If you are going to Béziers then Narbonne is literally just down the road . Narbonne has a university, Béziers has an outpost of Montpellier. It's also nearer to Spain. Your budget there and around Béziers would buy you a house with its own swimming pool. Toutes les annonces immobilières dans le neuf et l’ancien - Bien’ici

 

Honestly, your list of requirements is a bit "ambitious" - basically what every would-be retiree says they want, but difficult to impossible to find all in one place here in France.

First of all, don't be in too big a hurry to buy a place. There generally are houses available to rent and these days it really does take a year or two of living in an area to get a true "feel" for the pluses and minuses of any particular town or area.

We also want proximity to an airport, some expat community (I speak a bit of French, my husband doesn't; we'll need some intensive language courses), English-speaking drs and veterinarian nearby, near coast, nice weather (not too rainy, but we like 4 seasons), good variety of shops and restaurants.

This is probably the part where you may have to make some compromises. Most airports in France outside of Paris are merely feeder airports for the main Paris airports. You'd do better to orient yourselves around the TGV (high speed train) lines that can take you into Paris, in some cases right into the station for the CDG airport.

It can be difficult to identify "expat communities" in and around France, largely because the French eschew the notion of "community" because it has the implied notion of a group of folks holding themselves apart from the French society and avoiding the need to integrate themselves. Finding doctors accepting new patients can be something of an ordeal these days, but holding out for ones who admit to speaking English can only further complicate the task. The same goes for veterinarians. Don't wait until you arrive here to start working on learning some basic French. You'll be far from the only folks resorting to pantomime, writing things down and/or using translation apps on your phones. Most doctors and other professionals are fine with helping you along with your imperfect French, but time constraints and potential liabilities weigh heavy on them if you insist on dealing exclusively in English. Show them you're making the effort to understand and communicate in French and you'll develop a better relationship.

As far as "good weather" is concerned, we're in a period of rapidly changing climate conditions and nothing is guaranteed. There has been lots of flooding in places that haven't had floods in decades, so that's another thing you have to take into consideration when looking for housing (and another argument for living in an area for a while without committing to buying a place).

Also, do check the websites for the mairies (town halls) of any town you're considering. There is usually lots of information there about everything from garbage collection to town festivals and minutes from the town council meetings that can clue you into upcoming major construction or repair work being considered nearby. (Also good practice for your French.)

 

Thanks so much for all the great input! Regarding house rentals, while I'm sure there are homes for rent, I've seen much written on various expat forums about the difficulty of finding landlords willing to rent to tenants who can't show French income. I remember one poster who said at least 3 people on that forum ended up buying because they couldn't obtain a rental. Any idea is this concern is overblown? I absolutely agree that renting first would be far more practical.

And yes, I feel like a bit of a cliche writing out my wish list! I'm sure we'll have to compromise on some things, but I figure that will have to sort itself out during the process.

 

We live inland from Cannes, and I was thinking it might be a good fit with your priorities, but it's very expensive and most of the housing is up in the hills where there isn't much walkable. Maybe look at Le Cannet, which is just above Cannes and has it's own city center. You might also like Antibes, which lies between Cannes and Nice. I suspect you will find Menton to be too quiet, and it is another place where much of the housing is away from the city center. Maybe Vence rather than St. Paul de Vence, maybe Moan Sartoux, which is a nice town with good shopping, relatively better priced housing, on the train line. I just received this newletter highlighting some French Riviera towns: French Riviera Dreamers (It's puffery, but maybe useful puffery?) This whole area is pretty low-key and friendly, and it is easy enough to find English-speaking doctors and vets.

 

That link is fantastic - thanks so much! I've looked online at several of those places, but it's so hard to get some of the more practical nuts and bolts about a place - that piece definitely fills in some blanks. Low-key and friendly sounds right up our alley

Great to hear about the availability of English-speaking medical professionals. I speak some basic French and am committed to becoming fully conversant ASAP, but we visited a clinic in Barcelona that was set up to cater to English speakers, and it really was amazing, so if we could live near something like that it would be a big plus.

