Help - Where in France for retired parents

[OuEnFranceSVP]

Hi everyone, my parents are retiring in France but they don't know where, can anyone help? Language skills and visas are no problem, it's just the location. Budget up to 800k but ideally less. Not a ridiculously high COL area like Nice. Apologies for posting in AIBU for traffic, I know France fairly well but am at a loss here.

-Easy enough transport links to the UK and Paris (for healthcare reasons).

-Weather not too hot: this might be a tough one. 25 degrees is just about their limit. However they don't like grey weather which is why they're not moving to the UK.

-Not in a big city, they like quiet, clean air and green space.

-A community of English speaking expats would be good, or at least a place that welcomes outsiders (I know actual French people who having moved to communities in the South and found them very insular so want to avoid this).

Maybe Evian, Normandie, the Dordogne, bordeaux, or Limoges? They would want a smaller town around these I imagine. Any ideas gratefully received!

To be fair, many of the unpleasant comments have ignored information I've given, or simply can't conceive of trying to help out family.

They are in their 70s, health good except one has cancer in remission for about 15 years now but still needs to be careful.

They are outdoorsy and a place for nice walks is essential. Community pool and fitness classes, and stately homes and historical sites are a major plus.

Links to Paris and the UK mean more relative ease rather than total travelling time, but this is more for people being able to visit them easily. I've been trying to get them to tell me how much they anticipate driving.

What's their home country, is it too far from you?

@OuEnFranceSVP

Is there anywhere particular in France they have visited before and really enjoyed, OP?

I'm thinking that you could concentrate your search on that area initially, knowing that it's somewhere they really like and feel comfortable in.

The problem with them going to a village/countryside in France is that they will likely struggle to find the routine healthcare they need...dentists, opticians etc. can be difficult. Also challenging to find cleaners/gardeners etc. In areas where most people are retired or having holiday homes.

Awareness of their health care needs and how they may change is definitely important, as other posters have said.

I remember talking to my own parents, who lived in a very rural part of England, about their own plans and my Mum saying that they wanted to move to a large village a few miles away.

My father was becoming more infirm and Mum wasn't feeling as hale and hearty as she had; they were needing to see the Doctor more often and the surgery was in the village they wanted to move to.

They loved the isolation of where they lived, but it was making their lives difficult at that point.

I wonder whether the solution for your parents, OP, might be to look for what is in their price range in the Paris area itself.

Fitness classes, parks for walks and historical sites would be within easy reach.

It would be easy for you to get to them if you needed to, as well.

As I mentioned we're mostly familiar with Paris and former industrial areas that people are fleeing rather than choosing for a comfortable retirement, or the very hot south.

They've been to bits of Brittany, Normandy and Alsace but we want to know where exactly is best, and to explore some new options to make sure we're not missing anything. Why that's a crime in the eyes of so many mumsnetters I'll never know.

@TheSquareMile you're right a distant Paris suburb might be the best bet. I know south and southwest of the city have some nice areas, and if it's far and green it shouldn't be too hot and humid like Paris.

I know the feeling 😂However this is just to get some ideas for them, the title of my post shouldn't be taken too literally!

The budget involved would limit the choices, but it could be possible to find something. I've had a quick peruse in the 16e to see what there is - this property might be suitable.

It has a small garden, which is something they might like. The Bois de Boulogne is nearby, meaning walks galore!

They can always go out of town for weekend trips if they want to explore the regions.

https://www.barnes-paris.com/fr/vente/paris-75016/7346934

Current heat map of France: https://x.com/MaximCombes/status/1822144043326795870 if they want to be close to Paris I would look around Fontainebleau to tr south and Chantilly and Senlis to the north.

That website is the stuff of dreams 😍@TheSquareMile They would want more like zone 4 than zone 1 though, and room for guests (ie me ).

@OuEnFranceSVP

https://www.safti.fr/annonces/achat/appartement/versailles-78000/1164245

Thank you...it seems a house of about 500k would be taxed at 30% in France and 0% in the UK?

the tax is on the recipient, each child can inherit 131,000€ before tax starts being deducted. Other beneficiaries are allowed considerably less, in some cases only 1500€, so it’s best to get advice in advance. You also can’t disinherit children and it’s an absolute minefield for blended families, second home owners and so on.

Frankly, I'd forget France entirely and look at the French speaking part of Belgium.

I think if they are comparatively healthy and active, you might be being quite conservative with the "nothing over 25 degrees" stipulation. So long as the house has aircon and there are options to take refuge from the heat in other places they would be all right with a little more. As others have said, a leafy Paris suburb would fit the bill, and that would be the main st future proof option, though summer temps would still be higher than your maximum. As a wild card, my in-laws used to live in Grenoble, where they had the mountains to keep cool. They had friends who stayed there into old age but did eventually have to come back to be nearer UK family.

If you speak a bit if French, here is a simulator @OuEnFranceSVP

https://www.service-public.fr/simulateur/calcul/droits-succession

A 500.000 euro house would attract 75.000 euro in tax to children IF this is the only asset they have IN TOTAL. There are no inheritance to the spouse.
If they still have other assets in the U.K., it will be higher as those would be taken into account (and you’ll have to deal with double taxation issues and possible inheritance tax in the U.K. too).

Im pretty sure the max taxation is 50%.

Not a bad idea.

Each recipient has an allowance, so five children inheriting a 500k€ house between them would pay nothing, but two would.

Yes.
Same than in the U.K. really.

@MtClair not the same at all! Here people are effectively penalised if they have no children. My estate wouldn't attract IHT (and social charges) in the UK, but it does here.

OP Are your parents EU citizens? Because if not, they very likely won't be allowed to spend all year in France without a vias. Just - at the worst* - 90 days at a time. Or 6 months, or 12 months. And have an income that meets French regulations.Also, they'll have to prove private health insurance, which can get very, very expensive as you get older.
*there are different categories
Have a read of this, unless your parents are full EU citizens:
https://www.longtermrentalsinfrance.com/living-in-france/moving-to-france/moving-to-france-after-brexit.html

Should of course be 'visa' not 'vias'. More haste less speed ....

Thanks for that website @nameXname, renting for a year first is probably a good idea so we'll have a look. Visas and health insurance are fine