The case of a woman who moved to the castle of her dreams but started living a nightmare

After seeing Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and all the princess stories when I was little, Julia Leach, an American, dreamed of living in a castle TRUE.

The woman was completely convinced of what she wanted: Even as an adult, she read period novels, got a job in a historic house in New York where she had to dress in corsets and dresses, and never gave up on her greatest desire.

“I always wanted to live in a great historic place… with my family,” Julia said to The Wall Street Journal .

And here’s how he accomplished it: At 33, with his partner Caroline Ibarra, his father, his mother and his sister decided to settle together in a French castle that they found on the Internet: It was a medieval manor called Puy Vida Castle L.

The property was located in the Charente department of France and was built in 1267. It had about 13,000 square feet, 88 windows, three stone towers, 17 fireplaces and a maze, all for a low price of $2.6 million.

Everyone was delighted to live like kings. Nevertheless, When they finally moved into the castle, they realized that the reality was absolutely far from the fairy tale they had expected.

This is what happened.

Once their visas were obtained, Julia and Caroline arrived at their new 750-year-old castle in France. Over there, They had to install exterior lighting and explore the area to avoid accidents such as collapses, due to the age of the structure.

It was in March 2022 that they embarked on the adventure of living and maintaining the castle, which It belonged to a French nobleman who had escaped beheading.

Being there was a dream, but soon, Julia realized that this was going to be more difficult than she initially thought.

Leaks, sewer blockages, strong storms and even a small earthquake made the first months at the castle “heartbreaking”.

Instead of lying in bed, drinking wine and enjoying a typical landscape of Pride and prejudice, Julia had to remove dead owls from the tower of her house or stand with a shovel to try to unclog the septic tank.

When they started to redevelop the place, they realized that There were serious structural, plumbing and electrical problems.

And when they wanted to start the renovations, they were surprised that His castle was a historic monument and, for any changes, an architect had to make a proposal which the French government had to approve.

According to what they reported to the same media, so far, They considered an expense of at least $3 million. But they initially thought that this expense would only amount to 1 million.

“It’s becoming completely unaffordable,” Julia said.

Additionally, when the entire family began arriving with furniture and personal items that they considered “appropriate” for a castle, They realized how much they missed an ordinary, modern armchair, or even the kitchen utensils they had in New York.

And as if that wasn’t enough, they quickly realized that The town they lived in had very few tourists, so almost no one spoke English. That’s why they had to hire a teacher to teach local French to all members of the family.

in the castle Château du Puy Vidal, Each member of the family has their own space: Julia and her partner constantly change rooms, the American’s father lives alone on the first floor and her younger sister, Penelope, has her own tower.

“We can’t stay away from each other. There is a kitchen that works, we don’t know where to put the guests, we don’t know how to get away from the guests” Julia talked about the complications of the mansion space.

But despite the difficulties, the woman said that “We are always very careful not to appear to be complaining. » Especially since last winter, France experienced one of the wettest years recorded in decades.

There were massive floods and “depressing weather” which made staying at the castle difficult.

However, Everyone moved forward and the family started the business. Castle life stays, where their social media followers paid to stay at the castle and share with each of them.

Now, according to Julia, They offer “immersive retreats”: they hire expert teachers to lead small groups in an exploration of creativity. For example, they often do yoga retreats, fire dance rituals, prepared food workshops and even tea ceremonies. thematic Alice in Wonderland.

And although at first the business seemed not to prosper, the reality changed. Places offered by the team The Lady of the Castle as they’ve decided to call themselves on social media, they’re usually full and even have “a waiting list of over 100 people.”

“Life is always very hard, and the romantic and beautiful things you see on Instagram… it’s always a lot of work to make them” Julia reflects on her stay at the castle.

Continuous: “We live in a time of beautiful images that seem unattainable and make you feel bad about your life… I want to help people find the beauty in life. For example, through work.

Now, Julia and her family present themselves in this way on social networks to attract more people to visit the palace, already standing and renovated: “Welcome to all the romantics and dreamers who join this special corner of the Internet”.

“Join us here to be inspired by our charming castle and discover what makes France so magnetic, We learn to achieve harmony in our multigenerational household, we develop our creative studio through video and photography and, above all, “We welcome people from all over the world who want to take part in our very special experiences. »

“Here you will find all the ingredients to fall in love with who you are and create a life you love.”