You Tube Mania

High everyone, welcome back to Baby Boomers Move to France. This is our 22nd weekly post about our great adventure! I’m sitting down to start writing this week’s post on Tuesday June 10 to be published Sunday June 15.

If this is your first time visiting, WELCOME! Elizabeth and I are a couple of baby boomers on the adventure of a lifetime. We are moving to France full time this summer (2025). Are we ever gonna come back to the USA? Certainly, to visit, but our goal, as of today, is to become full time residents of France. We have vacationed in France and, like so many other travelers who visit France, we fell in love with the country.

Both of us were born and raised in the USA and proud of our life here. Our jobs, for the most part, have been fulfilling. I have been retired since just before the Covid epidemic and Elizabeth is planning to retire this summer, just before we leave for France. So, we will be foot loose and fancy free.

Why France? Well as I have said before, it’s just that we like the French laid-back pace of life and, frankly the cost of living for the 2 of us in France is much less than where we live now in Florida. We can live on my Social Security and small pension and draw on a couple of our investments. If we are careful and mind our budget, we will be fine and live a comfortable life in a small town in rural France. The plan is for Elizabeth not to touch her 401K for at least 10 years. In the meantime, she can start her Social Security if she wants it next year. I’m thinking EB should start SS next year and save a major chunk of it.

The cost of living and slower paced lifestyle is not the only reason to pick France. There is also the rich history and culture and yes, the language. We are learning the language, and I must say it is difficult, but a very beautiful language and the effort is worth it.

There is no way that I’m not going to mention the French food and wine. OMG it is so good. You hear that all of the time of course, but it’s true. The food and wine are great, and the cost is really good too.

And then there is the ease of travel. Our thinking is that we will be able to travel throughout Europe and the scenery and weather of France will inspire us to get out and explore. Walking, biking, car, train and plane are all great exploration options. I know we aren’t big bike riders now so maybe not biking, but it is an option. LOL

We will miss our friends and family, but the world has been made smaller with technology and ease of communication and even travel. One tough part will be missing our game nights of Mexican Train and Right, Left, Center and just hanging out with friends and neighbors. I’ll definitely miss golfing with all of the guys on Thursdays and sometimes on Tuesdays and sharing pitchers of beer in the golf course club house.

Speaking of Mexican Train, we had a great time Saturday night at Marshall and Pam’s house for Mexican Train. Even though Denise won again. John gave her a run for her money, but Denise took the lead early and held on throughout the game. Good job Denise!

What Do I Mean by You Tube Mania?

We are still learning about French towns and regions as we are searching potential locations to live. Along with that, we are searching for potential types of homes too. We love You Tube for this research. Every night we can visit 5 or 6 homes and multiple towns and villages via You Tube while we sit on the couch. The types of homes range from single story cottages in the countryside to multiple story houses in towns and even apartments in “high rise” buildings. Centuries old Chateaus, older houses and brand-new build options are also available. Homes can be found in vineyards and in the middle of towns, hamlets and villages too. Watching You Tube videos has been one of our most enjoyable ways to learn about towns and housing.

In addition to the research I mentioned above, there are tons of informational videos on how to apply for a visa or what are the health costs or what is it like to live in Paris or the countryside or in little villages. Where are the top 10 countries to retire to? Just about any question we might have is answered on You Tube.

Here are some of the You Tube videos that we have found of interest.

