Choosing a home is a daunting task when there is no job or family anchor. Assess your criteria, weigh them, and go visit your Top 3 FIRE places in France you shortlisted for your early retirement to check that reality matches your expectations.
This post is part of a series about France:
Part 1: Ultimate Reasons to consider early retirement in France
Part 2: Best FIRE places in France
Part 3: How to successfully settle for FIRE in France?
Part 4: How to secure the perfect rental property in France?
Our FIRE criteria
France is a large country with many different customs and lifestyles. Paris might come up on top of your mind as a good place to live. Indeed, it is a wonderful city where I lived and worked for almost a decade. Additionally, I lived there without children. If you love art and culture, have significant resources, do not have children, and speak no/little French, then Paris could be a good option to retire early. As a family of 5 who prefers space, outdoor activities, museums (we love to do during holidays), good weather, low pollution, and affordable cost of living, we had our own little tour to explore other cities across France.
Again, preferences differ from one individual to another. Our set of criteria and weight is unique to our family. It is based on our experiences and tastes. Moreover, if we had no kids, or kids of different age, our criteria and weights would be different, and we would go to different places. It is really up to you to understand your preferences and interests, and to define your criteria.
International education
International education for our children is paramount for us. We had international career and were able to accumulate wealth rapidly because we were open to relocation. Wherever we are, one key element of education is the mastery of languages: the one that hails from your family, and English to the very least. In my career, I have met people from many different backgrounds. I noticed that people who were speaking several languages where not only successful, but also likely to be happier people. Maybe the openness to other languages and cultures enables people to reflect on life and be grateful for the life they are living.
Let’s go back to the importance of learning languages early, and what international education can offer to our children. We visited cities which host international and/or bilingual private institutions. Private because bilingual public education in France starts at “college”, roughly 11 years old but with a few exceptions. Therefore, if your children are over 11 years old, you have more options. You can look into private schools and also public schools. I would recommend looking at the list of public “collège” and the list of public “lycée” with international sections. They are sorted by language and city. International Sections in public education have very high standards and are almost free. It could become an option in 8-10 years when our children are old enough to join these schools.
Good weather
As we have the choice to live almost anywhere we want, why would we endure cold or rainy weather? Actually, I do enjoy some freezing days and some rain, but only occasionally. The cycle of the four seasons is beautiful. It is a source of excitement when each season starts together with its unique set of activities. Ski and mountain activities during winter, surfing and water activities during summer, and all other outdoor sports throughout fall and spring. Moreover, good weather and environment boost our mood. Thus in our search, we drew a horizontal line cutting France in half, and we focused our attention on the cities south of this imaginary frontier. Notwithstanding, private schools are usually located where local population can afford private education, such as medium to large dynamic cities with significant economic clout, regardless of weather.
Low pollution
After living 9 amazing years in Hong Kong, I became exhausted at looking at the pollution levels and devise my activities for the day. When I was working long days without kids, weather and pollution had a very minor influence on me and my activities. I would simply go to work and grind it. When we welcomed our first daughter, we were more careful of the sort of environment that was surrounding our baby. And when I started to decrease my workload, and increase my leisure activities, outdoor conditions became critical. One of the reasons we left Hong Kong was an occasionally high level of air pollution. So again, as we can bring our luggages wherever we want, we narrowed down the list to places with healthier air.
The Tour de France of best places to FIRE
We did not and did not want to rely on someone else’s recommendation to determine where to relocate. So, we drove almost a thousand kilometers during our two-week tour to visit our potential future home cities. We listed here several places that we visited because we were considering these places. We were quite diligent to make appointments with schools and to tour around the cities. The list below represents our top places in France to FIRE sorted by our preference.
1. Annecy, the Venice of the Alps
According to our long list of criteria, Annecy checks all the boxes. There is literally nothing much to complain about. Thus, we rank it as the best place to Fire in France.
City
We call it the Venice of the Alps. The Thiou is a river that flows through the city with small canals. Annecy boasts a breath-taking lake with crystal clear water and surrounded by beautiful mountains. The nearest ski resort is 35 minutes away, and you can access numerous ski slopes within 45 minutes, less than their daily commute time for many people. Around the lakes, you can find beach access to the water. There is no surf in the Annecy Lake, but there are lots of SUPs, kayaks, windsurfs, kitesurfs and swimmers. The outdoor activities are endless for adults and for kids, which is a definite plus for us.
The weather is continental: enjoyable in spring, hot in summer, rainy in fall and cold in winter. In term of pollution, there is near none. It is such a contrast with Hong Kong or Dubai. I recall when there was some desert sand brought by the winds which covered the ski slopes in orange during winter. We talked about pollution once. Whereas it is the daily fallout in Dubai.
