Photo Credit: Our Eco-Friendly Life
Meet Frances and Moe Sabil. Have you ever dreamed of leaving city life behind for the countryside, or living in France, or aspired to seriously take on eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle choices? Good, then keep reading because we have discovered an incredible couple taking on all that and more. With their dogs in tow, they have rolled up their sleeves to take on a new life in every way imaginable. From restoring an old country home to growing their own small supply of veggies, this couple has courage and consideration for the planet as their focus.
We know you will be inspired and want to follow them on Instagram @ourecofriendlylife, just as we do, in order to discover more about them and their incredible pursuits.
1. How did you become interested in leaving the UK and moving to the French countryside? Were you living in a big city in the UK?
It was honestly a spur of the moment idea after being so disheartened with our house options in the UK – and before we knew it we were on our way to view houses in France! We were living in Kent back in the UK, in a fairly big and busy town. I, Frances lived there my whole life but Moe grew up in London, so he is very much a city boy. I grew up around my dad who was an avid gardener, where I’d spend my weekends running around his allotment enjoying nature. Despite our different backgrounds we both love being in the countryside, and we really enjoy the quiet and slower pace of life that living here brings. As well as all of the space we simply could never afford in the UK!
2. What inspires you about taking on a more sustainable lifestyle?
We are both big animal and nature lovers so it absolutely breaks our hearts what is happening to the planet. We both considered ourselves environmentalists without realizing the damage our simple everyday actions were doing, and it never even crossed our minds to ever question them. It was really once we started snorkeling and diving more that we started seeing so much plastic in the sea and on beaches. Seeing the reality of this and the likes of global warming led us on the path of doing everything in our power to reduce our impact and make our influence on the world as a positive as we possibly could.
3. Your journey began in June, what are the most notable differences in the specifics of your daily life and your approach to living in general?
We are so much more aware and mindful than we used to be, for example, we never would have given a second thought to buying a plastic water bottle when out, and other little things like that. We buy much more second hand, we have always been into buying second hand for the money-saving aspect, but we are definitely even more strict with it now as we know it can massively reduce our carbon footprint. Our plastic consumption has also reduced so much, although we aren’t perfect it is amazing how much it has reduced simply by buying a few things unpackaged.
4. If our readers are interested in pursuing a similar path, leaving the city for life in the country, what advice would you provide, any missteps you would avoid?
Really think carefully if it’s the right move for you, it can be hard living in a small town in the countryside with not a lot around if you’re used to city life. It also can be hard to be away from all your friends and family. We would also not recommend buying a house with lots of land unless you plan on utilizing it all as it can be very hard to manage! Here in Normandy the houses and land are so cheap, and it can be easy to buy a lot more than you need. We couldn’t afford a ride-on lawnmower a few months ago, and let the grass grow crazy out of control – we ended up having to ask our farmer neighbor to come round with his tractor to cut it! We have since invested in a ride-on lawnmower (second hand, of course) so we are able to keep on top of it. Our land is only 2.5 acres though, which is small compared to the land that often comes with properties in rural areas.
5. What do you love the most about living in France?!
Oh, so many things! We love the peace and quiet, having so much space that is ours, we really love the quaint little villages, and also how clean it is! Everyone is really friendly here as well, we have really felt welcomed by the French community. But probably our favorite thing is just being surrounded by so much nature, even when you go out walking it’s so lovely and quiet and you can really enjoy what nature has to offer. It’s really allowed us both the space and time to get creative and follow our passions once again, myself with photography and Moe with his music.
6. You are launching a new website, what do you want to share about that and upcoming eco-friendly projects?
Yes! By the time this article comes out, we should be live:
https://www.ourecofriendlylife.com/
(we are hoping to launch mid-September). We are really excited about it! We want to share as much as possible about our journey and leading an eco-friendly lifestyle with helpful tips along the way. We want to try and show that anyone can do what we are doing, we are honestly completely winging it and learning along the way, but that’s why we think it’s so fun to share that and just be completely real! We want the website to overall to be a really inspirational but also really helpful space that will help people lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
