Large family traveling?

Will leasing a minivan be more economical in the long run than trying to do trains and buses?

It depends on where you live.

Limoges, most likely.

Should I buy booster seats in France or bring them with us? (Kids will be 14, 11, 9, 7, and almost 5).

Some info here---- https://www.driving-france.co.uk/driving-in-france-with-children/

Depends on child's size

Right. Thank you. I will definitely have seats for the kids who need them... Just wondering if I should bring them with me from the States, or plan to purchase them when we arrive in France.

The lease would be your best way for transportation, but you may find leasing a van rather expensive. The full size van might be a better pick (vs. minivan) unless you can get everyone to travel very, very lightly.
Have you considered other less expensive countries? We visited France in June, and I was shocked when I received my credit card bill after leaving Paris.

David a visit to Paris is a bit different than renting a house outside paris and going to the grocery store versus eating out and paying attraction admittances.. France is not more expensive then most western europeon countries.. yes Greece and Portugual can be cheaper.. but I wouldnt avoid France ( an entire country )thinking it was so expensive.. thats like me saying I was in New York City and it was so expensive.. I wouldnt advise anyone to think of living in a rental in the mid west ...

OP .. are your children fluent in French.. school is more difficult in France they may find.. and not being fluent will put them at a very real disadvantage..

No, they are not fluent, but that is the point of this study abroad experience. I have already been accepted to enroll in a school for a few months. They have been studying French for a few years. That is also why we are set on France specifically. :)

Are full size vans less expensive than mini vans?
I realize that a larger vehicle will be more expensive, but there's no way around it for me (that I can think of). We will be a minimum of 6 people, and often 7, traveling together.

I have never rented a car in Europe. It is often suggested on this forum that it will be cheaper for a large family group to rent two cars rather than one mini-van, but that is of no help to you unless you can count on having a second driver available. It does suggest, though, how expensive it may be to rent (or lease) a large vehicle.

I don't know whether the three consolidators (AutoEurope, Kemwel and Gemut) handle leases or only rentals, but I would check with them as well as the car manufacturers who have their own lease programs, one of which is Peugeot, I believe. For regular rentals, it's often cheaper to work through a consolidator than to rent directly. I don't know whether that will be true for the lease of a large vehicle.

You can get comparison rail fares from the SNCF website. Don't forget to indicate the childrens' ages. I don't know whether there's some sort of family fare deal you'd benefit from; I hope someone else here knows what is available. In general, I found fares on regional trains to be reasonable, but last-minute tickets on TGVs are painful. You may find buses an option for reasonably-nearby destinations. That definitely applies to Oradour-sur-Glane--though I can't vouch for its suitability for young children.

I really liked Limoges when I stayed there for a few days this year.

Edited to add the link to the SNCF website.

Most of the auto lease programs are designed for non EU residents. The idea is that after the lease, the vehicle is sold as used thereby saving the purchaser a lot of tax. The question is will 5 months qualify you as an EU resident and therefore disqualify you from one of the lease programs. These are questions you´ll need to ask.

Most home rental contracts in France are for 1 year. There is no easy way to find rental property, particularly from another country. There is no MLS (multiple listing service) in France and typically you contact each agency which might be able to help you. Trying to do that from the US will be a challenge.

Your 7 and 9 year old children will find it far easier to adapt to school in French than will an 11 and 14 year old. For the older children, unless they have a very solid foundation and are at least conversational, they will be left floundering, like drinking water from a fire hose. They´ll need more than a few months before they even begin to integrate into the system. I have known a number of families who have done what you are planning but the child in each case where fairly fluent before they arrived in France.

These short term visas are simpler than getting a regular carte de séjour but there are a number of steps to complete. Do you already have the visas setup?

What you are attempting is not easy particularly with 5 kids and school. Good luck.

For Limoges, it would be cheapest if you used public transportation and stayed in town. A one year transit pass for 3 children is 54/year/child plus 10 for the card. I would guess there are discounts above three children, but that was the biggest discount they listed. You can benefit from the large family discount on sncf.

I would try to stay in Limoges center to benefit the most from the experience. There are places that will accommodate the number of people you want.

That said, I might look at getting an econo car for myself when the kids are at school or large rental on some weekends etc.

I’ve looked at the lease deals before and it never made sense for me. I always found cheaper rates using auto Europe although but also had to return them and exchange for others to get the best rates.

As far as the car seats, I would buy them in France since they’re a pain to travel with and are often on resale for cheap or free through Facebook groups. Will also be European car seat. But that depends on how many you need (ok if one or two, probably not for more) and whether you needed them on arrival or if you’d be getting the van at a later date.

French school is different than the American experience. Also, hope the kids have an objectively higher level of French or it might not be as much fun for them.

Thanks, all. I am aware of the social, educational, and linguistic challenges. Leave those worries to me.
I am grateful for your advice or ideas related to my original questions regarding logistics and planning.

And that ends this thread .

Sarah , before I was born my mother moved to France with my then 8 ur old older sister . She spoke some French and was a straight A student here in a convent ( very strict ) school .

She struggled to maintain decent grades in France - they are advanced .

After I was born we moved to Canada .

I spent summers with family in France 2-3 months each time , alone with my French speaking only grandmother from the time I was 13 ( having already been there with my mother and sister since I was 6-7 ) . For several years . She lived in a nice area and I had French friends , same ones year after year .

It is NOT easy to adjust .

I understand you want this great cultural experience for your children and I wish you best luck , but do not be surprised that the challenges may be more than you think - you don’t even have family or friends there to buffer the experience .

Your youngest ones will adjust much easier - your older kids will likely have a difference experience .

I'm not as cautious on this. My children were thrown into French schools and learned a lot about the stricter, structured system, society and how to adapt. Granted, we're a bilingual family, so even the younger one, born in the US, had heard a lot..
I'm surprised the local schools have given the green light, but it's a trade off for the teacher: increased workload but multicultural experience for the class. The kids will struggle and build character--best to you, mom, sacrificing a comfy existence to give your kids this adventure. Granted, my sons could have a difference of opinion with me.
I wouldn't add cars and car seats to your lengthy to-do list for now. Wait till you're there.

Things may have changed since I leased. My lease experience was a seven-passenger car. I'd say a van will be much more suitable for your family. The car was perfect for our family of five but would have been too small if we were bigger or carried more luggage.

When I leased pick up and drop off in France was free. Pick up/Drop off charges outside of France were reasonable - significantly less than dropping a rental in a different country. I picked up in A'dam and dropped in Rome.

Full CDW is included in the price, you don't get a choice to use other insurance.

The term of the lease has to be (or had to be, there may have been changes) no more than six months. You have to order it from outside the country and be a foreign person traveling on a visa. Peugeot and Renault were the only options, I believe they still are. I went with a Renault only because of the model of car I chose.

Pick up worked great. An agent picked us up at Schiphol, drove us to a dealer and processed the paperwork. It was reasonably efficient. Drop off was in Rome at the airport (the one with the train, I always get them mixed up). The agent wasn't there for our appointed time. We asked around, another rental agent called him and we waited more than an hour for him to show up (Ah, Italy!). Fortunately, we were dropping at the beginning of our stay in Rome so we weren't pressed to catch a flight.

Rental seems to be the better option when you only want a small economy car (and use your credit card insurance). Prices for rentals go up drastically as you get away from small cars. I think you'll find leasing is a good option for a van.