That's the trade off Ted and that's why I took a little room in Paris. But you can buy this house (150 sq. meters) with 1200 sq. meters of land for about the same price as a 60 sq. meter apartment on an average residential street in Paris. With two kids that's a major consideration.
My personal tragedy is that I didn't know I was allergic to the country until after I moved here. But I found some cortisone injections that work. It's funny. As soon as I breathed the diesel infested air of Paris I was better.

Hey, Grandma Moses started late!