I recall when you lived in NZ. You are German. So where three hours from Paris do you live? I lived in Chartres before returning to Australia. Fair to say, if I knew how bad Australia would become further down the line would have remained in France. Still looking towards Europe, but difficult to pick a place. Partner is German, speaks no French, and I basic German.
Do you enjoy France? Hit and miss with many. I guess relaxed in Europe would be Spain or similar. Looked at Albania last year, cheap to but near beach, not sure how relaxed though. Still like Greece personally .

Hi, Costa Brava in Spain is lovely it has beautiful scenery the locals say it is their version of the Peak District etc, a few friends of friends have moved to Bulgaria, by the coast they all seem to enjoy living there and it is very cheap cost of living wise. And another fiend has just moved to Turkish Cyprus and they love it and very affordable. Just a few “suggestions”. I really enjoy visiting Turkey the scenery, history and is also very affordable but not sure if I would live there permanently

Our house is about an hour by train from Bordeaux. I love France and get on well with the French. I think they are very polite, quite formal, and funny. I'm not sure if that says something weird about me! Compared to Germany, France is very relaxed.

I like Greece too but too hot for me. We briefly looked at Romania. It has beautiful nature, some really nice cities like Brasov and some parts with German heritage. But I need good and reliable healthcare and was told that in Romania it is family that takes care of you not the state. Since we don't have family there we decided that we need to look elsewhere.

We also considered language. Slavic languages are quite different and therefore more difficult to learn than French which we had in school or languages like Romanian which is related to French.

My friend is married to a guy from Kosovo. They live in Germany but travel frequently to Kosovo. Lovely people. Really warm and caring, very family oriented. Not sure if Kosovo is cheap. Also, if the husband of my friend is correct, peace might not be that stable as it seems.

The language would rule out Bulgaria. Do not think I/we could learn it to the degree I would consider necessarily for a good life in Bulgaria. I have looked at it before and the countryside is indeed very cheap to buy a house. I suspect there is a reason for that.

I agree the Costa Brava is very nice. Several locations in Spain attract. Portugal was my favourite for years, but prices have risen there over recent years. We have checked out Malta three times, after really considering it a strong possibility , liking so much after first trip there.
Never been to Turkey, but was reexamining Northern Cyprus, just the other night. But hear it is as expensive as Cyprus now, one person living there thought even more so. It does sound very laid back though.

Great to read your impressions of living in France. Quite different from Germany to be sure. Good health care is a prime consideration for us as well. My impression is as yours. Slavic languages are difficult to learn. Poland sounds attractive . Hungary , too. WE have a friend, not long married to a guy from Bosnia. She really enjoyed Bosnia and how the people are. Very different to the atomised life in Australia. Never been to Romania, but language being in the same category as French should prove nowhere as difficult as attempting a Slavic language.
My partner likes Italy. She knows it better than me. Unsure myself. Checked out England, among other countries last year. Not as bad as often made out but NHS seems to leave a lot to be desired , but more socially open than Australia. Good luck with your life in France.

Unfortunately everywhere in Spain has become extremely expensive when it comes to property and there is a lot of frustration which I can also understand. Catalonia has always been very political but first it was about overtourism, now it's all about migrants and the view across Spain seems to be changing. People no longer understand how millions are spent on the Ukraine but after the floods in Valencia people are still struggling to rebuild although help and money promised. It's probably similar in other countries and especially here in Ireland. We still have our place and project ongoing near Costa Brava but haven't been in recent months due to ageing pets. A big problem with increasing property prices also means more and more properties seems to have Okupas, at least when you look on Idealista so this is something to be aware of if outside the country for longer periods.

Interesting read on this subject...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...om-new-zealand

Although one should note that these articles can be found about every country. With globalisation and media, every individual story is made into a headline. While people in NZ say they are frustrated, the news in Germany is about more and more Germans emigrating. In the US people talk about moving to Europe while Europeans say it's no longer the Europe they once knew. In Australia young people are saying the same and salaries aren't enough to afford housing etc.
Everywhere it's doom and gloom and now people just move away from problems instead of staying and fixing them. Eventually the same problems reach every place, sooner or later.