Theo, First thing you have to get sorted, is why do want to move to France. You say you donât want to land in little Britain, so that rules out the Dordogne, most of les Charentes, quite a bit of the Limousin.
French rural social life mostly revolves round piss-ups in the salles des fĂȘtes, which expat friends of mine regularly attend, resulting in them meeting many local people and making good social friendships. However this doesnât include invites to their houses, as would be the case in the UK or Eire.
If you are escaping UK suburban/urban life, then rural France isnât the best option, unless you have the means to occupy your time, like working from home, writing and art. There isnât the pub culture, which exists on the islands, and the only bars, which are busy are either expat or PMU (bookies). Friends of mine join the confraternities, which exist in some of the larger villages and small towns. The one nearest to me involves communal meals where everyone brings food, which some times has a âthemeâ. This sort of socializing brings the benefit of having many people who will stop and chat in the street or shops. If you have primary age children, this is another way to meet locals and become part of the âhello, how are you?â system.
French rural cultural life revolves round the salle des fĂȘtes in the shape of concerts and lotto evenings, the hunt, fishing clubs and other venues, such as vernissages and festivals.
I was lucky in meeting up with a nice french lady and her extended family. My french neighbours happen to share a couple of interests, so we get on like a house on fire: I was lucky.
Northern French from the Isle de France, for example, find themselves in the same boat as the expats from the islands, when it comes to mixing with the locals. Itâs marginally easier if they have jobs in local businesses, but the emphases is on âmarginallyâ! French intellectuals have a real problem, which doesnât get easier with time, as most of them have come to the countryside to get away from their kind! The locals treat them with a strange respect, and more often than not, will tell you all about them: they are sort of âpetsâ, almost like the zoo.
There is a sort of grey area, where long-term expats with good French belong to a âhigher levelâ (mostly driven by snobbery) of local and blow-in french society. The French belonging to this level, I find mostly quite interesting and sociable, but the majority of the expats, who are involved, are insufferable snobs, and canât wait to tell you how they were seated next to the Comte de Paris! Being a radio producer, I am in a sort of limbo, but a very amusing one!
I think thatâs enough for now.