Menton - does anyone on the Survive France Network reside here and is the sea air good for breathing problems?

Hi there, it's me again. I am still in the UK after a week in Languedoc by the sea this summer. Nice place but teeming with tourists...but that is the same everywhere I suppose. I am a tourist too, after all and it would be difficult to get to these places if it weren't for the tourists... I am still dreaming of being in France by the sea to help with my breathing (Bronchiectasis) and have been doing some research on the nice town of Menton in the south. Does anyone in the SF Network live in this lovely area (is it really for the rich and famous only!) I know the Cote d'Azur quite well but have never been to Menton and wondered what the weather would be like in late September and early October. Is it generally milder in the winter months than the UK? I haven't given up hope of achieving my dream of living in France (or at least having a place to go there to stay for a few weeks to help my lungs).I would love to hear from folk who have made a good life for themselves there. Jackie

Hi Jacqueline, I wasn't really recommending the Cotswolds per se,but that is where she lives and will not be moving.

It is really the fact that she seems to be on top of the bronchiectasis and does not need to live near anywhere by the sea, or particularly dry in winter.

I have problems with chemicals and as Valerie mentioned, that does include traffic fumes and also cigarettes and strong perfume. More people, more pollution!

Hi Jacqueline, I don't know about bronchiectasis or the area you're speaking of but I'm chucking a comment in regardless (I'm in that sort of mood, lol). Before living in France, I was in Malta and my son was born there. One of the reasons we moved, as did two of his classmates actually, one to Ireland, was because of a persistent cough they all seemed to have. You couldn't really get more sea air as Malta's tiny and surrounded by the Mediterranean. I put it down to pollution and construction dust. Within 3 weeks of moving here, nowhere near the sea but full of trees, his cough stopped. As did his friend's who had moved to Ireland. If the town you're looking at is very touristy would that automatically mean increased traffic etc during the summer months? It might be worth adding that into the equation.

Hi Jacqueline, I have a friend in UK who, after having been coughing for about three years, was eventually diagnosed with bronchiectasis.

She takes Symbicort regularly and antiobiotics when necessary and lives high up in the Cotswolds, a long way from the sea. She is also in contact with horses on a regular basis.

I spoke to her only a few days ago and she is very well.

I am asthmatic, with wet asthma, so understand the fluid you produce.My doctor here in Cluny says that he has an asthmatic patient who takes their campervan to Morocco for the worst three months of the year, and finds it beneficial.

I don't know if you have noticed but the South of France has also been experiencing a change in its weather patterns and has many more storms coming in from the Atlantic and travelling along the Mediterranean and ending up in north Italy.

I think if you can control your symptoms, then it is a matter of personal taste and where you feel happiest where you should live.

it's the mildest climate in France, protected by mountains, but full of tourists in the summer and retirees in the winter. One of my favourite seaside towns plus it's on the italian border (I read italian and french). BUT like everywhere in paca it's very very expensive :-O