Bonjour Camille. French native here, former immigrant in the United States for over two decades. Back in France since 2019. Currently residing in the Loire Valley. Dedicated observer of the ongoing, well-publicized migration pattern from North America to France, my homeland.
As such, I am at times (and in no particular order) intrigued/entertained/impressed/surprised/horrified/irritated by what some of those immigrants have to say about their life in my homeland.
I do believe you may have just written the definitive "Guide to Moving to France as an American" (i.e. someone coming from the USA.)
This detailed, honest, smart analysis of your own experience, the challenges you met along the way and the lessons learned so far is impressive. Félicitations.
There were no YouTube channels or Substacks and very few reliable Facebook groups to advise French immigrants arriving in the US in the late 1990s. That's a shame. I could have saved time and effort by learning from other people's experiences.
I hope people out there do pay attention before making the final decision to "choose France" and will be prepared to accept her just as she is. France, as it turns out, has always enjoyed playing hard to get. ;-)
Bonne chance to you and your family in all your endeavors.
Véronique, this might be my favorite comment I've ever received, and coming from someone who did the reverse journey it means all the more. You're right that France plays hard to get, and loving her anyway is the beauty of it all. Thank you for reading so closely. And I'm sorry you had to figure out the US with no map! That really must have been hard.
Thank you Kamille. Navigating the US wasn’t that challenging for my partner and me at the time. We both spoke English fluently and I was an American Studies major in college. — Still, we had to figure out many logistical details as immigrants do (and don’t get me started on some aspects of the US Administration ;-)) — Some friends of ours had a much more challenging time integrating especially when they didn’t speak English well enough. As it turns out France is not the only culture that plays hard to get - a lesson I never forgot ;-)
I have walked across France east to west and north to south and aways found French people friendly, kind, and helpful. I read this by a French Gite host: “tourists complain, pilgrims are thankful”. Attitude is important. Sometimes, attitude is everything.
Kamille, you and Sean have done an amazing public service by your writing about your move and re-establishing yourselves, your kids, careers and ambitions all in a short three years. Kinda astonishing, really. Love reading about your adventures and knowing you are living a good life in France. It’s a brave and crazy wonderful thing you kids have pulled off!
That's such a warm thing to say, thank you Molly! Some days it's astonishing, most days it's a long to-do list 😂 Thank you for reading and cheering us on :)
Kamille I just want to say i enjoyed this essay very much. Your discriptions and clear instructions, observations and helpful information should be included in every travel mag, for those aspireing to be future Francafones. I think your instructive blog should become required reading for all tourists and people like you who dream of living in or vsiting France.
From my perspective of an 80yo who does not plan to move from my Canadian home, i am impressed by your bravery, stamina and enthusiasm.Bravo to you! Thank you for your service.
Thank you, Carolynne, this is such a warm thing to read. And you don't have to move anywhere to enjoy France, some of the best Francophiles I know love it happily from home. Eighty years of perspective makes your "bravo" land all the more. Truly grateful you're here reading.
As an American/French person (my mom was a French war bride) who has had one foot in each country her entire life, two passports, no carte vitale, and is 4th gen self employed… much of the scenarios you describe don’t apply to me BUT… I’ve moved back to Paris 18 months ago with the intention of staying « forever ».
I’m filing taxes (for the 1st time) and applying for my carte vitale and slogging my way through the SIRET process and the online accountant I’m required to have and the new « invoices via a 3rd party » system some genius thought would be a good idea to implement by Sept 1st (but the govt isn’t ready for it until December) and my GoD! The folders!!
It’s a lot. And I speak the language! Though I still have to tell people that I am, at my base, American and I don’t understand what they just told me and could they please explain it like I’m 10, and slower please. And WHY do I need to do that?
The looks I get! 🥴
I will be forwarding this article to several people I know who are talking the talk of relocating.
This is such a good comment, and it makes me feel weirdly better, if a bilingual dual-citizen with roots here is drowning in the SIRET-and-invoicing swamp, then the rest of us are allowed to struggle too. That new invoicing rollout the government itself isn't ready for is peak France, honestly. And "explain it like I'm 10, slower" is something I need constantly. Language fluency and bureaucratic fluency turn out to be completely different skills. Thank you for forwarding it, and bon courage with the folders!
