Senior citizen ex-pats around Toulouse area?

[Boudicca]

I know there are a lot of working age ex-pats in the area due to Blagnac but I was wondering whether there are many retired ex-pats in the area?

I’m asking because there is a strong chance I’ll be returning to the region with my French husband after 13 years in the UK. However this time we’ll be bringing my mother with us as she lives with us now and has nobody else. This isn’t a problem at all as we all get on really well, but unlike us she isn’t bilingual. I do worry a bit because she is VERY active and sociable for her age. She’ll certainly have a go with French and is up for the adventure but I’m hoping she’ll make some ex-pat friends too so that she can have a really good natter now and again.

Lisa

[Gardengirl]

There might be an AVF (Acceuil Villes Francaises) group in the area. The purpose is to help new residents to settle in, get to know the area, and they have activities and clubs which are held in French. As well as getting to know a lot of French people, we've also met some people from UK and Holland who we sometimes see outside meetings - over coffee etc, and these are mostly retired. Not all have good language skills, but there are plenty of people who help them, and there are beginners' French groups.

Good luck with the move, and especially with helping your mother to settle in. We have friends who moved over a few years ago, when his mother was 90+; she was very keen to move with them, and enjoyed herself hugely. She had a self-contained 'flat' in the house, with level access to the garden and a shared lounge and kitchen. She moved back to UK 3 or 4 years ago, to a care home near her grandchildren and great grandchildren, and again has settled in very well. She's now 103!  [:)]

[Boudicca]

Oh wow my mum's only a young 77!

I'm sure I'm worrying for nothing and knowing her after 6 months she'll have a better social life than us! ;o)