Five towns and small cities, that I would love to go back to after I complete my journey around the world.
European towns and cities worth a second look!
After travelling for 3 years (it would have been 4.5 years if there hadn’t been a pandemic,) I thought it was time to look back on places I could relocate to. After completing my trip around the world, (and providing I survive it!) I would like somewhere to settle down and live out my final years. I am not sure that would be in a big city, although I really did like Paris, Brussels, Prague and Ljubljana as capitals and also Hamburg, Liege, Zaragosa and Zagreb … but a smaller place might be more to my liking. So here are 5 small(ish) places, (towns and cities) which have made the cut so far. In no particular order.
1 – Slavonski Brod, Croatia – pop. 53,000
This post is prompted by being in the small town of Slavonski Brod. I came here to break up the journey of moving down from Osijek to Sarajevo, which is my next longer stop. Originally I was considering half the week here and half the week in Northern Bosnia at either Banja Luka or Doboj, but because Doboj is more en route but very small, I then changed to 1 week here and just 2 days in Doboj. This is how my “planning mind” works.
And I loved it here.
I loved the size of the place; easy to walk around, which is useful because the bus system is NOT good. The town is quiet but not too quiet, nice architecture and street furniture including a statue holding up a tree which I loved, (see photo.) A riverside walk. Easy access to the rest of the country – there is a mainline rail station for easy access to Zagreb and other cities such as Osijek are not too far away. It’s fairly flat, so will be easier to get around when I am older.
The negatives. Maybe the place is a little too small. The bus service is certainly a factor as is the language barrier (although a large number of people do speak English, it tends to be younger people.) I have only visited in the Summer, so I don’t know how hard the winters might be. As a recovering gambler, I was a bit alarmed at how many casinos and betting joints were here. Perhaps because it is a border town?
2 Brest, Bretagne, France – pop. 367,000
You can read my reasons for choosing to go to Brest and some of the highlights of my stay in a previous post here. Again, I just fell in love with the town. Okay the architecture isn’t great, as Brest cruelly suffered at the end of the 2nd world war – but it makes up for it, in the ease of getting around (it has a tram system which is a thing I often look for) and even a cable car. It is by the sea and although there is no beach, it is on the coast and nearby beaches are easily accessible. Like Slavonski Brod it has a mainline connection to the capital, Paris and from there to the rest of the world. I found it a surprisingly multi-cultural city with plenty to offer and the people were really friendly and welcoming. If I could take time out from my journey to return, I would. But could I settle there?
The negatives: Brittany is a little cut off from the rest of France (a bit like Cornwall in England; a place with a similar language, Cornish.) Language – my French isn’t great but I could work on that. Not sure I could master Breton. The cost of living; I found it to be cheaper than other places I visited in France but still expensive overall.
3 Graz – Austria – pop. 360,000
Another tram city, so made it to my list partly because of this. I was only in Graz for a week and really liked it. Good architecture, a shocking Contemporary Art Gallery, a funicular railway to a fort with stunning views of the city, friendly people and again, good connections to Vienna and other parts of Europe including Ljubljana which is another favourite. An incident I had in Graz is recounted in one of my previous posts here, so I may have questions to answer if I was to ever go back.
Negatives. Well Austria is not a cheap place to live, although Graz is probably cheaper than the rest of the country. I don’t speak German and I didn’t come across many English speakers when I was there. I only visited August and I know the winters in Austria are cold.
4 Salamanca – Spain – pop 144,000
It was very much a toss-up for me, whether to go with Salamanca or the nearby, smaller town of Zamora. I went with Salamanca mainly because it’s over twice the size, has much more to do and is flatter than Zamora. (Hills are good, but not as convenient when you are older and less mobile.) Salamanca is stunning. The main square is huge and amazing with busts of every “ruler” of Spain lining the buildings there – including one of the few remaining images of Franco. It has the river Tormes, the fourth oldest university in the world, (after Bologna, Oxford and Cambridge) and two cathedrals. The centre is a world heritage site. It’s also only 50 miles or so from the Portuguese border – so possible to do a run out there in case Spain becomes a tad boring! I was only there for a long weekend in April and wished I could have stayed longer.
Negatives. More of an unknown than a negative, is the weather. Spain has got a reputation of being unbearably hot in the Summer … would living in Salamanca be too much in the Summer months? It’s still a University city so I am told that the party atmosphere can be loud and raucous. No trams – although one has been proposed, but it would take years to build and the construction of it would make travelling across the city difficult.
5 Cork – Ireland – pop. 224,000
I debated whether to put Cork in at all, given that it is the 2nd largest city in the Republic of Ireland … but then as you can see it still has a smaller population than Brest and Graz.
I stayed near to the city, at Kanturk, for 10 days and made a few trips into the centre … but I would be lying if I said I had ever fully experienced Cork, though I think I would want to. Again, lovely river walks, a lively arts scene, plenty of pubs and friendly people. I have heard that there is a good bus service in the centre – but the trams stopped in the 1930s. (Why?) Cork is connected to some of the rest of Ireland by rail – though there are not many train destinations in Ireland now, but that could change, and there is an international airport. Oh and they speak English there too.
Negatives. Expensive … well Ireland is generally, although I think it is becoming cheaper than the UK. There is a bit of a housing crisis, so getting somewhere to stay may be a challenge. I was there in the summer and I know the winters can be cold and damp, I guess the only way to find out is to try it!
So there you have it. 5 lovely places worth a second look. But of course there are plenty of places that I haven’t been to – yet! A lot more world to explore.
