Where to live in France?
 

I have friends who have two preschool children ( 4 yr. olds) who want to move to France for a year. They are gathering information. They don't want to be in Paris. Where would you suggest?

Some questions to ask before anyone is able to provide input

#1. Do they have a right to live in France for a year? If not, it's a moot point.

#2. Do they plan to work? If so, do they have the right to work in France, and do they have a job lined up?

3. France is a big country - what are their interests?

J62
I think that there should one more item for the list.

Q/ Why?

Blackduff

2 observations:

If they come from the US, I would suggest keeping to the south.

Here in Canada, our short winter days leave me feeling light-deprived.

Many do not realize that Toronto -- our southernmost large city -- is roughly on the latitude of Nice. In other words, days are shorter almost everywhere in France than in the most populated Canadian areas. Yikes!

Second, some of the areas that are loveliest in the summer (Provence, for one) empty out in the winter and restaurants and sites close down. Our hosts in the Luberon told us all their local restaurants but one shut down, as do many of the shops. Depressing!

A small(ish) city might be a better bet than a village or the countryside....

Did you really expect good responses from such a vague post?

HI DJ,

>They don't want to be in Paris. Where would you suggest?<

Somewhere outside of Paris.

((I))

I suggest they continue to gather their own information and you remain above the blame line in case things go horribly wrong.

Well this has provoked quite a response. Yes, they have the right to live in France. I don't know the technical stuff, but the family has dual citizenship. I believe the work stuff is up in the air at this point, but they would legally be able to it if they so chose. What I'd hope was that people would speak of the advantages of a particular region or town. I'm aware that the south is not a favorable area in the winter, but are there other smaller cities in other parts that would offer a young family the richnes that France has to offer? I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that Fodorites would be able to share their vast knowledge to inform this family with their expertise. I hope I have clarified the reason for this post.

It is sort of like saying that friends were coming to the US to live from France, what is a good place? There are so many lovely areas of France. Personally, if I was going to live in France for a year, it'd be in Paris. That is such a wonderful city. I have not been to the south of France, just to more northerly locations. Brittany is great, I loved Dinard. There are tons and tons of tiny towns though - just soooo many. Each region is different. If they nailed down at least an area (or as someone said, listed some interests). it would be easier.

Without knowing the job information, I would think anywhere along the Mediterranean coast.

The lower Atlantic costal cities are okay but the weather is colder and more stormy. Bayonne pleased me when I was looking for a house but the weather turned me off.

Toulouse is a good city but it's mostly driven by the aircraft building companies. This has brought higher prices for that area.

The various grape growing regions have good cities where it's nice to live. This gives a large variation though. Grapes are grown many parts of France.

Living Paris or the suburbs would please me but most wouldn't. A big city does offers which are not allowed in smaller cities.

We really more information about the people who would come to France. Just knowing if this family can speak French. This will give a big advantage in selecting a new place to live.

Blackduff

I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to live in the city of Angers. It's a beautiful city, active cultural life year round, it has plenty to keep children and adults happy, wonderful food, lots of parks. People are very friendly and according to a poll of French teachers (in France), the people of Angers speak the "best" French in France. It's not an expensive place to live and apartment availability is reasonable.
The climate is generally mild, although there are four seasons. Summers aren't as hot as in the south; winters aren't as cold or blustery as in other regions. Spring and fall are delightful.
From Angers, you are 90 minutes from Paris by TGV. It's also not a long drive to the coast.

It does strongly depend on what you want in France where you live. I live in rural NW France where I have peace and quiet on 4 acres of land surrounded by open countryside with a large village 4 miles away. The idea of living in Paris or any other large town with all the problems associated with that (people are the same the world over) horrifies me.


True the weather could be better here but you are never going to get all you want.

Lyon

France is a big place... perhaps Toulouse would orth looking into. Definitely I'd avoid Clichy-sous-Bois for a while.

Hi dj,

>I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that Fodorites would be able to share their vast knowledge to inform this family with their expertise.<

How? We know nothing about these people other than that they don't want to live in Paris (we don't know why) and that they have 2 4-yr old children.

I shall ask you a question: I'm thinking of moving from Madison, GA, where in the US should I go?

((I))

If they like to ski, suggest the Alps region. Unfortunately, it may be more expensive due to its proximity to Geneva.

I'm sure I could suggest a few places, having myself lived in Paris, Brittany, Tours, Toulouse and Lyon.

However, as others have mentioned, it's very hard to reply without more information (e.g. Do they speak good French? what sector would they be seeking work in?)

Without further info, I'd tentatively suggest the Lyon area, as it's got good transport connections, lots of cultural activities (including English language bookshops and several cinemas showing films in original version - not the case in many French towns), lots of wonderful parks, a mostly pedestrianised city-centre... And of course it's within easy access of the countryside, Provence and the south, and the Alps for skiing. And accommodation is much more affordable (and easy to come by) than in Paris.

