Just as fairytales portray an idealized view of love, the image of Paris pushed by brands and instagrammers is a privileged, airbrushed version of French life — one the vast majority of Parisians never experience.
You can live and learn, or you can take the advice of those who have “been there, done that” before you in Paris. Hear what these foreigners say they wish they knew before moving to Paris.
Before celebrating your one-year anniversary in France, you need to apply for a carte de séjour to ensure you can stay. What a lovely gift from the French government! However, the process of preparing begins many months before your visa expires.
Once you’ve lived in France for three months and established residency, you’re eligible for French national health coverage — Woohoo! But to reap all the benefits, you’ll first need a numero de securité sociale and a carte Vitale.
Everyone told me the first year in Paris is both the most exciting and most challenging. And no matter how much you try, things will never turn out how you expected. Having lived it myself now, I can say for certain that advice was right.
When the person you love comes from a different country, there are challenges to your relationship that most couples take for granted.
Just as Americans are enamored with Paris, French people also look at New York with awe. So I’m often asked to compare my current and former home. The differences are deeper than just choosing bagels or baguettes.
Moving across town is stressful. Moving to another continent will test your mental stability. Six months ago, my French husband and I made the jump from the United States to France, and let me tell you I learned some things!
It’s been an emotional six-weeks full of events that led me to evaluate where I belong in the world and where my heart lives. Getting a job, going back to America and having bad things happen to people I love who are far away.
Fact: Parisian women are beauty goals. And even if you aren’t French, just living in Paris you will find yourself picking up their beauty habits by proximity. I started adjusting to the local beauty norms quickly, even if it wasn’t always conscious.