Map Dot Quest

September 2023 couldn’t get here fast enough. Patience is not one of our family’s best virtues, and we were chomping at the bit to get back to France and apply our carefully considered requirements to finding a map dot. Montpellier was our predetermined favorite, but Pau and Toulouse were contenders in the map dot quest.

Paris: Start of it All

Taking advantage of Cincinnati’s direct flight to Paris, our adventure always starts in the City of Light. It felt good to be back at Hotel Therese and see their friendly staff. And although we now subscribed to a gentler pace to allow for absorbing the city as it came, we did have a few adventures lined up.

Haute couture company Christian Dior’s private museum La Galerie Dior was high on my list. In my 20’s, I had a summer internship for the American wing of the company in NYC and all things Dior fascinated me. And Russ? What a great husband. His approach is that although it’s women’s clothes, it’s creativity that he doesn’t possess, and he can appreciate that. I married a keeper.

During my first trip to Paris, my mom and I had the pleasure of seeing a concert in Saint-Chapelle. It was truly magical and, in my mind, the best way to see this ethereal former church. For those of you who know Russ, you realize that he likes both kinds of music, Country and Western. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons doesn’t quite fit that category but to my delight, Russ was game to go.

The evening was spectacular, not only a great showcase of Saint-Chapelle but Bertrand Cervera, the violin soloist and director of the ensemble was both an extremely talented musician and a brilliant showman. He spoke in French, it was in France after all, and I was most pleased that my language lessons paid off because I followed most of what he said.

Pau: First on the Map Dot Quest

Pau was the first of our southern cities to explore. One of my “tests” for a city’s health is the quality of it’s retail, in particular the local Galleries Lafayette. Pau failed. Miserably. It looked like a store in a dying midwestern mall, not a thriving French community.

I can see Pau’s attraction for those who want a more countryside-like environment, access to rigorous hiking trails and a quiet lifestyle. Just not a match for Leslie and Russ.

Toulouse: World Cup Rugby and Map Dot Contender

On to Toulouse. The Pink City turned out to be as beautiful in person as in the YouTube videos featuring it. And we had a secret weapon for Toulouse: my high school friend Kelly. Kelly and I reconnected at our 40^th reunion where Russ and I had the pleasure of also meeting her husband, Joel. Joel frequented Toulouse for business as did his colleagues and was able to hook us up with a list of recommendations. From hotels, restaurants or generally what to do and see, we were set!

Toulouse was hopping during our visit. France hosted the 2023 World Cup Rugby and Toulouse hosted the Japan-Chile game. The whole town was rugby mad, and we were no different. Russ and I watched matches on TV, googling the rules because we had absolutely no clue as to what was happening.

Our World Cup brush with fame occurred in the hotel elevator. Russ noticed that the young man riding with us had official credentials and chatted him up. He turned out to be the video referee for the Toulouse game. I snapped his photo on the television screen at a later game.

Elyse Rivin, Tour Guide Extroardinaire

Toulouse restaurants were delightful, shopping great and the city started to charm us. Following our usual course of action, I had lined up a tour with a local guide. Not just any guide, a guide extraordinaire. I learned of Elyse Rivin through her appearances on the Join Us In France Travel Podcast and felt extremely lucky to engage her services. She did not disappoint.

Elyse’s tour pinpointed a small area of apartments ringing some spectacular parks in Toulouse. Russ and I conquered the metro system on our own to return to the area and check it out. Lush, green and checking off most of our requirements, Montpellier had a stiff competitor.

Montpellier: Map Dot Favorite Frontrunner?

We were so sure that Montpellier would be our map dot pick that of our 3 ½ weeks in France we allotted 11 days in the city to allow us time to do a deep dive. Russ left Toulouse wanting to stay there forever; I was still hoping for Montpellier. Although the area we found in Toulouse had been lovely, it was small compared to the size of the city. Odds of finding an apartment in that exact location seemed stacked against us and the fact that Toulouse had true winters didn’t really appeal.

Our third day in Montpellier introduced us in person to Ann-Lii of Renestance . Renestance is based in Montpellier and their tagline is French Lifestyle Dream. As a company, they specialize in helping English speaking expats relocate to France. We had done several zoom consultations with them in regard to Montpellier and found them extremely helpful. Ann-Lii would take us on a tour of Montpellier neighborhoods that fit our relocation requirements.

Ann-Lii was amazing. She completely digested our criteria, from dogs that need greenspace to humans who want to age in place with the things of life easily accessible by walking or public transportation. She taught us how to use Montpellier’s tram system. And most importantly, Ann-Lii led us to Port Marianne.

Port Marianne is a neighborhood of Montpellier, full of parks to walk puppers and humans alike and fun modern housing with all the amenities necessary to the things of life. I was now on Team Montpellier and a bit concerned because Russ was still longing for Toulouse. The next day would help my cause.

Coffee Clutch

Through Facebook, I connected with Americans in Montpellier and discovered that they met for coffee every Thursday. They graciously invited Russ and I to join them for the festivities. As luck would have it, the true driving force behind the coffees is Dennelle Nizoux, founder of Renestance, so we were able to meet her and learn more about Montpellier and her company. And Ann-Lii made a point of attending and introducing us around, many of whom turned out to be products of successful Renestance collaborations.

This is a thriving group of like-minded folks. Vibrant people who choose to make Montpellier their home. A place to carve out one’s community. I was in heaven.

Map Dot Found?

Up until then, Russ described the situation in terms of marbles. Out of his 100 marbles, 60 would go to Toulouse and 40 to Montpellier. He surmised that out of my 100, 90 would go to Montpellier, 10 to Toulouse. But when you added up total marbles, Montpellier won. I didn’t want to “win” – I wanted to agree.

After coffee, Russ and I ventured on our own back to Port Marianne via the tram system. We found more of the things of life, including Picard. Picard is a frozen food store, reminiscent of Trader Joe’s, but solely frozen. I won wife of the year points for this discovery. Russ is our cook and he approved.

We also found a veterinarian and ate at a lovely café. Peeked in the window of the local gym and wandered around the area housing. Montpellier was gaining ground.

Wowza

Little did I know how much. We continued to enjoy exploring the city, seeing the old town, venturing to nearby Sete and in general settled in. The night before the next Thursday coffee, Russ sprung a big one on me.

“I don’t think we should start out by renting. I think we should go straight to buying new construction in Port Marianne.”

Wowza. Two thoughts. Team Montpellier rocks. And we are batsh$#% out of our minds and I love it!

Why buy our Map Dot?

Renting in France is hard. It’s a totally different animal than in the United States. Long story short, French tenants receive a lot of protection under the law so it’s hard to evict them, making prospective landlords wary. Foreigners without a French income, even if they have money in the bank, simply aren’t attractive tenants. It can be done, particularly with the help of an agency such as Renestance, but not as simple as in the States.

Russ may or may not have been thinking of the struggles of renting, but he definitely was thinking of the necessity to have an address for the visa process and how buying would simplify everything.  We took a deep breath and trotted off the next day to tell Dennelle at the coffee and find out our next steps.

More shock. New construction apartments start selling 3 years in advance of occupation. It’s 2023 and we’re aiming for 2026. Oops. The time is now and Dennelle, Russ and I agreed to correspond upon our return to the States and get the ball rolling. For now, back to Paris then home.