 

I just thought of something else. If you are looking around Nice, there is a very highly-regarded French language immersion program in Villefranche-sur-mer, just to the east of Nice: Learn French in Nice, France – Intensive Courses for All Levels | French language school Villefranche is also a wonderful place in its own right, and it is one of my fantasies to rent a house there off-season and spend a month at the school.

 

I've definitely toyed with coming over for an intensive course. We live in Montana, so snow-birding sounds pretty tempting! Great to know about this school.

 

You could look at Aix-en-Provence and surrounding villages (Venelles, Puyricard…). You would have the Aix TGV station and the Marseille airport with great shuttle service to Aix. With your budget you should be able to find a house. There is an expat group called the Anglo-American Group of Provence (AAGP) which is quite active.

 

Interesting. When I've poked around online it was looking like we'd be priced out of anything decent in Aix. We'll give it a look on this trip - thanks!

 

Hi, we bought in central Nice about 8 years ago and are currently transitioning to full time. We searched all around the Med coasts before picking the location. I think the principal challenge is resolving some conflicting challenges: you want a house where you can walk to shops or transport into the city and that is not semi-detached but standalone. That is challenging as the very thing that makes these towns and villages and cities walkable is the density of housing. The key question remain is if you are going to want to drive, and if so, if you don't live in a recipricol exchange state, will you be able to pass the driving exam.

To what JapanAmerica wrote, you might consider Vence, and not St. Paul. St. Paul empties out at night and in the offseason -- Vence has a charming old town but houses (attached and semi attached) not far from the center. However, it is only bus connected. There is a train line to Grasse with places like Mouans Sartoux with village centers and the new town around. Valbonne might be a possibility but pricing in that general area can get very high due to the tech center nearby. It has an ancient old town surrounded by newer apartments and houses. There is a comparable rail line into the hills/mountains that extends above Nice and about Menton. The challenge with some of these locations is the central cute village is at elevation above the surrounding new town where there may be houses. Also, the closer to the coast many of the places are pretty pricey, like Villefranche-sur-mer (we looked for places there and in Saint Paul de Vence)

In Nice itself there are neighborhoods that occasionally have standalone houses, but with tram or bus access to the center. There is a vibrant expat community and the press in recent weeks have noted the surge in tourists and people relocating from the US. The relocation consultant we used reports her business has tripled this year.

The Nice airport is the most trafficked in France after the two Paris. There are seasonal flights to five US airports with a total of 6 flights, plus directs to countries around the world.

On Bezier and Montpellier, you may actually get subject to more heat there, and in the case of Montpellier, the most frequent complaint is bugs.

Take care in looking at the outskirts of any town/city of size as some areas may be suffering some urban ills.

Some areas may be medical deserts, so please check out the availability of english-speaking doctors that are taking new patients.

 

So much great info! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your in-depth response. Like the varying transport options of different towns - can make such a difference for livability. The point about the neighborhoods with houses being newer areas below the center is interesting as well. Grasse looks like it has potential, but train line definitely beats bus line. If the town offers enough though, we may go into the city less than we think. Sounds like we should check out Mouans Sartoux. I've read about bug issues in Montpellier, but couldn't really tell how big an issue it is. The last time we were in Catalonia the bugs were absolutely awful, and it was early October. It definitely gave us pause.

Regarding driver's licenses, we're looking at switching our residence (and licenses) back to my husband's home state of Colorado (which has reciprocity last I checked) before heading to France, for just that reason. Hopefully that works!

Would you be willing to share which relocation consultant you used (assuming they're someone you'd recommend)?

 

Thanks to everyone for engaging so generously - this is better than I dared hope for!

 

What LoriEleanor said. I'm not sure how they check this these days, but they got wise to Americans getting a different state's driving license just to have an "exchangeable license" and have a method for checking this out in the process now.

Aix is rather "well known" as an expat area - though it may be predominantly British expats, though that's actually a plus for many Americans. (English speaking, yet with a certain "foreign exoticism" to boot. <g>)

You may want to look around for an AVF (Acceuil des Villes Françaises) in the various areas you're considering. This is actually an association set up to welcome "newcomers" (both French and foreign) to the area, but it can be a valuable source of local references and potential friends (English speaking or not). This is the website for the national association - UNAVF : Union Nationale des Accueils des Villes Françaises
The AVF local groups depend on their members to suggest and organize activities - and you can make LOTS of friends really quickly by offering to set up an English speaking group (usually a chat over coffee or tea) or even a language exchange, where you speak English half the time and then the group switches to French so that everyone has a turn at being both teacher and taught.

