What are the risks of retiring in France?
Hi, I'm Chris. French teacher and owner of OuiCommunicate.
The risks I'm about to speak of are language-related and often overseen by expats.
I will list 5 definite problems that I have witnessed and continue to encounter.
The risks of retiring in France
I was told of an American couple in a French village who’d been using their house as a holiday home in France for 20 years until they decided to go there permanently. The dream only lasted for a few months. Long story short, their daughter had to fly in from New York, because of medical issues. They did not speak a word of French and could not manage. I heard this story firsthand by the student in the video on this page. (further down)
This same student was heroically able to communicate with French doctors, thus acting as a life-saving interpreter between them and her husband when he suffered a heart failure on holiday. (You can read about this in her review)
I taught the two daughters of an American family (see Fb review) whose parents had decided to relocate in France without learning a word of French prior. They discovered that fluency in French was needed a lot more than initially expected. They relocated back to America after the 2-year experience.
Another kind lady who had the project of leaving Britain to live the dream in France also ended up going back to England two years later. She left first, decided to do up a French house and saw that it was too hard to manage without knowing French.
You would be AMAZED at the thousands of expats who relocate to France every year and overlook the oh-so negligible detail of becoming able in French. The stories of these expats are all over the various Facebook groups and are easily verifiable.
Some of them think that the French speak English. Or they think that they will pick up French in their daily interactions at the bakery. Or they think an app and a smartphone will do the job. French is often a second thought left to chance. As if it was that easy.
Think again. My own British mum who has been living in francophone Belgium for over 40 years is still a bit of an expat. Ideally, she should have upgraded her French to a higher level for peace of mind, but alas. Now she speaks like a foreigner.
When I was last at my parents’ in Belgium in 2024, my father had a stone that caused a blockage. I had to phone the ambulance at 10PM and describe the situation. It was all in Dutch and my 80 year old mum could never have coped.
To make things worse, the ambulance that came saw us a foreigners and gave us an attitude, claiming they were not a “taxi service”. These things do happen more than we’d like to think.
First problem: The tricks our imagination plays on us
We all use our imagination when we form a mental picture because it’s the way the human mind functions. Before moving to America I had an idea of what it was like. Now that I have seen and experienced it, my description is not the same I would have made before coming over.
American suburbia used to represent immaculate perfection and beauty. Now it represents noisy gardening tools 7 days a week. I have changed.
Despite our belief that we are rational people, we make most of our decisions based on emotions. Whether it’s our new jeans, our car, our holidays, our TV programs… even our retirement country.
Emotion is the reason a majority of people relocate to France: a certain idea about food, about the scenery, about the culture, about a way of life…
We could almost say that the taste of Camembert weighs more heavily in their decision than their future survival skills in French. We think of cute villages but forget that the French are not on holiday and don’t much care to try their best English on us.
When you form an opinion about France, you will be influenced by beautiful pictures, memories of holidays, accounts from other expats saying how incredible everything is…and it becomes very hard to separate the facts from the myth.
In any travel, there are stages of amazement. At first, everything is different and mysterious. Later, we decide that it is absolutely the best place on earth. Later still, the sense of amazement drops and the “typical” things aren’t so cute after all. Like my leaf blowers in America.
France is not a fairy tale country. People fall ill, heaters explode, windows break, plumbing gets clogged, cars have accidents, legs get broken…and at one point you’ll need more than simple French sentences.
Sometimes, your French is going to have to be quick and it is going to have to be precise (in the case of a break-in, an accident or medical symptoms) If a doctor asks you how you’ve been feeling these past few days you’re going to have to say more than “comme ci, comme ca”. Just as I experienced with the ambulance in Belgium.
“Chris has the extremely rare ability to speak both French and English equally well, perfectly, and without the interference and distraction of a foreign accent. Many teachers claim to be bilingual. Some of them are lying. Others are merely inadequate compared to Chris.”
Second problem: Learning French in France
At this stage in my career I have a fairly accurate idea how the language industry functions. I am able to read through the lines when I see the offers on language schools’ websites. Most follow the same basic structure: manager on top, freelance tutors below and the goal is to lock you into some vaguely-defined language level until you complete their whole costly program. Not all, but most.
When they’re not selling language levels, they’re selling “fun”. Enjoyable group classes that promise a bit of everything and a certificate of attendance at the end.