1. Les Frenchie
   • This is a couple based just outside of Paris that travel around France and share their experiences.
2. Baguette Bound
   • This is one of our favorite You Tube channels. It is a family of Americans (husband, wife and daughter) who vacationed in France for basically a long vacation and ended up staying in France. Their daughter is now around 13 years old and going to public school. They have a lot of tips and suggestions. They have started a business helping people navigate the moving process.
3. International Living
   • This is a channel that talks in general about living abroad. It includes videos of various countries and some of the pros and cons of living abroad.
4. Austin to Amboise
   • This is a couple who are renovating a townhouse in Amboise, France. I’m not sure but I think the house is from the 17th century and needs a lot of work. They live and work in Austin, Texas for now and travel to Amboise to renovate their home there. They fell in love with Amboise and bought a home in town. They have big plans for it. As many of you may remember, Amboise holds a special place in our hearts as it is the city that got us started on our own quest to move to France. Amboise is in the beautiful Loire Valley, but the weather is a little too cold and rainy for us Floridians.
5. A Place in the Sun
   • Basically, a real estate channel that helps people find homes in France and other countries for that matter. It is interesting as the budgets that they work with range from about 100,000 euros to 300,000+ euros. They seem to focus on France, Italy, Spain and Greece the most.
6. It’l be Fun
   • This is a husband and wife with their son. I believe they live in Portugal. Very down-to-earth couple that take you on tours throughout Europe and talk about their life overseas. They are Americans who have found life in Portugal very much to their liking.
7. French Connections
   • This channel is how we found French Connection HCB who, as you may recall, we have hired to help us with the whole move and transition to France. They also do informational videos and interviews with people that they have helped through the process. They have various professional partners that are available for advice on taxes, investing, insurance, and more.
8. Beaux Villages
   • This channel takes you on video trips around France and also showcases real estate. They are associated with Beaux Villages Immoblier (a real estate company)
9. French Entre
   • This channel is part of French Connections where Richard Hammond, the CEO, talks with various experts about moving to France. Very informative and takes the anxiety of moving to France down a couple of notches.
10. Leggette
    • This channel is another favorite as it explores lots of towns and villages and also offers property for sale. While a lot of the properties they represent are above our price range, they have a segment just to show lower priced homes too. We visited one of the branch offices while we were in Périgueux this past April. Nice people and were very helpful. We ended up viewing a house in Bergerac that we liked.
11. Adrian Leeds
    • This channel is the one that got me to thinking that we could actually do this. Adrian very meticulously outlined the costs benefits. We like her company, but they focus on Paris and Nice. These are two very beautiful cities, but way out of our price league. Actually, we don’t want to live in a big city anyway. You probably know that Nice is on the French Rivera, the Cote D’Azur and is a very popular destination for tourists.
12. Southwest and the Rest of France (Facebook group)
    • This is one that EB uses to search for properties. It is pretty user friendly and provides a lot of information about the homes. I always have my iPad handy so I can research the cities that EB finds interesting.
13. Dream Properties for Sale in France
    • This is another that EB likes. Even though it says “Dream Properties” they are also affordable.
14. Jeff the Expat
    • Jeff is single middle-aged guy that moved to Perpignan, France within the past year or so. His vlog is about the town and how he gets around. This is a really nice city with excellent transportation.
15. Fired Up in France
    • This channel is pretty interesting. The host and her husband have lived in France for many years and share their budget and cost details and how they have a very comfortable life in France on a low budget.
16. 1st for French Properties
    • Elizabeth uses this one to search for real estate. She finds some very interesting homes within our price range. We want to keep the price below 150,000 euros.
17. Languedoc Property Search
    • Languedoc is a region in France that includes the historical coastal region in southern France and includes Aix-en-Provence and Marseille and extends to the Pyrenees and Spanish border. We have seen some wonderful properties in this region. It is a region that is pretty appealing to us.
18. Proper Star
    • This is another online real estate group that EB likes for property searches.
19. The Frugal Queen
    • This is a very interesting channel where the couple (British) live in Northwest France and are thinking of moving to southern France. The main theme of this channel is how to live in France on a budget. Kinda funny since we already think France is a place that we can live on so much less than we live now.
20. And a bunch more

This is just the tip of the ice burg of course. If you decide to check some of these out, you will undoubtably find more to choose from. A lot of these videos take you on tours inside houses for sale and some are walking tours of villages. Some are aimed at issues specific to moving to France or just moving abroad in general. I figured that I should give you a little thumb nail description of each.

The consensus is that if you dream of living abroad, you will benefit from actual visits to your target country with extended stays if possible. Just be warned that when you visit France, be prepared to fall in love. Yes, you need to have an open mind and load up on patience and make an attempt at the language, but if you let it happen you will fall in love with France.

Now, not all of the videos that you will find are positive, but the overwhelming majority are very positive.

As Elizabeth likes to stay, “Some people would complain if their ice cream was cold”. You gotta love her, right? Anyway, you will find some videos where France hasn’t worked out for some people. I think a lot has to do with your attitude going in. It is sad to see people have given up without giving the adventure enough time to let the dust settle.

In other news,

My conference call with the French financial advisor was postponed until next week.

We went up to Venice for a graduation party for Logan. Logan is a young man that we met around the first month or two after we moved into Grand Palm. He is our Grand Palm neighbor’s grandson. What a great young man. So, we have seen him go through middle school and now graduate from high school. His grand parents live on Okaloosa and have become friends.

We are looking forward to the monthly dinner with friends that we met back in the Thirsty Thursday days before Covid. It is always a good time to catch up. We ate at the Banyan House in Wellen Park. They had a summer deal and for $50 you get two great meals. Drinks not included. They were pretty darn good meals too. The whole gang was there, and it truly was a good time.

Then there was my last French class at ACE. It has been a good class and recommended for anyone going to visit France. It is only once per week for 6 weeks. As everyone advises, you will have a much more enjoyable trip to France if you know a few French words. I admit that our first trips to France we didn’t know a lot, but we did know Bonjour, Merci and S’il vous plait. (Hello, thank you and please). It all worked out for us.

Next week we still need to get all of our ducks in a row for our visa meeting in Miami. I think we have most of it ready.

What the heck are we doing next week?

As always thanks for visiting our blog. Sorry this one was a bit long, but I wanted to share the information about some of our search tools that we have been using. There are a lot more sites, like the weather comparison tool that I like (Weatherspark).

Our list of action items for next week include:

• French Financial planner conference call
• Visa meeting prep conference call
• Pick up Euros (We want a little folding money when we arrive in France). Most debit cards work at most French banks too.
• Artimis to Cat Depot
• Rosie to overnight pet spa
• Visa meeting in Miami
• Dentist appt
• Meeting with our Sarasota financial planner

As always thanks for being here. Stay safe and take care of yourself and your family. If you have any questions about our French move adventure or comments or suggestions, please place them in the comment section below.

Let us know about your planned adventures for this year. Are you heading to Europe or going on a cruise? Have you got a road trip in mind in the states?

We read all of your comments and respond. Have a great week!

Mark and Elizabeth (EB)

BabyBoomerMovetoFrance.com

One of these days we will come up with a cool logo for our blog.