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Country/City Advice: France

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France:

Mike Kingdom-Hockings

Who am I?

As you can see from the mug shot, I'm no longer a young man (63 at the last count) - but I haven't lost my inclination to wander off the beaten path. Now that I'm no longer a salaried employee, my curiosity is limited only by my budget and anything my wife thinks is more important.

When I'm introduced to someone, it's not usually long before they ask, "What do you do?" That's the way we pigeonhole people in the western world. I'm tempted to answer "Nothing much", but it's better for my chances of staying in the conversation if I say "I'm a travel writer and photographer".

I do write, and I do take photographs. I also publish them whenever I get a chance, and people sometimes say nice things about my articles and my pictures. That's enough to persuade me to carry on, and to work at writing better articles and taking better pictures, so I suppose I am indeed a travel writer and photographer - but I'd starve if I didn't have my pension and a wife who can still earn money when we need more. Phyllis, what would I do without you? (Live a boring, low-stress life, is my usual answer. She's the one who left me in Africa looking after 14 dogs for a year while she managed the renovation of our ruin in the middle of France.)

Ask Mike a question about expat living in France on the forum.

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