We would like to retire in Brittany

@delharvey

Hello and welcome on board !

Please note that I have created this new thread from your post on the Brittany forum so that you may better receive some feedback.

I would suggest that you read the Living in France guide for expatswhile waiting for members to reply.

All the best

Bhavna

Hello Bhavna,

Thank you very much! We're researching everything and studying the language, hoping to improve our skills since we owned our apartment in Paris.

I will read the article you sent, thank you.

All the best,

Del

@delharvey

We have just joined the forum and are looking at Brittany for a move from the UK.  We are a US-UK couple and interested in an exp pat community in Brittany if one exists.  Have you chosen where in Brittany to locate?   Debby & Clive

@liberty777

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, we're hoping to find expats but know that French is a must and are working hard to learn.

We've made a few trips over and have decided we want to be a bit closer to Paris and access to the other capitols of Europe. We are narrowing our focus to Rouen and areas on the coast from Le Havre to Mont Saint Michel. Right now the Manche area looks very interesting.

Where are you looking? Interested in hearing what others have found.

Bonjour!  Our favourite area is Dinard and St. Briac slightly to the West.  Both now quite expensive due to increased Parisian interest following Covid.  We will be visiting Brittany for a couple of weeks from April 15th.  Staying in Dinard where we would ideally like to move to.  We are very early stages and haven't started any paper work yet but it seems there are no barriers as we are both retired and able to apply for S1 healthcare until qualifying for the excellent French system. Its a huge step for us and we are hoping to meet a few ex pats to see how they settled in.  Without a good grasp of French we both think it will be less isolating if we knew some English speakers before making the move.  We are slightly familiar with the Normandy side of St Malo (Cancale, Mont St. Michel area) but feel drawn to the coast of East Brittany and its beautiful and intimate bays. 

Dinard looks lovely and to be honest we have not yet been. We will very likely visit that area when we go in June of this year.

Thank you for letting us know about the rising costs after Covid. One of the reasons we've been drawn to the Manche area is just that. There are many homes that seem quite reasonably priced. This is a great improvement since we were looking right before Covid and Brexit hit.

We are thinking along the same lines as you in regards to language. We are working hard to learn and know we have a lot of room for improvement, but we are determined.

We were originally drawn to Brittany. One big reason for our move is to be closer to other centers of European culture, as well as to Paris. However, we still have much to learn.

We will be in Dinard and St Briac again from 3rd to 20th June.  We find it difficult to stay away!

    @liberty777
Thank you for your reply.
Yes, we're hoping to find expats but know that French is a must and are working hard to learn.
We've made a few trips over and have decided we want to be a bit closer to Paris and access to the other capitols of Europe. We are narrowing our focus to Rouen and areas on the coast from Le Havre to Mont Saint Michel. Right now the Manche area looks very interesting.
Where are you looking? Interested in hearing what others have found.
   

    -@delharvey

With all due respect and please correct me if I am wrong, what you have described in the highligted parts  fall in Normandy and not Brittany, though le Mont St Michel is another point of contention between Brittany and Normandy

Hi there. Good luck with your search. We were going to retire to Brittany but circumstances have changed and we are now not able to. We have spent the last 20 years renovating a ruin near Bourbriac and now we are putting it on the market. We are so sad as it was our long term dream to live there.

That's exciting! Brittany is a such a lovely place to retire. My favorite places are Carnac and Perros guirec.

I actually work at a relocation company if you had any questions about your relocation.

No, I'm not selling anything. Just simply offering some friendly advice if you want to send a message.