I did come here because I was a Francophile...we came several times a year for 25 plus years. We bought a holiday flat first then a house, so we own 2 properties here...we felt we were investing in a place we wanted to live for ever.
I am never quite sure what people mean when they say a better quality of life...for me, life is better outside of a large metropolis. But I dont need to live abroad to achieve that. People often compare the misery they had living in London or Liverpool with the joy of living in the Loire...well...yes, of course...but thats not comparing like with like. Is life better in Marseilles than Liverpool?
I thought the same as you that the UK was disintegrating...but no longer! we have a flat here in the UK,..and after 3 years of living in France it feels like sanity. I pay less taxes, have good customer services, eat in cheaper restaurants and they serve better food than most of the ones we have near us in France. We also have pubs, which I missed in France.
My shopping is cheaper and I have more choice. The meat I buy has been hung and is tender. I have the NHS (Im a nurse and I know its not perfect, but its been good for me) my surgery which I was due to wait 5 months for has been brought forward by 2 months...a hip which is not urgent.
I have the theatre...actually 3 in my town, a 12 screen cinema, curry houses, chinese restaurants...well actually around 15 restaurants all different nationalities and great food. The downsides of the UK are the traffic jams.....more expensive wine, but I drink beer and its a similar price. In my market town violence is not rife; the weather isnt so good...but then 4 weeks last February at -15 and 3 weeks this past summer at +40 in the Dordogne were not great either!
I can work and earn a really good salary...even at 58 I was offered a pile of interviews and chose the job I wanted.
So all in all, for me life is sweet in the south west of England, and compared to the south west of France, I feel I have a better quality of life.