It's harder than you think.
You need to be extremely fluent in a language (slang, phrases etc) to be able to have a good relaxed chat with people.
I've lived in 3 different foreign countries and always ended up with most of my friends being ex-pat.
One reason is the language and the other is that the natives already have their quota of friends and its more difficult to get into their scene. The ex-pats tend to be building social contacts and more open to meeting new people. My two french friends here are both blow-ins from far corners of the country.
I've only been here a year in total. Because that was the plan...a sabbatical. My OH is in the construction game and we felt it was a good time to do it. We rented out our house and rented one here in france for much less.
Pros for me:
The weather, winter and summer the weather is fab.
The weather enables a very outdoor lifestyle.
Therefore we are all much more active.
The french school system is simply fantastic, we have 2 kids in the village school.
Both my hubby and my son have developed a 6-pack since we arrived.
The social values here are very much around community and family.
There is 2 hour lunchs in the middle of the day.
All the workmen are in the restuarants chatting and laughing.
We have more time to be a family, we have got to know each other better.
Life is pretty simple, everyone has a veg patch, a few cows on the mountain, some goats, makes cheese...etc
Cost of living is lower than ireland, so if you are living on a fixed income...it will go further.
Cons.
Family and community are very tight knit and difficult to break into...therefore you rely on ex-pats for social life.
Being together 24/7 can be challenging.
Huge rate of marriage breakdown in this region....? reasons.
High rate of male suicide.
Difficult to make a living, most of the ex-pats are very entrepreneurial...involved in a bit of this and a bit of that....but most would be considered not well off by irish standards. Drive bangers etc.
Difficult to reach the level of language proficiency to really fit-in.
This is a touristy region and locals can be a bit wary of foreigners.
Locals around here not really that friendly. Even french from other regions say this.
Night life practically non existant.
My in-laws couldn't get over how quiet the town is in the even. All the action is at lunch-time.