Myself, hubby and our 4 kids are thinking about moving to France. We want to live somewhere that doesn't cost the earth, renting for first year with good schools etc.

Where does everyone live that they would recommend? We were thinking more so about the South but would depend on living costs etc.

Thanks in advance!

Hi there
and welcome to the forum. I see you have also posted the same query in Spanish and Canadian forums. Are you just trying to get a feel for the different countries before choosing one? Criteria is very different for all of them. People would also need to know more about your circumstances before answering your queries - will you need to work, being one of them.

Hi, yes we are just looking at different posibilities at the moment. Ideally either Spain or France, which ever is the best for us. Hubby is self employed (got a handyman business) and i don't currently work.

Want to live somewhere near the beach with a expat community but not totally 'British' either. Would be looking at renting somewhere cheap(ish). Does anyone know of any websites to have a look for properties?

Thanks

Nearish the sea would be the department of the Aude which is cheapish and has all those things.

Poitou Charentes and Charentes Maritime both departments ditto maybe

and

Brittany (region) which maybe pricey I don't know.

Just steer clear of Normandy full of Brits and known as the vide grenier (car boot sale) of France


(that's a dig by the way at another forum member )

[QUOTE=treskillard;6619914]Nearish the sea would be the department of the Aude which is cheapish and has all those things.

Poitou Charentes and Charentes Maritime both departments ditto maybe

and

Brittany (region) which maybe pricey I don't know.

Just steer clear of Normandy full of Brits and known as the vide grenier (car boot sale) of France





Do the people in Normandy have lots of things to sell then,or are the same things going round and round?

They'd sell their souls for a good bargain and a glass of rose

not to mention a clock or two - mine's a red by the way

That'll be a soul and some karma please Madame.

No
Thats rose water.
A full-body red from the Lot

Being completely biased, you could always check out the area round Perpignan, a historic area with a Catalan feel and influence. Warmest and sunniest part of France and just half hour from Spain.

Prices not yet reached extortionate as is still relatively undiscovered by the hordes. Work is not easy to come by though as I am discovering.

Ignore that lot, Mayenne is the best place to live. Cheap and cheerful and full of farmers! Good schools and lycees, lots of casual work and not too many expats!

First thing to do might be to make a list of priorities - things you want in France.

I split mine into "must haves" and "desirables" and "dealbreakers".

For example, if you want your kids in an international school, make a list of places where these can be accessed easily.

If you need to fly back to England on a regular basis, consider being within an hour or so of an airport that does cheap flights to your part of Britain, ie if you live in the West country, Bergerac and that catchment is a good choice as you can fly direct to and from Exeter, and if you are near Bristol you can fly direct to Pau Pyrenees etc.

The "dealbreakers" are the ones that you could not tolerate, for example, with kids who are about to become teenagers, you don't want anywhere too isolated as you will end up being a continual taxi service to get them to the beach/club/local town etc until they can drive.

Everyone's priority list will be different, but once you make yours, it does help you to focus more on actual areas as France is a big country!

If you do want to be within striking distance of the sea that is possible if you like the Med, as CB says above, the area around Perpignan - Argeles sur Mer, Narbonne Plage, Port Vendres etc are possible, depending upon your budget. But don't rule out the Atlantic coast, parts of which are very beautiful, especially around Brittany but also Biarritz down south. Go inland a bit and you can still find reasonably priced property, and Biarritz is quite glitzy - bit like French equivalent of a more upmarket Brighton - which will be great for the kids, and the actual countryside is more lush and English like than parts of the Med.

Good luck.