French Revolution: What and Where in Retirement?

Two trips, multiple seminars, and countless YouTube videos into pondering retirement in Europe greatly refined our thought process. A vision of our future existed:

1. An urban environment where public transportation ruled and owning a car was not necessary;
2. Health care: accessibility, affordability and quality;
3. Adventures to be had in the city of choice;
4. Ease of access to other European destinations.

Barcelona could have fit in the above, but another factor helped my campaign for a French Revolution. After our last visit, part of the opposition government in the city was thrown in jail. Barcelona did not want to be in Spain. While we will always enjoy visiting this beautiful city, living somewhere with constantly shifting sand didn’t seem ideal.

Pondering Retirement: The Paris Plan

Our plan gradually took shape. Paris spoke to us and checked off the boxes. Exorbitantly expensive to buy, we did enough research to realize we could rent. Renting for 3-5 years then moving to the South of France for warmer weather and a slower pace for our later retirement years sounded ideal. One problem: neither of us had ever been to the South of France so an exploration trip seemed in order.

Our itinerary worked out as Paris –  Aix-en-Provence – Nice – Paris. And this time, a much slower pace with emphasis of soaking up everyday life. We still got around, mind you, with one of my favorites being the Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of the City of Paris.

Paris Part I

Staying again at our now favorite location, Hotel Therese, we let ourselves enjoy the café lifestyle at Le Nemours on Place Collette. Hours of people watching always entertained us, and if you were lucky you caught a live band and Parisians dancing on the square. Nearby, Les Colonnes de Buren, an art installation of funky black and white columns of various sizes, provided a snapshot moment.

To get a better picture of the city, we branched out on different dining options and made reservations before even setting foot in France. Café Marly was a great success with it’s view of the palatial Louvre museum. While I enjoyed my duck immensely at La Regalade 1ER, Russ wound up with room temperature pea puree that left him cold. Street food and cafés on Rue Montorgueil charmed us.

Aix-en-Provence

And then off to Aix-en-Provence, City of Fountains, and possible second stage retirement location. By now, we were firm believers in the helpfulness of a private guide and Dominique expertly toured us through Aix, pointing out apartment locations, markets and other helpful things necessary for everyday life.

Russ and I were both charmed. It didn’t hurt that we won a jackpot at the casino! Aix was delightful, full of energy and a place we could envision retiring. And see ourselves purchasing an apartment.

More Pondering Retirement: A New Plan

This was a new wrinkle to the game. We were discovering that in the South of France purchasing a tiny apartment that fit our needs was possible. And that appealed a great deal to Russ and me. Particularly me. I had done enough research to realize finding apartments in France was hard and the last thing I wanted to do was be 85 years old and looking for an apartment to rent.

The catch was it would be infinitely more affordable if we shelved the live in Paris plan. Although we could afford the rent in Paris, there’s no escape from the fact that living there is more expensive than in the south. Rolling the money that we would expend in Paris into a purchase clicked for us. And Russ liked the idea that we would only have to start over once, not settle into Paris only to rip up our lives again to move south. Made sense to me.

Nice

Nice was next and nothing could beat the fabulous view of the Mediterranean Sea from our balcony at the Hotel Suisse. The Nice Vieux Ville (old town) was enjoyable as was the Cours Saleya Market. But the hordes of bachelorette parties with inflatable phalluses reminded us more of the Las Vegas strip X Hilton Head at its worst.

Trying to give Nice a fair shot, Russ and I haunted the window displays of immobiliers (real estate agencies). Our take was where we could afford to buy, we wouldn’t want to live; and where we would want to live, we couldn’t afford to buy. Nice was just not a retirement match for us.

Adrian Leeds

Prior to this trip, we had discovered Adrian Leeds of House Hunters International fame. Adrian’s company focuses on helping people like us relocate to France. If you’re on a similar journey, she provides invaluable information through her website , YouTube seminars, and newsletters.

Russ and I won the opportunity to consult with Adrian at an Alliance Française auction. Our appointment was Week 3 trip, when we returned to Paris. We prepared a list of questions about which arrondissements would be best for our needs and multitudes of questions pertaining to Paris.

Only now we were determined to bypass Paris and go south. And not Nice. Nice and Paris are Adrian’s wheelhouse. So Adrian probably thought we were the most unprepared couple ever to consult with her. Despite this, Adrian was able to reassure us that we weren’t foolish, that France was a great choice for us, and was the consummate professional.

Paris Part II

We had a lovely time in our remaining days in Paris. Thierry, our guide from our previous trip, gave us an even more spectacular tour including Emily in Paris sights. At Marches des Enfants Rouges, Paris’s oldest food market, Russ and I ate some fabulous Thai food.

We saw the Pantheon. The Luxembourg Gardens amazed us. La Rotisserie D’Argent provided scenic views and even better food.

A particularly special encounter came about thanks to Russ’s research. Russ is our cook, and an excellent one at that. He discovered French pastry chef Cedric Grolet who makes fantastic creations. We waited patiently for 45 minutes, the line consisting mainly of natives not tourists. Our reward was the most wonderful raspberry and key lime confections.

And then it was time to go home with much to contemplate. Paris was out of contention; time to drill down more on requirements and discover that map dot in the South of France.