They hesitated between Vannes, Saint-Malo and La Rochelle, with a little further in mind a vague temptation for Toulouse or Bordeaux. But it was Vannes who won. For Toulouse or Bordeaux, things were off to a bad start because Vincent Cailliau and Amandine André left Nantes, because they found that there were now too many people and that the mentality there was becoming Parisian “with people who don't don't look at each other on public transport and don't talk to each other. Vincent Cailliau, 32, is a clinical psychologist. He is gradually ending the follow-up of his patients in Nantes and is currently looking for premises to set up his practice. “I spotted two that I haven’t visited yet. I hope to start my activity in January.” Amandine André, his partner of three years, is a data analyst at Saur, in the Laroiseau district. “We wanted to come to a city on a more human scale,” underlines this young woman of 34 years.
“It’s a warm city”
The couple moved into an apartment in October 2024, near Boulevard de la Paix. “A 73 m² T3 for €1,000, all inclusive. It's not cheap actually. Prices are close to those in Nantes where we had a 40 m² apartment for €720. We looked for something bigger there. But between the struggle to find an apartment and the fact that we no longer felt that good in the city, we made the choice to leave everything.”
I was shocked, positively shocked, when young people greeted us at Place de la Libération. It's little things like that that we're looking for here, politeness, a certain relationship with others.
A native of the Paris region, Amandine lived in Vannes for seven years before going to Nantes after losing her job. “I find that the cultural offering has progressed a lot in Vannes in ten years,” she says looking back. In hindsight, Vincent does not have one, even if he is a native of Nantes, even if his family had a house in Saint-Vincent sur Oust, Vannes he did not know. His new outlook is rather positive. “I like the little streets within the walls, in medieval style. It's a warm city. We will have fewer cultural offerings than in Nantes, that's certain, but this will be counterbalanced by the living environment. Morbihan is very nice.”
Lack of cultural diversity
A techno lover, the psychologist fears not being successful in Vannes in this area. “Apart from the Brief and the Echonova from time to time, there isn’t much.”
The psychologist returns to the more sympathetic approach that the inhabitants of Vannes would have. “I was shocked, positively shocked, when young people greeted us at Place de la Libération. It’s little things like that that we’re looking for here, politeness, a certain relationship with others.” On the other hand, the thirty-year-old perceives a lack of cultural diversity in the city of Vannes. “To be honest, in the center, everyone is a little white. In Nantes, the population is much more mixed. That’s a negative point, because it brings a lot of diversity.”
The failing bus network
Amandine André and Vincent Cailliau have a car that they each take every other day. “I have to leave work by 5:30 p.m., otherwise things get stuck,” remarks the young woman. But she still prefers the car to the bus. “Last week it took me an hour and a quarter to get back by bus. And they are often late I find.” Vincent thinks there is a lack of public transport in the evening. “I don't know how people who don't have a car manage to have a drink in the city center in the evening. In Nantes, there is transport until 2 a.m..”
