It occurred to me the other day that the happy glow I have about my life at the moment is as a direct result of the internet. No not because I could theoretically buy anything in the world online and not have to move from the settee, although that would be handy if only they delivered as far as our deserted hamlet. And not because of those pictures of Anna Kournikova that arrived in my inbox either…. *ahem*

Not at all. Its all because those crazy scientists who thought linking their research computers together was a pretty cool idea have allowed me and my family to fulfil a dream. You see, 9 months ago we moved house from Grimsby (not lovely) to France (very lovely), a move that would realistically have been impossible without the internet.

Lets look back at the process we went through.

1. Selling the house

One of the main criteria for choosing an estate agent was “How good is their website?”. Whoever would have thought that would have been an issue 10 years ago?  For us it was a huge consideration as the internet is now the first place that most new home-buyers go. Gone are the days of spending your weekends trawling round estate agents. Now buyers can peruse properties at their leisure any time of the day.

Most communication with our solicitor was done through email, saving days (and thus money…) in the process.  We researched house prices extensively on other websites to make sure we were always pitching ourselves at the right point for the market. Doing this manually would have taken weeks.

2. Finding the right area to live

I knew I needed to be close to airports, within easy reach from ferry ports, not too far from the sea, in a village with big towns nearby.  Thank you Google Maps!  By checking driving distances from various different airports I managed to find an area that was equidistant from 3 different locations. I could then zoom in and find the big towns in the area and again find somewhere in the middle of these. Zooming in further revealed the larger villages in that area, which then gave us the place for our french estate agent to look for houses.

Again, all this would have been possible manually by spreading copious maps over the dining room table, switching from one scale to another, measuring the distances, getting my fingers in a knot with compasses and rulers…  not a great alternative!

3. Finding a new house

Once we had identified a region, we engaged a french estate agent to find us a house. Naturally we ensured that they had a good website with lots of good houses with images on. Of course, most communication was via email. When we came over to look round the houses, I was taking photos and videos on my phone, which could then later be emailed back to England for the family to take a look at. Back in the “olden days” we would have had to send our roll of 24 pictures off to be developed before anyone could see what we had discovered.

4. Settling into a new life

One of the most important ways of integrating into a new area has to be getting out and about into the community, and we certainly did that. But it is also important to maintain the relationships you already have, which is where the internet has now become essential. Nothing beats being able to fire up a Skype video call and chat for hours (for free!) to your friends and family. Phone calls and letters could not compare.

And how does blogging fit into all this? Well, blogging for me is a way to keep the folks “back home” up to speed with our latest news. It allows me to express my feelings in a way that I probably wouldn’t on the phone. And I can’t remember the last time I ever wrote a letter – I’m certain I have lost the ability to hold a pen after years of typing everything!  And blogging has also gained me new friends from across the globe, especially those at FuelMyBlog. Many are people who I will only ever speak to online, but there are some that have become great friends in the real world too. However would I have managed to build up such a community without the power of the internet?

So, for me, the internet has allowed me to start a new life, while keeping a link to my old one.  How about you, fellow fuelers? How has the internet and new communication technology changed your life?  Has it allowed you to acheive some goal that would otherwise have been unattainable? Lets hear your comments.