harveyvibes

Hi everyone, hope all is well. My wife and I are a middle aged couple and since our kids left home we've often talked about escaping the gloom of the UK winter and renting somewhere for 3 months on the South coast of France. I was wondering if there were any areas that had groups or concentrations of UK expats that we could seek out / join ? Thanks for any information received.

EuroTrash

Hello and welcome
I don't live in the Midi but my experience of south-ish France any time before Easter is, it is COLD!!!
I'm sure other posters from thereabouts will be along soon with good advice. Are you thinking of a major resort town, like Nice say, or somewhere lower profile? I would have thought there would be plenty of English speakers in Nice although I don't know how many UK expats have actually made their homes there.
Nice idea, I can see the attraction - hope it works out.

dmu

I concur! I live in the Languedoc, and winters are often perishing cold and/or rainy. The infamous Tramontane (cousin to the Mistral) can also be a problem, not to mention what they call "Cévénol episodes" of continuous heavy rain which causes flooding. I therefore wouldn't recommend west of the Rhône if the OP is looking for good weather in the winter!
From a social point of view, there aren't many big towns actually on the coast - Montpellier is a vibrant city, a tram ride away from the seaside, but Béziers, Narbonne and Perpignan are further inland (and I wouldn't recommend any of the latter for a 3-month stay....)
Despite it's bad reputation, Marseille might be an idea to consider. It has everything - culture, long promenades, good food, and is a short train/bus/boat ride away from interesting places.
Do the OPs speak French, or do they need UK expats around, to feel more comfortable? If I were going to spend 3 months anywhere, I'd go to the local Mairie to find out what clubs or associations I could join temporarily, to meet people with the same interests, and in Marseille, for example, there'd no doubt be plenty of Anglophone members, too.
HTH and good luck with your decision!

harveyvibes

Some great information there, thanks. This winter in the UK, its been particularly gloomy, I did find myself jealously looking at the forecast for Cannes and found it regularly at about 16 degrees, bright blue skies, from what ive been hearing though that only seems possible directly on the coast. anything slightly inland gets cold. Is that true ? Marseille a definite option but just wondering if you could explain what its bad reputation is ? Thanks

EuroTrash

Marseilles is notorious for drug dealing, gang warfare etc but like big cities everywhere I guess it tends to be localised in specific no-go areas. As long as you know where to avoid and stay well clear, you should be fine.

Moses2013

I'd agree with Marseille and it's probably a bit like Birmingham with good and some very bad bits. In terms of weather, it its very similar to where we are across the border and there can be differences depending on exact location. Like everywhere it can be hit and miss, but if you are flexible and can drive you will always find a spot. We are always a few minutes inland from Lloret in Spain and in the town it is a mix between a humid subtropical climate and a coastal Mediterranean climate, so always a tiny bit milder. You go a bit further and it can be a bit cooler and places like Perpignan can be very windy and have more of a mediterranean climate. Cannes seems to be a bit more protected and similar to where we are, although you never know with the weather these days. As long as you don't expect to be sunbathing all the time you should be fine and still sunnier than back home.

Nand

We stayed short stays in the southern French and Italian Mediterranean area several times along the coast when traveling and also a little north of the sea towns. My objection is not so much the coldness, which is palpable, but that when the sun does come out there is such a grey dense smog and for me it is depressing. The whole area from North Italy around to Spain and further south suffers from that and it has just ruined the area in my opinion, especially in spring summer and autumn. So while you can escape the smog alittle bit in the winter months it is rainly and cold, so not worth the cost. Options would be South Italy, Puglia is ok in winter but not all that much warmer. Olhao, Portugal is very good in winter as a 'get away' and there are affordable winter rents in high end flats. Rarely need the heater! Best wishes for holidays.

Moses2013

You can check live air quality online. North Italy always has worse air due to industry there and of course the larger cities, but not everywhere has smog.

dmu

Couldn't have put it better! The OP is hardly likely to rent somewhere in the Quartiers Nord.... (if they choose Marseille, that is.)
(I've been to MRS quite often, in all seasons except for the summer, and have never noticed any "grey dense smog" there. Nor in the Hérault, Pyrénées Orientales, or the Var when I used to visit inlaws......)

Annetje

I was wondering about that, having lived in the Var for 20 years.
I never really noticed ...

Moses2013

It seems the OP has now shifted to Portugal anyway. That seems like a very long drive down to Algarve and probably better off splitting time between France, Spain and Portugal for a few weeks. These days you never know with weather anyway, it's still going to be sunnier and milder than the UK though. As long as you stick to med coast, I wouldn't be worried. Just dont expect non stop heat and sun, but even in Marseille and surroundings you can expect it to be sunny half the time.

Nand

We have traveled a lot along that coastline and truly I have never seen a clear horizon or what is a clear blue sky from South France over into Italy before Covid for 12 years. I'm sure it is subjective though, so if you are coming from London it would seem like fresh air, or, if like me you are coming from a lighter urban city along the Atlantic the smog burns the nose and throat everywhere around the more populated Mediterranean Sea. The Ozone peaks in the summer everywhere in Europe during summer. I personally find it is worse on the Mediterranean. To each his/her own of course! I'm not a beach person any more, so maybe that is also pertinant to the discussion. It is many times a matter of priorities for people. I'd rather pay less and have clean air than pay more for the more popular glamorous areas. Just my preference.

harveyvibes

Thanks all for all the information, its been great. As a result I think I have transferred my research to Portugal though. Ordinarily a long drive but from Santander ferry terminal not so much, 8-9 hours gets to Algarve or Lisbon and looking at historic weather graphs much better temperatures. Thanks again.

Nand

It is really sunny in Olhao, winter and summer. Much sunnier than the northin portugal, spain or france. We arrived in late January and we turned the air conditioner to heating for the first two nights before we realized we didn't even need it. We were in a good modern building of flats though with triple glazed windows and good thick walls. I think it is one of the warmer wintering places in Eu. We drove from Abbruzzo, Italy to Olhao and that was interesting and a sort of holiday of its own. Staying a short time along the Nice, Savona, area on the way down. There are wonderful places through Spain to see just for a day also on the way, not a wasted trip by any means!

Moses2013

It all depends on exact location really and every year is different, weather patterns are changing anyway. I haven't looked at historical data on IPMA for Olhao but if you look to Almeria in Spain, even in winter it is mostly sunny. Personally I think it's quite depressing down there when all you see is dust and sand, so wouldn't be for me anymore. On new years day it was even 25c in Santander (North of Spain) this year.
I can only comment on where we have our place and less smog there and have also travelled around Roses to Cerbère in France and air seemed fine. I do agree that air quality is often ignored and since I live on the West coast of Ireland, I do realise how bad the air is in larger cities.