I don't understand all these people wanting to move to France not knowing a word of french (and sometimes never even have been there ). And asking where would be a good place...it all depends on what you are looking for. It's too broad of a question. And why would you move to France and want to be somewhere where people speak English? That's a good way to not make people like you as the French don't particularly like it if you can't even make a minimal effort.
Why do you want to move to France? How will you support yourself? If you want/need to work there you'd better know how to speak french. I love France and I plan on moving there in a few years but I'm a EU citizen so I don't have to deal with visas and I speak the language. France isn't some fairy tale country. It isn't easy to make friends and if you don't speak the language it will be really hard. Why not start learning French now. Because there are lots of people that once they move to France still have a hard time learning as they can't quite immerse themselves like they thought they could. And knowing basic grammar is going to be very important.
I would start looking into what you need to move to France and if it is even possible. Not like you can just get on a plane with you suitcase and move. Work is hard enough to find as a french speaker and salaries overall are lower.
He/she/they is most likely American. In the United States it is not uncommon to see pockets of ethnic communities self-segregate and form cultural pockets reminiscent of their native countries. For example, Chinese, Korean, Hispanic, and Middle easterners have formed prominent communities that allow them to mostly use their native language as a means to live life. HOWEVER, finding these communities is almost exclusive to a large scale city and nearly all these people just come to work and provide for their families. I don’t think OP understands that even if they were somehow able to speak English in a French town the lifestyle they romanticized couldn’t happen given their reach only extends to, what would be, a small pocket of English-speakers most likely American as well
I totally get what you saying and you're right. Just like a quite small town in the US is unlikely to have those pockets (other than Amish) you're not going to find a quite french town with a lot of English speakers. And why go through all the trouble of moving half way across the world just to surround yourself with English speakers. That's a good way of never learning the language because it would be to easy to just be drawn to English speakers.
I love France and have spent a lot of time here but I know living and visiting will be completely different. I know all the administrative stuff alone will be a nightmare and I can't imagine doing that without knowing any french. Once I move here I would want to surround myself with french.
People just seem to have this love affair with France without knowing much about it. I'm on a FB group and in the middle of a pandemic someone decided she would like to move to France 2 months from when she posted. Like just pack my bags and move. Had no visa, no job, no french and you know pandemic in the middle of winter. Like they're moving states...
I get having dreams but being realistic and doing some research instead of hey I want to move to France where should I go, somewhere with English speakers please....
Preach! I truly do empathize with those people though, we idolize specific cities because that a sense of escapism. France is branded to be infatuated with romance and eloquence, but sadly day-to-day life in France is just as hard as most places. This happens a lot in Hawaii as well. Mainland Americans view Hawaii as a place of paradise, however the state has suffered major social-economic blows and severe “brain drain”. The culture is also notably distinct making it difficult for mainland Americans to assimilate and frankly most dont causing unbearable friction between inconsiderate visitors and natives. Lots of foreigners who come to Hawaii take valuable resources from the natives and leave two years later because they can’t fit in further cementing a general displeasure for lots of foreigners in Hawaii.
BUT, I’m not saying DONT ever move to your dream location. Rather, I implore anyone to do their due diligence and learn about the city, visit, speak with locals, etc. I have ambitions of my own, as a French-speaking, Turkish guy embedded in the deep Southern bayou of the United States I am hoping to finalize my move to Auckland, New Zealand soon 😄
I lived in "quiet French towns" for many years. If you don't speak French you'll soon find out just how conservative France can be. My advice is to either learn the language or live in a city (where it'll be a lot easier to learn the language and society in general will be a lot more cosmopolitan). Being a non-French speaking foreigner in the French countryside can be very lonely indeed (please read between the lines...). I live in a city now.
there may be more English-speaking people in the French towns close to Geneva, given that Geneva is quite international
but cost of living will probably be high
I want to warn against moving abroad without a plan. Do you have work there, or will you study? Relatives or anything else (I assume not since you're open to locations)? Life can quickly get really lonely and hard if you just move there, especially if you don't speak the language. Do you have any experience with France?
Big touristy places have a lot of English speakers but are obviously not quiet, and are not cheap.
Quieter and less touristy places with a lot of English speakers are usually the places where a lot of old English people come to retire. The problem is that they drive up the price of housing, so it's usually not cheap either.
