Hello - I am coming to France for a year to see if I am able to retire there and explore where that may be. I am looking for a nice community that is affordable but easy to get to Paris by train for the first 2 months of my France stay. I will be traveling from that spot and looking for a longer term rental preferably in the country but close to transportation to travel. (Brittany/Provence are two areas I am interested in for long term). Any advice would be great or best places to find rentals. AirBnB is not giving me many choices and I am not a big fan. TYIA!
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
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Posted by
Washington DC
28062 posts
I haven't spent any time in the area around Paris, so I cannot help with suggestions for your first two months, but I want to be sure you're aware that if you're traveling on a US/Canadian/etc. passport, you'll need a long-stay visa from France to spend more than 90 days there within any rolling 180-day period. Any time in other Schengen countries counts toward the 90-day limit, so it doesn't work to hop across a border to one of the other countries of western continental Europe.
For most if not all the Schengen countries, obtaining a long-stay visa is not a quick or easy process. You should research the requirements immediately to have a reasonable chance of meeting your schedule.
Posted by
81 posts
A place you might consider looking for a rental is cocoonr.fr We rented from them for a three-month stay in Lyon a couple of years ago and were very pleased with the service and the apartment. They operate in some of the larger cities around France (not Paris), plus several locations in Brittany. We've rented from a number of different agencies over the years, and these people were by far the most satisfactory.
In terms of suggestions of location, you need to say what you mean by "easy to get to Paris" - are you thinking, on a main train line? within a certain amount of time? And will you have a car wherever you decide to stay?
Also if you want a long term visa to start in September, now is the time to be applying.