As everywhere, traffic can be challenging at peak times. However, drivers are courteous and respectful, and there is no stress involved. When you give priority to another driver, he will likely ‘thank you’ by blinking his emergency lights. Something to be surprised at the beginning, but you will soon thank other drivers the same way. Unfortunately, Annecy is a victim of its beauty and success. During the summertime, the city and its surrounding is invaded by tourists. The only alternative is to ride your bike.
Education
There are two private international schools here. Actually, many French residents enjoy the quality of life and low cost of living in France, and commute and work in Geneva (where salaries are easily 50% higher). Both schools have a great education project, passionate leadership, and native English teachers. Both are in high demand and their fees are reasonable (€5K to €7K), considering there are up to 20 kids per class.
Red Apple is located in a former public school site in Argonay. The view from the classrooms on the lake and mountains is fantastic. The school easily make up for the lack of extended facilities, with passionate staff and considerable flexibility. We could really feel the team spirit from the teachers and teaching assistants. Moreover, Red Apple offers pre-school class for children as soon as they turn 2 years old, meaning you do not need to wait for the next school year to start in September if you child turns 2 in December. The school offers tremendous opportunity for your children to be immersed in an English environment, and to socialize with other cutie little ones with a class size below 20. Our son loved it, and he never felt bored like he did with day-care takers or garderie. His understanding of English is almost as good as his French and Cantonese.
EBIHS has 2 campuses on the height of Annecy Le Vieux, and they will open another one in Epagny in 2024. Teachers are fantastic and our daughter did not like vacation because that would mean she could not go to school! We are so grateful for the two years she spent there. She learned to ski with her classmates during winter, participated in many extra-curricular activities such as dance, Spanish, Mandarin, karate, and pilates. Furthermore, we can say she is almost trilingual in French, Cantonese and English. It is very difficult to choose one school as both are excellent. Whichever you choose, you probably will not be disappointed.
2. Bordeaux, the pearl of Aquitaine
Bordeaux scored very high on our list as we were pleased by what the city can offer and the school we mentioned above, it was not difficult to imagine ourselves enjoying our new life there. Yet, after having spent our previous decade in Asia with only one ski trip to Niseko, we finally opted for Annecy, which had a slight advantage in terms of seasons. Nevertheless, Bordeaux is definitely in our Top 3 places to FIRE in France.
City
We debated for some time between Annecy and Bordeaux. Bordeaux has a lot to offer for families, and it was a difficult choice. Bordeaux’s weather is actually better than Annecy, with milder temperature throughout the year. The summers do not get too hot, nor too cold during winters. It benefits from its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. In less than 30 minutes’ drive, you can be sipping some fantastic wine in a winery, or buying bottles to restock your wine cellar. And within 1 hour, you can enjoy a wine-paired seafood platter while watching surfers perform in the sea. What a life!
The city is vibrant, clean and with good infrastructure. Honestly, it is difficult to complain as you have fine restaurants, historical buildings, and residential areas on the outskirt. Within the city, you can find some bilingual Montessori schools. We visited a few of them, and our daughter did not want to leave one of those as there were many toys and self-discovery items to play with. We really enjoyed the concept to learn by playing. However, we believe some structures could also be important for young kids, and that they may benefit from doing activities that they don’t like. For example, our daughter was crying when we first took her to ski as she did not want to try. But after a few weekends, she progressed and discovered that she loved it. Knowledge is like food, as the old adage go, you need to try everything at least once.
Education
We visited Ecole Internationale Montessori de Bordeaux. Their website is impressive but we were a bit disappointed after our visit. The school director arrived late and didn’t consider any apology. We were enquiring about the school project, when he told us that the school is also a training school for Montessori teachers. From our conversation, we understood that the school primary objective was more focused on turning a profit than student’s interests. We acknowledge that the purpose of any business is to be profitable, and we are fine with it. Nevertheless, we would have appreciated that the students were more present in the school motive. On a positive note, there were happy kids running around the school when we visited it.
You might not be impressed by the website of Ecole Montessori Bilingue Bordeaux, but we should not judge a book by its cover. It is a family run business where making money may not be their top motive. The school director created the school for her own children, and the school has been growing organically ever since. She is passionate about education and learning, and you can feel it in every detail of the school. Additionally, we were very impressed by the behavior and autonomy of the students, even the younger ones, during our visit. We seriously considered settling in Bordeaux just because of this particular school.
3. Montpellier, the gifted one
Montpellier is a serious contender for the top 3 place to FIRE in France. It has everything that we were looking for. As I knew the city, maybe in the end, we opted for Annecy which was more a discovery for Mama FC and myself.
