Living in Mios: why so many families are settling here

The family side of the Arcachon Bay

When a family tells me they want “the Bay, but to live there all year round”, I suggest Mios. The beaches are twenty minutes away and Bordeaux about forty.

For those who work in Bordeaux, it is a genuinely good compromise: the countryside without being far from the city, and the Bay close by to enjoy whenever you feel like it.

Between Bordeaux and the Bay, without having to choose

Biganos station, less than five kilometres away, puts Bordeaux within easy reach by train. Mérignac airport is about forty minutes away, a real advantage for those who travel for work or whose family lives far away.

And at the weekend, you enjoy the Bay without the summer bustle.

A town that lives all year round

Unlike some waterside towns that empty out after the season, Mios does not close its shutters in September. More than 12,000 people live here all year round.

The market is held three mornings a week, on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Shops, the media library, the music school, the sports complex and local associations stay lively in every season. And the calendar is always full: Mios en Fête, the Be(e) Holiday jazz festival, the Fête de la Musique, Octobre Rose, the Christmas village.

Designed for children

This is often what tips the decision. Mios has its own nursery and primary schools, spread between the town centre, Lillet and Lacanau-de-Mios, as well as its own secondary school (collège).

After-school care, holiday clubs, a multi-sports school and a youth centre complete the picture. Children grow up close to home, without spending their lives in the car.

Nature as your garden

Mios lies at the heart of the Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park. The Leyre, the little Amazon of the Bay, can be paddled by canoe beneath the trees before it reaches the Delta. Hiking trails, cycle routes and forest paths start almost from your doorstep.

For the younger ones, there is the adventure park on the banks of the Leyre, the leisure centre and the open-air guinguette in fine weather. Here, weekends are not planned, they are lived.

Room to breathe

Mios offers what is becoming rare around the Bay: houses with land, gardens where children can play, room for a pool or a vegetable patch.

Many of the families I work with are leaving a Bordeaux apartment or a house that has become too small. In Mios they find a way of life they no longer thought possible so close to the Bay.

My view

Mios appeals because it brings three lives together: Bordeaux close by for work, the Bay for escaping, and a real village life for growing up.

If you are thinking of settling here, or of selling your home to a family who dreams of it, I would be delighted to talk with you.

Photo: © Brigitte Ruiz – Office de tourisme Cœur du Bassin