PS It may not be, but be prepared for it to be really hard to make friends. I'm a bit "between two chairs" in a way, being older than the uni students around here but not in the retiree age group, so most people of my age a) already have all the friends they want from uni etc. and/or b) are focused on career and/or c) are starting families.

When I first moved, I was "lucky" enough to have a French flatmate that I would hang out with every weekend, but it transpired after more than a year living together that she was stealing my rent cheque and not paying anything and we both got evicted and I was left with that whole drama and the loss of most of my social network. Obviously something that extremely awful is very unlikely to happen to anyone else, but my point (did I have one, or am I moaning?) was that even though I'd been there all that time I had to start from scratch about a year ago, and I'd say I'm probably just now at a "good" level of French and expat friends again (and then the problem with expats is they have a habit of moving on as well).

And I've realised that while some people are interested and want to make friends with foreigners, many don't - for the reasons above or because it's an effort for them to communicate as well as for us. That's perfectly normal, but perhaps unless you're going to a very small village, don't expect to be the star turn in the neighbourhood like A Year In Provence or whatever.

Anyway, sorry for being long and I hope no-one whose opinion and experience differs takes offence.

I agree that it will be exceptional if you manage to make any 'real' French friends, but it's more a question of crossed signals rather than any aversion by the French of making new foreign friends. I happen to be extremely French in my social demeanor, which is probably one of the reasons that drew me back to France. A number of people have told me "From the look in your eyes, I thought you couldn't stand me when we met." Well, welcome to France! ;-) Never take such a look at face value. Don't push too hard, but if you want to get to know someone better, do not hesitate to make it known. First impressions can be very deceiving, and the French respect anybody who persists.

That may be part of it - I tend towards the reserved side myself - but I know in New Zealand, and everywhere I suspect, there are always people who point at immigrants who "refuse to integrate". And then you become one yourself and you realise, well duh, it can be a real pain in the arse trying to forge a friendship with someone across cultural and linguistic barriers, so no wonder the native people of whatever country often aren't queueing up to do so when they have their own lives and friends nicely in order.

I found my neighbors in the Dordogne to be exceedingly curious about me, to the point where they could hardly keep themselves away. When they found out I could actually converse with them, they couldn't stop finding excuses to come by and chat and pester me with questions.

I've lived in a building with 6 flats in it for a year and I could literally count on my fingers the number of times I've seen any of my neighbours - seen as in bumped in to in the hallway, not seen as in social gatherings! And I think at least two of those was the day I moved in. Nice and quiet though!

I have never had an expensive dirty hotel room in France logos( and I mean over decades of hotel stays) .. sorry if your hotel searching skills were lacking.

Snails are yummy, ,blood sausage, not so much.

My husband and I recently returned to the US after spending 18 months in Languedoc (a wonderful experience). One thing to consider is that if you plan to be in France for a year, you'll need to provide an address for the OFII and register with them (in the department that you're living in) when you arrive. They'll send you info on a mandatory appointment that's necessary to validate the visa you rec'd from the consulate in the US. After that, you'll be able to move to another area but you should plan to spend at least 3-4 months in one place when you first arrive.
Another thing to consider is transportation. Do you want the freedom a car gives you? If not, make sure you're located near a train station. We heard that some Super U markets lease cars at a reasonable price for 1-2 years.
Although we would have loved to explore other areas in France, we found that even after 18 months, we had only begun to scratch the surface of what to see and do in Languedoc. We took day trips to historical sites, vineyards, a mid-winter truffle market, the Roquefort cheese caves, the oyster beds in the Etang d'Thau, and local markets and vide greniers ("yard sales"). Looking back on it, staying in one location gave us a sense of "home". We've returned to Languedoc once and it did, indeed, feel like we were back home. Had we moved a few times during our time there, I think we would have stayed in a "tourist" frame of mind. The AngloInfo websites ("www.angloinfo.com") are good sources of information.

justineparis, problem is the general lack of clean and super cheap accomodations that are so plenty in the countries east of France. So basically, when travelling to France, I take my camper bus, although I'd prefer a 30€ clean hotel room incl. breakfast, there aren't any.

@temuskia - the OP has an EU passport - no visa or OFII registration required.

You need to stay at the F1 chain, logos -- clean and super cheap for less than 30€ (generally about 26€). Breakfast is an extra 3.95€.

There are still 260 of them all over France.

temuskia, did you take some notes to share?

Kerouac, stayed there once. Awful chain, all in plastic, but would stay there again, if they were located abywhere I'd want to be. Most of them are in Paris or Lyon.

TDudette, I wrote a blog during our time there but don't know if it would have any pertinent notes. What do you want to know? If I can't answer, perhaps I can point you to another source who can.

Logos : there are 270 F1 hotels in France and they're not all in Paris and Lyon.

Here they are on a map: http://www.hotelf1.com/gb/booking/map-search.shtml

Pvoyageuse, what's so bad aboud acepting the facts 87 in Paris and 42 in Lyon. Franve is big and if you only have one hotel chain... So it's the campground and that's o.k. Where I want to stay is away from the big cities.

Logos: there is nothing bad about it. Stay wherever you like, it is your choice, your trip and your money.

Fine, logos, just don't tell mistruths about French hotel prices. You are free to stay wherever you want. You might also want to check out Première Classe, Fast Hôtel, Akena, B&B, Ibis Budget (formerly Etap) and quite a few others. And the famous <i>hôtels de sous-préfecture</i> in many small towns are the same price.

Even in my neighbourhood in Paris, the price of hotel rooms is 25€-30€ (none of which are part of a chain). You are only blind if you want to be. And you have made it clear that you want to be.

Bon voyage!

Just for the record, I even photographed the price signs in Paris on this thread: http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...ad=3582&page=1

Very interesting discussion as we may be considering a long term visit to Europe, but unsure of where to locate.