From the French Footsteps Archives
Where to live in France is one of the biggest questions people face when they start thinking seriously about moving here, and there’s no one answer.
My friends Paula and Rich learned that firsthand. They had traveled in France before deciding to make it their primary home and, like many people who fall in love with the country while traveling, they thought they knew the kind of life they wanted. At first, that meant living in the countryside.
Spending longer periods in France changed their minds. They began to realize that beautiful surroundings were only part of what mattered to them. They wanted to be able to walk to restaurants, shops, and markets, to have people around them and the conveniences of everyday life close by. Eventually, those discoveries led them to Uzès.
Before You Buy in France, Rent First
One piece of advice from their experience is especially worth repeating: rent before you buy. If possible, stay for two or three months rather than making a decision based on a week or two on vacation. A vacation can tell you that you love a place, but it can’t necessarily tell you what it will be like to live there day after day.
There are practical questions that become much more important once you stop being a visitor.
Do you need a car every time you want to go somewhere?
Are doctors and other services nearby?
What happens when the tourists leave?
Is it easy to meet people?
Would you really enjoy living in the countryside year-round, or is it the kind of place you love precisely because you’re there on vacation?
Those are things you discover only by spending time in a place, and they can change what you thought you were looking for. Paula and Rich arrived with one idea of where to live in France and gave themselves enough time to discover that another kind of life suited them better.
A New Chapter Begins in Uzès
There’s a more recent chapter to their story. After more than 20 years together, Paula and Rich married in Uzès a couple of years ago, with friends joining them afterward in the courtyard of the Duché.
Who knew that when they first set out to find a home in France, they would one day celebrate their wedding in Uzès?
Read their original French Footsteps story: Living Your Dream in France: From Vacationer to Resident.
