Tessa & Marc(41)

Marc and I both worked remotely — he as a data analyst, I as a graphic designer. After Covid we realized: if we can work anywhere, why Hilversum? We looked for a place with nature, culture and good schools. The French Basque Country offered everything: mountains, ocean, its own culture and language, and schools providing full-day care. We chose Bayonne, the capital of the Pays Basque.

Bayonne isn't a typical southern French town. The Basque Country has its own identity: the language (Euskara), the sport (pelota), the cuisine (pintxos, gâteau basque, piment d'Espelette) and a strong sense of community. The city itself is beautiful: half-timbered houses along the Nive and Adour, a Gothic cathedral and the famous Fêtes de Bayonne in July. We rent a maison basque of 90m² for €950 per month.

Our children — 7 and 10 — attend an école bilingue français-basque (ikastola). This is a special school that teaches in both French and Basque. It's free and state-funded. The children learn Basque alongside French — a language with no known relatives. The school offers garderie (before and after-school care) from 7:30 to 18:30, and the cantine serves hot meals for €3 per day.

As auto-entrepreneurs we both work remotely. Marc earns about €5,000 gross per month from his Dutch client, I earn €2,500. Social charges are 21.1% at URSSAF. We pay our cotisations monthly via autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr. Income tax is paid annually after your déclaration de revenus. Tip: the prélèvement à la source (withholding tax) is automatically deducted with a French bank account — but as an auto-entrepreneur you pay via acomptes (advance payments).

The CAF was again a pleasant surprise. With two children and our combined income we receive allocations familiales (€140/month), complément familial and APL housing benefit (€210/month). Total benefits are about €400 per month — significant for our budget. The application went through caf.fr with our numéro d'allocataire that we received after registering at the mairie.

Life in the Basque Country is active. Marc surfs every weekend in Anglet or Biarritz — the waves are consistent and the surf culture is huge. The children play pelota at the local club. I hike in the Pyrenees — Pic de la Rhune is an hour's drive. We eat pintxos every Thursday evening in the bars of Bayonne. The community is warm: the Basques are proud of their culture and welcome people who show interest. We speak French, are learning Basque and feel at home.