7.2% of French retirees live abroad, ie more than one million people. With Le Parisien, three retirees explain their decisions to change their lives.
According to CNAV figures, more than a million French people live abroad. Mainly in other countries of the European Union for 47% of them and 42% in Africa. Algeria is the preferred destination for expatriate retirees with more than 300,000 of them living in this country.
Le Parisien received testimonials from three retirees who recently left to live in Portugal and Greece in search of a better quality of life and sunshine. A new youth that they do not regret.
“Like Day and Night”
Sylvie, a 55-year-old from Grenoble, went to live in Portugal with her husband: “We appreciated the climate, it was 20°C in February when we went to visit the houses”. The only problem is the language: “We’ll have to learn, but since it’s very touristic, they speak English and a little French”.
Aurore, who has been living in Portugal for a year and a half, appreciates its inhabitants: “It’s not like in France. The people are welcoming and not stressed”, but she does not neglect the economic aspect: “In France, at 10 of the month, we had nothing left”. She also became a first-time owner.
Another Sylvie interviewed has left to live in Greece. “A crush” of the couple. “We wanted to be by the sea, but in France, there are hardly any places where there are no more tourists”. A lower cost of living enabled them to buy a 150 m² house by the sea with 1,000 m² of land.