If only I could figure out a system for storing the folders (any way but flat). You know those cool looking, stand up, open on one side, narrow « boxes »? I thought those were my solution; bought 3, brought them home and guess what? The folders don’t fit? What insanity is this??? 🥴
What a great post! I’m sure that there are many tempted Americans who have just come up short after reading your serious reality check.
A few random thoughts, from someone who is fluent and has been here for over ten years:
Regarding property, there’s a very good reason why there are châteaux in rural France on the market at what look like very low prices. French people don’t want to live in them!
That’s a generalisation, but if your need is for an easily-maintained, (relatively) economical to heat dwelling without a ballroom or servants’ quarters and within reasonable commuting distance of where you have to make your living, then something that is fundamentally an apartment with its own roof is a safer bet. That’s what “lotissements” are for.
Look out for single glazing. Be aware that even what looks like a hovel good only for demolition may be in some way protected
The driving test is a significant hurdle to get over. Most French people fail it at least once, and if you have habits ingrained by years of driving elsewhere, it’s all too easy to open your door by pushing it with your elbow as you’ve always done, and FAILING THE TEST! Back to square one and yet more expensive lessons. Even exchanging a licence can take over a year.
Be aware that most French people have (usually strongly held) political views. It seems likely that Mme. Le Pen will be the next president. If that happens, and she manages to do the things she wants, the whole character of France could change and become more like the current USA. That may or may not suit you.
So much good here, thank you. You're absolutely right that a cheap château is a house French people themselves passed on, usually for practical reasons. And yes, the driving test is wild, and it's that 'priorité à droite' that gets you! I'll leave the Le Pen question to each reader, but I really hope she doesn't win. Appreciate a fluent veteran weighing in!
A fair write-up. Félicitations. I will take issue with you on your photo of a French meal. That is probably one course of several and posh. Posh food here seems to always have small portions. However if you opt for lunch at a resto that does menu des ouvriers the portions are hearty pas chère and the entrées normally self service buffet.
Ah yes, that plate was the fancy version, not the everyday resto here. You're right that the menu des ouvriers feeds you properly and cheaply, buffet and all. Good addition, thank you, Robin.
I read this as I sit waiting for the FreePro technician who is not only late today but 2 weeks late overall
I’m camped on my front porch so when he just drives by again and doesnt stop saying no one was home I’ve got him!
What gets me though is if they do actually show up on time and you are 30 seconds late opening the door they scream and yell at you because you weren’t on time.
Ha, the porch stakeout is exactly the energy this requires. The double standard kills me too, we extend endless flexibility and then get zero from them 😂. May your technician appear today, and may you catch him if he tries the drive-by!
Thank you for this well articulated post! My wife and I are in the process of selling our house in preparation for a move to France and as such I’m consuming French content like a rabid animal. I loved thinking through this list and still being absolutely resolved in our decision. ❤️🇫🇷❤️
Ha, the rabid-consumption stage is real and kind of wonderful. Reading the full reality check and staying resolved is exactly the mindset that does well here. So excited for you both. Good luck to you and your wife, Sarah!
Thank you so much! We really can’t wait! We’re enjoying your content both here and now on YouTube, especially as Californians, your stories and perspectives really resonate. (We’re also creatives, so there’s a lot of overlap.) All that just to say thank you for sharing your story…
That's high praise given how much of this genre exists, thank you, Luisa! I read a lot of it too, which is partly why I wanted to write the less-brochure version. Means a lot ☺️
Thanks for this Kamille :) I am in the stage you describe (around month 4) where the adrenaline has worn off and the work to set up a new life has set in. Love knowing it is a universal experience haha!
Yes, the "wait, is it supposed to feel like this?" phase. It is, and you're not doing anything wrong, promise. It lifts. Sending solidarity through the hardest, least glamorous months ☺️
I didnt move to France even though it was my first choice, due to what would end up going to my kids when I die. The French govt would end up getting almost half! I am now living in Mexico.
