SallyD54

Hi there, new to the forum and Hubby Alan and I are feeling that the time is right to start planning our retirement, but where that is the question. We both love France and Spain, and will be moving with our dog and cats, but the thing is which area to look at. I love the sun but Hubby hates it too hot, but we want the seasons too. Ideally near some sort of water, lake etc is fine, and maybe not too cold in the winter, I have had one knee replacement due to arthritis and the other is playing up big time now.
Suggestions would be appreciated as we honestly dont know where to start looking and I thought perhaps any of you similar to us might be able to aim us at certain areas to investigate - many thanks - Sally

SallyD54

And okay just noticed I cant spell retirement whoops

jvc

Well it depends if you are wanting the coast or happy with lakes and mountains? It also depends whether you want a "little britain" or want true France where you can mingle just with mainly french people. The Rhone Alpes is picturesque, with both lakes and mountains. Snow, depending on where you live, and also although the Summer can get hot in this region, it maybe a few degrees cooler than the Ardeche, or south of France. With the lakes you still have the Summer for swimming, boating etc, and there are some great restaurants on the lakes for dining.
Also, just another thought, if you choose carefully this area is less popular with tourists, unlike the Ardeche and some regions of south of France. Yes, ski resorts are busy, but those places on the edge of the alpes can be lovely and quiet.

SallyD54

Thank you for that, I dont want to be anywhere too British if that makes sense, and I would just love to be near some water, doesnt have to be the see. Will have to look at the area you suggest thank you

Novocastrian

Just a heads up Sally. When someone starts a thread asking where to live/ to retire/etc., 92.7+/-0.2% of the replies will be suggesting the region that the respondent has chosen. This is as true on the France forum as on any other.

I'll only say that if you're looking for moderate winters, summers that are not too hot and somewhere near water, then the water should definitely be a sea or an ocean.

When not in France, I live in SW Ontario surrounded by the Great Lakes. These lakes are indeed big enough to influence regional climate, but no lakes in France or Spain can do so.

HTH

jvc

But then these people who are well informed enough to advise on their areas can give an accurate response to a newbie, and advise to the pros and cons of an area rather than someone who may of just visited the region on holiday, or for a season. I think that is what they are expecting.

bigglesworth

Perhaps just ask for pros and cons? Most of us will indeed suggest where we live,as Novo says, as plainly that is where we think best. Equally as JVC says, we probably know it well.
Although there are a few posters who have lived a more nomadic life in France.
We have lived in Northern Spain, Dordogne and Charente. I liked the Dordogne, Er Indoors preferred the Charente. So of course, being master in my own house, we live in the Charente,
Both have fair number of British, mainly holiday, but quite enough permanent residents. Certainly more than we realised.
Dordogne is bitterly cold in the winter, (mind you I have yet to find anywhere in France that isn't). Fabulous lakes and rivers. I liked the hills and views particularly.
Charente feels gentler, certainly flatter. You have to like sunflowers (I do not). Supposed to be the warmest part of France outside the South, although I think several make that claim.
Just for starters.
We also tried Limousin, but were dissuaded by reports of the flies. If we had only known how many there are in the Charente!

jvc

Well having not really explored France in great details before we moved to the Rhone Alpes, we have since explored the Charente, Limousin, Bordeaux region (Dordogne), Provence and the Pyrenees etc and we always come back very grateful that we live where we do. Some may call it luck that we have found the perfect area for us, as the choice of where to live was not really a choice for us unlike some.
I like the seasons offering "some" snow in the Winter, beautful mountains to look at, and the pleasant conditions we have during the Spring and Summer, and the lakes and beautiful market towns. Yes we miss the coast, but adore Cornwall for that, so no comparison for us anyway.

dmu

Hi again! As you are only 54, I would suggest coming over to France and/or Spain for holidays before your retirement, e.g. Perpignan/Barcelona, the Basque country on both sides of the border, further north in France, further south in Spain, etc... before you make your decision. We can all tell you where we enjoy living, but we are all different and only you will know whether you feel you can live somewhere forever more, after trying various places, not as tourists, but as potential residents.
Apart from the question of private healthcare coverage, you should also consider living in or near a town with good medical facilities. Do you speak either French or Spanish? (an important factor when coping with consultations for your health issues).
P.S. You gave your age and your health issues in your other threads, which is why I took the liberty of mentioning them for the France members who might not browse around the forums.

