In the last 25 years, we’ve lived in so many different types of places:
Our “haunted” house on the old Hickam Air Force Base — oh, the stories!
A townhouse in inner-city Baltimore — the first house I ever bought. Sometimes life felt straight out of The Wire, but I also learned that sometimes the people with the least often give the most.
A suburb on the densely populated island of Oahu — where we created a lovely little “ohana” with our neighbors. The traffic, though? YIKES.
An apartment in the San Francisco Bay Area — four people and one cat in 1,000 square feet? It was a bit tight..but at least we could shop and dine on foot!
A car-dependent suburb of Omaha, Nebraska — our first time building a house. Perfect for the pandemic, with enough space for all of us to have privacy and peace.
A delightful German village — one of my favorite houses with a near-perfect layout. Phoebe loved the huge yard, with eight apple trees, two plums, two cherries, two quince…it was like running a small orchard.
Moving around so much certainly wasn’t convenient, but it did offer us some gifts. From each of these moves, we gathered insights and observations—what we liked, and what we didn’t.
Walkability to shops and restaurants (walking keeps you young)
Connection to public transit (for us and for guests)
Natural beauty (time in the outdoors is good for so many reasons)
A manageable garden size (because yard work gets harder as you get older)
Proximity to an airport and a major city (Bordeaux is under an hour)
We didn’t necessarily find Castillon—we found a house in Castillon, a coup de cœur that stole our hearts. We didn’t even have a lot of time to explore the town before we put in an offer. But we knew it ticked our boxes: natural beauty, historic buildings, shops and restaurants open year-round (yes, the winter shutdown can be a thing!), and the ever-practical train stop. Woohoo!
Of course, falling in love with a house is one thing. But finding it in a location that works for you, too? Now that’s a real accomplishment.
Where Exactly Is Castillon?
If we didn’t have a giant dog who hates walks, we would have loved to be in a bigger city. But as we’ve come to discover, life in a small French village can be quite charming! Of course, there are lovely villages all across France, and some are even listed as being one of the “plus beaux villages de France.” Castillon is not one of them, and like most tiny towns, it’s probably a place you’ve never even heard of. “Where?” is usually the question we get most when we tell people where we live, from foreigners and French alike.
For those who don’t have a map of France memorized (I know I don’t!), here’s the quick orientation. France is divided into regions, which are then broken down into departments, and within those you’ll find communes—the equivalent of municipalities or towns.
So, Castillon-la-Bataille is a commune in the Gironde department, which is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the big swath of southwest France that stretches from the vineyards near Bordeaux all the way down to the Spanish border.
At first, our home search was scattershot—I had tabs open for houses all over France. But after three house-hunting trips (and some sanity-saving advice from a friend of a friend who’d already made the move), we realized we needed to narrow our focus.
The southwest checked a lot of our boxes:
A temperate climate with more sunshine than Germany (but not Provence levels of scorching).
The Pyrenees Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean both within a couple of hours.
Spain just a road trip away—great news for my Spanish-speaking husband.
Relatively green, less prone to wildfires or drought compared to other parts of the country.
Another unexpected bonus: Castillon is only about 15 minutes from Saint-Émilion, one of the most famous wine villages in the world. We can enjoy the UNESCO-listed medieval streets, the caves, the wine tastings… and then head back home without having to wrestle for a parking spot among the tour buses.
Knowing what mattered to us was key to finally finding a place to call home. Which brings me to…
Questions to Consider When Choosing Your Own French “Home”
When we first started house hunting, I thought I could keep the whole country on the table. France isn’t that big, right? (Spoiler: it is.) After those three scouting trips, I realized we needed to get more intentional. That’s when I started jotting down what we valued in a location the most—not just the pretty houses on real estate sites, but the everyday realities of life.
Here are some questions that helped us, and might help you, too, if you ever dream of your own French adventure:
What kind of climate suits you best?
Do you crave sunshine year-round, or are you okay with some gray skies if it means greener landscapes?Do you want the energy of a city, the quiet of the countryside, or something in between?
And be honest—do you really want “peaceful rural life” if it means the nearest bakery is a 20-minute drive?How much do you want to rely on a car?
France has fantastic trains in some places… and almost none in others. Know your tolerance for driving vs. public transit.Does proximity to the ocean, mountains, or another natural feature matter to you?
If hiking, skiing, or surfing are part of your joy, put them on the list now.How important is access to healthcare?
Larger towns often have clinics and hospitals nearby, while in tiny villages you may be an hour or more from the nearest ER.What kind of community do you want to plug into?