Paris is a sprawling metropolis full of immigrants, tourists, and people generally rushing about. Traffic is of course a nightmare. You will be paying a lot of money to live there and everything is definitely not on your doorstep. I can easier get to one of my two large supermarkets in a village 4 miles away from me than Parisians can walk 10 minutes to a small grocers where they wioll pay too much. With few exceptions, shops are not grouped together in Paris and it can mean a lot of walking or an expensive taxi (if available). A car is not an option in Paris other than when you need it (no parking). There is a fair level of crime in Paris as well as pollution and noise. Like many capital cities in the West, I suppose. Living there is not the same as spending a day or a week there.

Having lived in towns (including London) and in rural areas, I don't want to go back to living in town again.

I would try to get the best of both worlds! Somewhere in Haute-Normandie, about one hour from Paris. My first pick would be a nice little medieval town built by Guillaume the Conqueror's son, called Verneuil sur Avre. One can buy a five bedroom , 17th century house for the price of a Parisian two rooms flat. Yet you can go see a play at the Comédie française any night you feel like it.

I won't make any particular suggestion, but do want to correct a few of the posters here about the idea that the south "empties out" or "closes down".

We all manage to live very nicely down here in Provence year round ! Since we LIVE here, we don't care if the hotels and the tourist shops and restaurants are closed. There are many that close for November, reopen for the Christmas season - when it's considered high season here and then close again for a couple of months.
The cities like Avignon and Aix and Arles don't shut down at all... and neither do the supermarkets.

The weather is nicer in winter here than up north, that's for sure. Today it was 27 C and sunny for example, yesterday it was 30 C. We've had picnics on the beach, in the shelter of the dunes, in early February.

So although we discourage tourists in winter..... we manage to tough out the winters.

Patricia

I would recommend Strasbourg, Montpellier, Lille or Grenoble.

How about Dijon?

What a good idea TW007! ;;)

It would seem that, if these people have duel citizenship, they would have some idea of some areas of France.

I really loved Lorient in Brittany...It is a small place that hosts one of the best kept secrets in the modern world....A massive festival called "The Gathering of The Celtic Nations",where about a quarter of a million people descend on this town.....And everyone has a whale of a time.....I also found the local people there to be pretty friendly...Although, they cannot always speak English....The other thing about this town is that the buildings tend to be generally modern-ish as it was bombed during the 2nd World War...But I do know that some British people have a holiday home,so I assume it is pretty affordable......

Maybe it is part of some sort of syndrome, but just coming back from St. Tropez, I'd be able to live at the Cote d'Azure. I loved it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere on that particular Penninsula in July or August, but I could do my re-entry say, September 15th or so? I'd take those two months and come back to the States.

LuckyLuc. It is amazing how many people do live in villages around Rouen, drive into town, park up free across the river at St Sever, then take the train to work in Paris each day.


I liken living in Paris to living in London. A tiny mid-terraced house in Chelsea (west of Westminster), which newspapers described as shabby, was up for sale at nearly £600,000 but ended up being sold for £900,000. If such people had £1, they'd have more money than sense.

"It would seem that, if these people have duel citizenship, they would have some idea of some areas of France."

Maybe, maybe not. We know someone who has Canadian citizenship, but hasn't lived in Canada since 1983. His first-hand knowledge of Canada is based almost entirely on vague memories from his early childhood in Ontario and a year spent in Vancouver as a teenager. Hardly an expert!

<i>Maybe, maybe not. We know someone who has Canadian citizenship, but hasn't lived in Canada since 1983.</i>

I haven't lived in the US since 1969 but I still have a decent understand of life in America.

Blackduff

But in this reported case, half of the dual citzenship may be in some EU country other France, and the shy (?) family may know nothing about France.

Actually I think life in the U.S. has changed quite a bit since 1969 (think how much life in Seattle has changed!) so I suppose you have been back to visit more than once--as an adult. Our Canadian friend has not been to Canada since he was a teen-ager.
Having citizenship of a country doesn't guarantee an in-depth knowledge of a country's regions and the quality of life in specific areas.

BT
Actually I was an adult when I left. I was 30 years old, at that time.

The first nine years I lived in Montreal, so I was in the US often. But, since that time, it was not frequent when I returned to the US. I worked for an American company, so I contact with Americans almost daily.

If I do have some changes in the US which cannot understand, it is the changes since 9/11. The politics in the US has changed forever now. I'm an outsider when I think about the current politics. But, I guess a lot of American residents are in the same condition.

Blackduff

Our family lived in the Luberon for 6-1/2 months in the off-season 2004-2005. Our daughter was 11 years old at the time and attended the village school.

We had an absolutely wonderful experience. We lived outside the village of Bonnieux and found everything we needed within 30 minutes. Sure, many restaurants were closed during the off-season, but plenty were open-- plus we didn't eat dinner out often at all. We made many life-long friends. Although we have returned to the USA, we continue to consider the Luberon a second home and have been back several times.

I'd ask your friends to think about what they want to get out of the experience as far as their children are concerned. Their children will adapt well since they are very young, but they are so young they won't remember much of anything. Would it make sense for them to wait until the children are a few years older? (Our daughter developed a real fluency and confidence in French that she has continued to build on.)

Your friends might be interested in my blog of our experience: www.slowtrav.com/blog/kaydee

Kathy

Montpellier, for sure. I already live there, in my dreams anyway.