Annie Johnson -Member behind the Badge
Annie Johnson – A Journey into Francophilia
Since Annie’s 13th Birthday France has been a major part of her life. She spent 20 years living in France, she speaks the language fluently and has been a member of the Melbourne French Theatre Group for many years. She has created a group called Le Francois a Table which started with 5 members learning about French cuisine. Apparently the wine served had a positive effect on the volume and quality of the conversation at their meetings.
Annie is married with 2 daughters and as a family they decided France was for them. They renovated and sold a commercial building in St Kilda to fund their adventures and moved to France. Using Notaires and Real Estate Agents to search for an appropriate home and 20 acres of land they eventually settled for L’Abbey du Palais, de Notre Dame, Le Limousin located in central France. The Abbey was established by the Cistercian Order of Monks.
A large job to renovate but Annie and her family restored the building back to original condition. Things like baths and the plumbing were a problem but Annie found appropriate baths from the locals and the plumbing remained unaltered from the original installation by the Monks. Obviously using the adage “if it aint broke don’t fix it”.
Real Estate in France remains most inexpensive compared to Australia and in 2013 potential purchases are available at a fraction of the cost we pay for an Australian apartment. This has become Annie’s business to source residential properties in France for Australian Buyers.