I would love a view, but finding a town or village house with a small garden AND a view seems like a unicorn. Glad that you got yours. It sounds like you have put a ton of work in on your home!
Smart girl. This is very important.
Bte was Blois ever on your list ?
Yes we did.
We had builders etc for most of the work, but Jim built the kitchen in the little house and laid over 200 square metres of oak flooring.
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Hi
I have lived in Tours for nearly 14 years. Prior to that I lived in a village between Beaugency and Meung- Sur-Loire for 8 years. Before that Paris. My wife (French) lived in Cheverny and went to school in Blois. Her parents lived in a small town just outside Orleans when we met and they moved to Nantes. My sister in law (French) lives in Sologne. Sologne as in Chambord. Same region.
Two of our kids were born in Blois and the other one in Tours.
What I am saying is, I know the area.
Ok back to your original question, yes I think it is the house. Certainly in this region.
The logic of your question was right.
We first moved (after leaving Paris) to a very drab village 4km North of Beaugency and bought a house because it was the only thing we could afford. But it felt right. I miss that house so much and the drab village. It was home. It was lovely and so were the people.
We then had to move to Tours because my OH needed to commute to Paris by train from St Pierre.
I can continue the story and explain why the house (not its exact location) is so important and why I really don’t like the region. But I like the region because of the house. If that makes sense.
Complicated.
In terms of areas to live between Orleans and Nantes. I (personally) would go for Beaugency. I love Beaugency and it has the best view over the Loire. Second to that would be St Avertin. Sologne is worth investigating. Sologne is just beautiful. Very rich area.
But there are many other places you will never have heard of that are worth a visit. But to set roots for your life, St Avertin is your best bet.
Dont go for tourist areas. Azy, Amboise and all the rest.
Anyway……why Val du Loire ?
Welcome, @Loire !
You will find the answer to your question (and much more to inform your advice) in the OP’s posts.
No - we tried to look just between Amboise and Angers, otherwise we’d be looking all along the entire Loire and it would take us forever.
Welcome, and thanks for the detailed post and the suggestions! I don’t think that we can afford Saint-Avertin, tbh, although it’s beautiful and is in a great location.
Why the Loire? Before we decided to move to France, I spent a lot of time researching different regions, and the Loire seemed to be the best fit in terms of climate. It’s very similar to areas where we lived in California and also Oregon. When we were here in 2021 for our scouting trip, we stayed in Amboise. We loved the area and it weirdly felt like “home”. I researched a lot of other regions and nothing else really felt right. I mean, we could spend the rest of our lives looking at towns in France, but we’re not that young, so we needed to pick an area and focus on it. (We did look at the Dordogne, because friends from the US have settled there and wanted us to take a look, but we still prefer the Loire.) And we really like Tours. Now that we’ve been here for a while, we have doctors, friends, know the area, we are comfortable here, so we’re going to stay somewhere around Tours.
No kidding. We spent five months in Montsoreau. It’s stunning, but way too busy in the summer and dead in the winter. That rental, while expensive, was money well spent - we learned a lot about what we wanted, and didn’t want. Honestly, if you haven’t read my last few posts, we like the area east of Chatellerault quite a bit, and had actually decided to stay, but then I discovered that the train schedule is abysmal. We have a car, but don’t want to use it all that much, so just when we thought that we’d found our spot, we started looking all over again. Sigh.
So Tours it is then….lol
I get you,.
Tours is a lovely city to live in/nearby. OH and kids love it….me not so much. But that is medical related.
But be warned, it has its problems.
A lot of drug crime. A lot of knife and gun crime.
It was not like that ten years ago !
It is also very very hot in the summer. Not like ten years ago.
I will give you some other options of places to visit close to Tours. But the new version of IoS on an ipad is doing my head in with site, it maybe tomorrow.
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Thanks. Yes, I read the news, and there does seem to be quite a lot of crime, but it seems that it mostly occurs at night, and I don’t plan to be there at night very often. And, it does get hot. I spent two weeks in August 2024 at L’Institut de Touraine in a student hotel without A/C. Fun times! 
Its very difficult to point you in what direction to go in without knowing your budget.
The whole Tours area (10-20 km wide) has become so popular now that prices have gone mad.
Unless you need to live in or work in this area its not worth the price IMO.
There are better places to live.
But you were right in asking that question. Village or house ? Very thought provoking.
So I will go with house.
Hi Loire. I think it might be worth reading the whole thread because Motherrobyn has already done a lot of research and has narrowed it down to a few places that are possibles.
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Thanks, Jennifer 11. Sorry, I missed that part. Yes, we’ve pretty much got it dialed in, two towns for sure, one is iffy, and one needs further exploration. Interestingly enough, only one of them is actually ON the Loire, and that’s currently sitting in last place. The others are considered part of “the Loire”, though. Thank you for the offer, though, it’s very kind of you.
The thread its is 130 posts. I am trying my best keep up. Lol
The Loire is a big river. It starts as a spring in
somewhere in the Ardeche. I think.
By the time it gets to Tours…..I would not go in it. Very polluted.
But there are beautiful beaches along side it between Amboise and Tours.
In the summer you can walk across it in Tours city centre because of climate change.
Further on, because of all the nuclear reactors it becomes more yellow and toxic.
Its the way it is today
Ha, no worries, it kind of took off. I’m having trouble keeping up myself.
Funny that you mention the power plants. I am always creeped out by the plume; most everyone I know just rolls with it, but I want to live somewhere where I can’t see it, even if I know that it’s there.
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Pretty tight regulation on the plume unlike your homeland.
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Isn’t it just steam (water vapour) from the cooling towers? AFAIK nuclear reactors don’t emit any smoke unless they go all Chernobbly…
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I think so? It just creeps me out. I think it reminds me of this massive plant that used to be on the Columbia River, just north of Portland OR. It was a huge, hulking, scary looking thing, lol.
Our house is a road’s width from the Lot, but we’re usually at least 6m above the water and since the highest flood in modern times (1957) the river has acquired a adjustable barrage about a km upstream.
Chez nous is one of the oldest houses in the village - C14th. The oldest houses have the best sites, highest above the river and closest to the protection of the chateau..
Today we’re secure against flooding, but the chateau’s no longer a reliable defence against the French and the English…
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Sounds like a great location!
The road that separates us from the river is a mixed blessing, now there’s traffic, whereas before when there wasn’t, one could only get here by boat.
However, given my wife’s not very well-developed rowing skills, we’re better off with the road. Wouldn’t want to drive down to Cahors to collect her and the dog…
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