MUST MEET

EDITOR: So, Chris is out with clients, so why don’t you tell us what brought you to the Morvan to live out your dream?

SANNY: Well, we are of Dutch origin obviously with a name like Van Halewijn! In the Netherlands, Chris and I lived in a small, idyllic village by the river Vecht. Chris worked on a large estate doing various restoration jobs. I had my own business in the Sports/Vitality sector.

EDITOR: Sounds like a busy time.

SANNY: You’re not joking. We have six boys! Getting all the schedules in line was often a challenge. The hectic pace, the wheelbarrows full of food being shoehorned into a slightly too small house... We had it good though! I had a sailing yacht and Chris a tugboat. There was also a caravan and a car. The boys grew up and left the house one by one. And then we began looking around. Chris and I started fantasising about what we were going to do when we grew up!

EDITOR: And where did those thoughts take you?

SANNY: We dreamed of going back to basics. More self-sufficient, in the middle of nature, lots of space, a vegetable garden and chickens. Away from hectic Dutch life. We figured that if you had less stuff, you also had less to take care of. And if you live more frugally, you don't have to work as hard. Back to your biological clock. Eat because you're hungry and not because it's time!

We decided to 'unpack' our lives and scoured all the estate agency websites for houses in France.

EDITOR: Well, we are glad you chose France, but it’s a big place, what criteria did you use to narrow it down?

SANNY: The choice of where we wanted to live was determined by two factors. We had to be able to drive back to the children in one day and we wanted four seasons. Not too hot, with enough precipitation to water the vegetable garden. So, the south was a no-go area straight away, much too hot, and dry. After a 2-year search, we fell in love with an ancient farming hamlet in the Morvan, with 4 houses and several large barns.

EDITOR: What appeals to you about the Morvan region of Burgundy?

SANNY: The natural park has overwhelming beauty. The area covers 3500 sq kms and only 18 inhabitants per square km. Plenty of space! You can hike, mountain bike and horse ride for hours without meeting anyone. Its rich history has been preserved. The Celts and Romans left their mark on Bibracte, which was once one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. This can be seen in a state-of-the-art museum with the excavations of the ancient city on top of 'Mont Beuvray'. The views are phenomenal. On clear days, you can even see Mont Blanc in the Alps!

EDITOR: You sound like a tourist board radio commercial! Being so rural then surely there are disadvantages like shopping?

SANNY: Autun offers fine shopping. For us, this is a 17km (approx. 10 miles) drive, but the trip never bores. There is a good weekly market on Fridays. This is inside a beautiful, vaulted cellar. All local produce can be found here. In summer it is more extensive and there are also many stalls outside. I always do my big shopping here for the whole week. All the well-known supermarkets are present in Autun along with Gifi and Action and several DIY stores.

Autun has a large square with several restaurants and the small streets of the old town are lovely to stroll through. At the top is a large cathedral. There’s an amphitheatre that still hosts regular events and concerts.

EDITOR: Can you tell us a little more about life in the ‘open’?

SANNY: Every season we visit the two lakes 'Lac de Settons' and 'Lac du Panneciere', where you can enjoy boating, swimming, fishing, and supping if you know what I mean! We like autumn best. They call it 'little Canada' here. The colour palette of nature is breathtaking.

But even in the winter with a layer of snow, we like to enjoy a cup of coffee in the sunshine.
Life in the Morvan is wonderful. Our 'Hameau' (hamlet) is now a thriving business with 3 fully-fledged gîtes, which we rent out all year round. The vegetable garden supplies enough, and our local family has expanded to include chickens, cats, and a dog. Chris has also found his passion in real estate as an agent immobilier and a buying guide for various international clients. Despite having plenty of work, we can still find the peace and freedom we had in mind.

EDITOR: So, it’s not all work and no play then?

SANNY: Definitely not! We like to tour the area with a well-stocked picnic basket. Regularly we make music together with our new French friends. Or indulge ourselves in the culinary delights at 'Le Café Parisien' in Saulieu.

The village next door is called Anost. It is super cosy there with lots of activities like a brocante, pumpkin festival, and many folk music festivals. There is a bakery with its own patisserie, a well-stocked epicerie and the best butcher in the Morvan.


EDITOR: Ah, I see Chris has just returned. Hello Chris, we’ve had a great conversation with Sanny but let’s get your perspective on what it is like working in the Burgundy real estate business.

CHRIS: The beauty of being an agent commercial is meeting new people who are on a quest. Guiding them down this path and being as careful as possible in doing so. This is partly because clients are often unfamiliar with the buying/selling process here in France. With my knowledge of construction and restoration, I can often provide clients with just the right advice.

It is always nice when all the pieces of the puzzle come together and both parties can look back with satisfaction and say, ‘We did it’! That is what drives me.

EDITOR: Can’t disagree with that! And it looks like you guys are having a lot of fun doing it! Thanks for sharing your dream with us!

you can also rent one of their guest house, see for more information here