Angers, France: Could I live here?
More “train” drama
Of course, I planned to take a train from Paris to Angers. But, I quickly realized that no trains were running on the day I needed to travel. All trains were not running so that maintenance could be accomplished. Uggg and more Uggg.
My next best option for getting to Angers was a 5+ hour bus ride. At that point, I knew I was in for another very long travel day. The good news is that it was an uneventful bus ride, except for seeming like it would never end.
There was one bit of drama for a traveler who tried to put a truck-sized suitcase on the bus. The driver was having none of it, The lady was screaming and poking the driver and threatening to call the police. He closed the bus doors and ignored her. She was still banging on the bus doors as we were leaving and, I’m assuming, cursing him in French.
Arrival in Angers
I took a cab from the train station to my apartment in Angers.
All good, except for when I opened the apartment building door and found I would have to drag my suitcase and backpack up a set for curved, narrow stairs. Oh well, typical for France and older cities.
The apartment was lovely and worth the climb. But, knowing I would have to trek back down those steps with my luggage at the end of my stay was not fun.
The other “fun” part about the apartment was that it was over an Irish Pub. I arrived on a weekend and the music and karaoke music thumped through the floor of the apartment building until about 3am. That was the only night there was an issue, thank goodness!
Beautiful Angers
The Apocalypse Tapestry
The Apocalypse Tapestry, located in the Chateau Angers, is a large medieval set of tapestries commissioned by Louis I, Duke of Anjou, and woven in Paris between 1377 and 1382. It depicts the story of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation by Saint John the Divine in colorful images, spread over six tapestries that originally totaled 90 scenes, and were about 20′ high, and 450′ long in total. It is the most significant, and almost the only, survival from the first decades of the great period of tapestry, when the industry developed large workshops and represented the most effective art form for exhibiting the magnificence of royal patrons.
This is one of the most impressive pieces of artwork that I’ve ever seen, simply because of the scale of it. Because no photos were allowed, and even if there were, it would have been impossible to capture the essences of the pieces, I’m using stock images to show the pieces. They stretch all around 3 sides of this enormous room.
J.R. Tolkein Tapestries-Musée Jean-Lurçat
One of the coolest things I saw in Angers is the collection of tapestries created by artists and based on J.R. Tolkein’s illustrations in the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” books. The actual drawing is next to each tapestry. If you are a fan of Tolkein, you will love these pieces.
So, thoughts on living in Angers.
When I first arrived, I was thrown a bit by the size of Angers, and how much it resembled a lot of large cities, albeit the buildings are old and historical.
I walked around the town, took the tram to outlying neighborhoods and tried to absorb as much as I could from the city. Could I live here, yes. Did it fell like “home” to me? No.
Pros of living in Angers
Angers would be easy to settle into. The infrastructure is there. There is a central, easy to use train and bus station. A tram provides access to the city center and to the outlying neighborhoods and small villages. It is only an hour and 30 minutes to Paris via a high-speed train.
The city sits in the beautiful Loire Valley on the River Maine. There are many walking paths, pedestrian only streets and biking paths. It has a vibrant outdoor market that offers fresh vegetables, fruit, meats, cheeses and breads. Waking up every morning to the smell of bread baking is not a bad thing! Cappuccino and a croissant for breakfast. Yumm!
Angers has a unique English library, a great place to meet English speakers. It feels safe, has a university hospital, and great shopping areas, malls, an IMAX and sports arena. Venues for concerts, dance and theater.
The people are friendly and helpful. There is a large expat community that would make it easier for me to assimilate into the community. I ran into a group of Americans in a coffee shop who gather weekly to practice their French. I stopped to chat and get an idea of happy they were living in Angers. They all agreed that they had chosen a wonderful place to live.
I could literally find everything I would need to live here. I would most definitely buy a bike, but I would not need a car. BONUS.
Cons of living in Angers
The weather is similar to the Pacific Northwest. In Winter the skies are grey and it rains. And, although it would be easy to take a train to the Mediterranean or Atlantic side of France during nasty weather, the weather is certainly a consideration for me.
It is a university town and one quarter of the population is students. This means that at different times of the day buses, trams and restaurants are packed. Especially on the weekends.
At the end of the day….
Although Angers is a beautiful place, and I could live there if it were my only option, I going to keep looking for a place that feels right in my head and in my heart. Next stop Meaux.
Just for fun…
Yes, that is a toilet where men can just pop in to do their business. I guess they figure that if you are not facing people when peeing, all is good.
Not sure why the same wouldn’t apply to women. If your butt is facing the wall, why not.
There have been many times where I needed to go badly enough that I would have given this a shot.
