Many expats have chosen France to live their dream life in
Lyon because they think that life may be better. Situated
in the South East of France in the Rhône-Alpes region,
Lyon has a temperate weather. In the winter, people living in
Lyon go to the ski resorts in
the Isère region near Grenoble or in
the Savoie region near Chambéry. When the winters are colder, they can even snow-walk or ski in the woods of
the Pilat low mountain near Saint-Etienne.
Lyon is also a very big city where
the living conditions are very good since
the accommodation and the block offices are quite cheap compared to
Paris.
More and more international investors invest in Lyon area. As an international market centre, Lyon has actually strengthened its position among the economic capital cities of Europe. There are high school international centers, international schools and research centers in the sectors such as automobiles, chemicals and pharmacy. Tourism has developed a lot since Lyon became the city of lights in the 90’s. Lyon is well-known in the world for its gastronomy as Lyon is the capital of French gastronomy with some of the most famous chefs like Bocuse.
What is more, the expats living in
the capital of the Gauls or the Lyon tourists appreciate the
fresh food they can find in the several
markets of the city. They can buy fresh vegetables, fruit, meat and fish. Some local producers sell
biological products. Local products can also be purchased in the villages around
Lyon where the producers work in cooperatives like
the Vallons du Lyonnais in the west of
Lyon. Here, the customers can buy cheaper products than those in the supermarkets and contribute to the environment preservation since the products do not need to be transported in refrigerated trucks.
1 kg of apples for example costs about 2.50 Euros in a supermarket whereas it costs about 1.00 Euros in a cooperative. Another advantage is that you do not have to queue up for 10 minutes at least before paying.
Although
some expats miss their countries, they agree with the general impression that
people living in Lyon city feel rather safe and secure when they walk in the streets or when they take public transport. What they like most about France is certainly
the health services that enable everybody to have access to high-quality medicine even in the public hospitals.
However, some regret that most of
the other products, except food, are usually
too expensive and longer to be delivered. They also complain about
the lack of customer services, the frequent strikes in public transport and the fact that bars and restaurants shut too early.
First of all, they would like to have more information about
Lyon city and
the Rhone-Alpes region. Some of them are members of English-speaking associations for example, so they can get some information , but
being an expat is quite difficult, especially when you cannot speak French.
Lyoncityblog tries to help any English-speaking expats to integrate
Lyon region and understand the French culture better.
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