12 June 2023 , 02:02
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A family of four have revealed how they were able to buy an entire French village after selling their three-bedroom semi-detached house in Manchester.
Liz and David Murphy were 'living in the rat race' in the north west of England before deciding to sell up for £400,000 and emigrate.
With the money they pocketed they were able to purchase an historical hamlet in the south west of France in January 2021.
The price of their Manchester home remarkably equated to the same as six 400-year old houses across the channel in the region of Poitou-Charentes.
Not only that, their funds also secured two barns, three acres of land and two 10x15m swimming pools, which they have renovated with the help of local tradesmen.
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Liz and David Murphy purchased the historic rural hamlet of Lac De Maison, in Poitou-Charentes, south west France, in January 2021 (David Murphy / SWNS)
Liz and David have converted four of the properties into holiday rental homes (David Murphy / SWNS)The couple, who both work in the radio industry bought the six ruined buildings for £300,000 before transforming them into homes for their family and establishing a holiday let business.
Along with their two children Tom, 12, and Charlotte, eight, Liz and David moved into the largest of the properties late last year.
The building opposite houses Liz's mum Helen, 73, and stepdad Terry, 72.
The four remaining properties have been turned into holiday rental homes, which could net the family hundreds of pounds a week once business takes off.
The family say they are now living the life of 'millionaires' and have no plans to return to the UK, despite being unable to speak any French other than bits and pieces they have picked up.
Liz and David said they feel as though they're now living the life of millionaires (David Murphy / SWNS)Liz explained: "We were both working 9-5 jobs in England, with busy lives and the kids were in after school clubs and it was like we were on an endless treadmill."
She added that when she and her husband were furloughed during the coronavirus pandemic it made them realise 'life was passing us by'.
Liz continued: "We realised we hadn't spent much time with the kids and we decided we had to do something to change all our lives. We had talked about moving to France for years. We had this sudden feeling to do it and we suddenly did it.
"We've got six houses and another big barn that has been converted into a playroom and a workshop, with three acres of land and a ruin. It's really like winning the lottery without realising it."
David, meanwhile, who is a trained hypnotherapist joked that 'some people decided to buy a dog during Covid', but his family 'decided to move to a different country'.
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He added that he was 'amazed' how far the money from their semi could go in France, explaining that although Britain and France have almost identical populations, the latter is so much cheaper as it twice as large and therefore space 'isn't as much of a premium'.
He added that the whole process was 'really quick' and didn't require overthinking, but the early days weren't plain sailing.
"When we first got there we had flooding, issues with our septic tank and no electricity," David said. "When we first arrived we didn't have anywhere to stay. We renovated mum and Terry's house so we moved into a caravan. It was not glamourous at all. We had that for four or five months."
The family's incredible tale was recently featured on Channel 4's 'Help! We Bought a Village'.