I have wanted to live in France (or Italy) since I was a budding teenage artist. My husband and I went for the first time in 2016 to both France and Italy, and everywhere we went (except Paris, which was fun but claustrophobically crowded for us), we would say, "Wow - I want to live HERE." Now, we're downsizing all of our stuff, finishing floors, painting rooms, and freshening up our outside space to sell our house. Once we have sold, we will apply for visas to France. I cannot wait!
We had procrastinated making a decision, but we realized in recent months we want a better quality of life now, while we are physically able to explore and to work in our new country. Once we made that decision together, we haven't wavered. We're nervous, of course (mainly about bringing our small dog and two cats with us and not stressing them too much on the trip), but we're ready to go!
Wow, such a similar story to ours! We applied for our long stay visas about 10 days ago and are waiting to hear back. Where will you start your journey in France?
That's so exciting! You'll be there quite a bit before us. :) We are hoping to settle in the southwest part of France, near Toulouse, but it really depends on my husband's work situation. If he can find a job working at a company in France, that will determine where we go. I can run my coaching and creative retreat business from anywhere (I'll be applying for an entrepreneur visa), though my absolute dream would be Carcassonne.
Ha! Love that - he does feel like a boil that you keep trying to lance and it just keeps coming back. Ugh. I have to say, this was a big reason we are pushing up our deadline to being there by January or February 2026.
We are only moving to Montpellier half time (for now), so I'm not sure if we count. To me, it doesn't feel adventurous exactly, just a great way to achieve one of my lifetime goals (living in France) while skipping winters in Vermont at the same time. Montpellier is a dream. I loved it during my first visit in 1997, and it has only gotten better. Lots of people move south as snowbirds in places like Florida or Arizona, but you couldn't possibly pay me enough to live in either of those two places! I am much more comfortable becoming a "oiseau de neige."
For Perry, the hardest part has been exactly that! While he loves our time here (Vermont) and has fallen totally in love with Montpellier, he feels weird about having two homes. In part because of that, we didn't buy a place but will be renting. We only signed the lease 5 days before leaving, so we still haven't been able to enjoy our new (second) home. He also doesn't speak French, whereas I am fluent. Probably his biggest fear was not being able to meet people he could communicate with and make friends, and that turned out not to be difficult at all. But for him, it really is an adventure!
There have been things that have given us pause, especially taxes and estate planning, and those are among the reasons we only want to be in France part time (also, I actually have a job, even if I am starting a phased retirement). But once I retire fully in five years, all that may change...
Indeed! We live in Weybridge, just outside Middlebury (I teach at Middlebury College). When do you get back to MTP? Perry has just gotten his summons to the Préfecture for June 27, so we are planning a 2-3 week trip around that date.
I teach history, medieval European to be precise. I'm fully retiring in 5 years, but will be on a 60% schedule until then. Perry is already retired. Since I'll be teaching this fall, we'll be back around December 15 and probably staying until early May.
I lived in the same state my entire life, and my husband and I left a house we had lived in for 30 years to move to France last fall. Add to the above that I'm a major introvert, and you definitely don't have someone you'd consider "adventurous."
That said... I have wanted to move to Europe ever since high school. I thought it was an impossible dream until I started learning about how others had done it, and realized we could do it too. What held us back, though - for 2 1/2 years after we decided to do the move! - was the immensity of the task of getting rid of all the stuff we had accumulated in said house (and its basement and garage). By early 2024 it became apparent it was "now or never" & I didn't want to live the rest of my life regretting "never." So here we are.
I suspected it would be hard to leave friends and family behind, and it has been. But people are starting to come visit, I have regular video calls with friends, and we have a US trip planned in the near future so that's all helped. It also helps that we're making new friends here, mostly expats at the moment but some French aquaintances too.
Regarding language, I had some French (about A2) but have learned that more would definitely be better, so I'm continuing to study. But overall everyone has been very patient and kind with our language struggles. So that at least has been easier than expected.
I'm an introvert too, Sharon. We had a similar "awakening" about the possibility of moving. We had been talking about a few friends who have made lives in Europe and suddenly reallized we could too! And yes, the French have been exceedingly patient with us as we learn the language. I think (hope) they can tell we're really trying.
