Narrowing it down
How we chose a city in France
Happy New Year, everyone!
We are feeling particularly fortunate this year and my resolution is to never take my opportunities for granted and to share my access with as many people as possible.
Last week we told you how we chose France as our retirement destination. Today we’re going to talk about how we chose the city, Montpellier. Once we’d decided to retire in France, I once again used my brilliant system of Googling "Best city retire France." Three cities were consistently on the top ten list of every website I visited: Lyon, Bordeaux, and Montpellier.
Lyon was the place that first caught my eye, primarily because it is considered to be the "gastronomic center of Europe." I mean, who wouldn’t want to live there? Lyon is the third-largest city in France after Paris and Marseille. On Roberto’s recommendation, I began reading Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training written by the journalist Bill Buford who moved to Lyon to study with the famous chef Paul Bocuse. Both the book and the city are very charming.
I discovered this handy little site numbeo.com which compares the cost of living in various cities to the cost of your current town.
Lyon has a slightly more expensive cost of living than Austin, but the prices of real estate and rent are significantly lower.
Bordeaux is also a wonderful option. It is the sixth largest city in France, with nearly a million people. 91.7% of Bordeaux residents identify as citizens of France, with only 8.3% of the population classified as immigrants. It’s the wine capital of the world. We are not huge wine drinkers (I know, quelle catastrophe), but I am a migraine person and each glass is a role of the dice for me. With wine being such a huge part of Bordeaux life, I would feel a bit left out there, and the city felt a little bigger than what we wanted. But it is cheaper than Lyon and could be a fabulous city for many of you.
Around this time I texted old friends who live in Brussels to ask if they’d ever visited Lyon. I told them we were on a search for a retirement city. Turns out, they were on the same search!
(Roberto is making me tell you that he is deeply troubled about the Vermont spelling of Montpellier in the above conversation.)
The text exchange sent me into a deep dive into Montpellier research. I found images like these:
Place de la Comédie
Cathédral Saint-Pierre
Le Jardin des Plantes de Montpellier
It looked stunning and we were very intrigued. Expatra.com told us a lot more:
Home of the Faculté de Médecine, the oldest, still-active medical school in Europe with notable alumni such as Nostradamus and François Rabelais. The middle picture, above, is of the Cathédral Saint-Pierre that is (literally) attached to the medical school
Best Emerging Culture City of the Year award, nominated 2017
Montpellier has the largest pedestrian area in Europe, making it a great city for walkers
Winding streets full of family-run bakeries, boutique clothing shops, open-air markets, and a fair few cafes and restaurants
Home to the oldest botanical garden in France, Le Jardin des Plantes de Montpellier
Host of Cinèmed, the second-largest film festival in France behind Cannes
Most efficient tourist office in France
Local airport and TGV (train) station, both with service to Paris
As in the US, one can also look up how a region voted. Montpellier supported Macron and not the far right candidate Le Pen (important to consider).
Out of the three cities, Montpellier has the cheapest cost of living (11.16% less expensive than Austin!) It is three hours from Paris and Barcelona by train, fifteen minutes from the sea, and one hour from the mountains. We began looking at apartments online and as soon as we saw some that were within our budget, we decided this city just might be the one.
In May, we booked a trip for November 2022 so we could check things out for ourselves. We promised each other total honesty (just as we do with clothing choices and broccoli stuck in teeth); if either of us wasn’t in love, then we would keep looking until we found a city we both adored (even if it was in another country). Our trip was five months away, and I felt like a kid in July who was already desperate for her Christmas present. All I wanted to do was get to Montpellier and find out if it was everything we hoped.
How could we fill the time? By looking at real estate of course! Next we’ll talk about how the French list their apartments (which is très bizarre) and which things on your wish list have to go out the window.
Jusqu’à la prochaine fois (until next time)
Carolyn & Roberto
Hi Carolyn, my sister Shana Gold shared this post with me. My husband and I are also Austinites, and have been considering a move to France as well! In August, we checked out Southern France, since we hadn't been there yet, and loved it. I'm digging your research approach and appreciate you sharing them with all of us.
Really enjoying these posts, Carolyn!