Ah, but what happens if your shopping pattern is to go to the supermarket on a Tuesday (or whenever is not market day). It might not even occur to you to go to the market, or maybe you find the market expensive, more so than the supermarket? Personally it is a novelty for me but a lifetime of shopping habits might have to be overturned, and that alternative might not even occur to you ...? Some people run on rails more so than others (I am related to people like this, it is no joke) and that makes it hard to adapt. There are also sometimes reasons related to an individual's pathology as to why they do not adapt, and age might be one of those (I think our hero and heroine are 74 and 75, right?). If you do not learn strategies to cope with culture shock earlier in life, I imagine it cannot be easier at 75!

Lavandula

As I've previously boasted here one too many times, my Montreal-born wife is totally bilingual and my French is pas mal (not bad). That logistical aspect would not keep us awake at night.
We got by just fine a few weeks ago on the outskirts of Luz St. Sauveur in the Pyrenees. Our rental was directly beside one of two local Carrefour ('crossroads') supermarkets and the town's weekly farmer's market was way better than critics had previously suggested. One of its produce vendors was the longest display that we've ever seen in any country - nearly an entire small block! And apparently this market is regarded by locals as inferior to the larger one just north in Argeles.
My point is that the culture there once again seemed accessible to us BUT that whole notion of finding new friends and making social connections would surely be a hurdle. The headaches around banking and health care would be dealbreakers.

I say that we all crash at eks' place now that she is finally off for Spain.

I am done. the foreign country and the *Tubes' song
*What Do You Want From Life?

My assumption with the produce was the person wanted out of season or tropical stuff. Or they just wanted "pretty" stuff.

In North America you'll often find out of season stuff or worse the varieties that are grown for looks instead of taste. Both are less common in Europe. Some of the best tasting stuff doesn't travel well or can be pretty misshapen.

I admit there is a trend for out of season stuff world wide. Often stuff picked green with the hope it'll be good enough when bought. But this is often the norm in North America.

We seem to be in the minority on Fodors since we hardly ever stay in hotels and only once in a gite.Staying at B&Bs has been a good choice for us. The owners know their area and can recommend things to do, tell us where today's market is, and bring us up to date on what's changed since our last visit. We meet other travelers at breakfast or in the lounge. At this point we have five favorite B&Bs where the owners are always glad to see us and our favorite room is ready for us. Due mostly to B&B contacts, in September we were invited for aperos, lunch, afternoon tea, a potluck, and a bang-up anniversary party. Sometimes I think we have more of a social life in France than at home.

Someone once told me the French really value fidelity, and that has proved true for us.

Still, an actual move would be daunting due to several factors, including being introverts, as well as the difficulty of finding doctors and dentists who are taking new patients. Our friend lost her doctor due to retirement and when she mentioned this to her pharmacist he said, "Well, people die." We joked that he was suggesting that she read obituaries and figure out which doctor now had an opening.

We've some friends from church (just retired) who went o their first trip to Europe, a Rhein cruise. "everyone in Europe speaks English".
well, yeah, if they're in the tourist trade, that'd be a necessity.
someone who's a seasoned traveler, however, if at all introspective, would realize that Europeans who are NOT in the tourist trade would have far less reason to remember their high school foreign language English course.
I submit that the couple in the article are not introspective at all, nor very aware of how and why life happens as it does.

So many great comments here... clearly they didn't check on this forum before they put their plans into motion. It's almost difficult to believe that they could reach their mid 70s and be so naive. That line, "“I think every married couple needs two places to live, because you’ve got to get away from each other,” I imagine is borne out of not marrying until one's 50s.

Moving to a different country where you won't be employed and therefore won't have some kind of built-in colleague-possible-friendship scenario was surely a big disadvantage for them. People we met and worked with in W. Berlin had lived and built friendships over many years. Then there's the language divide... Where was St. Cirq when they needed her?

Thanks, Z, for the article.

I find B&B and Chambre d'hotes are the best especially early in a holiday as they allow me to warm up my creaky french. As you say the shared breakfast table or even the evening table if you've managed to book table d'hotes with your chambre means you can be in for 2 hours of pure french, local information, etc etc

After 52 years of living in Paris I have seen countless foreign settlers change their mind and go "home" after 2 years, 4 years, 6 years, 10 years.... Often it has to do with family (especially aging parents) left behind, but of course that only goes for the younger ones. Older people who move here just slowly lose the pleasure of being here while looking back at their home country through increasingly rose colored glasses. I feel sorry for them, because I am pretty sure that once they have liquidated their life here, they discover that going back isn't all it's cracked up to be but it's too late to change their mind.

The only ones who stay are the ones who founded a family here, even if it isn't a blood family

Nîmes is not the 1st name that would pop up.
I would rather choose an affluent place with nice shops and foodstores, an attractive place where many people retire, to increase chances to meet people in same situation (even better if there are also young people), a not too strong local culture meaning foreigners and tourists are welcomed and not regarded as depriving locals from housing.
I think Nîmes scores very low on all these points.

https://www.citypopulation.de/en/fra...9__n%C3%AEmes/

the demographics are here

There was an article several years ago describing how Torontonians who'd once been born in Italy and who had stuck to their plans of retiring back in Italia, just could not hack the quiet, sleepy pace of village Europe.
Many had returned back to Toronto.
They were done. The return exodus

thanks.
An another useful source is
https://www.ville-ideale.fr/nimes_30189

Also, some additional research on the web would allow to access income data (Revenue database)

I don't know about that. If they were born in Italy they should have known what to expect. Obviously it depends on the person but I doubt too many returned because it was too quiet. Missing family and friends? Sure.

I have known a few Italians too scared to drive in Toronto. Maybe they missed the thrill of the road -)

Even into the 70s some Italians who had moved to Toronto headed back to Italy. There are always reasons to move.

En passant.

https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/zagran...sk,nId,7853442