South of France - where to live?

[BlueSkyNick]

Hypothetical question - Suppose we are thinking about the future, ie where to live. Looking for all the usual safety factors - political stability, stable(ish) economy, low(ish) crime, reasonable healthcare, must have decent climate etc etc. Want to stay in mainland Europe. Definitely want somewhere close to good sailing area, with suitable marina or moorings etc.

SWMBO is keen on south of France. Me - not sure about it - too built up and congested along the Riviera. Further west a bit sparce, maybe?

Where is the equivalent of Lymington for example? - ie small town with all necessary amenities, pleasant countryside, excellent facilities for the boat and plenty of other places to sail to.

<hr width=100% size=1>I can't be bothered with a footnote - it's usually rubbish anyway.

 

[charles_reed]

Hyeres nm

nm

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[kidnapped]

From the South of France you can go west or east .... but not a lot to see except land to port or starboard, bit like the south coast of England, but warmer. I would go for Greek Islands, lots of places to see, crowded during height of season, like Solent etc but lots of places to anchor, lots of shelter if you get it wrong and terrific sailing and quiet either side of 'the season' .... Turkey could be good too.

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[jhr]

I'm inclined to agree with you about the SOF. It's too expensive and there's either not enough wind or (esp. in the Gulf of Lyons) too much. Antibes is nice if you can afford it, as are Villefranche and Beaulieu.

I would suggest Southern Brittany but I guess the climate isn't quite predictable enough. How about The Algarve coast? Mooring in Vilamoura, nice place up in the hills near Loule - that's probably what I'd go for.

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[Talbot]

Would have to learn French and languages are not my strong point, so will be going rather further.

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[EME]

There's a load of c*** written about congection etc / prices in SoF. We 'kinda' live here now and it is quieter than Lymington on any day of the year. Prices on everything about 80% of UK .. just avoid the rip-off joints. Bit like London really in that respect.

I would avoid places like Hyeres ( sorry !! ) like the plague, as they are monstrosities ( IMHO ).

Only way to find out is to come down here regularly and have a good nose about, enough of us here who can show you the ropes ( or lack of them).

Lymington would be close to .. Cap Ferrrat or Theoule/ La Rague ( pushing it a bit there !!). No. Lymington is unique.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>I am WHAT I say I am</font color=blue>

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: Hyeres nm

Near there, Cassis - Calanque’s on the door step and Porquerolles for the weekend.

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[tcm]

One thing learner hasn't mentioned is that generally, brits who move to the south of france are a bit more intelligent than those who move to, say, spain, which can be a bit watford plastererish. Sorry for the snobbery, but anyway. Read "riveiera reporter" to see intelligent discussion of loads of topics of interest to expats.

Out of season, sof would be fine. Plenty of brit community, easy connections to UK.

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[stormeagle]

My slolution was to buy flat with mooring at Port Grimaud - Let it May - October while cruising, use it in winter as bnase while cruising friends!

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[Metabarca]

How about Slovenia or Istria in Croatia. One's in the EU, the other will join shortly. BTW, Istria is not the Balkans the way Sarejevo is... Good marinas, up-and-coming area (Brits buying stone houses by the barrel load; the 'new Tuscany'). Trieste airport one hour away.

<hr width=100% size=1>Adriatic links here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>

 

[Graham_Wright]

We have an appartment in Leucate which boasts a big marina and very good shore facilities.
Our appartment is actually in a naturist village which also has a small marina. The area is a destination for the French national holiday but is well provisioned.
However, beware of the wind! The Tramontane blows anywhere around 6 or 7 and, according to local advice, for 3, 6 or 9 days. Hence our cruising outfit includes a trysail and storm jib.
Nobody local seems to go out but as the wind is offshore and the nearest lee shore North Africa, it seems they're a bunch of wimps.
Be aware also that Catalonia is not far away and your schoolboy French knowledge may need some bending.

<hr width=100% size=1>GBW

 

[Sea Devil]

Sete - any where west of Cape d'Agde. In fact Antibes is really nice -

<hr width=100% size=1>If you have time please visit my web site -
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[slipstream242]

I f you want the sun late and early in the year plus the sophistication of a city life then go to Nice -I was there last week and it was still shirt sleeves in the warmth plus loads of decent restaurants and bars

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[jfm]

There's nowhere the same as Lymington (which i know well -our boat was there 4 years) but actually the SofF equivalent is Antibes imho. As in, a major yachting centre plus a beautiful cobbled-street town.

Antibes benefits from being near the airport. There are other nice places like Grimaud as mentioned above but many of these are a long way from airport

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[BlueSkyNick]

Know what you mean about learning languages, the only O'levels I failed were French, German and English lit!

However, I reckon I have a better chance of relearning something I did at school, than starting afresh with some other lingo altogether.

<hr width=100% size=1>I can't be bothered with a footnote - it's usually rubbish anyway.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Thanks Learner, I will be in touch seperately in due course.

Re congestion, I have first had experience of getting stuck in the holiday traffic from Nice to StTropez. I am wasting so much of my life stuck in jams in the UK, and really would like to get away from them.

<hr width=100% size=1>I can't be bothered with a footnote - it's usually rubbish anyway.

 

[EME]

AArrggh that traffic jam.

Seriously , the only way to go to St Tropez is by boat. Even when I drive it in winter I get stuck in jams between St Maxime and St Tropez. Worse than M25 ...

... and yes an the height of the summer you can get gridlocked on many of the small roads (and even the motorway)

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>I am WHAT I say I am</font color=blue>

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Thanks tcm - I have found Riviera Reporter on line - will take a closer look sometime.

BTW, there are some very respectable people who have chosen to live in SPain, including a forumite who previously owned our boat !

I will leave the tradesmen from NW LOndon to stick up for themselves.

<hr width=100% size=1>I can't be bothered with a footnote - it's usually rubbish anyway.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by BIGNICK on 23/11/2004 12:41 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Peppermint]

Re: I\'d Fancy

Menton. I like the mixture of modern and historic.

Canne. Cos I like a bit of flash and anchoring among the islands is cool.

Villefranche. Hey this could go on and on.

Most of the Sud from Nice to Italy is really very Italian.

You can get a nice appartment in Menton, with a view of the sea, for less money than one in Gosport's new developments.

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[mrw13]

I had the pleasure of living in Vence (15 mins drive from Nice airport - 5 mins from St. Paul de Vence) for 13 years. Ex wife & youngest daughter still live there.

Great place to live & wonderful climate, but as for sailing, there are better places.
The days when you get ideal wind, say F4, are few & far between. For the rest, its either strong winds (Mistral) that come pretty suddenly or flat calm. As for marinas, there are a nr, but availability is very limited and they are very expensive.

Have u tried looking further down towards Montpelier ?

<hr width=100% size=1>All the best

Mike