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Can anyone tell me what kind of area Le Soler is?
Looks like it might be a quiet town and good neighborhood to stay for a visit to Perpignan area.

We never actually stayed in Le Soler but often used to visit the lake there. The children loved it. Picnic area and small on site snack bar. Mind you, that was years ago and it might have changed.

I don't know it at all, but Wikipedia is always a good place to start (not just for the content as such, but for what it shows about the "civic-mindedness" of the locals). The English version is very thin, but the French version is here

https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Soler

It's got a fair bit of antiquarian detail, but not much about what it's like now. It's striking that the population has grown notably over recent decades, which suggests that it's essentially a dormitory suburb for Perpignan - so certainly quiet, and probably with lots of modern(ish) bungalows. Not entirely my idea of fun, but it could be quite practical.

And Marine Le Pen got a whisker under 50% in the second round of the presidential elections, which is about par for the course (for somewhere like that, round here).

Its all a bit industrial. Wouldn't be my choice for an area to live in.

There's a somewhat controversial political geographer called Christophe Guilluy, whose thesis, simplifying wildly, is that large numbers of "petits blancs" have moved out of the city into "peri-urban" settings, essentially to get away from immigrants (but also to get away from "bobos"). The price of that is that they live isolated lives in dreary lotissements, and spend a lot of time commuting, so they remain pissed off, just for different reasons.

As I say, it's disputed, but if there are any instances of it, I suspect Le Soler might be one.

It's a pleasant enough place, but I think that St. Estève is almost identical and has better transport links to the pullulating vibrancy that is Perpignan.

Le Soler is a small busy buzzy village on the outskirts of Perpignan so has good road connections.
Although there is an industrial area nearby, which is great for any maintenance or other shopping, there is also a great lake and picnic space for families, a couple of restaurants, a good village centre and all amenities.
If you are exploring Perpignan, it certainly is a good spot as mountains, Tech Valley and Andorra easily accessible.

There are a couple of larger properties for rental there, short and long term. Message me if you want to know more....

Sweaty Betty wrote:Le Soler is a small busy buzzy village on the outskirts of Perpignan so has good road connections.

There's no law that I know of about what counts as a village. But its permanent population at the last census was 7,500 (lightly rounded). So if it's a village, it's hardly a small one.

My own spot, Port-Vendres, had 4,200, and the municipality certainly think it's a "ville", judging by what they paint on the side of their (numerous) vehicles.

martyn94 wrote:

Sweaty Betty wrote:Le Soler is a small busy buzzy village on the outskirts of Perpignan so has good road connections.

There's no law that I know of about what counts as a village. But its permanent population at the last census was 7,500 (lightly rounded). So if it's a village, it's hardly a small one.

My own spot, Port-Vendres, had 4,200, and the municipality certainly think it's a "ville", judging by what they paint on the side of their (numerous) vehicles.

I'm not sure about a law but INSEE defines a Ville as having 2,000 or more inhabitants.

As for Le Soler, great if you like tractors and other heavy machinery, otherwise deathly dull.

Allan wrote: otherwise deathly dull.

Which seems to be roughly what Leok wants, as I understand the original question.

''I'm not sure about a law but INSEE defines a Ville as having 2,000 or more inhabitants. ''

I always thought a village had a Mairie and a Ville had a Hotel de Ville

I spent some pleasant days in Vernet recently going to the Casals festival. I was mildly surprised that it had only a mairie, given how many grand Edwardian villas it has, not all of them falling down. And the population has been quite stable, according to Wikipedia. I guess that the "curistes", and Rudyard Kipling, never figured in the permanent numbers.

But I doubt that there's any iron law: mairies in Paris cover a few hundred thousand.

Sweaty Betty wrote:Le Soler is a small busy buzzy village on the outskirts of Perpignan so has good road connections.

Thanks very much. This confirms what I thought and I have a found a place to stay. Thanks all for your posts.

LeoK

Leok wrote:

Sweaty Betty wrote:Le Soler is a small busy buzzy village on the outskirts of Perpignan so has good road connections.

Thanks very much. This confirms what I thought and I have a found a place to stay. Thanks all for your posts.

LeoK

Tell us how it turned out. We weren't exactly unanimous, but were perhaps judging by different standards: "would I stay there?" vs "would I want to live there for good?".

Stayed for a month...great place to visit Le Soler!

Leok wrote:Stayed for a month...great place to visit Le Soler!

Thanks. I asked for feedback, and got it. Come back soon. Spring has been a bit patchy this year, though excellent in parts. When I cower indoors, with the rain coming down like stair-rods, I always console myself by thinking that at least I’m not on a camping holiday.