The 'Real' France

[BritinBretagne]

Most people who live in rural locations have easy access to large towns but enjoy the advantages of rural living. You have a point of view but just because you have made one choice it doesn't mean that any of the people who have made different choices are wrong. Give your point of view, that's fine but please refrain from arrogantly insisting that you, and only you know best. You don't.

[alittlebitfrench]

Actually, it is not really my opinion. It is a view that has been drummed into me over the last 25 years by family members as they move and retire. All of which have grown up in 'very' rural France I might add. I used to have your opinion in fact but I have come to conclusion that they are right. I get it now.

@ ET

It is not black and white. I have just watched too much star trek over the years. LOL.

A question. Why do Americans move to the more populous/popular locations in France or locations that are high in demand by the French ? There was a an article on this I read some time ago.

Amboise is a good example. Plenty of Americans move to Amboise yet the British move 30 kms away in the middle of nowhere. One has amenities and rural countryside. The other has really just countryside. Why ?

[Alan Zoff]

To avoid the Americans? :)

[ebaynut]

ET wrote,

they range from scary no-go areas like Brixton in the 80s where stabblings and muggings are an everyday event and literally the police dare not go without their riot gear on,

Could you please expand on your comment, what on earth happened in Brixton which was once a very well thought of and affluent area before the late 1940's?

Who, pray, are the people who made it such a 'scary no go area' ??

[EuroTrash]

A better question might be, why do so many British move to the middle of nowhere in France? The answer to that I think is that because if you are British and you live in the UK and you are sick of feeling crowded and want to move to the middle of nowhere, it's very hard to do that in the UK. There are very few middles of nowhere left and there will be even fewer if TM forces every council to build lots of new houses. So you move to the middle of nowhere in France because that is the easiest and most affordable way to escape the madding UK crowds. You don't move to a town in France because the point is to not live in a town. If France had no countryside you would not move there.

Whereas if you live in the US and you want to move to the middle of nowhere, you just pick a bit of the boondocks and move there, you don't go to all the trouble of applying for a visa and moving your life half way round the world to do it. You only do that if you really want to live in France to be amongst French people and French culture, and if that's the case you are going to want to live in a town with other people around you.

[EuroTrash]

@ ebaynut - Where were you in the 80s ???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Brixton_riot

and

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/3631579.stm

explains. The "Frontline", as Railton Road used to be known, was truly scary if you were white. After the big riot that started it all off, violence kept breaking out on and off for most of the summer and after that it simmered down but it was pretty much a wasteland, all the shops and the windows in the houses were boarded up. I imagine it has all been redeveloped since but I haven't been back there for decades.

I was working as a minicab driver in the area at the time and until it was all over our firm stopped sending cabs to the Frontline after dark.

PS I'm not a racist in that sense, I worked with black colleagues and I was as happy to pick up black passengers as white passengers or any other colour, but the fact is that it turned into a race issue and when you are one white person surrounded by dozens of blacks with a grievance against whites, even if you know some of them, it is scary.

[alittlebitfrench]

I'm not so sure ET.

I think it is budget and not understanding France. People are seduced into what money can buy you in the middle of nowhere. In Amboise for example, 300k will get you an ok (ish) small 3 bed (with country views). Go 30 km's to east and you can buy a mansion. Like I asked, are you getting more or less ?

I'm country bred. I'm not a townie. LOL. So I do get it. In fact, I survived rural France for that reason. I could live rural again no probs. But rural France is not rural Hampshire/Wiltshire/peak district/lake district or wherever in terms of 'mentality'.

[EuroTrash]

You don't need to understand France to know what would make you happy. You just need to understand yourself and what makes you tick. As long as it floats your boat that's all that matters, it doesn't matter one jot whether it floats the average French person's boat or not..

Why does it matter to me that I could have a bigger house for the same money if I moved west, or cheaper property tax if I moved east, or easier access to a centre commerciale if I moved north, or more sunshine if I moved south. I don't want those things, they're not my priorities. I'm content where I am with what I've got. I made the right decision for me, based on my own priorities.

Obviously some people get it wrong but that's not because they don't understand France, it's because they don't really, deep down, understand themselves.

[Patf]

Eurotrash wrote -

"Obviously some people get it wrong but that's not because they don't

understand France, it's because they don't really, deep down,

understand themselves.

"

Exactly.

There's no such thing as 'don't understand France'. France is so varied that it's different things to different types of people. (Maybe though 'don't understand the french language' is true.)

We've found a spot in the Gers where we can have a life which we both love , and need, at our age. A younger person would be bored to death.

[alittlebitfrench]

Hmmm....I'm not so sure.

When I moved to France (never been to France before that) we travelled a lot visiting different family and all the rest of it. Each time I went somewhere new it was like 'I could live here' this is the life. Countryside, nature, ski or beach. I don't want to live in a city.

Fast forward 20 + years I think, no.....I could not have lived in any of those places for a long period. It would not have worked on so many different levels. You have to be born and bred in these places to survive. Even then there will be a time when you have to move on. Which is why I think if you are moving to France think of a long term solution not a short term solution.

Those that live 30 kms outside of Amboise will have to move at some point. Quite possibly to Amboise ?? The question is, will their finances allow them to do that ? Probably not.

