Running away from corporate life and moving towards a chateau lifestyle look identical from the outside. You’re leaving Canada either way. You’re selling your house either way. The difference is invisible until something goes wrong, and then it determines whether you survive the bureaucracy, the visa delays, and the moment when you’ve sold everything but don’t have permission to stay yet.

Stephen Cole’s advice: make sure you’re going towards something, not escaping from anything. If you’re running from a bad situation, every visa form and tax document and language requirement becomes harder because you don’t want it enough. If you’re building something, the effort is palatable. The distinction matters when you’ve sold your Fergus house, bought a 37-acre French chateau, and your visa still hasn’t come through.

Moving countries doesn’t fix what you’re running from. You take your problems with you. But if you’re moving towards a business, a community that wants you, a lifestyle you’re building, the problems become obstacles instead of dealbreakers.

Topics: running towards not away, move to France lifestyle, expat decision making, sell house buy chateau, Brexit visa

GUEST: Stephen Cole | http://manorandmaker.com

Originally aired on2026-02-17