I'm an extrovert, Sharon, and to be honest, I've had concerns that because the French are somewhat more reserved than we Americans, I will have trouble making friends because of my - shall we say, ebullient - personality. :) My husband is an introvert, but also has similar concerns as you.
We are in the middle of "the great purge" here, getting rid of ALL of the stuff we've accumulated. We will be sending boxes with a mover of keepsakes and treasured items - we don't want to store it here because frankly, we don't plan on ever moving back. So we're getting rid of everything but the practical things like bed linens (top sheets are a must! :) ). We're fixing up the house to sell, listing it in the early fall, and hoping for the best. As soon as it sells, we will apply for our visas and hope we have them by the closing date.
Good on ya, mate as they say down under. I am tri-lingual - English French Hebrew fluent enough to read and write..my spanish is laughable at best...however due to our parents putting us into the Lycée Français de New York I pass for a french person of some origin outside of Paris
We are half time, straddling the two countries. And, for the time being, we will continue to do so because of both family connections and tax implications. But it's not out of the question in the future...
We moved abroad for work in 2009 to assure healthcare for an uninsurable disabled child and to avoid medical bankruptcy; courage was therefore not an issue. The only fear was about what would happen if we did not move.
I was lucky that we were young when we moved to France, and I really didn’t have any expectations. I also thought we would only stay for a few years and then go back to the US. Not having expectations helped a lot. Also, my first job that required me to use French on a daily basis went a long ways towards helping me with my fluency… I think if I had thought too hard about all the hurdles challenges I would face, it would’ve seemed overwhelming. Luckily I didn’t know and that ignorance really was a kind of bliss.
Honestly I never questioned it. Once I decided that I wanted to change my life in this way, I never wavered.
I get that, completely. Once we decided we were all in, same with when I left NYC to go to Broneo.
I have wanted to live in France (or Italy) since I was a budding teenage artist. My husband and I went for the first time in 2016 to both France and Italy, and everywhere we went (except Paris, which was fun but claustrophobically crowded for us), we would say, "Wow - I want to live HERE." Now, we're downsizing all of our stuff, finishing floors, painting rooms, and freshening up our outside space to sell our house. Once we have sold, we will apply for visas to France. I cannot wait!
We had procrastinated making a decision, but we realized in recent months we want a better quality of life now, while we are physically able to explore and to work in our new country. Once we made that decision together, we haven't wavered. We're nervous, of course (mainly about bringing our small dog and two cats with us and not stressing them too much on the trip), but we're ready to go!
Wow, such a similar story to ours! We applied for our long stay visas about 10 days ago and are waiting to hear back. Where will you start your journey in France?
That's so exciting! You'll be there quite a bit before us. :) We are hoping to settle in the southwest part of France, near Toulouse, but it really depends on my husband's work situation. If he can find a job working at a company in France, that will determine where we go. I can run my coaching and creative retreat business from anywhere (I'll be applying for an entrepreneur visa), though my absolute dream would be Carcassonne.
Where will you be starting? :)
I’ll pm you!
I sent you a private message 😊
That's fantastic - you'll have a great time!
Packed up and left the US for France when the human boil was elected the first time. We are now French citizens and haven’t regretted the move at all.
Ha! Love that - he does feel like a boil that you keep trying to lance and it just keeps coming back. Ugh. I have to say, this was a big reason we are pushing up our deadline to being there by January or February 2026.
We are only moving to Montpellier half time (for now), so I'm not sure if we count. To me, it doesn't feel adventurous exactly, just a great way to achieve one of my lifetime goals (living in France) while skipping winters in Vermont at the same time. Montpellier is a dream. I loved it during my first visit in 1997, and it has only gotten better. Lots of people move south as snowbirds in places like Florida or Arizona, but you couldn't possibly pay me enough to live in either of those two places! I am much more comfortable becoming a "oiseau de neige."
For Perry, the hardest part has been exactly that! While he loves our time here (Vermont) and has fallen totally in love with Montpellier, he feels weird about having two homes. In part because of that, we didn't buy a place but will be renting. We only signed the lease 5 days before leaving, so we still haven't been able to enjoy our new (second) home. He also doesn't speak French, whereas I am fluent. Probably his biggest fear was not being able to meet people he could communicate with and make friends, and that turned out not to be difficult at all. But for him, it really is an adventure!
