Login My Bookings. France regularly features in the Top 10 list of the best countries to move to. In fact, the French town of Pau in Southern France was recently voted the Number One destination in the world for retiring overseas. Here we analyse where are the 10 best places to live in France in , covering the best cities in France to live in , to retire, to invest in property and the best places to study in France. We also cover the most affordable places to live in France , as well as the cheapest places in France to buy property.
Finally, by looking at a range of factors from property prices to quality of life indicators and climate, we also highlight the best regions in France to live for ex-Pats and English speakers. I have consulted a number of existing surveys and read numerous articles on the best places to live in France. There was not as much overlap between them as I was expecting. So, for instance, an article by the travel magazine, International Living , identified the following 5 towns and cities as the best places to live in France:.
So, yes, Lyon is a nice city and it is true what they say about the many good restaurants. I did some work in Lyon back when I had a normal job and we also stayed in the city last year. But I am not sure I would want to live there unless I had a job in the area. Montpellier, South France. Montpellier , yes, that is our nearest big city and I love it.
But in terms of a place to move to in France, the accommodation is expensive and extremely difficult to find apartments will literally rent out the same day that the advert is published. Also, even despite the excellent tram network, it does get very clogged up with traffic. Montpellier does have beaches nearby, but they are not the best on the Languedoc coast. The Universities have a great reputation my middle son is studying Medicine at Montpellier and there is a large bio-medical industry hub around city.
The shops are great and the city centre is beautiful, but I always feel that Montpellier lacks a defined centre or a district which is the heart-beat of the city. It is like a collection of neighbourhoods. It is not like Toulouse , Marseille or Perpignan , where there is a defined area where people meet up for drinks.