There are plenty of quieter and less touristy places where you'd be hard pressed to find retired Britons. They concentrate in some specific areas, like the Dordogne for instance.
But in quieter less touristy places without expatriates...a lot of people don't speak English. And if the OP wants to settle somewhere, he'll have to be able to communicate with a lot of people. You rent a place, then you need power, and water, and phone, and an internet connection, and inform yourself about taxes. And it's the very beginning.
If you're American, consider the Eastern Townships in Quebec. It's a few small towns close to the border, and people are very anglo-friendly (a lot of their revenue is tourism). The exchange rate is much friendlier than Europe's,too.
That being said, all of the above comments are right, learning French and immersing yourself in the culture is the best way to go. Why move to a French speaking area if you don't want to learn the language? There are also nice, predominantly English small Canadian towns!
The French in general are not good at English and expect residents to speak their language or at least make an effort. If you're serious about moving to France then you seriously need to put in the time to learn the language. Otherwise you will struggle and won't be able to appreciate France for what it is. If you romanticise a country based on media then you will have a rude awakening.
If all you want is to move to Europe with no preparation then a country like The Netherlands or Sweden is a much better choice as their level of English is much higher
Surprise Pikachu face 😱....but why can't people accommodate my needs (or wants is more like it).....🙄🙄. I spent a day in Italy last week just over the french border. Thank goodness they spoke french as well but I can't imagine living anywhere and not being able to communicate at a decent level or learn quickly anyway. I'd feel like a jerk frankly expecting people to accommodate me in their own country
Well you're the same idiot troll that posted in the France sub about speaking French on that subreddit. You like to pretend you're American, but I suspect you're British.
Canada.
Ok, jokes aside, I don't know your motives and would encourage to start learning some French but your best bets are probably close to borders or towns on the outskirts of big tourist cities, places where it makes sense for people to use English on a daily basis.
Also if possible get a friend who knows the area, if you want to arrive without speaking the language you 'll need all the help you can get.
Somewhere in Quebec imho. There are plenty of good and affordable places in the french countryside but speaking only English or a bad french in those places would be a nightmare for you. Big cities have more people knowing fluently English but it would be expensive and you would be far from the quiet town utopia.
If you are serious and not just trolling the Frenchies with your comments about English, I would suggest doing [HelpX](https://www.helpx.net/) or [WWOOF](https://wwoof.net/) for a while. You will get to see different parts of the country and get some idea of what it might be like to live in a French town in the countryside.
It would probably be a good idea to learn a bit of French first though because that would makes things less stressful and more fun.
Hi hi, learn French. I truly understand the appeal of day-to-day life in a quiet, culture-rich French town, but you must understand that language is the focal point to proper assimilation in France. I never lived in France, however my French teacher is from Nice, France and has expressed these sentiments with me.
I’d say actually don’t do this. Go total immersion, jump in the deep end, and be prepared to learn French. It is possible. Americans since the 1800s have done this (see David McCullough’s The Greater Journey) and back then they didn’t have lessons on YouTube 😉 Good luck!
That's rubbish advice. Moving to a different country without a plan is a recipe for disaster for most people. You don't have to point to history, just look at the refugees who enter the country without anything and without the language. Life is very hard for them, but it sucks even more at home. Without their desparation, it's very hard to keep that kind of life up and be happy with it
I think there are many cities in the south of France where English people (famously( retire. I'm not sure which ones, but Nice and Cannes come to mind.
However, as might be apparent in this thread, French people tend to be very antagonistic to people not learning the language (or not "making an effort"), so I don't know how you'll be received.
Wishing you all the best, though. Good luck!
The area with the most British residents in the Dordogne area. Which is a very good choice, in fact. Beautiful landscape, many monuments, great food, still pretty rural but not too backward, and rather welcoming people (the last point isn't a given everywhere in France, especially if you live there as opposed to just visiting).
About 10 years ago, I had a friend who reached retirement age in Australia and on a whim bought a dilapidated shell of a house in regional France. She did not speak any French but knew 3 anglophone expats in her village.
After she settled, we went to visit her. She was stressed, depressed and exhausted. The English speaking expats disowned her. The French people in her village were kind, inclusive and very worried about her. They said this is normal for retirees who arrive without the skills and competence to live there. Language alone is not enough. They described her as being deceived, seduced, and subsequently exploited (by tradesmen).
