How to Decide Where to Live in France with Adrian Leeds

There are a lot of places in France to love and it's easy to view them from rose-colored glasses. Moving-to-France and property expert Adrian Leeds will talk about all those wonderful villages, towns, cities, regions, etc., but with the practical aspects in mind that will help you make the best decisions.

[Mateo-etwl]

I lived in strasbourg and paris as a student, late 90s. Recently i returned for a few weeks each at alliance schools in bordeaux, toulouse, Montpellier, antibes.
Don't even bother with the alliance in the US. Overpriced and a waste of time. AF classes in france cost less than a third the price, and you can do a homestay with meals for $35/day. It's an incredible deal. You could use that time to explore regions you're interested in.

[terryhutchings]

I am only a few months away from leaving the US. I am commiting to living one year in France and go from there. So happy to have found this video. Love Ms. Leeds!

[ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Very interesting observation by Adrian saying Americans are culturally closer to the French than the British. Always love that Adrian has definite opinions.

[fp]

22 years in France as French never back, Vive la France !!!

[j-loosenfout]

Hello Friends,
The French love *Bretagne, * I believe it's not for nothing. And Tourists (Americans un particular) always think *Paris, Nice, Strasbourg, Aix-en-Provence.* But they don't know the Westside of the country: Occitanie (you have mountains, sea and the Spain so close and the same weather as the Riviera), Pays Basque (surf), Bretagne which are beautiful too and less expansive than the usual touristic area.
It doesn't seem essential to me to have an international airport nearby, even if it's a plus, it's not an obligation.
If you settle in France, in general, it's not to return to the USA every month.
Traveling through Europe, even if it's not as expensive as in the USA, it still represents a cost.
It's therefore not an activity you will do every month if you aren't particularly rich.
My advice: start by discovering France to begin with. There's plenty to do and see.
France isn't the USA. It's much smaller (the size of Texas) but with huge cultural disparity from region to region. Nothing prevents you from changing places when you have found your happiness.
Peace, people. ☮😉

[daniahjean-francois]

So appropriate, i took notes. My only thought is consider a segment for a single woman in 50s- 60s moving to France- all i shoud know.❤

[gotya]

I've listened to the presentation approximately 10 times day dreaming about moving to Paris. I still have little ones and I will need to convince the wife.

[KCRReads]

I can't wait to leave the car behind and never have one again. When we were in London a few months ago we lived across from Eustace station. It was so great to the have the bus on train right there. I'm looking forward to mass transit. So much great info Adrian! TY!

[hikingwithsquirrel]

I am relocating to Europe this year and although am nearly certain to move to Spain, have always considered France to be also a place I feel at home and consider a an excellent place to live. The language factor is important and I speak Castillian, so no difficulty in Spain, except I will probably settle in Catalunya and need to learn Catalan. However, I also love the French region of Occitaine and would consider Perpignan, Toulouse or one of the smaller towns with a train station to be perfect. I spent some weeks in Occitaine and fell in love with the nature and culture of the place. I liked your approach to evaluate what it is your're looking for, such as car or no car, urban, suburban, rural, pace of life, access to medical, etc. to mirror the approach I have taken. I decided the key thing is to be walking distance to everything I need on a daily or weekly basis, access to a train station, an airport within 2 hrs using public transport, access to nature, public markets, something interesting going on locally. Unlike your approach, the presence or absence of other Americans is a neutral and wouldn't affect my choice since I fully intend to learn French or Catalan as needed. I found your presentation to be excellent overall, only I suggest that for people like me who love both sea and mountains, Occitaine is also a contender. I will be in touch regarding consultation since the potential is there to relocate just north of the Pyrenees instead of just south.

[carolynlarke]

I've been planning to move to France for retirement for 7 years.. I've had an offer accepted on a lovely village house in the Quillan area. It's remote but the transport is available, frequent and cheap. I'm hoping for a move date in the summer or fall of next year. Lots of moving parts but I love a challenge.

[StephanieHughesDesign]

Cette etait une excellent presentation. Tres utile et aide. Madame Leeds possède d'excellentes aptitudes et connaitre. Merci beaucoup, Madame Leeds et FDAFUSA. Chapeau !

[melvinharrison-kmwq]

Adrian - Thank you for your wonderful videos on moving to France. They were professional and informative. FYI - I have always enjoyed your HGTV House Hunters International episodes. As former US Foreign Service Officers, my wife and I think you have nailed on the head the crucial points about relocation to France. Mel Harrison

[JDGxyz-tc]

Thank you so much for this!! She is amazing.

[WASA]

I received a Diplome Superieur from the AF on Blvd Raspail in Paris in 1974. Those were wonderful, fun times!

[philippeessonne]

Quel exposé ! vraiment complet. Attention vivre sue "la côte d'Azur" c'est aussi cher que la région de Paris et les villes du bord de mer sont très chères ! Et le Mistral c'est en Provence pas sur la côte Atlantique 😁

[TheMaartian]

Bravo! This is the first time I've seen the information on which U.S. States have reciprocal agreements for driver's licenses. I wish I'd known this 3 years ago when I moved from Arizona to Arcachon, France. Getting a French Permis B has been a nightmare. I spent two months in Illinois working on my visa app and would have gotten an Illinois license if I'd known.

[michelleglidingswan]

I really enjoyed this educational video. Thank you! The Q&A was so fun and informative and I especially enjoyed this.

[rangamurali]

Very informative and helpful, and lively w the hosts and of course w Ms Adrian Leeds! Fantastic!!

[henriettab]

Bonjour! Thank you so much for posting this, I had signed up to zoom in but had to work. Great information and lots to think about!

[richardcadena]

howdy, i recently watched your video: "top retirement towns in France" and came to the conclusion that your list skewed to retirement for the richer Americans who can afford to live in the 6 towns/areas that you mentioned.... i was hoping to see Montpellier on your list of places for Americans to retire as its a nice sized city with what seems to be good local and outgoing transportation links and medical institutions and lots of restaurants, points of interests and great shopping... AND its less expensive than the places in your list. i plan to rent a place and enjoy my walks, plenty of great food and lots of window shopping/people watching and then there is the beach....whats not to like??!