The medieval fortress La Cité de Carcassonne is just one of the local attractions for retired expats Vibeke Arentz and her husband, Jeff Kacirk. PHOTO: VIBEKE ARENTZ
For nine years, my husband and I lived just north of San Francisco, in Sausalito. We loved the scenery, the weather and the variety of activities in Northern California.
But in our hearts we wanted to live in Europe. It offers so many different cultures and so much history. Having traveled extensively on the Continent, we had long toyed with the idea of moving to France.
So, eight months ago, we did. We retired in Carcassonne last July.
This wasn’t nearly as impulsive as it sounds. We did a lot of preliminary research and house-hunting online. And we zeroed in on Carcassonne in southern France, for a multitude of reasons, not just the mild weather and natural beauty. This city of 46,000 is most famous for its medieval fortress, La Cité de Carcassonne, whose towering walls now enclose streets bustling with restaurants, shops and visitors. But other parts of the city are just as charming, and the surrounding hills are filled with vineyards, tiny villages and smaller castle ruins.
Affordable housing
What ultimately sold us on Carcassonne, though, was the very affordable housing. We visited the city three times over a six-month period, looking at roughly 30 homes, and fell in love with one: a 90-year-old, 4,000-square-foot building with thick stone walls and high ceilings. It also has wonderful views of the fortress, and, in the distance, the Pyrenees. We paid cash, and it cost us about as much as a one-car garage would in the Bay Area. Generally, apartments and houses that are within walking distance of the city center and have three to five bedrooms list for roughly $210,000 to $340,000.
Our house was livable when we moved in, but it needs some updating. We are redoing one bathroom and portions of another. We plan to remodel the kitchen as well, to replace dated tiles and cabinets and improve the layout. We are also making some changes to be able to turn two of our four levels into rental apartments.
In any case, we are happily settled. A typical day starts with coffee, plus fruit, yogurt, huge eggs and fresh milk, all from local farms and vendors. My husband has some experience as a painter and renovator, and spends many of his days working on the house and garden with contractors. I’ll take care of the administrative needs related to our home, do shopping or other errands, go to French classes and meet up with friends.
When we first arrived, I would walk or bike almost every day to do our food shopping in La Bastide Saint-Louis, the city center close by that is filled with shops and restaurants. A grocery store now delivers our nonfresh items once a week (delivery is free if we spend at least €50, or about $57). But I still walk two or three times a week to La Bastide, which hosts a wonderful farmers market three times a week. I also join a neighbor when she drives out to the countryside to buy fresh produce, meats and eggs at local farms. For other shopping, we take buses. Tickets cost about $1, and the buses are typically on time.
We received a lot of help, and still do, from friends and strangers, in particular from a national organization called Accueil des Villes Français (Welcome to French Cities), which helps foreigners and French alike settle into new locations. For about $35 a person per year, we get multiple French lessons each week and access to dozens of group activities each month, including meals, movies, hikes and full- and half-day excursions.
In addition to our French friends, we know many expatriates whom we meet for all kinds of occasions, including meals and wine tastings. For New Year’s Eve, 20 of us dined at a restaurant that opened just for us.
But most evenings, we have dinner on our deck with its view of La Cité. If we feel like going out, Rue Trivalle—a half-mile-long street with a dozen restaurants, including tapas and wine bars—is a two-minute walk.
We enjoy having friends and family visit, and we have developed more of a social life here in a few months than we did during our nine years together in the Bay Area. We do miss some of the conveniences of the U.S. Many stores are closed for two hours at lunchtime, and all day on Sundays. But we plan accordingly.
Our monthly costs are roughly $566 in property tax, $80 for our combined internet/cellphone/landline/television service (much less than we paid in the states) and $45 for water. Our combined gas and electricity bill has been $170 a month this winter.
Health insurance
For health insurance, we were required to buy a private policy for the first year, which covers up to $34,000 in hospitalization for each of us, and repatriation if necessary due to a significant medical issue or death. This policy cost us $515 each. Meanwhile, we have applied for and obtained coverage under the national plan, for which we will be billed as part of our annual taxes each May. We believe it will total about $1,500 a year for the both of us.
Under the national plan, we will be reimbursed for 70% of the cost of prescriptions and doctor and hospital bills. Fortunately, we haven’t had the opportunity to experience hospital visits, but we’ve heard mostly good things. Before we had the national coverage, I visited my English-speaking doctor three times; each time I got an appointment within three days. Our out-of-pocket cost for each appointment was $28. Prescriptions have averaged about $9 for one-month supplies; many are free now that we’re on national insurance.
For now, we have renewable, one-year visas, which we received from the French Consulate in San Francisco. A private French agency helped us with the paperwork, for which we paid a total of $2,040, plus $100 for each visa. After five years we will become eligible for permanent residency.
We feel like France is home already, although it isn’t a paradise. Carcassonne has its share of crime. Many houses have burglar alarms, and we know of two home break-ins since we’ve been here.
It will soon be summer, a nice time to be in the south of France despite the heat. Half an hour away, great hiking trails and a lake with boating, swimming and paddleboarding are all available. Carcassonne hosts lots of concerts and festivals in summer as well. But the biggest party is Bastille Day, July 14, when the city claims to have fireworks second only to those of Paris.
Meanwhile, we still enjoy traveling abroad, and exploring Europe in particular. Our local airport, which offers inexpensive direct flights to England, Ireland, Portugal and Belgium, is a 20-minute bus ride from the center. For longer hauls, Toulouse International Airport is 1.5 hours away by train and bus. And Paris is five to six hours by train.
Appeared in the April 22, 2019, print edition as 'A Move From California To the South of France.'