Meaux, France: Home Sweet Home!
Meaux, France, is a historic town in the Île-de-France region, about 25 miles northeast of Paris. Set along the Marne River, Meaux combines the charm of an older French town with the practical conveniences of everyday modern life. Its historic center features narrow streets, traditional buildings, cafés, bakeries, and small shops, while the impressive Saint-Étienne Cathedral stands as a reminder of the town’s rich history. The nearby Episcopal Palace and its gardens offer a lovely place to stroll, and the riverbanks provide pleasant walking paths. Meaux is also known for its Brie de Meaux cheese, local markets, and relaxed, everyday French atmosphere.
Meaux (pronounced “Mo”) was never on my list of places to live or even visit. I had never even heard of it and it did not come up in my research. But, I have friends who moved to France a couple years ago, have done a lot of research, and they plan to move to Meaux in the not too distant future. They encouraged me to visit the city. I only really went there so that I could go back and tell them the reasons that I didn’t think it would work for me. I had to eat crow! I fell in love with the place.
Beautiful Meaux
Pros of living in Meaux
One of the biggest advantages is access to Paris and the Charles de Gaulle airport. Since I plan to continue traveling, and hope to have many visitors, this is a big plus for me. The train to Paris runs every 10 minutes and costs 2 Euros. Charles de Gaulle is a 40 minute bus ride. It also is much smaller than other cities I’ve visited with a population of around 57,000.
The center village has an “Old France” atmosphere and the streets are dedicated to pedestrians. There are lots of stores, pharmacies, restaurants, cafes, cultural activities, along with a regular street market. The street market is huge and sells everything from food to clothes and housewares. Of course, I can find the freshest produce there and get great meat, fish and cheeses.
I also found the people in Meaux to be very friendly and helpful. There is a “community” feel to the town. A place where “everyone knows your name.” Many of them speak some sort of English. I do always try to speak some French. I would go into my favorite cappuccino and quiche shop, and when I started to place my order, they would always say “English?” Oh well, I am trying, and I do appreciate their willingness to speak English.
Four genuine seasons give the year in Meaux a rhythm — spring blossom, warm summers, autumn color and crisp winters. Summers are warm without being to hot and winters are cold without being extreme.
And, one of the best “pros” of living in Meaux is that my friends, Greg and Carrie, and their daughter, son-in-law and beautiful grandson will be living there as well.
It’s also about 20 minutes from Disney Paris. The grandkids will LOVE that. They might not come for French history or architecture, but I’m certain I can entice them with Disneyland.
Cons of living in Meaux
Not sure there are many cons for me. I know it will have more limited cultural events than larger cities, but proximity to Paris makes up for that. It sounds like the nightlife is not too active, but nightlife is not something I look for, since I’m usually in bed by 8:30pm. Granted I read for a couple of hours before going to sleep….just saying.
At the end of the day….
You know when you go somewhere, and it just immediately feels comfortable. You feel at home, and your heart opens up in recognition that you’ve found your place? (Sorry, maybe that’s just me.) That is exactly how I felt when I woke up the first morning and went out to see the city. The sky was blue, and the city drew me in. Could have been the excellent quiche and pastries as well. Going to have to keep getting in a lot of exercise to be able to continue to partake of French pastries.
Can I live here? Most definitely. Meaux will be my home! I’ve have rented an apartment to go back in November and spend 3 weeks to get a better feel for daily life. I’m pretty excited. There have been many times where I’ve questioned whether or not I would find my place, and I have!
Just for fun…
I found a shop that sells the most amazing puzzles. They are a bit on the pricey side, but anyone who knows me will know that “I must do puzzles.”
I started doing puzzles at a very early age with my grandmother, mother, and then as the parents got older, my dad would chip in. Mom and I would put puzzle pieces in. Dad would go around and arrange the pieces into similar sections to make it easier.
One time, while I was living in Tacoma, WA, my son and one of his friends came over. I, of course, had a puzzle out on the table. When I finished it, there was one piece missing. It was a new puzzle so I knew the piece had to be somewhere. However, no matter how hard I looked, I could not find it.
Years later, when I moved out the the house, I was cleaning the light fixture that hung above the table, and there was the puzzle piece. I mentioned it my son, who told me that his friend had put it there. They thought it was huge fun.