[EuroTrash]

"Those that live 30 kms outside of Amboise will have to move at some point "

Because...?

Not to beat about the bush - there is no French law that forbids anyone to pop their clogs in the countryside, is there?

You are right, sometimes people do end up in a place that's not ideal, because our needs change. But again not to beat about the bush: if I'm going to live part of my life in the right place and part of my life in the wrong place, I'd rather live in the right place now and worry about the rest later. Imagine someone really really wants to move to the countryside at age 50 but decides No, I'd better do what ALBF said and move to Amboise because in 25 years time I might need to move to a town. So you live in Amboise for 10 years even though it's not where you really want to be, and then your clock stops ticking and you go to meet your maker having never, ever, lived your dream. You could have had 10 really happy years but you didn't. How sad would that be.

Isn't it better to live for today, rather than spend today worrying about a future that you might or might not ever see?

It makes me a bit sad to think you spent 20 years being sensible and stifling those hopeful little yearnings that might have led to happiness, even if only temporarily.

[Alan Zoff]

It can work both ways.

A - French - friend moved from here to Bordeaux as he was approaching 70 and thought he and his wife would need somewhere warmer in winter and with more facilities. After 18 months he felt he had made a big mistake and hankered after his former village life. He even missed the cows!

As someone has said, it's horses for courses.

[woolybanana]

Nice one, Norman, you really set a hare running this time. A long thread which really says nothing much except 'horses for courses'.

[alittlebitfrench]

If anyone says 'horses for courses' on this thread again it will be LOCKED !!!!

ALBF your new mod has spoken.

Please keep it less civil please. You have been warned.

Interesting debate this. I like the 'British mentality' vs the 'French mentality' when moving in/to France.

I just want to say, I am in the British camp on this one. Not sure it is the right one mind you. This is France.

[woolybanana]

Not sure what this debate is about really, if not horses for courses!

[Chancer]

Which is why I think if you are moving to France think of a long term solution not a short term solution.

I came here for a short term solution, TBH its only the thought that I can sell up and move away, or even walk away at any time, and that time can be tomorrow should I choose that has carried me through 12 years in troudeculdemondeville, just like some of the worst but best paying jobs I have had, I was on temporary contract and the knowledge that it was not for ever, could and would end without any notice (like tomorrow) without that comforting thought that is when people become depressed and suicidal.

 

12 years ago there were loads of Brits that had come to this area for the long term, they have all gone now, nearly all returned to the UK a lot poorer for the experience and not just in monetary terms, its been an eye-opener to see what unbridled consumption of alcohol and in some cases tabac can do to once fit, healthy, bright, dynamic and active souls but at least they got away, the locals never will.

[alittlebitfrench]

So you agree with me Chancer ???

[Patf]

Even many  of the young generation from the local farmers here have decided against farming as a career, and have moved to Toulouse.

So the existing farms (cereals mainly) are growing bigger. Up to now, the extensions are rented. But who knows, eventually the small plots for the paysans, as decreed by the Napoleonic laws, will become cereal farms as large as in the UK.

[BritinBretagne]

None of my neighbours who have lived around here all their lives would consider moving to a large town to see out their days. Why would they? Their children might spread their wings in search of work but it's amazing how many of them return to be as close to home as soon as they can.

Plenty of horses around here and quite a few courses too. The girl who runs the local stables moved from central Nantes so presumably she prefers the countryside to towns despite being both young and French.

[alittlebitfrench]

How long have you lived in Bretagne...Brit in Bretagne ?

[BritinBretagne]

Full time just under seven years. Before that I spent a significant amount of time in Morzine, Le Lavandou, just north of Poitiers and Creil. I chose Bretagne because I wanted to be somewhere affordable near to the sea.

[alittlebitfrench]

My parents in law live in Nantes. Have French relatives near Mont Saint-Michel. Have travelled a bit around Bretagne but it is not somewhere I connect to. I don't know why. I prefer the East of France.

I guess it is 'horses for courses'.

[BritinBretagne]

I only go to Nantes for eye specialists although one of my cousin's children starts uni there this month so I might head there more often.

[idun]

Well, me being me, I know several french people who have moved from la campagne to towns and cities as they have got older. Their reasons have varied, but never to be near the kids.

My best french friend would love to move to a proper town, but her husband doesn't want to.

Real France, is.

How do I describe it, where all things happen. I cannot be blase about it. I am pleased I lived in a city when I first moved to France, and for me it was better to live somewhere where I learned to be sensible with french life in general. 

I also know that living en campagne does not mean the great escape from many of the bad things in life. There are plenty of burglaries, and drugs.. well, easily obtained, colleges and lycees...... yes, they are there for all who want to experiment.

So the real France, is like, I would imagine, many other countries, good bad and ugly. I have always said that, and I still believe it. Moving nulle part may make people feel secure, but me, I would still always make sure my doors were locked and be cautious of folks touting stuff.

People get notions and beliefs about where they live.........   And, I shall never forget, when AIDS was first discovered,  a bloke from Clermont Ferrand, interviewed  on the tv, and he was categoric.......... NO ONE IN CLERMONT FERRAND would ever have AIDS or HIV....  what can one say[Www].

[woolybanana]

In the case of ALBF, not horses for courses but donkeys for ditches!