Finding Balance in the Haute-Vienne

We sat down with Jo Pratt, a passionate Yoga Instructor who embarked on a life-changing journey to France in 2022. In this candid and insightful conversation, Jo shares the highs, lows, and everything in between of her relocation experience, and starting her yoga business.

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In the quiet countryside of the Haute-Vienne, in a small village called Darnac just twenty minutes from Bellac, Jo has created something that feels both peaceful and purposeful. It’s the kind of place where people arrive to stretch, breathe, and slow down for a moment — a yoga studio nestled in rural France, surrounded by fields, trees and wildlife.

Jo moved here with her husband Dean less than two years ago, and in July 2022 they opened the studio. Today she teaches around sixteen classes a week, offering everything from chair yoga and restorative sessions to Hatha yoga and one-to-one lessons. The studio has quickly become a small community hub, welcoming both expats and French locals who have discovered Jo’s classes through word of mouth.

But like many relocation stories, the life they now enjoy in the French countryside began with a moment of reflection — and a decision not to wait.

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Jo had always loved France. For years she had imagined living here, but like many dreams it was something that always seemed to belong somewhere in the future.

“We always thought we’d do it in about ten years,” she says.

Back in Portsmouth, Jo worked as a child protection manager — a role that was both demanding and emotionally intense. Long hours and constant pressure were part of the job, and although she was passionate about the work, it left little room for balance.

Then life intervened in ways that often make people reassess what really matters. Dean’s mother passed away, and Jo herself experienced a couple of health scares. Those moments quietly shifted the timeline.

Suddenly, the idea of waiting another decade didn’t feel quite so sensible.

At the same time Dean’s youngest daughter was finishing her exams, and when she gave them her blessing to move a little earlier than planned, the decision almost made itself.

“We just thought… why wait?”

The couple initially considered Spain, but something about France kept drawing them back. It wasn’t just the culture or the lifestyle — it was the landscape.

“We loved the greenery,” Jo says. “The countryside here is just beautiful.”

In September 2021 they travelled to France for two weeks in a large rented motorhome, planning to tour the countryside and view a series of properties. They had around a dozen homes lined up to see, hoping one of them might feel right.

One house immediately stood out and made their shortlist of favourites. Then they were told it had already been sold. Disappointed but not ready to give up, they continued with their viewings until their estate agent suggested another property that hadn’t originally been on their radar. The house was closed when they arrived, but Dean wandered around the back garden for a moment. Something about the place simply felt right.

“He came back and said we were buying it,” Jo recalls with a smile.

She was less convinced — until she later spotted the house again online and realised something surprising.

It had actually been one of their original top three choices all along.

“The house found us,” she says. “We didn’t find the house.”

Once the decision had been made, events moved quickly. Back in Portsmouth they finished a few jobs on their home and put it on the market. It sold within 23 hours.

Suddenly the dream of moving to France was no longer an idea for the future. It was happening now. But before they could settle into their new home, there was one significant hurdle to overcome: the visa process.

Because they were both still of working age, Jo and Dean needed a self-employed visa to live and work in France. Jo retrained as a yoga teacher and began building a detailed business plan for the studio she hoped to create.

The paperwork was extensive. Financial records, proof of funds, private health insurance, business plans, and countless supporting documents had to be submitted. The visa appointment itself took place at a TLS contact centre in the UK, but delays caused by COVID meant the process dragged on for weeks.

At this point the couple had already sold their house, purchased their property in France, and were temporarily living with Dean’s father while waiting for news. Then one Monday morning in February 2022 an email appeared.

“Your passports are ready.”

There was no mention of visas — simply a request to collect their passports. Within half an hour they were on a train to London. Sitting inside the visa centre, they opened the envelopes containing their passports… and there it was.

The visa had been approved.

“You don’t actually know until you open your passport,” Jo says. “Which is quite a strange moment when you’ve already sold your house and bought another one in a different country.”

The move itself was another challenge entirely.

Brexit had introduced strict customs requirements, meaning every item being transported to France had to be individually listed and valued.

“You couldn’t just write ‘kitchenware’,” Jo explains. “You had to say one frying pan, three saucepans — and exactly what each one was worth.”

Two large removal trucks and a smaller vehicle eventually transported their belongings across the Channel at a cost of around **£12,500**. Their furniture went into storage for a couple of months while they settled in.

Even their pets had paperwork to complete. Two dogs needed animal health certificates, and their koi carp temporarily moved into what Jo jokingly describes as a “fish hotel” before eventually making their journey to France.

When Jo and Dean finally arrived at their new home, the reality of rural life arrived with them. The house had been empty for three years.

There was very little heating, limited hot water, and a complicated air-source heating system that neither of them fully understood. To make matters worse, Jo arrived with a chest infection, leaving Dean to do most of the unpacking and driving. Back in Portsmouth their move had involved a group of friends and family helping them load vans and pack boxes.

Here, in rural France, it was just the two of them.

“We looked at each other that first night like… what have we done?” she laughs.

Yet slowly the pieces began to fall into place. A local cleaner introduced them to people in nearby Bellac. A neighbour helped translate conversations with heating engineers. Regular trips to DIY shops became part of everyday life as they started turning the property into the home — and business — they had imagined.

The building that would eventually become Jo’s yoga studio started life as a simple workshop — concrete floor, bare walls, and a lot of potential. Originally the couple had even considered opening a restaurant, but the idea of a wellness space felt more natural.

Within a few months the workshop had been transformed, and on 10 July 2022 Jo officially opened the studio. She wasn’t entirely sure whether people would come. But they did.

Local residents began attending classes, followed by members of the expat community who heard about the studio through word of mouth. Soon Jo was teaching a full schedule each week.

Dean meanwhile began building his own work in France, taking on DJ and karaoke bookings while setting up as a micro-entrepreneur.

Life in rural France has its own rhythm — one that takes time to understand. Shops close for lunch. The nearest supermarket might be twenty minutes away. Planning ahead becomes a necessity.

“If you’re going to the shop, you always buy milk and bread,” Jo says. “Even if you think you might already have some.”

Gardens are far larger and more demanding than many British gardens. Wood for heating must be seasoned for two years before it can be burned properly. And in summer, there is an unexpected challenge that nobody warned them about.

Flies.

“Fly nets are essential,” Jo laughs.

But the rewards of rural life more than make up for the small inconveniences.

Deer wander through the garden. The countryside changes with the seasons. And there is a feeling of safety and calm that Jo says she rarely experienced in the UK.

Although the yoga studio is now well established, Jo and Dean’s plans for the property are still evolving. They are developing accommodation above the studio for yoga retreats, creating an outdoor entertainment space, installing a swimming pool, and eventually hope to host events and weddings.

It’s a long-term project — one that will take time, patience and plenty of hard work. But looking back, Jo says the decision to move to France was one of the most important choices they have made.

“When I had that health scare, I realised something,” she says quietly.

“What are we waiting for?”

Moving to rural France isn’t always easy. There are bureaucratic challenges, language barriers, and moments when you miss home. But for Jo and Dean, the slower pace, the sense of community, and the beauty of the countryside have made every step worthwhile.

“It’s hard work sometimes,” she says, glancing out across the fields.

“But when you live somewhere this beautiful… the stresses just feel different.”

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Gh3zf99Zo