When we moved to France from Amsterdam, we were faced with the dilemma that Paris is one of the most expensive cities on the planet. Worse, flats are tiny. With three times the population density of the USA, it's understandable why many places in Europe have much smaller living areas, but damn it, I like room.
So we considered Meaux. We ultimately wound up not moving there, but we recently went to visit it. After having moved 38 times in my life, I'm not keen to move again any time soon, but I'd be seriously tempted to move to Meaux. It's gorgeous (and the delicious brie de Meaux is worth mentioning, too).
Parking outside the tourist center
When we pulled into Meaux, we parked outside the tourist center. My first thought was "damn, this is beautiful.
Walking down Rue Bossuet to get to the cathedral
Note how the pollution has been cleaned on the left.
It was a short walk to the Meaux Cathedral. Work on it started in the twelfth century and it's still not finished!
The most beautiful little girl in the world (mine).
This is the Europe I've dreamed of
We sat and had a quick drink at a café in front of the cathedral. That's when I realized that I wanted to live here. We have a lovely, nice-sized (for Paris) flat, with a back garden and quiet neighborhood, so there's no way we're going to move any time soon, but still, this is the Europe I love: the small towns more than the big cities.
Leïla in front of the cathedral.
L'Hôtel de Ville de Meaux
All of the heads are missing. I wish I knew the story behind this.
The architectural details are amazing.
Our daughter enjoying a merry-go-round in Meaux.
Some things are universal.
When we went back to Les Lilas, I found myself missing Meaux almost instantly. It's a fascinating town which has stood, apparently, for over 2,000 years. From what little information I could gather, it was the capital city of the Meldi tribe, one of the groups of Gaul who inhabited France. Obviously it bears little resemblance to 2,000 years ago, but this history is fascinating nonetheless.
If you move to another country, I would heartily recommend small towns over big cities. London is not the UK. Amsterdam is not the Netherlands. Paris is not France. Everyone wants to move to the big cities that they've heard of. When I lived in the Lace Market in Nottingham, I had an exposure to British culture that I never experienced in London.