City
At the beginning of my consulting career, I spent years commuting weekly from Paris to Montpellier. It was very enjoyable. The weather is fantastic and you are less than 30 minutes from the beach. I always find peace and calm when I am facing the sea, even when it is rough. Maybe, it reminds me that we are just small grains of sand against mother nature. Such proximity to the beautiful long and large beaches make Montpellier a very attractive place to me.
‘Place de la Comedie‘ is the epicenter of Montpellier. It offers a good city life with many restaurants and bars. Most of the streets around are reserved for pedestrians with many shops. We really enjoyed discovering the city on foot. People were chill and happy. Traffic was a bit of an issue during peak hours, but at least it was not overly stressful. Montpellier is well located, with many cities worth visiting nearby: Marseille and Aix en Provence on the East, and Toulouse on the West.
Education
Montpellier offers several options which you should seriously consider. On top of the list is ERIDAN International school. It started as a small family business which expanded successfully because of the passion of its founders. They offer the full range of levels from kindergarten, primary, secondary, and all the way up to Baccalaureate. Tuition fees are very reasonable, ranging from €5K to €7K annually, with additional sibling discounts. The classrooms are bright and well equipped. There is an indoor gym above the classrooms and plenty of outdoor space for the students to dispense their energy. The list of extra-curricular is extensive and the school organizes also green classes and ski classes.
The International School of Montpellier is a good alternative if you are living on the North side of the city. The school offers kindergarten and primary for prices ranging from €5K to €7K. The campus is well equipped. In kindergarten, children can enjoy 3 days of immersive English and 1 day in Spanish. During primary, 2 days of classes are in English and another 2 in French. Exposing young children to several languages is really critical for them to develop their ‘ears’. Indeed, there are studies that demonstrate all infants can hear the full spectrum of phonemes. However, without practice, children will lose the ability to distinguish some when they grow older.
4. Toulouse, the pink city
City
What a beautiful city! It is called the pink city because of the color of the house tiles. There is this warm atmosphere. We enjoyed walking across the city, from the city center to the outskirt. Toulouse is also the hub of the space and aviation industry of Europe. Airbus has a significant presence there. And there is a space museum too.
Location wise, Toulouse is a gem if you drive. You are 3 hours drive away from the Atlantic Ocean, 3 hours from the Mediterranean Sea and 3 hours from the Pyrenees mountains. You will have plenty of weekend getaways if you prefer the outdoor, and also a vibrant city life. There is a warm weather all year long, with very low pollution. It is a great option to live there. Only drawback of a large city such as Toulouse, is the need for long commutes and traffic jam whenever you need to move around. There is no perfect location, but Toulouse offers a great package overall.
Education
It is no surprise that there are fantastic schools. One of those is the International School of Toulouse. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Airbus SAS, with the aim to facilitate the global mobility of the company’s workforce. However, the fees for non-Airbus employees start around €20K per year. Ouch! Luckily, there are more affordable alternatives too.
L’ecole Bilingue Kaleidoscope is on the west side of Toulouse. They have good facilities and positive reviews on Google map. It is a true bilingual school with 2 days of instruction in French and 2 in English. There are also some extra-curricular activities such as yoga, combat, dance, music and swim classes. The use of laptop/tablet is integrated in the learning, and there is a nice outdoor and indoor area for sports.
On the East side of Toulouse, you can find Mon Ecole My school. It is again a bilingual school. The reviews are mixed. The facilities were less impressive than other schools, however we had a great chat with the head teacher. We shared a similar vision about education, language, learning. You should definitely visit the school to see how you feel if you are in the area.
Teaching vs Marketing
After so many school visits, we realized that there are 2 types of schools. There are schools with a great educational project, led by passionate parents. Mon Ecole My School is in that group. However, there expertise is teaching, not marketing. Thus, the website or the school might not be as impressive. On the other side, there are schools with a great website and/or state of the art facilities. It is easy to be impressed by this type of school. However, some focuses more on marketing than education. We visited some schools in that category in Bordeaux and Singapore. However, we wished we could leave these places quicker even during the visits. Nevertheless, we are still grateful to have made our decision to visit every school before enrolling our children, instead of relying simply on website and reviews.
5. Aix en Provence, the city of water fountains
City
Aix en Provence had a strategic location in the past. It was on a trading route and was (and still is) a wealthy city. Hundreds of fountains have been built across the city, only 40 or so remain today. The city center is full of pedestrian streets and there are many cafes and restaurants with terrasse where you can rest a bit. You are less than 30 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea and 2.5 hours away from the ski resort. The surrounding area is also beautiful with great scenery, places not to miss are Avignon, Marseille and Montpellier. The weather is fantastic all year long.