The inheritance and succession rules are a real, under-discussed factor, and I don't blame you for letting them steer the decision, that's exactly the homework that matters. Mexico sounds like a wonderful landing spot!
This really had me laughing 😆 Thanks for sharing. Number 11 is the classic because I moved to Italy and took me with me to begin a life with all the baggage that should have been left at home.
This is well thought out and articulated. Having survived 3.5 years in Portugal I think has prepared me for most of this (except the driver’s license)🤞
Ha, 3.5 years in Portugal is basically a graduate degree in most of this list! The driver's license is the one that ambushes everyone, though, fingers crossed for you. Thank you, Kristin!
Thanks for the deeper look at what it actually takes to move from the comfort of the Known, to a country with many pluses and a different language. If I were 1) younger 2) had a partner 3) had a salable asset that was not illegal, France sounds like a wonderful alternative to the overstimulated chaos that America has become. I believe this puts me in the visitors category.
The overstimulated-chaos-to-calm appeal is real, I felt it too. And being honest that you're a visitor rather than a mover is wisdom, not defeat. France's door is always open for a stay 😊 Thank you, Christopher.
If the artisans show up. Did you say “next summer”? Fingers crossed for you that it's installed by next fall. Your entire article is spot on. Been here 18 years, save for brief stints in the UK and the Netherlands. Still don't have my driver's license and still not fluent. Love for my French partner and for the land (Cote de Granit Rose), keeps me here. Your substack rocks!
Bonjour Camille. French native here, former immigrant in the United States for over two decades. Back in France since 2019. Currently residing in the Loire Valley. Dedicated observer of the ongoing, well-publicized migration pattern from North America to France, my homeland.
As such, I am at times (and in no particular order) intrigued/entertained/impressed/surprised/horrified/irritated by what some of those immigrants have to say about their life in my homeland.
I do believe you may have just written the definitive "Guide to Moving to France as an American" (i.e. someone coming from the USA.)
This detailed, honest, smart analysis of your own experience, the challenges you met along the way and the lessons learned so far is impressive. Félicitations.
There were no YouTube channels or Substacks and very few reliable Facebook groups to advise French immigrants arriving in the US in the late 1990s. That's a shame. I could have saved time and effort by learning from other people's experiences.
I hope people out there do pay attention before making the final decision to "choose France" and will be prepared to accept her just as she is. France, as it turns out, has always enjoyed playing hard to get. ;-)
Bonne chance to you and your family in all your endeavors.
Véronique, this might be my favorite comment I've ever received, and coming from someone who did the reverse journey it means all the more. You're right that France plays hard to get, and loving her anyway is the beauty of it all. Thank you for reading so closely. And I'm sorry you had to figure out the US with no map! That really must have been hard.
Thank you Kamille. Navigating the US wasn’t that challenging for my partner and me at the time. We both spoke English fluently and I was an American Studies major in college. — Still, we had to figure out many logistical details as immigrants do (and don’t get me started on some aspects of the US Administration ;-)) — Some friends of ours had a much more challenging time integrating especially when they didn’t speak English well enough. As it turns out France is not the only culture that plays hard to get - a lesson I never forgot ;-)
I have walked across France east to west and north to south and aways found French people friendly, kind, and helpful. I read this by a French Gite host: “tourists complain, pilgrims are thankful”. Attitude is important. Sometimes, attitude is everything.
Kamille, you and Sean have done an amazing public service by your writing about your move and re-establishing yourselves, your kids, careers and ambitions all in a short three years. Kinda astonishing, really. Love reading about your adventures and knowing you are living a good life in France. It’s a brave and crazy wonderful thing you kids have pulled off!
That's such a warm thing to say, thank you Molly! Some days it's astonishing, most days it's a long to-do list 😂 Thank you for reading and cheering us on :)
Kamille I just want to say i enjoyed this essay very much. Your discriptions and clear instructions, observations and helpful information should be included in every travel mag, for those aspireing to be future Francafones. I think your instructive blog should become required reading for all tourists and people like you who dream of living in or vsiting France.
From my perspective of an 80yo who does not plan to move from my Canadian home, i am impressed by your bravery, stamina and enthusiasm.Bravo to you! Thank you for your service.