There have been things that have given us pause, especially taxes and estate planning, and those are among the reasons we only want to be in France part time (also, I actually have a job, even if I am starting a phased retirement). But once I retire fully in five years, all that may change...
What part of VT are you in? You'll have to meet us for coffee in France!
Indeed! We live in Weybridge, just outside Middlebury (I teach at Middlebury College). When do you get back to MTP? Perry has just gotten his summons to the Préfecture for June 27, so we are planning a 2-3 week trip around that date.
Ah - Middlebury! What do you teach there? We'll be back in MTP in early September, most likely.
I teach history, medieval European to be precise. I'm fully retiring in 5 years, but will be on a 60% schedule until then. Perry is already retired. Since I'll be teaching this fall, we'll be back around December 15 and probably staying until early May.
I am mostly worried about making new friends and missing our community here in the States, but we're going for it anyways!
We have those concerns, too - though our closest friends are excited to come visit us once we've moved, so there's that. :)
You'll do fine! Expats and locals are all friendly!
I lived in the same state my entire life, and my husband and I left a house we had lived in for 30 years to move to France last fall. Add to the above that I'm a major introvert, and you definitely don't have someone you'd consider "adventurous."
That said... I have wanted to move to Europe ever since high school. I thought it was an impossible dream until I started learning about how others had done it, and realized we could do it too. What held us back, though - for 2 1/2 years after we decided to do the move! - was the immensity of the task of getting rid of all the stuff we had accumulated in said house (and its basement and garage). By early 2024 it became apparent it was "now or never" & I didn't want to live the rest of my life regretting "never." So here we are.
I suspected it would be hard to leave friends and family behind, and it has been. But people are starting to come visit, I have regular video calls with friends, and we have a US trip planned in the near future so that's all helped. It also helps that we're making new friends here, mostly expats at the moment but some French aquaintances too.
Regarding language, I had some French (about A2) but have learned that more would definitely be better, so I'm continuing to study. But overall everyone has been very patient and kind with our language struggles. So that at least has been easier than expected.
I'm an introvert too, Sharon. We had a similar "awakening" about the possibility of moving. We had been talking about a few friends who have made lives in Europe and suddenly reallized we could too! And yes, the French have been exceedingly patient with us as we learn the language. I think (hope) they can tell we're really trying.
I'm an extrovert, Sharon, and to be honest, I've had concerns that because the French are somewhat more reserved than we Americans, I will have trouble making friends because of my - shall we say, ebullient - personality. :) My husband is an introvert, but also has similar concerns as you.
We are in the middle of "the great purge" here, getting rid of ALL of the stuff we've accumulated. We will be sending boxes with a mover of keepsakes and treasured items - we don't want to store it here because frankly, we don't plan on ever moving back. So we're getting rid of everything but the practical things like bed linens (top sheets are a must! :) ). We're fixing up the house to sell, listing it in the early fall, and hoping for the best. As soon as it sells, we will apply for our visas and hope we have them by the closing date.
Good on ya, mate as they say down under. I am tri-lingual - English French Hebrew fluent enough to read and write..my spanish is laughable at best...however due to our parents putting us into the Lycée Français de New York I pass for a french person of some origin outside of Paris
Oo la La! My desire to live in France may becoming tempered with the number of expats moving from everywhere!
As a French-speaking NZ’er I don’t have the concern of learning a new language.
I enjoy your writing and comment about the roofs of Montpellier and the pic there of.
I look forward to enjoying it on my travels next May👏💖
We are half time, straddling the two countries. And, for the time being, we will continue to do so because of both family connections and tax implications. But it's not out of the question in the future...
We moved abroad for work in 2009 to assure healthcare for an uninsurable disabled child and to avoid medical bankruptcy; courage was therefore not an issue. The only fear was about what would happen if we did not move.
I was lucky that we were young when we moved to France, and I really didn’t have any expectations. I also thought we would only stay for a few years and then go back to the US. Not having expectations helped a lot. Also, my first job that required me to use French on a daily basis went a long ways towards helping me with my fluency… I think if I had thought too hard about all the hurdles challenges I would face, it would’ve seemed overwhelming. Luckily I didn’t know and that ignorance really was a kind of bliss.
I do miss the brazenness inherent in (one's) youth!