Chatter Static

Start sticking pins in a map and get on a plane as getting objective advise on which region to live in is nigh on impossible, You could have quite a few random trips and probably have found where you want to live by the 3 one.

Nectarine

Having lived in the Limousin, centre France, and the Lot-et-Garonne I can tell you that the winters are pretty much the same ... blinking freezing! ... although summers seem longer and hotter in the L-et-G. Limousin summers were shorter, more rainy or misty days, and more tolerable and there's a lot more water and lakes up there. Just my two penn'orth.

SallyD54

thank you all so much so I guess I need to be a bit more specific.
My husband has visited France a lot in the past in his youth, used to do a lot of cycling and came across on his bike to watch the tour, I am off to France soon for 3 weeks travelling around in a camper so should get to know a lot more then. Both of us have visited different areas of Spain. we are looking to the future and both feel we need time to decide where is right for us, and I was hoping the site might help us, so I will try to give a bit more info on what we like.
I have a pointer dog and maine coon cats, so need somewhere that we can afford a bit of a garden. I dont like it freezing cold in the winter, makes my legs ache, and hubby hats it boiling hot in the summer, so that is a challenge. I would like to be near a town with all the facilities, a vet and doctor and dentist, and although we have a little bit of French the plan is to learn if we decide this is where we want to be. We are already planning some trips to different areas at different times of year but being honest we just dont know where to start, as we are from Bristol I thought the best places to start would be the areas to which we could fly back, both have children/grand children here. And there again we would like somewhere that would be good for them for holiday visits. Gosh didnt realise we wanted so much. We are looking at buying a camper probably next year so will be able to look around more then. I am hoping we can go to an area with good produce markets, and perhaps have enough of a garden to grow a little ourselves, ok yes I really do want a lot dont i?
So over to you all tell me all the pros and cons of your area, if you dont mind please :-)

EuroTrash

Well I'm in Normandy and I love it. As it happens I live near a small town but whatever region you choose, you have the option urban and rural, all regions have towns amidst the countryside, so that's not really a factor in choosing an area. It's easy to get back to the UK from Normandy but frankly unless you particularly want to live in France (which the fact that you're undecided between France and Spain suggests that you don't) I don't see why you'd come here rather than retire to Cornwall or somewhere in the UK, as the climate is not much different. Property is cheaper here of course but that is a very double-edged sword, personally I think that is the weakest of all reasons for coming to France. You do need to work out the economics of course, cost of health insurance - cost of living - cost of property - taxes - etc etc, but as said you will have to wait and see where the goalposts have moved to when the time comes.
Travelling in a camper is the best way to do it, that's what I did, for several years I spent many months checking places out and having grand holidays at the same time. What you want should be perfectly achievable. But living in France is very different from holidaying in France so you need to be sure that France is for you before you burn your bridges, because going back to the UK, once you've sold up, can be difficult.

jvc

I suggest the Rhone Alpes is maybe not for you, as the property prices between Lyon and the french Alpes are very expensive, and many properties do not offer heaps of land. Property prices have held high here. Sounds like the Limousin is what you need in that respect, but be under no illusions that France on the whole is never very mild in the Winter! Although some of our snowy days can be beautiful and sunny, and can offer the most wonderful scenery. Think there needs to be some leeway in the fact it is only France, if you want milder weather year round you need to look a little further afield than France.

bigglesworth

I would broadly echo ET,
A couple of extra points - children and grandchildren - that we should be able to see them easily and they should be able to see us. So we picked central, we picked proximity to airports. to road routes, trainline TGV etc. We were lucky we think, we picked a town that should stay reasonably prosperous, and they family love it here, We see them for proper holidays and they even pop over for quite a few weekends. But we worked very hard at finding t]somewhere that would eb exotic enough that they would want to holiday, and easy enough to make travel as painless as possible