Thank you, Carolynne, this is such a warm thing to read. And you don't have to move anywhere to enjoy France, some of the best Francophiles I know love it happily from home. Eighty years of perspective makes your "bravo" land all the more. Truly grateful you're here reading.
Truly a wonderful essay Camille!
As an American/French person (my mom was a French war bride) who has had one foot in each country her entire life, two passports, no carte vitale, and is 4th gen self employed… much of the scenarios you describe don’t apply to me BUT… I’ve moved back to Paris 18 months ago with the intention of staying « forever ».
I’m filing taxes (for the 1st time) and applying for my carte vitale and slogging my way through the SIRET process and the online accountant I’m required to have and the new « invoices via a 3rd party » system some genius thought would be a good idea to implement by Sept 1st (but the govt isn’t ready for it until December) and my GoD! The folders!!
It’s a lot. And I speak the language! Though I still have to tell people that I am, at my base, American and I don’t understand what they just told me and could they please explain it like I’m 10, and slower please. And WHY do I need to do that?
The looks I get! 🥴
I will be forwarding this article to several people I know who are talking the talk of relocating.
Again, well done and many thanks!
This is such a good comment, and it makes me feel weirdly better, if a bilingual dual-citizen with roots here is drowning in the SIRET-and-invoicing swamp, then the rest of us are allowed to struggle too. That new invoicing rollout the government itself isn't ready for is peak France, honestly. And "explain it like I'm 10, slower" is something I need constantly. Language fluency and bureaucratic fluency turn out to be completely different skills. Thank you for forwarding it, and bon courage with the folders!
If only I could figure out a system for storing the folders (any way but flat). You know those cool looking, stand up, open on one side, narrow « boxes »? I thought those were my solution; bought 3, brought them home and guess what? The folders don’t fit? What insanity is this??? 🥴
Wow, that's a lot on your plate all at once.
What a great post! I’m sure that there are many tempted Americans who have just come up short after reading your serious reality check.
A few random thoughts, from someone who is fluent and has been here for over ten years:
Regarding property, there’s a very good reason why there are châteaux in rural France on the market at what look like very low prices. French people don’t want to live in them!
That’s a generalisation, but if your need is for an easily-maintained, (relatively) economical to heat dwelling without a ballroom or servants’ quarters and within reasonable commuting distance of where you have to make your living, then something that is fundamentally an apartment with its own roof is a safer bet. That’s what “lotissements” are for.
Look out for single glazing. Be aware that even what looks like a hovel good only for demolition may be in some way protected
The driving test is a significant hurdle to get over. Most French people fail it at least once, and if you have habits ingrained by years of driving elsewhere, it’s all too easy to open your door by pushing it with your elbow as you’ve always done, and FAILING THE TEST! Back to square one and yet more expensive lessons. Even exchanging a licence can take over a year.
Be aware that most French people have (usually strongly held) political views. It seems likely that Mme. Le Pen will be the next president. If that happens, and she manages to do the things she wants, the whole character of France could change and become more like the current USA. That may or may not suit you.
So much good here, thank you. You're absolutely right that a cheap château is a house French people themselves passed on, usually for practical reasons. And yes, the driving test is wild, and it's that 'priorité à droite' that gets you! I'll leave the Le Pen question to each reader, but I really hope she doesn't win. Appreciate a fluent veteran weighing in!
Re driving in France, whether as a resident or visitor. A few random thoughts.
Tailgating is a frequent problem, more marked if you have a non-French number plate.
Many French drivers view speed limits, white lines etc as vague suggestions which only apply to other people.
Be very wary of other drivers’ indicators on roundabouts. They cannot be relied upon.
Priorité à droite…. In town, slow down as you approach any intersection on your right. Some people would rather risk a collision than give way.
Motorways/dual carriageway : do not drive in the overtaking or middle lane unless you have a good reason to.
A fair write-up. Félicitations. I will take issue with you on your photo of a French meal. That is probably one course of several and posh. Posh food here seems to always have small portions. However if you opt for lunch at a resto that does menu des ouvriers the portions are hearty pas chère and the entrées normally self service buffet.
