April is already coming to an end. Today we’re going to take a trip to Sommières. Before that, some expat updates from me.

Getting my carte de séjour renewed turned out to be as expected – a debacle. Seems easy, but when you want to be done quickly, it drags a bit. I passed all of the required red-tape to have the 10-year green card, including the civics exam and the TCF language test (french test accepted by the state): which includes an oral exam, written, listening and reading comprehension. Turns out, I’m just renewing my current carte de séjour, so all that isn’t needed for now.

(As of January 1, 2026, the civics exam is mandatory for first time carte de séjour pluriannuelle recipients and carte de résident (green card). In a later blog post, I will go over how the tests were and the resources I used to study for them.)

My next update comes more in the form of l’immobilier, aka real estate. I have a serene new villa on the market! Located next to Montpellier and if you haven’t heard of Sommières, it’s a beautiful, original, tasteful place to live in the South. The villa is surrounded by French wine country, outdoor activities around the Vidourle river, and a greenway (also known as a voie verte in French). The trail is made up of old train passages. When the weather is good (300/365 days), it attracts cyclists from all over. It includes long stretches of tunnels, old bridges and enchanting sounds of cicadas.

Last but not least, a thriving little market (every Saturday) in downtown Sommières.

Here are the photos of the property.

Front lawn and Front of House with garage (original rustic, old barn)

Terrace, pergola, pool and outdoor couches (shaded)

Pool built with stones (32m²(344 SF))

Lawn #2

Entrance (automatic gate)

Surrounding natural wine vineyard

Inside: The Living room with chimney

Dining area

Kitchen

Living room: reverse view

Primary Bedroom

Walk-in closet

Shower

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #3

Bedroom #4

Bathroom

Floor Plan

Not pictured is the garage which is an untouched, old barn (currently used for storage) that has renovation potential written all over it. It could serve as a guest house with some serious Provençal charm. But think of visiting in-person, we could make a day of it! There is a vineyard in the town that offers horse and carriage tours (link, photo below). Let me know if you’re ready to kick off your house hunting with this gem.

Here are the numbers:

4 Bedroom, 2 Bath bungalow villa in between Montpellier and Nîmes, rebuilt in 2008.

181m² (1,950 SF)

Size of lot 1,322m² (1/3 of an acre)

Price: EUR 620,000 : $703,000

Huge terrace ~ 60m² (645 SF) with pergola. 2 pitches of lawn, and a 2-car garage with a mezzanine ~50m² (538 SF).

(listing link)!

Bon dimanche,

Chandler