Everything you'll need in the first month
Short guides written from experience, not from a government website — the paperwork, the bank, the doctor, the bus.
The guides
Visas & paperwork
Titre de séjour, OFII, the prefecture queue.
Bank & phone
Opening an account without a French address.
Healthcare
Carte Vitale, mutuelle, English-speaking doctors.
Getting around
Trains, the €1.70 bus, and when to skip the car.
Learning French
Classes, tandems and the words you need first.
Local businesses
The baker, the plumber, the tailor — vetted.
Moving from the US & Canada
The order of a real move, from the visa to the first month.
Retiring here
The visitor card, health cover, and the first year.
Renting as a foreigner
The dossier, a guarantor, and Visale.
International schools
Schools checked on each school's own website.
Exchanging a driving licence
The one-year deadline, and which states and provinces are on the list.
Buying or renting
When a lease is the first step, and what the notaire actually does.
The carte de séjour
Which residence card you hold, when to renew it, and a new address.
Stuck on something specific?
Send Nathalie your question — the answer usually becomes a guide.