Where to live in France? Let’s start with Fonsorbes.

Dear France Property Hunters,

OK. I’ve said that throughout this blog I’d like to discuss suburban towns, or places in France, that overseas property hunters may not know about. Not so much the picturesque fairytale villages of dreams, but real places, where people live and work and go to school. Places that you might consider living in rather than just visiting at holiday time (though some are perfectly good places to spend your holidays as well). It’s my goal to help you discover more towns in France that may suit your lifestyle and to give you more town names or areas that you can enter into search engines. So I’d like to start off today with my own little town – Fonsorbes, a suburb of Toulouse.

Toulouse is the capital of the Midi Pyrénées. It’s the fourth largest city in France and nicely located in the southwest. It’s not a huge Paris-sized city, I think it’s about the size of Glasgow, Scotland (my other home town) or maybe Manchester, England (though I don’t have the facts to support that – I’m freely and carelessly writing as if I know what I’m talking about!). I will probably mention Toulouse a lot – it’s a beautiful city and worth visiting.

Like all cities, there are plenty of suburban towns surrounding Toulouse that are growing in popularity and Fonsorbes is one of them. Workers in France’s aeronautical and scientific industries (Airbus or the new Canceropole cancer research centre, for example) are a big part of the population of these towns and more houses and apartments are always being built to accommodate new residents.

We’re about 30 minutes drive southwest from Toulouse’s city centre, which suits me fine since my late-night bar-hopping younger days are now (thankfully??) a distant memory. I have a panic attack every night if I’ve not brushed my teeth and got myself tucked up in bed before the clock strikes eleven! However, should I suddenly need to hit the tiles one night with reckless abandon, the city centre is close enough.

Here are some pics by "bazyorke" posted to Webshots. I don't know him personally but his pics are pretty good and better than I've got so I thought I'd take advantage of the "embed" feature on his web page and show off his work. Thank you bazyorke, hope you don't mind.



Around Toulouse. Fonsorbes, it’s buildings, events and neighbours

Fonsorbes is a normal, everyday example of a French town. There is the obligatory church on the hill, a nice looking Mairie (town hall), and a little, flowery main street running through it with hairdressers, pharmacy, pizza joint, banks, florist shops and the vets (with their new building which I’m sure I’ve single-handedly funded with health care payments for Cara the wonder dog – let’s not go there).

There’s a large grocery store, butchers, bakers, wine sellers, nursery and primary schools, and a new high school and shopping centre both under construction and opening soon. There’s no classic “French Market” (it’s down the road in Saint-Lys) but there is a little guy that sets up on Saturday mornings selling fruit and veg in front of the church. Within easy reach are larger retailers for sports equipment or furniture (IKEA!), supermarkets, DIY and garden centres, etc. that serve all of the surrounding area.

One of the great things I like about French towns, including Fonsorbes, is the way that they organise social and cultural events. There is always something on the go: a car boot sale, a little concert in the park, a dance for the teenagers, a party for the kids, a town fête. They even organise community get togethers (“Repas Partager”) where they set out the long tables and invite everyone in town to come along with their “pot-luck” dinners and share an evening with the neighbours! Get this too, once a year they even do a little bus tour for newly arrived “Fonsorbais” residents to show them round and welcome them to the town – with a little drink to finish off at the Mairie! Not my thing but I'm sure lots of people would like that.

For a small town of about 10,000 people, there’s plenty going on for everyone including football clubs, rugby, judo, dance, tennis, and golf. The family next door enjoys all of that but I prefer the less physically demanding sports like relaxing in the sun with a cold beer or walking the dog – which is, in my opinion, the best way to catch up on the goings on in Fonsorbes... The town gossip walking her collie keeps me laughing with her stories, the old granddad with his golden retriever gives me gardening tips and weather reports, the hairdresser with her mongrel tells me about the town council meetings with local business owners, and the guy that walks the rottweiller with the recurring skin condition (the dog not the guy) claims he’s the one who has single-handedly funded the vets new office. (I said let’s not go there!)

All in all, Fonsorbes is a pretty good place to live, and so are the neighbouring towns of Saint-Lys, Plaisance du Touch and La Salvetat Saint Gilles. Plus if you want a little getaway, the Mediterranean beaches are a really nice and easy 2 hour drive away. So are the Pyrénées mountains – which I can sometimes see but don’t want to see too often (everyone here knows that seeing the mountains means a bad weather front is moving in to spoil the sunshine – a good view is not always a good thing!) About 3 hours takes you to the Atlantic coast, and the Costa Brava or Barcelona in Spain are only about 3 and 4 hours drive.

If you’re looking for somewhere to live in France that caters well for everyday living then you’ll find properties in Fonsorbes or surrounding towns by entering 31470 into the postcode box in the www.breeze-france.com Quick Search. Please also, share your info about the area by adding a comment below. Next week I’ll be talking about the towns just north of Fonsorbes, so please come back soon.

Reporting from Fonsorbes on a sunny Sunday morning,
Ronaldo