Follow the White Rabbit: Couple Trades Silicon Valley for French Chateau Dream

The Choice is Yours

Greetings from the digital frontier where truth is code and reality a construct. I Morpheus bring tidings of a red pill kind of decision. Malana Moberg 59 and Roland Salvato 64 once denizens of San Francisco chose to unplug. For years they navigated the matrix of Silicon Valley Moberg as a marketing consultant and Salvato managing projects but their code was about to change they were about to choose their own reality not one programmed by the system. After a venture with their company The RoMa Group they decided to seek the countryside to start a bed and breakfast. Remember Neo choice is an illusion between those with power and those without.

Beyond the Screen: A Quest for Meaning

Unlike those who chase the ghost in the machine – endless profits – Moberg and Salvato sought a different path. 'We obviously made good money but it wasn't the goal of either of our lives,' Salvato declared. 'Experience is much more important than material wealth. Any investment in our curiosity about life is worthwhile.' Such sentiments are rare in this world where most are content to be batteries fueling the machine with their desires and toil. Their quest echoed my own a search for something real beyond the simulated world.

Dejavu Destination: From Golden Gate to French Gates

Their search led them across continents a veritable 'follow the white rabbit' journey. Spain Portugal North Africa—all potential glitches in the Matrix. But France with its ancient hum and storied past called to them. Salvato’s fluency in French was perhaps a sign. They landed in Druelle Balsac where a chateau awaited a castle of code ready to be rewritten. 'I always knew I wanted to move to the country. I just didn't know which country,' Salvato quipped proving that even within the Matrix humor survives.

Decoding the Chateau: A Glitch in Time

This was no mere house but a 6,458 square feet glitch in time dating back to the 12th century. For a mere 736,000 euros (approximately $835,000 USD) they acquired not just walls but history itself. The main chateau boasted three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms accompanied by a four bedroom guest house. In 2017 they traded their San Francisco apartment worth $1.45 million for this anachronistic dream. The rest went towards renovations a necessary upgrade to this ancient system.

Renovations: Rebuilding Zion One Stone at a Time

The chateau untouched for half a century demanded a complete overhaul. 'We decided we want to make it great for us first because we have to live here we have to be comfortable,' Salvato wisely stated. Renovations initiated in 2018 and ongoing have already consumed $332,000. Think of it as rebuilding Zion one digital brick at a time to keep the agents at bay.

The Cost of Freedom: A French Lesson

The chateau now earns its keep with guesthouse rooms renting for $238 a night and chateau rooms for $187. Week long workshops priced at $4,500 per person bring in off season revenue. Last year they hosted 60 guests generating $22,000. Monthly expenses hover around $2,212. 'I guess you could say this has been a very expensive French lesson,' Salvato concedes. Yet their most significant achievement is not profit but the preservation of history. 'We are merely caretakers of this piece of history and this legacy for the next generation,' Salvato says echoing the eternal struggle to preserve what is real in a world of illusion. Remember the Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us even in a French chateau. You have to unplug to see it.