We are planning to retire in Swizerland, Austria or France.
This is our first step in fact finding.
The first and main question is: Where are there "American expat friendly" communities in Europe? Are there any enclaves where expats settle?
We certainly don't want to settle in an Americanized community, but would like to have a few neighbors from the homeland.
Many thanks,
Marsha

Hi Marsha, and welcome!

How friendly do you want? Switzerland has lots of expats, of many nationalities. Austria and France are a bit twitchy about "so many foreigners" but Americans are generally reasonably well received, at least in the major cities.

There are LOTS of Americans in Paris and the Paris area - plus lots of American expat groups. Plenty of retirees, too, though Paris is a rather expensive area to retire to. I'm told there are lots of Americans in some parts of the south of France, particularly around Montpellier and on the Côte d'Azur, where you can also find some American expat groups.

I don't know Switzerland that well. I do know there is something of an American community in and around Vienna, possibly due to the international organizations located there.

Two expat groups you may want to check out are AARO (Association of Americans Resident Overseas) based in Paris AARO - Association of Americans Resident Overseas and ACA (American Citizens Abroad) based in Switzerland ACA American Citizens Abroad
Cheers,
Bev

Many thanks for the resources.
We felt we needed to narrow our list of places to go before we began making major plans.

The first thing you need to check, of course, are the requirements for getting residence for Americans. While there may be a fairly large American expat community in some places, that doesn't necessarily translate into an option to retire there. Some countries accept a lot of corporate transfer people, but don't provide for other types of residency.

I've met a few Americans who have retired in Europe, but at least one of them had EU passports because of parents (or grandparents in the case of Ireland) who were immigrants to the US.

I just took a look at the Swiss requirements. To get a retirement residence permit in Switzerland you must be 60 years old, have ceased all employment, have close ties to Switzerland (relatives), meet the requirements of the canton where you intend to live, and not be upsetting the desired balance of immigrants from different countries. Of course you must also prove that you can afford to live there.

Googling the same thing for France and Austia produced nothing meaningful for France, and information on Australia for Austria, which I thought was interesting.

Good point, Synthia, about the visa requirements.

In France, you generally need to be able to prove that you are self-sufficient (i.e. will not need to work in the local economy) and have the necessary health coverage (roughly equal to the national health plan). It helps to have some sort of local ties - family, prior experience visiting or living here, or you can claim some great interest in French culture and patrimony. Speaking the language is a major plus, and in fact, you'll be required to take state language lessons for your first year in France if you can't pass their language test. (Passing the language test is a requirement now for renewing your carte de séjour for a second year.)

Not sure about Austria, but I know they are a tiny bit phobic about the number of foreigners these days - especially in some parts. Having a connection with the country (i.e. family, friends, prior living experience) and speaking the language are big pluses.
Cheers,
Bev