Your Bordeaux move checklist

The VLS-TS 'visiteur' long-stay visa is the standard retiree route: you must show stable passive income at least at the French net minimum wage (SMIC), ~€1,443/mo net as of Jan 1 2026 (shown ~$1,650 USD; some consulates expect ~€1,550/mo per person and prefer a couple show proportionally more). Pensions, Social Security, IRA/401(k) distributions and investment income all qualify; a solid savings buffer strengthens a thin-income file but rarely substitutes for regular income. You sign an attestation NOT to work in France and must carry private health insurance for year one. Applied at a French consulate, then validated online within 3 months of arrival; renewed annually at the prefecture, with a path to a multi-year card and eventual permanent residency.

Excellent. France's public system (PUMA/Assurance Maladie) is consistently rated among the world's best; legal residents qualify after ~3 months and most retirees add a private mutuelle (~€30-70/mo per person) to cover the ~30% the state doesn't. CHU de Bordeaux (Groupe Hospitalier Pellegrin) is a major academic referral center with an international patients office and English-speaking staff; private options include Clinique Saint-Augustin and Hôpital Privé Saint-Martin (Pessac). The US Consulate maintains a list of English-competent doctors, and Doctolib makes booking easy. Truly world-class/quaternary care is in-city or a ~2h TGV to Paris.

France taxes residents (>183 days / main home) on worldwide income at progressive rates, BUT the US-France tax treaty is unusually favorable to American retirees: US Social Security and US-source pensions, IRA/401(k) and Roth distributions are generally taxable ONLY in the US, not France (you still declare them in France, where a credit typically zeroes the French tax). US citizens always file in the US (saving clause). Note French wealth tax on real estate (IFI) above €1.3M and social levies (CSG/CRDS) can apply to some non-treaty income. Confirm with a cross-border advisor.

No nonstop flights between Bordeaux (BOD) and the US — every trip connects. The usual paths are via Paris (Air France from Orly/CDG, ~1h, then a ~8-9h transatlantic to NYC/East Coast) or via other European hubs (London, Madrid, Amsterdam). Air Transat flies BOD-Montreal nonstop seasonally, a useful North American link. Realistically plan 12-16h door-to-door to the US East Coast; West Coast is longer.

Generally safe for a large French city; violent crime is not the main concern for residents. The real nuisances are pickpocketing and phone theft in crowds — Saint-Jean station, Rue Sainte-Catherine, tram platforms, and market areas — plus occasional bag-snatching. The Saint-Michel and Place de la Victoire areas are lively and multicultural by day but rowdier (drunken nightlife, harassment, opportunistic theft) on weekend nights, so women alone may prefer other streets after dark. France carries a US State Dept Level 2 advisory driven by national terrorism risk and periodic protests/strikes, not by Bordeaux street crime specifically.

Sub-oceanic with mild Mediterranean leanings. Summers are warm and sunny (highs ~27-30C/81-86F, occasional heat spikes); winters are mild but damp and grey (daytime ~10C/50F, nights 2-5C/36-41F, frost possible, snow very rare). Rain is frequent and spread across the year (~985mm/39in), heaviest Nov-Dec. Spring and autumn are changeable and wet.

Bordeaux has a long Anglo connection and a fast-growing, well-organized English-speaking scene: Bordeaux USA (a downtown American club with library, talks, and pot-lucks), the Bordeaux Women's Club (founded by American military wives), and active 'English Speakers in Bordeaux' Facebook groups. Landing socially in English is realistic, but Bordeaux is a working French city, not a gringo bubble — functional French makes daily life (admin, doctors, markets) far smoother.