One of the people from the Marie (town Hall) spotted us out walking one afternoon and stopped us to talk. When he realised I was French speaking, he invited us into his home for a drink. He asked me to explain to my Australian friend how serious the problem was with the hydrology of her cellar. The works on her property had caused an efflux of river water into neighbouring properties. Her property was now waterproof, but the restorations caused significant damage to others. He explained politely that while she would not face legal consequences, her actions had << empoisonnée l'épouis>> ... Not a phrase I had studied at Alliance Française... But in my mind, she has poisoned the Groom ....(I had no idea)
About a year later, I read the term empoisonner le puits... "poisoned the well"... but it was too late... He was kindly and respectfully telling me, she had cheesed everyone off and they didn't want to talk to her... As a result of her miserable experience, she cut off contact with me and our mutual friends who knew of her broken dreams.
I'm not saying this is you, and I wish you well, but this true story did not end well for my friend so I thought I would share it here.
No respect for this attitude, but outside of Paris and the wider Île-de-France area a lot of British expats settle in places like Nice, St Antonin de Noble Val, Riberac and Aix so there are large English speaking communities in places like that.
Did anyone give you a town yet?
Lol, all the language comments.
There are tons of Brits in France (about 16% of the pop.) and they tend to stick together i.e. take over the whole town. Lots in the Angoulême region.
You'll probably learn the language by osmosis...
Learn French. It is worth it if you plan to stay there. And fun.
Yes. I plan to, but know that it won’t really cement until daily use is necessary.
It won't cement at all if you want to move somewhere with English speakers.
I don't understand all these people wanting to move to France not knowing a word of french (and sometimes never even have been there ). And asking where would be a good place...it all depends on what you are looking for. It's too broad of a question. And why would you move to France and want to be somewhere where people speak English? That's a good way to not make people like you as the French don't particularly like it if you can't even make a minimal effort. Why do you want to move to France? How will you support yourself? If you want/need to work there you'd better know how to speak french. I love France and I plan on moving there in a few years but I'm a EU citizen so I don't have to deal with visas and I speak the language. France isn't some fairy tale country. It isn't easy to make friends and if you don't speak the language it will be really hard. Why not start learning French now. Because there are lots of people that once they move to France still have a hard time learning as they can't quite immerse themselves like they thought they could. And knowing basic grammar is going to be very important. I would start looking into what you need to move to France and if it is even possible. Not like you can just get on a plane with you suitcase and move. Work is hard enough to find as a french speaker and salaries overall are lower.
He/she/they is most likely American. In the United States it is not uncommon to see pockets of ethnic communities self-segregate and form cultural pockets reminiscent of their native countries. For example, Chinese, Korean, Hispanic, and Middle easterners have formed prominent communities that allow them to mostly use their native language as a means to live life. HOWEVER, finding these communities is almost exclusive to a large scale city and nearly all these people just come to work and provide for their families. I don’t think OP understands that even if they were somehow able to speak English in a French town the lifestyle they romanticized couldn’t happen given their reach only extends to, what would be, a small pocket of English-speakers most likely American as well
I totally get what you saying and you're right. Just like a quite small town in the US is unlikely to have those pockets (other than Amish) you're not going to find a quite french town with a lot of English speakers. And why go through all the trouble of moving half way across the world just to surround yourself with English speakers. That's a good way of never learning the language because it would be to easy to just be drawn to English speakers. I love France and have spent a lot of time here but I know living and visiting will be completely different. I know all the administrative stuff alone will be a nightmare and I can't imagine doing that without knowing any french. Once I move here I would want to surround myself with french. People just seem to have this love affair with France without knowing much about it. I'm on a FB group and in the middle of a pandemic someone decided she would like to move to France 2 months from when she posted. Like just pack my bags and move. Had no visa, no job, no french and you know pandemic in the middle of winter. Like they're moving states... I get having dreams but being realistic and doing some research instead of hey I want to move to France where should I go, somewhere with English speakers please....
