Lyon City Blog 

     

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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