Hi All
My wife and I are a looking for a house in France, somewhere within a few hours of St Malo, it will be are second home so we need easy access ferries etc to get back to the UK.
We are looking for an area with a good amount of English speakers, not just Brits .. even though we love France and French we think it would be nice to have a community near where we can chat and socialise.
Can anyone suggest areas .. semi rural near to St Malo ?
Thank you
Just about anywhere in Brittany. It’s stuffed with anglophones!
Perhaps look on the different commune’s websites under “associations” and you will get a feel for what is on offer for activities.
Not recommended by me, after more than 32 years of living here most of that in Brittany but now down south and owning property for 37 years, we soon discovered best to avoid brits unless you find just a couple you can relate to. You end up with all their misery and back stabbing and need for help and on the doorstep every five minutes. You will never learn French or the culture if you don’t make some French friends even if you cannot communicate fluently and don’t expect English to be spoken to you in shops, banks, hospitals etc.
Well said @Shiba 
Hi.
Could I ask why you want to come to France and speak English? We bought a second home here nearly 30 years ago and have never sought out other Brits because we wanted to live the French experience. If you want to make France into a version of England, as we’ve seen people try to do, it may not work.
This made me laugh out loud because I could absolutely relate. I spent the first 19 years of my life in France as far away as possible from the British expat communities, and was fine with it, in fact I actively avoided them. Then I met my new partner, who through her work ended up being introduced into the local, mainly UK, expat community. Both of us have stepped way back from it, due in no small part to the constant drama that small communities of people in close and/or constant proximity seem to generate (did that in a previous life in Germany thanks, burnt the T-shirt). I understand why people moving here might feel the need for that kind of “support” network, and it can be helpful, but I’m personally too much of a grumpy old git these days, and prefer my own and OH’s company with a fairly limited group of friends without drama, life really is too short.
I think you are being a bit harsh. 
There are several Brits on here whom I would love to have as friends nearby. Not every Brit who comes to France is awful. When we first came 20 years ago we joined a “newcomers club” in our local town which was a mix of French, English, Dutch, German. We met an English couple there and 20 years on they remain our closest friends in France. Why? Because we have so much in common.
We live in a rural community. Our French neighbours are polite, chat to us when we meet outside the supermarket, or along our country lanes. We have never been inside their house, even though we had them round for aperos. This is very typical. We have one set of French friends, she taught us French, but they are completely atypical. They “adopted” us because they love the UK and things English. (Same thing happened in Brazil - I was “adopted” by one of my colleagues because she found me interesting just because I was English.) Our lives here would have been impoverished and rather small if we hadn’t met our English friends.
If it’s just a holiday home, and you never intend to live here permanently, will never need to negotiate medical, hospital or dental care, or complicated maintenance on your property, or the host of other things that are easy(ish) in your native tongue, then not learning French will work.
As you can tell, most of us think learning French is worthwhile.
What Sue says about being invited into French people’s homes is true in our experience. They have this thing of ringing the bell at the threshold of your garden wall (which is where you must install your bell), rather than approaching the front door. British people are more welcoming – or, perhaps, welcoming in a different way.
Anyway, I’ve answered what you weren’t asking (that’s what we do on SF) but, I hope, suggested additional questions.
Welcome.
Hiya and welcome!
I don’t know Brittany very well at all but it looks gorgeous and good luck with your search. I’m sure you will find a great place with a bunch of anglophones to make your trips over wonderful 
. Someone will come along and give you ideas I hope.
It is impossible to suggest locations unless you sve an idea what you want … .Art ,Culture, Boats,Fishing ,Golf , Big gardens or places with nooks and crannies . The fact is that anywhere coastal is expensive and inland between dirt cheap and palatial .
Now regarding British neighbours , they will be extremely helpful in the early years .People who have been in residence longer will have traversed most of the problems you will encounter some time or another . Actually this website here Survive France is a great resource …even with the bickering.
The following is a personal observation …and can be a totally different experience to that of others .So I don’t mind being in a minority ..But of course I am not British. The longer term residents in France from the UK , espically those who not holiday migrants are bored ,unless they have fully integrated. Rural France is lovely ,but in winter lonely and a wet dreary evening in the country is exactly that. Beyond a certain age the types of activity one might be used to indulge in dry up and getting new ones difficult . Even having fluent French is only half the battle. It is different in Summer , there are more distractions.
T
Near the coast is expensive both in Brittany and Nornandy. You’ll be surprised by the number of English speakers (mainly British) in any town or village within an hour or so of both St Malo and Ouistreham. A lot of them will be friendly but some will just be after your money (BF/P&O builders) so beware. Speaking from experience, ask yourselves if you would be friends with these people if you were in England and not just because they speak the same language in France.
That’s the thing, isn’t it? We’ve met up with people because they speak English but fairly soon you realise that you have nothing in common apart from speaking the same language. Also that they haven’t learnt enough French to converse with locals.
I think it’s not so much about finding a group of people who speak the same language as finding a group of people who have the same interests amongst whom there may be Brits. I joined a photo club that was a mix of Brits, French, Dutch and Belgians, including those who had second homes here. Other clubs where you are likely to meet English speakers are walking groups, book clubs, bridge clubs, lunch clubs, and so on.
Estate agents will be able to tell you where there is a good community.
Interesting. We bumped into an English speaking couple in Autun this year, and while perfectly pleasant and friendly, we realised that we probably have no more in common than the language. In the village we do have a number of friends, but only 1 couple is English.
You’re right about the builders after your money. I moved there from CI and they thought I was loaded because of that. A lot of these people cleared off since Brexit thankfully. Nowadays I hardly ever see an English reg car or bump into any English at the supermarkets as I used to. I was in the Brico today, and there weren’t even any there…apart from me 
But how long have you been here? In every place we’ve been in France (Paris, Haute Saône and the Jura) we developed and still have strong friendship that frequently included being in each other’s homes. And in our first 8 months here we have been invited to tea once already so I remain hopeful of finding friends.
It takes time, and good French. I wouldn’t be super keen to invite a couple for a meal if the conversation was restricted by language and one had to keep stopping the flow of conversation to explain for example.
Not throwing out my tablecloth yet!
We used to live in the Creuse when we moved in 2003 and there were no English speakers so we had to learn French PDQ (remember Michel Thomas tapes?). Moving to Normandy a few years ago it didn’t take long to realise that very fery few British immigrants spoke, or attempted to speak any french.
My OH was a big fan of Michel Thomas who we first heard on Radio4’s Today progamme. He was impressive.
Chance would be a fine thing…