Ah yes, that plate was the fancy version, not the everyday resto here. You're right that the menu des ouvriers feeds you properly and cheaply, buffet and all. Good addition, thank you, Robin.
I read this as I sit waiting for the FreePro technician who is not only late today but 2 weeks late overall
I’m camped on my front porch so when he just drives by again and doesnt stop saying no one was home I’ve got him!
What gets me though is if they do actually show up on time and you are 30 seconds late opening the door they scream and yell at you because you weren’t on time.
Ha, the porch stakeout is exactly the energy this requires. The double standard kills me too, we extend endless flexibility and then get zero from them 😂. May your technician appear today, and may you catch him if he tries the drive-by!
Thank you for this well articulated post! My wife and I are in the process of selling our house in preparation for a move to France and as such I’m consuming French content like a rabid animal. I loved thinking through this list and still being absolutely resolved in our decision. ❤️🇫🇷❤️
Ha, the rabid-consumption stage is real and kind of wonderful. Reading the full reality check and staying resolved is exactly the mindset that does well here. So excited for you both. Good luck to you and your wife, Sarah!
Thank you so much! We really can’t wait! We’re enjoying your content both here and now on YouTube, especially as Californians, your stories and perspectives really resonate. (We’re also creatives, so there’s a lot of overlap.) All that just to say thank you for sharing your story…
This is one of the best posts I've ever seen about moving to France. (And I've seen a lot.)
That's high praise given how much of this genre exists, thank you, Luisa! I read a lot of it too, which is partly why I wanted to write the less-brochure version. Means a lot ☺️
This is brilliantly honest. Well done, Kamille.
Appreciate that, Caroline. Honesty over brochure, always. Thank you 😊
Thanks for this Kamille :) I am in the stage you describe (around month 4) where the adrenaline has worn off and the work to set up a new life has set in. Love knowing it is a universal experience haha!
Yes, the "wait, is it supposed to feel like this?" phase. It is, and you're not doing anything wrong, promise. It lifts. Sending solidarity through the hardest, least glamorous months ☺️
I didnt move to France even though it was my first choice, due to what would end up going to my kids when I die. The French govt would end up getting almost half! I am now living in Mexico.
The inheritance and succession rules are a real, under-discussed factor, and I don't blame you for letting them steer the decision, that's exactly the homework that matters. Mexico sounds like a wonderful landing spot!
This really had me laughing 😆 Thanks for sharing. Number 11 is the classic because I moved to Italy and took me with me to begin a life with all the baggage that should have been left at home.
The baggage travels beautifully, unfortunately. Glad it made you laugh, and glad Italy's been worth it despite what came along :) Thank you, Lorraine!
Well done
Thank you, MJ!
This is well thought out and articulated. Having survived 3.5 years in Portugal I think has prepared me for most of this (except the driver’s license)🤞
Ha, 3.5 years in Portugal is basically a graduate degree in most of this list! The driver's license is the one that ambushes everyone, though, fingers crossed for you. Thank you, Kristin!
Thanks for acknowledging my pain, Kamille! And thanks for the tip on the DL—I’m from North Carolina 🤨
Thanks for the deeper look at what it actually takes to move from the comfort of the Known, to a country with many pluses and a different language. If I were 1) younger 2) had a partner 3) had a salable asset that was not illegal, France sounds like a wonderful alternative to the overstimulated chaos that America has become. I believe this puts me in the visitors category.
The overstimulated-chaos-to-calm appeal is real, I felt it too. And being honest that you're a visitor rather than a mover is wisdom, not defeat. France's door is always open for a stay 😊 Thank you, Christopher.
Maybe I will be lucky enough to visit you and stay in the coach house..seems like a great place for a women's retreat
Yes, we would love to have you! And by next summer there will be a lovely swimming pool (hopefully 😂).
If the artisans show up. Did you say “next summer”? Fingers crossed for you that it's installed by next fall. Your entire article is spot on. Been here 18 years, save for brief stints in the UK and the Netherlands. Still don't have my driver's license and still not fluent. Love for my French partner and for the land (Cote de Granit Rose), keeps me here. Your substack rocks!