ONE of the most common traps people fall into when moving abroad, is finding the 52-week-a-year reality is not quite so colourful and fascinating compared to that viewed through the distorted lens of a one or two-week holiday.

Sufficient for me to say, after five years, we are very happy living in France and should we ever move, it would be further south but still France. The reality has suited us well.

However, my wife, Ellie, admits to one area of disappointment. In all our years holidaying in this country, she enjoyed la difference when looking at clothes and shoes. Unlike myself, she has always been into shoes and styles of boots etc. So France with its Eram and Halles de Chasseurs provided a welcome change: an opportunity to buy something different.

Yet the reality of living here is somewhat different. We do notice there are more options in other provinces, but Ellie swears by English shops and makes a bee-line for Watford whenever we come back to visit.

They have many good shops in France but Limousin is not the most sophisticated province, containing more cows than people, more retirees than any other province and it is the least populated on mainland France.

Out here in rural France, if there is a special event at the village hall on a Saturday night, the local ladies will wash their hair and put on their best jeans. It is not that often I have seen men wearing jackets, let alone suits. Even at weddings and funerals, a suit is seemingly a rarity.

So Ellie delights at the prospect of a day at the shops when visiting England.

Then again, when we visit our youngest daughter, who has moved from Barcelona, over the mountain to Sant Cugat, there are some interesting shops. I am further informed these are particularly good on shoes, but the advantage with England, and in fact Watford, is that they are in close proximity to one another, they have plenty of choice.

It is also cheaper obtaining clothes in England and in London you can get the quirky, and additionally, perfume and cosmetics are far more expensive in France and Spain than in England.

Barcelona is good for household, fancy goods, whereas in France, there are more individual shops and fewer chains. For instance you are far more likely to be able to find a shop in which to buy knitting wool and such like in France because, to a degree, the country is more old-fashioned and that is a delight in itself.

Similarly markets in France are much more expensive than their Spanish or English counterparts. They display their wares beautifully in France, and are much more creative in this respect, but you have to pay for it.

Shopping for men is a little simpler. You find the French equivalents of B&Q and Homebase and then you find the French answer to Halfords, plus a local jean dispenser and you are pretty well set up.

For my money, one of the more impressive stores in France is Troc.com. It is a chain, dealing in second-hand furniture and household items from televisions to ornaments. You name your price, take the item of furniture to the store, they add on their mark-up and display it until sold.

Many ex-pats have furnished most their French houses from visits to Troc.com.

For the most part it is a matter of knowing where to look and that comes with familiarity with the locality and tips from other ex-pats.

One shopping feature can be different. Queuing is not something the Spanish or French take to easily. You have to have your wits about you, otherwise they will sneak in on the blind side.

For instance, it is not uncommon to find yourself queuing behind a three-quarter filled supermarket trolley. The owner has staked her claim and has gone off to finish the shopping.

Driving back from England after our recent trip, I asked Ellie if she noticed any difference in her Watford shopping experience. Apart from the obvious increase in east-European accents, she did notice there were far more ladies in lycra fitness gear, popping into the supermarket or a shop en route to their fitness work outs.

Ten years ago that would have been unusual but now you have so many of these super-fit housewives pushing trolleys around. They would be really difficult to keep up with if queue-jumping was as prevalent in England as it is on the continent.