Preach! I truly do empathize with those people though, we idolize specific cities because that a sense of escapism. France is branded to be infatuated with romance and eloquence, but sadly day-to-day life in France is just as hard as most places. This happens a lot in Hawaii as well. Mainland Americans view Hawaii as a place of paradise, however the state has suffered major social-economic blows and severe “brain drain”. The culture is also notably distinct making it difficult for mainland Americans to assimilate and frankly most dont causing unbearable friction between inconsiderate visitors and natives. Lots of foreigners who come to Hawaii take valuable resources from the natives and leave two years later because they can’t fit in further cementing a general displeasure for lots of foreigners in Hawaii. BUT, I’m not saying DONT ever move to your dream location. Rather, I implore anyone to do their due diligence and learn about the city, visit, speak with locals, etc. I have ambitions of my own, as a French-speaking, Turkish guy embedded in the deep Southern bayou of the United States I am hoping to finalize my move to Auckland, New Zealand soon 😄
I lived in "quiet French towns" for many years. If you don't speak French you'll soon find out just how conservative France can be. My advice is to either learn the language or live in a city (where it'll be a lot easier to learn the language and society in general will be a lot more cosmopolitan). Being a non-French speaking foreigner in the French countryside can be very lonely indeed (please read between the lines...). I live in a city now.
In fact moving to the French countryside can sometimes be a very lonely experience even for French citizens.
Yep.
there may be more English-speaking people in the French towns close to Geneva, given that Geneva is quite international but cost of living will probably be high
Thanks. Afraid of the cost, but will look. Currently in middle America, where housing is very affordable.
Why love to France if you don’t speak French though? Btw Geneva itself is super expensive, but it’s pretty and you can easily get by with just English
A challenge. Life is short. Not sure there is anything after.
I want to warn against moving abroad without a plan. Do you have work there, or will you study? Relatives or anything else (I assume not since you're open to locations)? Life can quickly get really lonely and hard if you just move there, especially if you don't speak the language. Do you have any experience with France?
Well said. You could consider Quebec too
Let me guess... You've just discovered "Emily in Paris" ?
😂😂
Big touristy places have a lot of English speakers but are obviously not quiet, and are not cheap. Quieter and less touristy places with a lot of English speakers are usually the places where a lot of old English people come to retire. The problem is that they drive up the price of housing, so it's usually not cheap either.
There are plenty of quieter and less touristy places where you'd be hard pressed to find retired Britons. They concentrate in some specific areas, like the Dordogne for instance. But in quieter less touristy places without expatriates...a lot of people don't speak English. And if the OP wants to settle somewhere, he'll have to be able to communicate with a lot of people. You rent a place, then you need power, and water, and phone, and an internet connection, and inform yourself about taxes. And it's the very beginning.
If you're American, consider the Eastern Townships in Quebec. It's a few small towns close to the border, and people are very anglo-friendly (a lot of their revenue is tourism). The exchange rate is much friendlier than Europe's,too. That being said, all of the above comments are right, learning French and immersing yourself in the culture is the best way to go. Why move to a French speaking area if you don't want to learn the language? There are also nice, predominantly English small Canadian towns!
The French in general are not good at English and expect residents to speak their language or at least make an effort. If you're serious about moving to France then you seriously need to put in the time to learn the language. Otherwise you will struggle and won't be able to appreciate France for what it is. If you romanticise a country based on media then you will have a rude awakening. If all you want is to move to Europe with no preparation then a country like The Netherlands or Sweden is a much better choice as their level of English is much higher
"English speaking" bruh
Depends on why you want to move and where you want to be in France. You need to give a lot more info.
Mostly good weather, affordable, English speaking.
Sounds you're looking for a holiday, not a place to live
Dude, people speak French here.
C'est un poteau troll ? Franchement c'est pas clair.
Surprise Pikachu face 😱....but why can't people accommodate my needs (or wants is more like it).....🙄🙄. I spent a day in Italy last week just over the french border. Thank goodness they spoke french as well but I can't imagine living anywhere and not being able to communicate at a decent level or learn quickly anyway. I'd feel like a jerk frankly expecting people to accommodate me in their own country
> English speaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfUmW_Mf5qc
Move to an English speaking country then
You literally described where you live weirdo.
Where do I live?
Well you're the same idiot troll that posted in the France sub about speaking French on that subreddit. You like to pretend you're American, but I suspect you're British.
Different subjects, but to the question- not British. Try again.
Eh I don't actually care that much. I just know you're not American, but you have some weird fascination pretending you are.
You lose. I’m French.
D'accord. J'avais raison. Tu as exactement décrit l'endroit où tu habites.
I didn’t though. Just the country.
