We very nearly made the same mistake. We were looking at Cyprus around the Ayia Napa/Paralimni area for years. We went on frequent holidays, ie, 3 months at a time, but in the end, like yourself we came to the conclusion that it was getting to be a "concrete jungle" and characterless. Incidently, my father was a Greek Cypriot so I suppose that was our initial attraction - together with the other advanatages, ie, language, driving, etc, but that is not everything!! We went to France in April of this year, for the first time, and knew instantly that this is where we want to retire to. We have since bought a bungalow in the Charente region and will be having the final signing with the Notaire on 1 August. We have bought in a small rural village called Pouissay, which is only 8 kms from Chef Boutonne, which has everything you need, including a quaint cinema. We are aware that there are many hurdles in front of us, but we will just take a running jump over them. We are going to need lots of help - we do not speak French - only what we learnt at school and that was 50 years ago![:D]
