Bordeaux or Bilbao

4POSTS

8 years ago

Hi,
My wife, two kids (Henry 3 and Harper 5) are planning to move to France (Bordeaux, outskirts of Paris, or Pau) from Brooklyn, NY. Goal is to be close enough to a major town with an affordable bilingual French/English school but outside of town enough to have a house w guesthouse (Airbnb and family/friends) and shop to make wood/metal sculpture and furniture. We’ll do long stay visa and my wife will continue her online copywriting business and I’ll focus on French study for first year and then we’ll see (I’ve been in cellular network real estate and development - aka building cell towers and DAS- for 18 years). But now we’re considering Spain for various reasons including practicality of language for kids (versus French). Would appreciate any input from people that have lived in either region/country especially: which is better for little kids, quality of life, housing values (we could buy or rent), etc.... thanks in advance! Ezra + Kira

See also

Things to see and to do in Bordeaux - Guide
Social security charges - 3 Replies
Advice Please 😀 living in Charente - 2 Replies
Rental in Chatain - 2 Replies
Expats in Saintes - 1 Reply
Low cost rental - 7 Replies
Christian fellowship - 5 Replies

Tevisbuckles Contributor

153POSTS

8 years ago

Hi, it is a great idea to move abroad! The choice between France and Spain is very personal..... I don't feel that anybody can make it for you. I am relocating to the Bordeaux area myself and wouldn't live in Spain but that is just me. The issue would be the language, I took Spanish in school many years ago and don't feel like having language barriers. My suggestion would be to rent in both places for a month and look around, get a feel for both regions..... I have explored the Bordeaux area quite a bit and the countryside is not very far from the city. Great roads and railroad also. Best wishes with your project :-)

EzraMatthewHug New member

4POSTS

8 years ago

Appreciate the feedback! We’re going to spend a week in the region between Bilbao and Bordeaux to narrow down options to 2 and then do as you suggest: do an Airbnb for a few weeks in each location to see which resonates.

1 member reacted to this post