3 Best Towns in The South of France for Expat Living—Internationalliving.com/au

Most retirees assume—wrongly—that the South of France is beyond their budget. But a new report from the editors of Internationalliving.com/au indicates tothree fascinating spots that offer top-class healthcare, a mild climate and remarkably good-value living.

Source: InternationalLiving.com/au

“When people think of the south of France, amongst the first places that come to mind are destinations like Provence, Carcassonne, Nice and the Côte d’Azur,” saysStewart Richmond, International Living South of France Correspondent. “Indeed, they are all beautiful and you should put them on your bucket list to visit but as tourist hotspots, they’re expensive and choked with people for much of the year.”

However, there are outstanding towns in southern France that offer retirees an excellent quality of life. And what most people don’t realise is that it can be incredibly affordable, too. Life there, of course, comes with excellent food and wine and a wonderfully easy pace of living.

The report explores three southern France towns—Castelnaudary, Pau and Perpignan—of varied sizes, each offering unique appeal.

Castelnaudary

Castelnaudary, a town in the Aude region is the smallest of our selection, with only 10,000 inhabitants. Situated about half way between Toulouse and the popular tourist destination of Carcassonne, it is also the home of the famous French dish cassoulet—a rich, slow-cooked casserole containing meat and white beans.

Castelnaudary has a comfortable climate with average summer temperatures in the high 20s C and fairly mild winters with average temperatures in the low to mid-teens C.  You’ll find all the things you expect from a traditional French town here, including outdoor cafes, boulangeries for your morning baguette and quirky back streets. But it still has a full range of modern services.

There are beautiful cycling paths and walks through the ancient narrow streets, along the banks of the 17th century canal and around Le Grand Bassin—a lake in the middle of town. Of course, there are plenty of boat tours up and down the canal which reaches its highest point by a series of locks not far from the town.

Castelnaudary is surrounded by lush farmland from which you can see spectacular vistas of the snow-capped Pyrenees mountains to the south. Andorra—and its plethora of ski resorts—is only a couple of hours’ easy drive.

Castelnaudary also has a railway station with regular services to Toulouse and Carcassonne which both have international airports.

“Property is also good value here and, while not as cheap as central France, is still a bargain compared to Australia,” says Stewart Richmond. “Because it’s a small town, rental accommodation is limited but there are places available upwards of €600 ($950) a month.”

Pau

If you are looking for a retirement option that really delivers, consider Pau—a beautiful French city of 80,000 souls, a few kilometres from the Spanish border. Gorgeous old villas and mansions line the streets, taking in spectacular views of the snow-capped Pyrenees.

Pau has mild, wet winters with mild, warm summers. In summer the average temperature is 20 C to 30 C, while in winter you can expect around 12 C. With such a climate, it’s easy to see why European nobility flocked to the city for vacations in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Its location lends itself to the best of both worlds—the nearest ski resorts are only 45 minutes’ drive and you can be at an Atlantic beach in an hour. The city is known for its interest in sports and boasts the first 18-hole golf course created in Europe, which you can still play today. It has a Victorian-style clubhouse with a distinctly British atmosphere.

It would not be France without a local wine and Pau is famous for Jurançon, which is produced in only 25 towns and villages. The moelleux (sweet) white wine is the most famous, however they also produce a dry one.

But when it comes to essential facilities, Pau has an excellent hospital and other health centers, an airport with connecting flights around the world, and the TGV (Train Grand Vitesse) trains that run to places like Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse.

As Pau is a university city, buy-to-let apartments—especially one-room studio flats—are popular investments but that also means there are plenty of rental properties available. Expect to pay €1,000 ($1,580) a month, plus.

“You will find that Pau is slightly cheaper to buy than farther east, close to the Mediterranean coast,” says Stewart. “You can expect to pay around €200,000 ($315,822) for a terrific renovated place. One that took my fancy, although it needed a refresh, was a six bedroom, three-storey maison de maitre 15 minutes from the centre of Pau on half an acre of land with spectacular views of the Pyrenees. Imagine what this would cost you in Australia!”

Perpignan

Perpignan is about as far south as you can go in France and, with a population of just under 120,000, it has a distinctly Spanish influence.

Its population is mainly French Catalan, with street signs in both French and Catalan. In fact, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Majorca during the 13th century and, south of the old town, the huge Gothic and Romanesque Palace of the Kings of Majorca has ramparts with views to the coast.

It has a Mediterranean climate with average temperatures in summer around the high 20s C and mild winters with an average maximum in the mid to low teens C. There is the chance of a few snow flurries in winter, but these are few and far between.

Spain is a few kilometres away with access to the Costa Brava, with Barcelona only two hours away on great motorways. As both France and Spain are signatories to the Schengen Agreement, there are no border checks, so the only way you know you are in a new country is when the road signs switch to Spanish.

Perpignan has all the services you would expect in a city this size, including a small international airport. And like many places in southern France, Rugby Union is the most popular winter sport and it also has a respected Rugby League team which attracts big crowds when playing against English club sides.

“Property values in the town itself are reasonable and I’ve seen a split-level, one-bedroom apartment in the middle of town for €138,000 ($217,884).” says Stewart. “However, there are plenty of small towns and villages within a few minutes’ drive where you can get a three-bedroom renovated house with garden for around €160,000 ($252,633).”