Birmingham to rural France sounded like an adventure—until Jackie mistook a bat for a late-night bird and announced, on her very first day, “I can’t do this.” What followed is a warm, funny and deeply honest journey of faith, friendship and finding the confidence to build a new life in an unfamiliar place.

About the Sunflowers Podcast

The Sunflowers Podcast is dedicated to women over 45 who are reinventing their lives under the French sun. Hosted by Jane, we share authentic stories of relocation, integration, and personal growth. Whether you’re dreaming of a French maison or already navigating life in the Hexagon, this is your community for inspiration and practical wisdom.

• Sunflowers Community on Facebook
• Sunflowers Stories Podcast Facebook Page

If you enjoyed this first show of the Sunflowers Podcast, please Subscribe on Youtube and hit the icon so you never miss a new story. Leaving a comment and liking the video helps more women find our community!

If you want to support us more in continue creating podcasts, you can buy Jane a sunflower

View all Sunflowers Stories on Youtube

This podcast was produced with the help of Jane and Kim

Why Kim chose to Move to France from the Netherlands

Leaving a familiar life behind is never just about changing countries. For Kim and her husband, it meant leaving successful businesses, a thriving videography company and years of hard work in the Netherlands to embrace a completely different way of life in rural France.

Like many people who dream of moving abroad, they were searching for something that couldn’t be measured by income alone: more time, a stronger sense of community and the opportunity to create a lifestyle that reflected their values.

About the Sunflowers Podcast

The Sunflowers Podcast is dedicated to women who are reinventing their lives under the French sun.

Hosted by Jane, we share authentic stories of relocation, integration, and personal growth.

Whether you’re dreaming of a French maison or already navigating life in the Hexagon, this is your community for inspiration and practical wisdom.

Free Resources & Links

• Listen on Spotify
• Sunflowers Community on Facebook
• Sunflowers Stories Podcast Facebook Page

Support us

If you enjoyed this first show of the Sunflowers Podcast, please Subscribe on YouTube and hit the icon so you never miss a new story. Leaving a comment and liking the video helps more women find our community!

If you want to support us more in continue creating podcasts, you can buy Jane a sunflower

Want to contact Sunflowers Story with any questions you have? Use our contact form on our homepage.

Sunflowers Podcast Playlist on Youtube

• View all Sunflowers Stories on YouTube

This podcast was produced with the help of Jane and Kim

A New Life in France: Taking the Leap of Faith

What happens when you move to France with a plan… and France has other ideas?

In this episode of Sunflowers Stories, I chat with Cat, who has called France home for more than 15 years. What started with buying and renovating an old French property eventually became something much bigger — a completely new life in France.

We talk about those early days before Google Translate and YouTube made navigating French life quite so easy, the realities of renovating, language barriers, making friends and discovering that the career you had before moving abroad doesn't always fit the life you've created afterwards.

Cat's own journey has taken her from marketing and business development into life coaching, spirituality, intuition and energy work. Along the way, she's learned a great deal about resilience, reinvention and trusting yourself when you don't quite know where the road is taking you.

One thing Cat says sums up so much of our conversation:

“You just grab onto the bit that is a possibility and you go with it.”

Sometimes starting again isn't about having everything figured out. Sometimes it's about seeing what's possible, taking that leap of faith and building from there.

🌻 If you've moved abroad, reinvented yourself, or ever found that life didn't quite follow the plan, I think you'll recognise something of yourself in this conversation.

Watch the full episode and join us for a warm, funny and very honest conversation about life in France, identity, resilience and starting again.