No. of Recommendations: 9
I'll be brief...Languedoc, France
1 . Healthcare,, excellent and for residents very cheap. 1 year private insurance, then state systeem . backdated to entry into state system.
2. weather. all 4 seasosn, rarely snows except on the hills/plateau/pyrenees.. temperate, dry hot summers. get all 3 seasons.
3. food . quality and price outstanding. leading edge of bio food and wine is in the Herault area. Unlike others (s) i do take advantage of this :-)
4, social. Lots of associations, lots of expats from all over US/Can?europe. anglophone activities common for thos e who want/need.
5. Culture. music art festivals abound ! galleries and museums are good to very good. history is all around and under your feet. They just archeologically found the bas eof the original chateu in my town from the 9th Century.
6. Living space. I bought. I wanted a garden, and walkability to town centre (4 minutes). It is hard to find long term rentals in France , and virtually impossible if you are older as tenants rights are extremely strong. Pricing is all ove rthe map depending where you go, from extremely reasonable or even cheap, to quite expensive.
7. Transport links. bus services coincide with schools in rural areas,but the train system is pretty good. Some cities have good metro's outside Paris eg, Monpellier, taxi's cst an arm and a lge compared to USA and in more rural areas hard to find as the state health system pays for trips to hospitals , so they are always booked well in advance. lots of airports , but short haul in France is being discouraged in favor of train, due to environmental concerns.
overall quality of life is excellent , especially where I am the food , wine and seafood is outstanding and we are seeing more and more americans in the languedoc along the coastal region from Montpellier to Perpignan. The French in this area are friendly, happy, and outgoing. If you adapt you are very welcome . No need to stay in an anglophone bubble. its kind of like a slow rolling party...
cheers, Hummingbird.
Mary
