“Two things surprised me when I arrived…”

The sixth most populous city in France, Nantes attracts many Parisians and other Ile-de-France residents in search of space and lower prices. While the city’s reputation has been damaged in recent years in the news section, do those who took the plunge of moving from the capital to the province have any regrets? We asked Carole, a thirty-year-old who chose to settle there afterwards.the Covid period, decisive in (its) decision.”

Originally from Lyon, Carole lived for years on the outskirts of the capital. So, when choosing with her husband where to move facing her “desires from elsewhere“, she logically asked herself the question of a return to her roots. Ultimately, it was Nantes that she chose. “We decided that Nantes would be the best compromise because we needed space, a less hectic city than Lyon, the possibility of being by the sea in just 1 hour and above all proximity to our family. (her in-laws being in Le Mans, 2 hours by car, editor’s note),” she says.

But, unsurprisingly, another reason stood out to the couple: “The last decisive criterion was the price of real estate. As owners of an apartment in the Paris region, we wanted to move into a house. And this would not have been possible in Lyon given the exorbitant prices charged even on the outskirts of the city….“Indeed, to date, as reported by our colleagues from Figaro Immobilierthe median price of a house in Lyon is €4,705/m2 while in Nantes it is €3,901/m2. Enough to afford a bigger house, especially when you have two children like Carole.

Once the choice of city was made, Carole was fortunate to be able to leave via a transfer, her company having an office in Nantes. And what about his salary? “My salary decreased very slightly during my transfer, going from 46K to 44K, in return my moving expenses were covered by the company. I then left my job shortly after arriving in Nantes, finding a new job that was better paid than my previous one in the Paris region.“, she explains, adding that “career opportunities are clearly more limited.”

Today, she believes “live properly“but alert those who think that living in the region would be much more profitable:”When I compare my Nantes salary with that of a Parisian, I notice considerable differences (of the order of 15-20K) while a restaurant, a cinema, gasoline or even shopping are completely similar expenditure items with the capital… “If she has not gained enormously in purchasing power, she does not regret her choice at all because she has gained in “space !“

“Having a house with a garden is absolutely priceless, especially with 2 children. Neighborhood life that I have not experienced before, the flexibility of schedules and being able to leave work at 5 p.m. without having to justify it. The living environment is literally softer, calmer.” On the other hand, everything is not rosy and as a black point, it highlights in particular the weakness of transport, especially when you want to travel a little far, for example to see friends who live in another region. “A Nantes-Bordeaux trip takes us, for example, 4 hours and it is sometimes quicker to take the car. There is no train line allowing us to reach other major cities without necessarily having to go back through Paris…“

Now that she has lived in Nantes for several years, what assessment does Carole draw? “Two things surprised me when I arrived: the traffic jams on the ring road, very often congested when there is heavy rain or a football match in the evening on the way back, and the crowds in the city center. There are certainly uncrowded neighborhoods like everywhere but Nantes being smaller, this gives the impression that the whole city is unsafe. I have personally never had a bad experience while walking during the day or evening with friends. That said, the ‘sayings’ and the phenomenon of ‘Nantes has become a dangerous city’ do not help us to feel completely serene. If I had had this information before my departure, it probably would have influenced the decision to come.”