Searching for Home
Before moving to France, Mykle, 55, and Doug, 71, had been living in Phoenix for more than 25 years. They became increasingly interested in moving to Europe. Mykle and Doug are American, but Mykle is also an Irish citizen by descent, giving them a distinct advantage.
"As a dual Irish/US citizen, I could live and work in any European Union country," Mykle explains. "Ireland seemed like the easiest option, but the weather was a bit challenging for us, especially coming from sunny Phoenix. Doug was the one who chose France, because we usually took a vacation to Paris every year. Paris, however, was not in the budget."
As they continued their research, the couple found themselves drawn to OSM's regional hub of Pau, a city of about 80,000 people in France's Pyrénées-Atlantiques region.
Pau was once one of Europe's most prominent resort towns, and has many restaurants, an airport, and high-speed train service to Paris, Bordeaux, and Toulouse. The city is a 35-minute drive from OSM.
Mykle and Doug found Pau's climate and affordability to be appealing, so they joined The Ex-Pats, Pau Pyrenees Facebook group to learn more. There, they mingled with Pau residents who were smitten with the area, including the nearby town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, and happy to answer the couple's questions.
A few months before they made the move to France, Doug conducted online searches for properties for sale or rent in the region. Using websites like SeLoger, LeBonCoin, GreenAcres, and French-Property.com, he stumbled upon the Oloron-Sainte-Marie apartment they eventually bought.
The couple's original plan was to rent for the first year. "We wanted to be sure that France was all we wanted it to be, and be sure that this was the right area in France for us," Mykle explains. "But when we saw our current home—which Doug had found online—it was a coup de coeur (love at first sight), so we decided we'd just buy it instead of renting."
The couple say that back in 2021, they paid €116,000 ($134,621) for the 1,000-square-foot apartment plus €9,600 ($11,400) for closing costs. (In France, these fees are collected by the notary and are approximately 9% of the purchase price.)
Life in an 18th-Century Village
According to Mykle, almost everything they need on a daily basis is found on their street. "Our neighborhood is a picturesque slice of French life," he says. "We have a boulangerie (bakery), a butcher shop, a cheese shop, a bookstore, the cathedral, restaurants, a bar, a bank… and a farmers' market by the cathedral on Sundays.
"One of my favorite things is to walk with a book, stopping at the various benches placed about town, where I'll read a chapter before continuing my walk to the next bench. We have two mountain rivers that meet at our library and become the Gave d'Oloron. You can sit on bean bags at the library, overlooking the confluence of the two rivers."
"We love the small-town feel and friendliness of people, but it's big enough to have the conveniences of services you've come to expect without having to leave town," adds Doug.
Despite OSM's small population, Mykle and Doug have a busy social calendar and regularly meet with other expats. "It's rare for us to have a week go by without getting together for a meal with friends," Mykle says, adding that their friends come from all over the region. "Many are retired but some are working. There are a few who are younger, some are single, some are married, one couple has a child. It's a nice mix of people."
Recently, Mykle has started teaching English to adults. He also shares insight about life abroad on his Facebook page, in a series he's dubbed Foreigner in France. His posts have touched upon everything from navigating purchases at the crèmerie (creamery) to watching Tour de France cyclists roll through their town. Throughout the year, Mykle and Doug welcome a steady stream of friends and family visiting from the United States. One of their recent visitors described Oloron-Sainte-Marie as "magical," Mykle says.
All in all, the couple has found the area to be affordable when compared to Phoenix.
"Housing is obviously much less expensive. You can rent a two-bedroom apartment in OSM for €650 a month," Mykle explains.
Food pricing is similar, but the quality here, he says, is so much better.
Dining out is much less expensive. Prices may seem similar when you look at a menu, but service is included so you don't pay another 20% on top of the bill—"although we usually leave a few euros pourboire (tip)," says Mykle.
"The OSM is home. I love it here. I can't think of anywhere I'd rather live," says Doug.
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