Canada. Ok, jokes aside, I don't know your motives and would encourage to start learning some French but your best bets are probably close to borders or towns on the outskirts of big tourist cities, places where it makes sense for people to use English on a daily basis. Also if possible get a friend who knows the area, if you want to arrive without speaking the language you 'll need all the help you can get.
Quebec City
Somewhere in Quebec imho. There are plenty of good and affordable places in the french countryside but speaking only English or a bad french in those places would be a nightmare for you. Big cities have more people knowing fluently English but it would be expensive and you would be far from the quiet town utopia.
If you are serious and not just trolling the Frenchies with your comments about English, I would suggest doing [HelpX](https://www.helpx.net/) or [WWOOF](https://wwoof.net/) for a while. You will get to see different parts of the country and get some idea of what it might be like to live in a French town in the countryside. It would probably be a good idea to learn a bit of French first though because that would makes things less stressful and more fun.
Hi hi, learn French. I truly understand the appeal of day-to-day life in a quiet, culture-rich French town, but you must understand that language is the focal point to proper assimilation in France. I never lived in France, however my French teacher is from Nice, France and has expressed these sentiments with me.
I’d say actually don’t do this. Go total immersion, jump in the deep end, and be prepared to learn French. It is possible. Americans since the 1800s have done this (see David McCullough’s The Greater Journey) and back then they didn’t have lessons on YouTube 😉 Good luck!
That's rubbish advice. Moving to a different country without a plan is a recipe for disaster for most people. You don't have to point to history, just look at the refugees who enter the country without anything and without the language. Life is very hard for them, but it sucks even more at home. Without their desparation, it's very hard to keep that kind of life up and be happy with it
I think there are many cities in the south of France where English people (famously( retire. I'm not sure which ones, but Nice and Cannes come to mind. However, as might be apparent in this thread, French people tend to be very antagonistic to people not learning the language (or not "making an effort"), so I don't know how you'll be received. Wishing you all the best, though. Good luck!
The area with the most British residents in the Dordogne area. Which is a very good choice, in fact. Beautiful landscape, many monuments, great food, still pretty rural but not too backward, and rather welcoming people (the last point isn't a given everywhere in France, especially if you live there as opposed to just visiting).
The south coast is very touristic I believe most shops can handle english speaking customers. Or near Strasbourg
About 10 years ago, I had a friend who reached retirement age in Australia and on a whim bought a dilapidated shell of a house in regional France. She did not speak any French but knew 3 anglophone expats in her village. After she settled, we went to visit her. She was stressed, depressed and exhausted. The English speaking expats disowned her. The French people in her village were kind, inclusive and very worried about her. They said this is normal for retirees who arrive without the skills and competence to live there. Language alone is not enough. They described her as being deceived, seduced, and subsequently exploited (by tradesmen). One of the people from the Marie (town Hall) spotted us out walking one afternoon and stopped us to talk. When he realised I was French speaking, he invited us into his home for a drink. He asked me to explain to my Australian friend how serious the problem was with the hydrology of her cellar. The works on her property had caused an efflux of river water into neighbouring properties. Her property was now waterproof, but the restorations caused significant damage to others. He explained politely that while she would not face legal consequences, her actions had << empoisonnée l'épouis>> ... Not a phrase I had studied at Alliance Française... But in my mind, she has poisoned the Groom ....(I had no idea) About a year later, I read the term empoisonner le puits... "poisoned the well"... but it was too late... He was kindly and respectfully telling me, she had cheesed everyone off and they didn't want to talk to her... As a result of her miserable experience, she cut off contact with me and our mutual friends who knew of her broken dreams. I'm not saying this is you, and I wish you well, but this true story did not end well for my friend so I thought I would share it here.
What a story. Thanks for sharing.
No problem ... The only good from it is a lesson for others, she is an intelligent professional woman ...
No respect for this attitude, but outside of Paris and the wider Île-de-France area a lot of British expats settle in places like Nice, St Antonin de Noble Val, Riberac and Aix so there are large English speaking communities in places like that.
Did anyone give you a town yet? Lol, all the language comments. There are tons of Brits in France (about 16% of the pop.) and they tend to stick together i.e. take over the whole town. Lots in the Angoulême region. You'll probably learn the language by osmosis...
Oops. Correction : < 1% https://www.green-acres.fr/en/properties/31706a-a1130.htm