Hi,

Our family is from the EU and planning to move to France next year.

I assume that, if my company moves me from Spain to France, and get me a National Insurance Number and Tax ID, with those, plus my contract stating my salary, 3 previous payslips (even if from another country not France, they would be good and in €), I should be able to, find an apartment, open a bank account and settle, right?

My wife and daugther with me, she would be a student in a French learning school, and daugther would go to either ecolle matternele (she will be 5 next year), or private school if we cannot find a place in the public one.

I guess this is it right? or is there anything else for EU members that I am not aware?

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are planning to move to France next year with our 4-year-old daughter, and after months of research we've narrowed our options down to:

- Angers

- La Rochelle

- Strasbourg

We know there is no perfect city, and each of these involves compromises, so I'd love to hear from people who know these places well.

Our main priorities are:

- Safety

- Good public education

- Family-friendly environment

- Green spaces and access to nature

- Mild climate (we'd prefer to avoid very hot summers)

- Good rail connections, especially TGV access to Paris and the rest of Europe

- A city where we can comfortably live without a car

- Walkability and cycling infrastructure

- An open-minded and environmentally conscious atmosphere

A bit about us: we currently live in the north of Spain, politically on the left, interested in sustainability, and my wife is vegan. We'd also like our daughter to grow up in an environment that feels welcoming and open to different backgrounds.

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the outlier on our list.

On paper, it seems to have incredible advantages:

- Excellent train connections

- Easy access to Germany and Switzerland

- Very international and European atmosphere

- Strong cycling culture

However, we're concerned that:

- It may feel bigger than we'd like

- The climate seems colder and less pleasant than the other options

- It might not provide the "French lifestyle" immersion we're looking for to the same extent as other cities

On the other hand, its international character could make it easier for my wife to find work while improving her French.

Angers

Angers feels like the most logical choice.

It seems:

- Safe

- Family-oriented

- Walkable

- Affordable (although prices seem to be rising)

- Well connected to Paris by TGV

My concern is whether we might eventually find it a bit too quiet. I've also read that it has a more traditional and Catholic culture than some other French cities. As people who are fairly progressive and environmentally minded, I'm wondering whether we'd eventually feel somewhat out of place.

La Rochelle

La Rochelle is very appealing because:

- We love the ocean

- The coastal lifestyle seems fantastic for a family

- It appears environmentally conscious and bike-friendly

- The climate seems pleasant

The downside is that it feels more geographically isolated, especially compared with Strasbourg. While Paris is still reachable by TGV, it doesn't seem as connected to the rest of Europe.

If you had to choose...

If you were moving with a young child and planning to stay long term, which of these three cities would you choose, and why?

I'd especially appreciate insights from people who have lived in one (or more) of these cities and can comment on the reality of day-to-day life rather than just statistics.

Thanks very much!

Hi again,

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Family of 3 with a 4 year old.

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So, after some more searching, and reading your comments, we are narrowing down our search for a potential move to France (from Spain) to the following 3 cities:

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- Strasbourg

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- Angers

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- Nantes

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We value safety, education, open mindness, not crazy hot weather, good quality of life overal, and connectivity to be able to travel abroad, ideally by train, but without being far from international airports.

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Strasbourg seems a great choice, Nantes and Angers as well. Strasbourg the main issue is the weather, bad winters and hot summers.

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I have been briefly to Strasbourg as a tourist and loved it of course, but its completely different to living there. Never neen to Angers.

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Bottom line: we want to move to a place where our daugther can thrive, be happy and safe, and we are able to use weekends away either in France exploring, or abroad in Italy, Germany, Switzerland etc prefferably by train. My wife will not have a job initially, I will be the one working from home, so she will learn French first, and then try to find a job (also possible to find a job in English of course), so if possible to live with just one salary of 60k for 6 months to 1 year, then we are ok, until she finds a job.

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Would love to know your tips or any other info or places we should consider. I have considered a lot of them, and discarded for one reason or another i.e. Lyon, Annecy, Rennes, Tours, La Rochelle, Bayonne, Biarritz, Grenoble, Vannes, Amiens.

What about Dijon? 👀

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Merci!! 😊

Hi all,

Family of 3 with a 4 year old.

Looking to move to France, and since we want a bit of connectivity in terms of getting to other countries by train, and to other places in France, we thought maybe Paris suburbs might work for us, as we like smaller, very safe and quieter places, but still great for kids, great schools, and hopefully a job for my wife (I work from home).

Saint-Germain-en-Laye seems great, any other that you think might be good for our family? Not very expensive would be ideal, as my wife does not yet speak french so we might have to live just of my salary for a few months until she learns to speak French.

Any advice is welcome, thank you so much!

I have a 60 year old friend in the UK, that is in a lull at the moment, she is divorced for a few years, and the past year she cannot be bothered to get out for walks/exercise, just work. She used to travel a bit, but she says she isnt sure she will get the mojo back about seeing new places outside of the UK..

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I wanted to "push" her and what best way to do that, than to send her a book, or a couple of them, for inspiration?

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Either a travelling memoir by someone with similar age than her, as she could relate a bit more, or just a general "lets live our lives to the fullest" type of book, but realistic, that she can get some positive motivation from it..

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any ideas?

Moving to France

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We are a family of three with a 4 year old, looking to move from Spain to France.

​

We value: family friendly, safety, good education, green areas, not too hot, but a lot of sunshine and not too much rain, not too big like Paris, connected by train to international airports, and that is know for sustanability efforts.

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My wife is vegan which isnt easy to navigate in smaller cities.

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I was told by some people and chat gpt that these were good choices: Angers, Annecy, La Rochelle, Biarritz

​

Anyone confirms these are good choices, or are there others that would fit us best?

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Merci!

We are a family of three with a 4 year old, looking to move from Spain to France.

​

We value: family friendly, safety, good education, green areas, not too hot, but a lot of sunshine and not too much rain, not too big like Paris, connected by train to international airports, and that is know for sustanability efforts.

​

My wife is vegan which isnt easy to navigate in smaller cities.

​

I was told by some people and chat gpt that these were good choices: Angers, Annecy, La Rochelle, Biarritz

​

Anyone confirms these are good choices, or are there others that would fit us best?

​

Merci!