Retiring to France

Have you seen this?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/thinking-of-moving-to-france-one-couple-s-experience

My wife and I are in rural Normandie. Lots of advantages and drawbacks such as a car is a must, many villages lack full services, medical care is adequate and there’s a large English community. We have French, Irish, English and Swedish friends.

Living in a foreign country is not an extended vacation nor is it the horrible experience that the couple “endured” as profiled by CNN recently.

Good Luck

Read the CNN article and then start scouring expat websites. Being a local is much different than being a tourist.

I encourage you in this thought.

However, I would suggest you had better know yourselves well. That you're learning the language is only the first step but a super important factor in my estimation since communicating in the local language has numerous advantages, one of which is not having to rely on the interlocutor's level of English for communication or your having to lapse into English.

I would suggest reading up on the culture, the cuisine and cultural history especially that focusing on the cultural cues and one's values system That you may find them, if any, incomprehensible, that's irrelevant, ie just do it "their" way. As regards to acculturation and coping with so-called culture shock, if you believe in that, learn how to think "outside the box" and accept it. How much value do you place on assimilation? Is that important is it to you relative to adjusting.

Go to FaceBook and put key words about France into the search. Try living in France, retiring France, one very large group is South, West and Rest of France. These groups will suggest others about visas, legal, financial, health issues. These are closed groups that you ask to join and are admitted.
There’s a whole world of sites for people exploring the possibilities.

I'm looking at moving as well. As I travel differently than most, I tend to stay in one place for a month or two.

I suggest you do that. Give places you are considering a trial run. Stay in an apartment. Go about your daily life as if you were living there. If there is an expat community, or one with English speaking residents, get in touch to ask questions about living in the area.

Shop the way you would shop if you lived there. Find out about local customs that are different from where you live.

The recent CNN article was more about people who seemed lost and unsure of themselves than it was a typical story of expats in France. Language will be a problem, unless you are very serious, and seeking out an expat community will not likely help you reach desired fluency.

Consider reviewing this website: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/france-expat-forum-expats-living-france/

Tocard

It’s an accurate story of expectation and reality. Have met people like the couple in the CNN article. Folks come with dreamy expectations that they have acted on and can’t cope and leave. I’ve spent maybe a third of my life outside America. It’s a problem and an unforgettable life sometimes all at once.

Understand thoroughly the taxation of your worldwide (US based) retirement income and assets, particularly your estate plans if you have heirs (children) in the US should you die as a tax domiciled expat in France...it is a major sticking point for us.

Good luck.

Jojo brings up an important point: taxation and inheritance treaties between the US and France. Read them. Consult a lawyer and an accountant who specialize in these subjects before finalizing any plans.

Agreements with the United States define the rules regarding taxes and inheritances of US citizens who have their tax residence in France (FATCA law)

Taxes:

https://www.impots.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/media/10_conventions/etats-unis/accord_usa_14112013_fatca_en_vigueur_29092014_.pdf

Heritages:

https://www.impots.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/media/10_conventions/etats-unis/etats-unis_convention-avec-les-etats-unis-successions-donations_fd_1836.pdf

As someone who has also considered retiring to the EU, and who's lived over here 6 years off and on for work, I can only say that you must know the language. Not just a few hundred words, you need to be able to read and write and hold a conversation. it is incredibly difficult to live where you do not understand what people are trying to convey to you. And France is a country where this is more of an issue than some other places.

I understand the attraction. France is beautiful. Property outside the major cities can look like a bargain, especially if you're coming from a major metropolitan area in the USA. But living over here is very different than anywhere in America (and I have lived in every corner of the US, big cities and rural). You need to spend 1-2 months right near where you decide to move just to get a feel for it.

My experience is that Americans need about three years over here to really decide if they want to stay. And of those who stay more than 10 years, few want to go back, even for a vacation.

KGC made a point about the attractive cost of rural or village houses.

The problem with many of these is that they could be in medical deserts. My in-law's village no longer has a doctor or dentist. The closest barebones hospital is 10 kilometers away. The closest maternity care and ward is an hour away, as are other specialties. Often people in rural areas can't find a doctor to be their primary care physician.

We bought in France in advance of retirement (go back and forth now) and will eventually move over. There are a number of FB groups, the expatforums and reddit. There are a number of free webinars you can view on YouTube or attend via Zoom, mainly from financial and real estate companies.

We took a number of trips throughout areas of France (and along the Med) before speaking with a consultant and narrowing a location down. I've been a past expat in French-speaking Switzerland, and my spouse, Italy and England.. Thus, we are not newbies. Some words of advice on the forums: the situation for retirees who are American is different than the Brits or EU citizens, or those that expats that work. A passive income visa is available (1 year that converts to a longer term visa after 5) and the tax treaty is highly favorable to American retirees (among the best of any country for US Citizens). But planning is needed prior to moving, due to the inheritance taxation optimizations that may be required.

Some things to look out for: medical deserts, as mentioned (look at available doctors on doctolib and those taking new patients -- also check out the hospitals). The availability of supermarkets, a weekly market, pharmacy and boulangerie, Train and bus connections (some rural locations are very ill-served, like only at rush hours or around school hours), and distance to the nearest airport (with decent year round service, some airports are highly seasonal). Driver's licenses are required after a year, and WA does not have a reciprocal exchange agreement (meaning you will have to take a class and test). The largest number of American expats live in the Paris Region, the Cote d'Azur, western Provence, around Lyon (and outskirts of Geveva) and the Dordogne (but the Brits are prevalent). These criteria start to narrow things down.

Interesting to read where anglophone ex-pats choose mainly to live in France. In and around Paris is a given as I've seen some in restaurants in Paris by overhearing their conversations with US tourists.