Annetje

I'm not sure where one finds a mild winter in France. I live here in the South about 30 kms from the coast and it's bl***y cold, blowing a gail today.
We normally have nightfrosts (down to - 10) for 3 months of the year.
On the coast itself not too many frosts but pricey to rent or buy.

Tweedpipe

Just added to my post.

Tweedpipe

At least it's not the mistral or tramontane you heard.

Annetje

Since we're talking the South West here, is it true it rains a lot there ?
Someone told me ''les Landes'' is very nice but be prepared for the rain.

scrubbedexpat056

I'd have to agree about the possible problems of living in rural France. I would just add our experiences. We had the idea of living in a more rural setting, but with public transport access to a large town or small city in the SW. Basic research proved that the local trains and buses, at least here in Carcassonne where we have bought, stop between 8 and 9pm so any evening out would involve a walk or cycle home or an expensive taxi. Since we didn't fancy any of the stops on this particular train line we decided on the outskirts of Cracassonne or Castelnaudary. It was then we discovered the daytime buses are infrequent and finish early. Without trying to be too morbid, this is the house that we will go out of feet first (as my old mate called it) so it needs to be suitable now and in the future. We have bought at the foot of the old city, which has the feel of a largish village since it is cut off from the main city by the Aude (no, we didn't get flooded having bought just outside the flood zone), but we can walk into the main square in 10 minutes. 2 minutes through the back streets brings us to the banks of the Aude with wooded walks and we are never free from a beautiful view of the old city. It's not as rural as we thought we wanted, but we realise now it is what we needed.
Maybe instead of thinking rural and then researching connections to healthcare etc you should think of healthcare (and culture, transport, flights etc in our case) and work your way out to find something you would be happy with.

dmu

No problem, except the distance that the nearest Pompiers would have to drive to collect you and take you to the nearest Urgences. I would warn you that the on-call Doctor will interrogate you on the phone to evaluate the actual need for the Pompiers, so your French would have to be up to scratch. Our Brigade (5 km away) was fantastic for OH when needed, but I had to be more than fluent to discuss medical issues over the phone. There's also the problem of consulting a Médecin Traitant (G.P.) for referral to a Specialist and if you aren't very mobile, you'd have to use a "white" ambulance service (reimbursed by the S.S. if one of the Doctors gives a chit). Without sounding too repetitive, if you're a distance from medical services, you're going to have practical problems in addition to your medical issues. A small town with a decent Clinique would IMO suit you better and I, for one, regret living in a small village with the nearest shops/banks/doctors/pharmacies, etc at least 5 km away. It doesn't matter so much when you're younger, but as you get older, you have to think practical rather than a pleasant rural location... And with only school knowledge of French, you ought to start brushing it up as from now!

cyrian

Totally agree.
We first chose our area then we looked at transport links back to the UK - by air and by autoroute and by TGV,
We then looked at access to supermarkets and restaurants. Hospitals and doctors were not a problem.
As has been said, the buses stop around 8pm although the tramway runs until after midnight.
We also have the option of walking into town. (20 mins)
Dog ownership in France is high and walking a dog is not a problem - in fact it is a bonus because dog owners tend to talk to one another.
Dogs are welcome in many restaurants - as long as they behave.
This is why it is a good idea to rent (at least initially) to establish your priorities and to discover if your chosen area gives you the weather you are expecting.