These language schools are well aware that you approached them to know French but it is not in their interest to give you private tuition. If they only offered one-on-one private tuition, they would make 40 hours’ worth of money a week. By stuffing students into classes they can make 200 or 300 hour’s worth of profit and still pay the tutor once. Simple maths.
These language schools can be a future risk for yourself because it is not in their business interest to say that you performed poorly at French.
You will leave the language school thinking you are A2 or B1 and carry mistakes that the group class didn’t have the structure to target. Once in France, people are going to be forgiving of your uncertain French and approach you as a foreigner. They will hear your mistakes but you will plateau.
In France, these schools teach “FLE French” that is overly characterized by a French-centric view of French. Their teachers are not native speakers of English and do not know any other reality than the French one. This is the “social aquarium” effect that leads to poorly-designed classes.
This authentic charm of France is very apparent in the teaching of French that causes a linguistic and cultural obstacle in every class.
Third problem: Prices go up
During an online class one day, I saw a French plumber leave the house of my student. She asked him in French if it was “réparé” (mended). Being a non-native, she didn’t pick up on his mocking tone. He said “Well, yeah. If I’m leaving it means it’s mended.”
She then asked him if “le robinet coule” (does it drip?). He played on the meaning of “coule” which also means “leaks” and said well yes of course it leaks. Whereas he meant “Of course it’s running properly.”
I refrained from intervening through Skype at the rudeness of the plumber until I properly knew the background of the story. But sadly. this is what happens.
Even as a native speaker of French I was ripped off by Avis rentals in Narbonne who cleverly charged me an extra day by playing on the words. Full story here.
A British student of respectable age told me of a French stone-cutting business that ended up smashing to pieces all the slates he’d ordered because he asked for a written receipt. Word then got round to other local traders. “Don’t sell to him!”
I have seen firsthand that life is always more expensive when you are older because businesses do a less good job. I saw it in the UK with the cleaning business my 80 year old aunt hired, and many others. They figure you won’t complain.
As such, the probability of French electricians, plumbers, mechanics, gardeners, masons (etc) overcharging you is extremely high especially if your French is that of a foreigner.
If we try to see the world through their eyes, they probably see “wealthy foreigner come to retire in France”. All those extra costs will absolutely add up if you can’t verbally argue with them.
Fourth problem: Where are my friends?
Both my parents are over 80 years old and my British mum doesn’t have that many friends. She made a few expats friends over the years, some of which moved out, re-married, died even.
Fortunately both are in very good physical health and my brother lives close by. But things could be much different.
In our plans for France, we overlook the issue of friendship and socialization. We think it will fall into place. But a “so and so” level of French will send out signals to people and make it an obstacle to include you in their group of close friends.
The student in the video below is doing an amazing job at meeting all types of French people: farmers, artists, people at the market… I have full faith that she will never be in need of a friend.
She was able to do this through an exceptionally good level of French. The doors towards friendships are open because her French compliments all those who hear it. This generates interest and a conversation. “How did you learn French so well?”
For more info on the difficulties making friends as an expat please read this page. (applies to France also)
Fifth problem: A mission half accomplished?
It may be nice enough to view France as a spectator and only knowing English, but at the end of it all there will be the feeling of a mission half accomplished. Maybe you will have seen but not been a part of it. A spectator but not an actor.
It goes without saying that much of the richness of the experience goes through the language. Not knowing French to a sufficiently high level is like being not quite tuned to the frequency.
The way of engaging in French conversation is not quite the same as in the USA or the UK. There is an almost “philosophical-like” aspect that might pass you by.
Not knowing how French people think and exchange ideas limits the visitor to seeing the decor and the landscapes. The bread may be as delicious, but the experience will be limited.
As a native of French, the very last things I would use in my description of France are precisely those that tourists rank highly. The core being of a French person has nothing to do with the cheese, the wine or the Roman bridges.
But for this, we must know them on a deeper level that will only come through a proper use of the French language.
Learning French as an adult? Yes, it can be done!
The lady in this video is originally from NY and wished for us to help prepare her move to France.
Today, she is fluent and happily lives in France where she meets new people and uses French daily.
The “secret” to her success is nothing more than what we offer you: the same learning material and the same approach.
But don’t take our word for it: read the review she wrote for our Google Business page!
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