in central France, which they appreciated.
The couple hadn’t planned to tour the house until the end of the week, but received an email from the real estate agent urging them to move up their viewing date.
“He said, ‘If you’re really interested, you need to come tomorrow because it won’t be there on Thursday,'” Michael said, recounting the agent’s words.
The property had been put on offer with another buyer, but the transaction fell through, he added.
“So we jumped in the car and started driving,” Michael said.
When they arrived, they knew almost immediately it was the right house.
The kitchen and the dining room. Michael and April Meyer/@FrenchStoneHouseLife
“It ticked all the boxes. It was in a small hamlet in the countryside. It had a fenced yard for our dog. There was no garage, but there were barns and the roof was redone “It was very well maintained,” Michael said.
And the house even came furnished, April said. The owner had died earlier in the year and her children no longer wanted the items, so they left almost everything behind.
“All the appliances were in the kitchen, there’s even a dishwasher, all the dishes, the bedding. Everything was included,” April added.
Including taxes and other fees, the couple ended up paying around €100,250, or $108,000, for the property, which was built in 1789. The house has three bedrooms and one bathroom and comes with ‘just over 1.6 acres of land,’ April said.
“We really stumbled upon it, but we acted quickly, especially after we went to see a few other places nearby that were a little more difficult,” Michael said.
The living room. Michael and April Meyer/@FrenchStoneHouseLife
They made the offer in July last year, when they were only a third of the way through their planned six-week trip, Michael said.
“The nice thing about doing this and having those six weeks is that we literally got to come back three times,” he added. “We returned to consolidate our decisions and explore the area.”
The couple finally closed the sale in September and Michael returned to France alone to sort out their utilities and some minor repairs.
“It’s not renovated per se, but we could live there as it was for as long as we wanted. It’s totally safe and comfortable,” April added.
The bedroom. Michael and April Meyer/@FrenchStoneHouseLife
Embrace French culture
The couple also want to immerse themselves in the French way of life: they even take French classes in the United States.
They’ve already made a few friends, noting that almost everyone they’ve met has gone out of their way to help them settle into their home.
“They tell me, ‘Oh, you want to do that? We’ll help you. Let me call the nursery. I know the man who owns it. He’ll open it for you on the weekend,'” April said. . “How does this happen? No one does this in America. That’s how it is there, it’s just the most welcoming.”
An outdoor seating area in the garden. Michael and April Meyer/@FrenchStoneHouseLife
Their French stone house is currently a holiday home, but the couple are mulling over the idea of possibly retiring there in the future.
The cost of living in rural France is much lower than in California, and the couple believes their retirement money can be more useful.
“There’s no way we could have what we have there in California. That house, no matter how modest it was, would cost a million dollars,” Michael said.
The median listing price for a home in Sacramento is $479,500, based on the latest data from real estate platform Realtor.com. There are 978 single-family homes for sale in the area, with prices ranging from $195,000 to $3.88 million.
But it’s not just about money; it’s also about the adventure and fun of doing something different during their retirement, April added.
“We had this little saying: ‘Why not?’ Now it’s just, ‘Why not now?'” Michael said, adding that they plan to spend all their future vacations in France before making a decision.
“It’s kind of our ‘try it before you buy it’ kind of thing,” he added.
A growing number of people are considering retiring abroad, whether they are looking for a slower pace of life or a lower cost of living.
Although there are no exact figures on the number of Americans retiring abroad, nearly 444,000 people received their Social Security benefits outside the United States in 2021, according to data from the Social Security Administration. This is an increase from just over 346,000 people in 2011.
A new adventure
The couple documented their trip to France on their YouTube channel, and it was mostly Michael’s idea.
Michael has been quite active on social media since he retired and has a separate channel where he posts fun videos of their dog, Bernice, who also follows them on all their trips to France.
When the couple bought their French home, Michael thought it would be nice if they shared this part of their lives online too, like all the other travel and home improvement channels his wife likes to watch.
“I thought, ‘Why don’t we see if we can do the thing on YouTube?’ Which is really scary because in order to do that, you kind of open up your life,” Michael said. “But it’s about sharing the adventure.”
Michael does all the video editing, and it’s something he really enjoys. He even gets advice from their daughter, who majored in film in college.
“It’s kind of a hobby. And I kind of liken it to an art form, where you want to create something that feels good and gives off good energy,” Michael said.
The couple hopes to inspire others with their journey.
“We’re in our 40s and there are people who never try. They don’t go anywhere,” April said. “We only have so much time on this planet, and I would like people to see that it is possible to achieve their dreams.”
Have you recently built or renovated your dream home? If you have a story to share, contact me at agoh@businessinsider.com.
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