(EDIT) I accidentally gave the temp incorrectly. And first, let me say that I understand everyplace is getting warmer. Temperature is far less important to me than the other factors I mention (but I cannot live month after month with temperature above 30 C and climbing), so please, let’s stop focusing on that. I live in a place that is wetter than anyplace I’ve found in Northern France, so that’s not an issue.
Hello! I currently live in the Pacific Northwest and have planned and dreamt of moving to France for many years. I’ve lived in England, and had hoped to move south at that point, but it didn’t happen. With the recent events here in the US, I have been moving my plans. I have friends who have already made the move to France, but they live in the south east part and that is far too hot for me. So I’m looking at Brittany and Normandy. I have been to Normandy and somehow it just felt like home. Perhaps my ancestors have been there before. And something about Brittany is drawing. I haven’t spent much time there, so I have a trip planned for Spring to do some exploring. If anybody is in the Brittany area and has any advice, I am open to it. I am retired, so being somewhere with medical facilities accessible is important. I am a crafter, primarily a quilter, so interested in any knowledge someone might have about where I can find quilters. And art is very important to me, so a community of artists and or museums is also important. I’ve been studying French since I was seven years old, so I have a pretty good competency at the moment, and will definitely work on improving it overtime. I do not like cities, so something like Paris is not an option. I did love Nimes,but the Summers there are far too hot for me.
So great to find this group and I will be reading the wealth of information that’s already listed, but wanted to say hi and introduce myself. Looking forward to life in France!
I cannot help you much about Brittany or Normandy because I live in Provence. Moved from UK to escape the weather, which rather repeats across northern France. No help about quilting either I’m afraid. . However, before too long I’m sure you will find others here who can help.
I had 33 years of Brittany then moved down here to the PO two years ago now to be nearer to family. Brittany is damp and never gets too hot but is actually the warmest place in France during the winter as its very mild. I lived right on the coast at the far end of the peninsula in a typical 450 year old solid granite longère property but it became too much for me and expensive and time consuming in terms of maintenance and upkeep so now have a new modern villa and I no longer suffer with aches and pains in wrist and knees that the damp caused. Don’t get me wrong, its the most beautiful place to live and the culture is second to none with the breton language spoken a great deal, my own children had to learn it at school as part of the curiculum, but if you choose to live isolated miles from anywhere, it can be lonely so don’t do that. Nothing ever stops growing either and I used to mow the lawns all year round, now its astroturf down here as grass just dies! Property prices are cheaper from about three miles inland from the coast just about anywhere and very very low in the centre where whole villages have all but disappeared of a population so choose carefully especially if you need medical and dental assistance. For arty stuff, Pont L’Abbé is the spititual home of Gaugin etc and there are many artisans scattered in the wilds of the Monts d’Arrée and Noire. I only really know Finistère where I lived but it does change a great deal the further east you go.
Hello Andy, just to say welcome and glad you’ve found Survive France - there’s a wealth of information and help here. All the very best for your future plans. Sue
Absolutely second that, from neither one nor t’other, the Dordogne. Warm summers, not too cold winters, and, since the Grande Tempete of '99, no dramas either. My wife insisted and is buried just down the hill with room for me when the time comes. Nobody is going to shift us from here.
I haven’t made my move from UK to France yet but have been doing a lot of research about locations - if you like UK weather (or PNW weather!) then Normandy/ Brittany will work. Some British friends of mine who initially moved to the gloriously named town of Condom in the Gers have now moved up to Normandy - partly to be nearer the UK where their daughter is at university and of course family are located, but also because they found the Gers a touch too hot in the summer.
Personally I’m looking at either just north or just south of the Loire Valley (Mayenne or northern Vienne), for similar reasons to my friends mentioned above, or for a bit more warmth maybe somewhat further south in Charente, just north of where @David_Spardo is.
If you want to be able to get your culture fix (and explore France and the rest of Europe a bit more), then being within reach of a TGV line might be a good idea. Even as far south as Angouleme is only a couple of hours by train to Paris. Rennes in Brittany is a similar timescale on the TGV.
I’m sure you’re wise to look for somewhere with access to medical services - several SF members have mentioned the scarcity of doctors or dentists willing to take on new patients in rural France.
I’m also thinking it might be a good idea to buy a house in a village or small town rather than the stereotypical country cottage in the middle of nowhere, so that there are at least basic shopping facilities within walking distance, for when I am no longer able to drive.
Anyway that’s enough from me - let us know how you get on!
Hi @Andylcole
I’d like to repeat the welcome already given by several SFers! There’s a lot of information on this site - just use the search facility and you’ll see.