 

What LoriEleanor said. I'm not sure how they check this these days

The date of issue of the licence is on the licence itself. So, it would be easy to see how long it had been held. I presume they could also verify that online with the appropriate DMV.

 

We looked at Aix, which is beautiful and has the university, the opera festival, etc. and is very convenient - a half hour one way you're in the Luberon, a half hour the other way you're in Marseille. It also has the mistral, however, if you are concerned about wind. It's one of the things we like about where we are - between the sea to the south and the pre-Alps just to the north, we are pretty well-protected from the winds (although this morning's newspaper advises that we might all want t to wait on washing our cars, as we are expecting a storm of red dust from the Sahara this week). Where you go in France, you will get weather! Also, I think I might have confused you with an earlier post. Grasse is also on the train line. It is actually the last stop on the line that begins in Cannes and then runs through Moans Sartoux before ending in Grasse - the trip takes about 30 minutes. Grasse is also about 30 minutes by car from Nice airport, so it's a convenient place. It's a bit inland, but the views out to the sea are spectacular.

 

Grasse is also on the train line. It is actually the last stop on the line that begins in Cannes and then runs through Moans Sartoux before ending in Grasse - the trip takes about 30 minutes. Grasse is also about 30 minutes by car from Nice airport, so it's a convenient place. It's a bit inland, but the views out to the sea are spectacular.

It should smell good too

 

It may or may not matter to you but Beziers in a hot spot for the National Rally (formerly the National Front).

"Robert Menard: France's strongest far-right mayor"

Robert Menard: France's strongest far-right mayor

A mayor in the south of France has been accused of turning his city into a laboratory of the far right. What is driving Robert Menard?

www.bbc.com

 

Wow, that definitely matters to me. Yikes!

 

Lyon is a wonderful city (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyon) and ticks all of your boxes except for being near a coast. Excellent public transport, TGV trains (Trains from Lyon | Train times, fares, online tickets), and and a very well connected airport (Carte des destinations Lyon : découvrez toutes les destinations au départ de Lyon | Lyon Aéroport). Many great neighborhoods and some very nice towns and villages close by. The people in Lyon are very proud of being Lyonnaise and are quite friendly. It's almost like France's version of Chicago, or as I put it, Paris On A Human Scale.

 

I visited Lyon many years ago and loved it. But I've been landlocked for many years and really find myself yearning for coastal proximity. Thanks for the suggestion though - you never know!

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on Bordeaux? It's the one area apart from the Med that we've toyed with. We have good friends living near Bilbao who raved about Bordeaux after a recent visit, and it would be nice to live closer to them. But I read a lot of mixed things about it (worse weather, fewer transport links, snooty locals...). And farther from the coast, but an hour away isn't necessarily a deal breaker, and some people love it. I've been going back and forth about whether to squeeze in a day or two there this trip.

Thoughts?

 

It's definitely worth a visit. If you can afford somewhere close in to the city and on a tram line it could be ideal for you, even though on the Atlantic coast. Plus it is far less to the far/extreme right than the Nice and Beziers areas. In a few of the very posh areas, locals can be a bit stuck up, but I don't think it's to an extent that should worry you too much

Toulouse is perhaps another city that might be of interest to you, although it can get very hot in summer. It's a city where you have a better chance of finding a long term rental once you are on the ground there (that's extremely hard in the Nice area).

 

I don't know though how easy or difficult it might be for you to move around France once you arrive, given that a lot of strikes are expected.

 

We're renting a car, so hopefully strikes won't impact our ability to get around?
We're actually flying into Toulouse, so we'll get to see it.
Thanks for the encouragement about Bordeaux!

 

Air quality is pretty poor everywhere in France, as it is in most of Europe. Add to that the early heatwave and it's perhaps a difficult decision to move here. These events will continue and become much more frequent. And it's not just the heat but also the associated storms that have proven to be deadly. But then that's not just Europe either. Only the well off are able to deal with it and strangely they are the worst contributors to the situation. And of course warfare makes it all much much worse.