Top 10 Best Places To Live in France (Expats, Retirees, Digital Nomads)

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I have found that the best place to live in France or anywhere else is the place where you feel you belong. I was born near Los Angeles, obtained my post-graduate degrees in San Francisco and lived in NYC for six years. Now I am at home in the Languedoc-Roussillon minutes from several Mediterranean beaches, less than an hour from Spain and surrounded by nature. In my book, I have everything I could wish for. By the way, I fell hard for a small village (population: 700). I couldn't be happier. Know what you are really looking for and keep an open mind. Viva la Belle France 🇫🇷. ❤

Thank You. As a recent widow…I’ve been fantasizing about living in France. You just fueled this desire. 😘

N'1: the prononciation of RENNES is "RENN" (not "Renée"). Liked the video. 👍

The reason the Dordogne is popular with British retirees (according to someone I know who lives there) is that it “looks like a larger and less populated version of the Cotswolds (ie classic English countryside), but the houses are less than half the price, the food and weather are better and the wine is cheap - very possibly the middle class English definition of heaven!”

Merci beaucoup Kristine d’avoir partager ces belles villes de la France. À bientôt

Biarritz has one of the highest real estate prices in all of France, more than most areas of Paris. Around 8000 euros per square meter!

"where the wine flows like . . . wine" . that one got me , Thanks Kristin

As usual with your videos, so well organized,, clear and informative. Excellent, many thanks!!

My wife would live in Calais in a heartbeat. She loves the ocean and the cliffs near Calais and she love the proximity to Ypres where she has a favorite chocolate shop. The proximity to Bruges, Ghent and the area around Bastogne is a wonderful plus as well

I am grateful to have lived in Paris as a foreign student from 1974-1975. It was amazingly affordable.

Great video. Thanks! However, the stone arch crossing the river, in the Dordogne segment, is not in the Dordogne area. It is called Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, in the Ardèche department.

A city that I discovered recently is Annecy called "la perle des Alpes". Not a big city (population around 120,000) but the landscape is absolutely amazing with the lake and mountains around., not far from Geneva international airport and companies in the outdoor business and tech as well. Flip side is the cost of living.

I like how you structured this video; it is very comprehensive with pros/cons, costs and places to live nearby. Keep it coming!

Of the cities that you mentioned, Strasbourg has my heart.

I spent 2-3 months a year in Lyon for several years and could easily see myself living there. There is so much to see and do, and it's convenient to travel via train or air to other locations. As a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, the focus on food is a huge plus for me! Montpellier was lovely but a bit too small for my taste. However, I still want to visit Nice because living on the coast is my retirement dream location. Also, I've heard a lot about Annecy and wondered why that city didn't make your list?

Just a little correction Kristin; there are 25 Michelin starred restaurants in Lyon and 639 restaurants with stars in all of France.

Dordogne sounds wonderful. I have visited Provence, Lyon, Montpelier, Orleans, Dijon, Auxerre, Beaune, Epernay, Troyes and Reims in the past. I could imagine living in Dijon or Beaune as well.

Bonjour! I live in France. I think your list includes a great selection of places to live, but I certainly would have ranked them very differently. For anyone planning to come, try to visit several times, at least, before you make the move, and visit several regions you think you would like. At the end of the day, France is definitely hard to beat.

I'm in France now on a one year visitor visa. I'm keeping to the South (Antibes and Sainte Maxime). Nice is too expensive like you mentioned. I'm leaving before my visa is up, but an important point for foreigners is that it's exceedingly difficult to obtain a long term lease. That's why I'm not doing the full year as short term housing costs (Airbnb) are too expensive.