Are you hoping for a thriving expat scene, or do you want to be nudged into speaking French every day?What’s your “everyday essentials” list?
For us: a train station, a bakery, a few restaurants, and a garden that didn’t require farm equipment.How close do you want to be to an airport?
Think about how often you’ll want to travel or host visitors—it makes a big difference.
In the end, no checklist can do the work for you, and you should expect some compromises. However, asking the right questions early on can save you a lot of heartache (and wild goose chases across the country). For us, narrowing things down helped us stop chasing “dream houses” in random places and start focusing on what types of locations would bring us joy, day to day. But please don’t make the mistake of thinking that there are only a few spots that will suit you. If we didn’t land in Castillon, we could have found 100 different towns that met our criteria. Bring an abundance mindset, and you will be surprised and delighted!
History at Our Doorstep
What we didn’t fully grasp at the time was just how much history was layered into this little town. Castillon-la-Bataille literally takes its name from the last battle of the Hundred Years’ War, fought here in 1453. Near these very riverbanks, French troops under Jean Bureau defeated the English and ended nearly a century of conflict. The English commander, John Talbot, fell here in battle—an ending so dramatic Shakespeare later gave him a cameo in Henry VI.
And Castillon doesn’t let anyone forget it. Every summer, the town stages La Bataille de Castillon—the largest battle re-enactment in Europe, with 600 volunteers bringing the story to life for more than 30,000 spectators each year.
This summer, we went—and it really is spectacular. The shows run from mid-July to mid-August. You can make a whole evening of it: picnic on the grounds, let the kids try medieval games, grab food from kiosks, or sit down for dinner beforehand. Then at 10 pm, galloping horses burst onto the scene, and suddenly you’re standing in 1453.
Castillon, Today and Tomorrow
Because I’m a bit obsessively thorough, I also researched the town’s website. It’s a good sign when it’s regularly updated with activities and events. But the news wasn’t all sunshine and rosé. I learned that Castillon had long suffered from high unemployment—27%!—which isn’t unusual for agricultural towns (wine is the major industry here). Still, the Mairie was making strides, even securing a spot for Castillon in France’s Territoires Zéro Chômeur de Longue Durée (Zero Long-Term Unemployment) initiative.
This took me back to one of my favorite electives at Stanford: a course on urban planning and design. We studied ideas that brought people together—like colocating eldercare and childcare facilities, or designing sidewalks wide enough to encourage people to linger. Frankly, it felt a bit idealistic. I’d lived in gentrifying neighborhoods before, where change was fueled by outside investment and shiny new shopping centers. But the downside was always the same: the poorest residents were pushed out by rising rents or property taxes. Castillon’s approach is different. The goal isn’t to displace but to include—to bring everyone along together. What struck me most is that Castillon isn’t just holding onto its past—it’s actively planning its future.
That renewal is formalized in an ambitious plan called Castillon 2032. The vision: restore the historic heart of town, strengthen cultural life, improve housing, support local businesses, and reconnect people to the Dordogne River.
“Castillon will be a welcoming town that draws strength from its history and its river, while boldly embracing the future.”
It’s not just a facelift; it’s about helping Castillon reclaim its role as a vibrant hub for the region.
Reading about this plan made me feel like we weren’t just moving into a house, we were joining a project already in motion. We’ve used the town’s Castilab concierge service to get help moving furniture and hauling boxes. And we try to spend as much of our money in town as possible—from haircuts to restaurants to dog grooming. It feels good to contribute in small ways to the town we now call home. My hope is that, in time, I’ll find even more meaningful ways to be part of Castillon’s bright future.
So while I fully expected to land in a town of at least 10,000 people, it turns out that Castillon—with its bustling centre ville serving many surrounding villages—is more than sufficient.
À bientôt,
Valérie
Helpful Resources
Weather Spark - a fab resource for visualizing and understanding the weather trends year-round for locations around the world.
Facebook groups like Americans in France or Expats Move to France – useful for crowdsourced wisdom (with a grain of salt).
Regional tourism boards – surprisingly helpful for lifestyle, festivals, and amenities.
INSEE (French National Institute of Statistics) – population, employment, and regional data if you like research.
Great article! I will add Castillon to my list.
I agree with Karen! You paint a lovely picture of a town not stuck in the past, but reaching to create a good future. Who knows if an idea from your Stanford course might interest them.
In the Dordogne, we lived in one of the small villages around Lalinde, which is also about 3000. You're definitely right in saying that they participate in the economic life of the larger town.