Heroes Not Zombies

When I retired from medical practice in 2014 I sold my flat and moved to France. A long time ago I decided I would like to spend part of my life living in a different country, immersed in a different culture, from that of my native Scotland. We had taken many family holidays in France over the years and I fell in love with the country. I enjoyed the food and wine, the pace of life in the countryside and the language.

It was a huge move but I thought of it as a kind of mixture of an adventure and a way to develop and grow (the opposite of what many people envisage about later years in life which can easily become about the world getting ever smaller).

There have been many challenges and learning the French language is certainly a project for the rest of my life. I continue to learn skills I never knew I’d need and daily life is filled with new discoveries, delights and wonders.

There’s something remarkable about living in a different culture and language. It opens up whole new dimensions to life, completely different ways to see the world, and challenges many beliefs and values which I had adopted unconsciously.

Maybe one of the most important things I’d say about spending part of life in another country and culture is that it inspires me to appreciate difference over preference. What do I mean by that? Well, sometimes I’m asked which I prefer – Scotland or France – and my answer is I don’t have a preference. I continue to enjoy and value both countries. I don’t think France is a “better” country than Scotland and I don’t think Scotland is a “better” country than France.

There’s no doubt my life is richer, bigger, and deeper because I’ve made this move. I will always be an advocate of “freedom of movement”, and will always extol the benefits of migration, which, let’s face it, is something we humans have done from the earliest days of our emergence in planet Earth.

Here’s the key though – it’s about integration – building new, different, mutually beneficial relationships and bonds.