Moving to France

donalh087

Hi, It may be possible for our family to take a year off and we are thinking of moving to France for a year. We have 3 kids, 5, 7 and 9.

We would obviously like to go to a nice area but where?
Wish list - not too touristy, near vinyards, near mountains, close-ish to airport, small town or large village. The plan is to rent a house for a year.

Ideas?

shrapnel222

that's a fairly large part of France you'd be looking at.

2 choices come to mind is montpellier and to the east, staying south of Grenoble for the Alps

or the mediterranean side of the south west, close to the pyrenees, like carcassonne, perpignan, toulouse etc.

much better value in the south west, and overall much friendlier people, but then again, places around nimes avignon, arles etc, really are spectacular.

try and refine your choices if possible

BTW all the south of France is "touristy" in the summer

donalh087

Yes shrapnel, the South West is the area we are most looking at. Montpellier is lovely but it is very much a city. What I am really looking for I suppose is a small town within a 40 minute drive of a city like Montpellier or Toulouse or such. Somewhere you have been to or passed through and for whatever reason, just really liked.

shrapnel222

that's a tough one. i love carcassonne (but wouldn't want to live in the city itself). if i were you, i'd look at the type of house you want in the general vicinity and go from there. i actually remember loads of places in the lot et garonne (slightly more northwest than there) and being blown away by the villages and towns we went through, but couldn't name a single one.

Any chance you can go for a 2-3 day visit in the region? no doubt you'll fall in love with a few villages along the way.

CelticRambler

Are you still looking, Donalh? Bringing children into the mix adds an extra complexity, but it's still do-able. Would I live any further south than where I am? No. Too hot, too cold, too windy, too stormy, too touristy, too busy, too expensive (unless you opt for the Aveyron). The "where" question can only really be answered after you've figured out the main "why" reasons.

donalh087

Still looking. CR. Seems like sage advice. Where are you?

CelticRambler

Almost exactly half way between Toulouse and Paris. Literally 150m to the end of my lane, turn left and it's a straight all the way to Toulouse, turn right and the road ends at Notre Dame! It's the old Royal Route from Barcelona to Paris, now the A/N/D9-20.

When it comes to making up your list of priorities, the two most important things to remember are
(a) France is not really a single, united country, so if the image you have of it is based on one specific region, you need to figure out which one! but chances are it's an amalgam of different stereotypes and you won't find anywhere that matches them all; and
(b) the rhythm of life here is very regimented and the classic "two hour lunch break" is nothing compared to the influence of le calendrier scolaire. With children the age of yours, you won't be able to escape that, even if you home-school them. Everything is organised around the school holidays (note: the holidays, not the term! ) so services and facilities will appear or disappear overnight with no warning - because "everyone" knows that that's the way it's done.

If you've got any specific questions, fire away.

MyNanoh

That's crazy things in France are made around the school calendar...
I'm french and I've just realised that when I was in a different country!