Paris is out, What’s In?

With living in Paris out, buying in the south in, Russ and I were a bit lost. We knew we wanted to live in the south of France but where and did our requirements still apply? How did we figure this out?

For a year before the trip that turned our plans upside down, most nights Russ and I watched YouTube videos of Parisian apartments, critiquing them, discussing if they fit our needs and our budget. YouTube “walk about” videos of Paris arrondissements equally consumed us, as we attempted to master the possibilities of where we wanted to live. Not only had our future plans taken a U turn, our nightly routine no longer made sense.

Our Requirements

Process saved us. Although in essence it was like starting over, we had the basic building blocks in place. Russ and I both found it helpful to review our requirements:

1. No Car. An urban environment where public transportation ruled and owning a car was not necessary.
2. Health Care. Accessibility, affordability and quality.
3. Transportation Access. High speed rail and a large enough airport to connect to Europe’s network of low-cost airlines.
4. Activities. A town big enough to have some culture, sporting events, plenty of entertainment to keep us occupied while at home. We can’t travel all the time!

More Requirements

Drilling down further, with some southern France add-ons:

1. Climate. Close enough to the Mediterranean Sea to benefit from its moderating influence.
2. Dog-friendly Greenspace. Zoey and Coco will adjust to being urban apartment dogs but a city that has parks where they can sniff some grass is key. And as user friendly as the French are towards dogs, the one arena where they fail miserably is parks. At least in Paris, many forbid dogs.
3. Expats. English speaking, and in a perfect world some fellow Americans, to find our community.

And Even More Requirements

Getting even more granular, specifying apartment necessities:

1. Terrace. Space for both humans and dogs alike to enjoy outdoors for most of the year.
2. Washer/dryer. At minimum a combo, in the Laundry Fairy’s a/k/a Leslie’s heart of hearts, the ability to install an actual separate dryer. This is a rarity in France.
3. Air conditioning/climatisation. It gets hot in the south and although the French seem to abhor the concept, even they are starting to concede it’s necessary.
4. Groceries and the things of life. A supermarket in walking distance or easily accessible through public transportation. Same with doctors, veterinarian, hair salon, barber, gym, and all the other essentials to survive.

Getting Out the Map

As far as process, our approach was old school. We literally got out a map and started scouring the French Mediterranean coast for appropriate cities. It turns out, there really aren’t a plethora of options given our criteria. Once you rule out Nice and its environs, the pickings are slim. Right or wrong, Marseille’s reputation for immigration issues and tough neighborhoods made it a nonstarter. We thought we had found a hidden gem in Toulon until we corresponded with a long-time resident who assured us an English-speaking expat community didn’t exist there.

Aix was in our back pocket but both Russ and I feared it was too small to meet the Activities and No Car requirements. It was far enough inland that summers were hot. And as I stalked real estate online, it was at the top end of what we were willing to pay.

Montpellier. Where did it fit? No car ✓. Health Care – home of one of Europe’s oldest medical schools, ✓. Activities – Opera, Dance festival, Rugby, Football (soccer), and museums ✓.  Climate ✓. Greenspace – plenty of parks and internet sleuthing revealed some dog friendliness ✓. Expats – a vibrant group existed on Facebook ✓.  On paper, Montpellier looked like home ✓.

Hedging our bets, we added Toulouse and Pau as prospective cities. I had listened to a Podcast on Toulouse, and Russ and I watched some YouTube videos. The Pink City seemed beautiful and although not our geographic ideal, well worth the visit. Pau made the list due to an enthusiastic revue by a couple on Facebook who chose it over Montpellier and other cities as their future retirement home. Pau-Toulouse-Montpellier. Time to plan the next European Adventure.