I live in Normandie and, like you, felt at home here when I first arrived. Brittany is lovely too but both, of course, are more than a bit damp
We’ve had no problem here with medical facilities but it does vary a lot from place to place and you tend to have to travel a bit further for some specialists - I’ve had back surgery, for example, in Caen and that’s about an hour away.
There’s some very talented crafters in our village and the amount of social support here is amazing if you aren’t used to it.
When you decide to have a look round, let us all know and we’ll be sure to come up with suggestions!
It would certainly be a good plan to get the feel of Brittany in the winter as well as the summer, but there are alternatives between the extremes you cite.
French weather forecasts often split the weather using the Loire as a reference, which is why we chose to look a little south of the river. Our experience is that summers are nice and warm without being too hot. You might consider towns like Saumur, which have some sort of arts activity.
Hello all and thank you so much for the comments so far. I should correct my Login ID as I go by Andrea, not Andy. It was a cute childhood name that has stuck. Oddly, my French name all through school was Chantal.
Anyway, your comments are well presented and heard. A temperature of about 21°C is near my maximum comfort, so I don’t want any place that’s going to be warmer than that in the summers. I get quite uncomfortable very quickly. Your advice about remotes is well advised and taken. My intention is to be on the fringe of our town or city so that I have access to what I need. Plus, I will be moving alone, and I don’t want to be out in the Wilds alone.
With family in the states, that is where my travel will be when I leave the continent on occasion, so access to most likely, Paris, will be important for air travel. But I don’t see coming back to the states all that often. I’m pretty sure they will come to me. Lol.
I don’t love the rain, but I live with it here in the Pacific Northwest. We get light rain often except in the summers when it’s quite dry. And being on the continent, it will be so much easier to the cold and rain in the winters when needed. But I am open to other regions of the country. My ancestors on my dad side came from Lille, But I’m not sure that’s an area of the country I want to live in. So the search continues and I appreciate your ongoing support and information!
Semi-seriously - have you thought about Scotland?
Mainland Europe is having to get used to temperatures in the upper 20s and upwards and the hot weather can arrive early. I’ve had gite guests struggling with temperatures in the 30s in June.
Ha ha! I hear you. But culturally, France is a better fit. I know there will be times when I’m “too hot”, but that is the case here in the Pacific NW of Washington State as well.
I’m a bit further south than where you’re planning on moving to (currently just outside Bordeaux in the Gironde (33) region, but about to move to Charente-Maritime as I’m changing jobs). You definitely wouldn’t like the summers this far south as it gets much hotter than 21° - even today it’s been 20° and we’re in November…!
I saw you mentioned that you’ve got ties to Lille. It’s a shame you don’t want to live there. My partner knows and loves it there (I’ve only been the once… I remember the beer was nice!), plus her niece has just moved there for uni and is having a blast. In terms of weather, it’s definitely not hot in that part of France… apart from July & August, it averages low-20s.
I’m sure you’ll be happy wherever you choose to settle.
I’d need better data to say exactly. The monthly averages in high summer are around 22°C/23°C, but in western non-coastal Calvados we’ve certainly had over 30°C on several days during the last few summers.
I miscalculated the conversion. might optimal high temp is more like 26 celcius. And, yes, I realize it gets hot nearly everywhere. We’ve even had a full week in excess of 100 F here, but we get significantly more rain than anywhere I’ve looked at in France. So, no matter what, I’ll experience less rain, but also realize I can’t deal with temperatures in excess of 30 C for months on end as it does in the South. I was in Provence in October 2023 and melted every day. I’m just a wimp when it comes to temperature. Would rather have temperate light rain that scorching heat and sunshine.
Come over to the light side and use Celsius! It’s so much easier.
Madame P no longer tolerates high temperatures (it was the opposite when we were newlyweds), which meant Nîmes was out. Normandie was too unpredictable in terms of weather, though we love it dearly.
The Loire Valley - or just south of it - was perfect. We may invest in clim but I’m hoping to avoid it.
I can sympathise. I had to change two years ago from many years in damp and not that hot Finistère to down here in the PO and the 40°C temps in summer have turned me into a human mole living in the dark during the hottest hours and then feeling wilted the rest of the time. I have the clim and other means of keeping cool but it was a hell of a shock to the system and I did not want to become all brown and shrivelled like Madge from Benidorm at any cost. My daughter and her husband have taken several trips up to your region from the south and last time, rented the garden chalet across the road from the “Goonies” house in Astoria as they are huge fans.
. However, before too long I’m sure you will find others here who can help.
