Where do start???

Hellon NearlyFamous.

Welcome to Expat.com!

What kind of information are you looking for precisely?

Please, ask precise questions so that other members can help and advise you

Good luck,
Aurélie

Thanks for your reply, Aurélie - and for your kind welcome.

I've only just made the decision that I would like to move to Lyon so the assistance I need is mainly information.

Although I know quite a few French people who live north of the city (in Beaujolais) I do not know anyone who actually lives in Lyon.

I should say at once that I will NOT be buying property there; I'll be renting.  Also, I may not own a car at first, so would need access to public transport.

And that would be a good place to start!  Thanks to a posting elsewhere on this site, I've looked at several immobilier websites and have used Google Earth to investigate rental properties and the outer city in general.

But an 'insider' view would be wonderful.  Where are the best and most affordable - parts of the city?  There must also be parts of Lyon that expats would NOT recommend; where are they?

(I don't mind living in areas that some people might consider a little outré.  I live in such an area now!)

In looking for a flat, is there anything in particular I should look out for or be careful/wary of?

Any kickstart advice would be very gratefully received!

I will be in Beaujolais and Lyon from May 30 to June 6 and will have access to the internet while I am there.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the trouble to offer me advice!

Ian

Hi Ian,

A good website to check out, aside from Expat.com of course (!) is Anglo Info

Good luck!

Hi Ian, I moved here 4 years ago and I live in Grand Lyon which is the area outlying the centre.  Depends on your wallet and likes/dislikes I suppose. The centre is busy and lively and everything is in easy access but can be expensive. The 1er is nice, you might find reasonably priced appartments there and you are in walking distance of most things. But the transport system in Lyon is excellent, buses, trams and metro can very quickly and cheaply get you to and from anywhere, so even if you are in grand lyon you will be able to get around with no trouble. Just one thing, when you rent a flat in France, that's what you get - just the space, you have to provide all storage etc yourself, ie, kitchen will probably have a sink, but that's it! A trip to Ikea is usually the first thing people need to do unless previous tenants decide to leave their stuff for you. Have a look on "le Bon Coin", you might find some useful info on there also. There is a thriving expat community here with quite a few english/irish pubs (vieux lyon) so you won't be short of english speaking company. It can be quite difficult to make friends in Lyon for some reason.Good Luck!

Hi,

Do you speak french? As Taffy said, you can find much info and flat offers on the web leboncoin.fr, but everything is in french . Here the link for renting flat in Lyon on this website:
- leboncoin.fr/locations/offres/rhone_alpes/?f=a&th=1&location=lyon

I have a friend who just found out his flat a week ago thanks to this web.

The public transport is very useful here, especially inside the Lyon city, so dont worry. It's up to your needs and your criteria. Normally, people like to live in the center,near to commercial center, like Vieux Lyon (the old district) or 6th District (6è arrondissement, in French), or 3th District (3è arrondissement, in french). But the price is more expensive than further district (8th,9th or 7th district).

Good luck, guy!