Where is your ideal place to live in France? The centre of Paris or Lyon? Or out in the countryside of western Brittany or Creuse or Correz in central France where your local village will have just one boulangerie, one bar and if you’re lucky a restaurant. A recent poll revealed that more French people prefer small to medium-sized towns such as Poitiers, Niort, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Blois or Saint-Brieuc. It was in towns like these – with a population of between 10,000 and 100,000 where the inhabitants were the most satisfied – more than those who lived in Paris or La France Profonde. The reasons life in these towns seems so satisfactory was mainly because of the peace and tranquility they offered, plus the feeling of security, their proximity to nature, and the fact these small towns offered residents both urban and rural life. But despite the apparent popularity of life in small and medium-sized towns in France these urban areas aren’t exactly booming. Many are in fact struggling and and life does have its downsides, which partly explains why the population of many of these areas has fallen. READ ALSO: The 222 towns across France that are set for a major makeover There is a feeling among many in these towns that they have simply been neglected by the state. For example the one factor that inhabitants revealed they were unhappy with was transport. While France’s big cities have good public transport networks and are linked by airports and TGV… [Read full story]
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