Education
There are several private institutions. Intriguingly, they are located close to each other in the outskirt. The CIPEC International School offers kindergarten and primary bilingual education. French and English are taught on a 50% basis with a maximum of 18 students per class. They have been operating for over three decades, with very good online reviews. Their all-inclusive fees are €10-11K per year.
About 500 meters down the road, there is IBS of Provence. The school is more modern, and their reviews are also good but not as high as CIPEC. They also offer kindergarten and primary education at a similar cost of €10-12K per year. On top of that, they offer secondary education up to the Baccalaureate for €13-15K per year. It is important to mention that the school has a boarding option, which is quite unique in France. For full boarding including weekends, the bill will jump to €30-32K per year.
6. Nice, the beautiful
City
We often hear the story of Japanese tourists experiencing a great disappointment when visiting Paris. They idealize Paris as the most beautiful and romantic city, only to discover its pollution, noise, and smell are not what they expected. We regrettably experienced a similar feeling when visiting Nice. We had images of a beautiful and rich city. It is true in some districts. In most others, it has more of a low-to-middle class feeling. Nevertheless, we never felt unsecured while walking in the city, but a simple disillusion. The highlight of our visit was a delicious Vietnamese Pho that we had at Nha Que restaurant. There are many fantastic restaurants offering international dishes in Nice which is definitely a plus.
The weather is great all year long. No surprise there are so many (regular) retirees there. You are right next to the Mediterranean sea, and you are less than 2 hours away from the ski resort. However, traffic can be a big drawback. Due to the lack of space, urbanization hasn’t been well planned, and the city is constantly under construction or repair similar to Paris. Usually, as long as drivers are respectful and well behave, I could accommodate the traffic jam. But I felt under stress in Nice. Drivers were honking for no obvious reasons while others are not respecting priorities. It was an overall unpleasant experience driving there.
Education
The International School of Nice is very impressive. It is on the east side of Nice with outstanding facilities. There are outdoor sport field, indoor gym, art and music rooms and an amphitheater. It is what you would expect from a true international school. Even my graduate school does not have as many facilities. Make us wonder if our children will have time to enjoy it all. Fees ranges from €12K to €24K per year. It is not cheap but better value than some other schools charging €8-10K with no facilities.
The international bilingual school Pain d’epice is in the city center. The school uses part of a residential building with a garden as the school playground. We found it a bit small for children to run around and spend their extra energy. Being in the city has its pros and cons, one drawback is the challenge to drop and pick up children every day without any parking in the vicinity. Pain d’epice has bilingual teachers teaching English, instead of native speakers. For a private international bilingual school, we were expecting native English teachers as we found it more difficult to gauge the quality of teaching otherwise. It is also less compelling for us to pay such fees.
Between Cannes and Nice, ICS Cote d’Azur is an excellent school. It is nested in the forest, with good facilities and a large outdoor play area. It is close to Sophia Antipolis, aka French Silicon Valley, which attracts talents globally. The student mix is therefore more diverse in terms of ethnicities and background, which we view as an advantage for the learning experience. The admission officer who led the tour knew most of the children’s names by heart. We could feel a great atmosphere overall.
7. Perpignan, the entrance (and exit)
If we have avoided that stop, it would have saved us some time during our epic tour. However, we would have missed the opportunity to realize that safety was also a key criterion for us. Perpignan had a remarkable international school with top notch facilities and program. I say ‘had’ and not ‘have’ because the school does not exist any longer at the time of writing. One key takeaway is we should not let ourself be too influenced by how a school looks like, which we were. Except for this school, there was nothing in the city that excited us. Moreover, we were repelled by the general atmosphere in the city center where you could feel the overall sense of insecurity filled with petty crimes. I do not know if things have changed, but I probably will not go find out myself.
Next steps
Now that you have an overview of several cities, which places sound more attractive to you? Do you prefer big cities, the sea or the mountain? You may spend a large amount of time researching online, but nothing will replace a real experience on the ground. Most schools we visited have open day, and they will also accommodate individual appointments. I would encourage you to block a week off your calendar to visit your top 3 places when you are more certain of your move. Let me help you to overcome your inertia in making it happen:
Action One: check your flight options on Expedia.
Action Two: book a place to stay. Hotels will be more flexible, but renting a real home will help you experience living like a local. You can book your hotel on Hotels.com, or a home rental on Vrbo.com. I usually find better deals and availability on Vrbo than Airbnb, but it is a personal preference.
Action Three: rent a car. I invite you to use Expedia platform which is connected to most rental car companies. You can browse for the best prices and availabilities.
If you are ready to have your very own exploration trips, we wish you bon voyage! Please share your experience here after your trips. In case you went elsewhere for yours, where have you been? Why there? What are the pros and cons? Please share your experience and feedback with our community. In the meantime, happy Fire Cracking!
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