So you’re actually doing this…

Not talking about it. Not “someday.” You’ve decided to move to Paris—which means you’re now navigating visas and bank accounts and apartment searches, trying to figure out how to build a life in a country where even buying groceries has a learning curve. In another language. Where the pharmacist judges your pronunciation before handing over the aspirin.

That takes a certain kind of nerve. People call it courage. I call it the good kind of madness.

I’m Bernard, and I’ve been where you are.

For almost thirty years I said “I’m going to move to France.” Said it so often it became background noise—one of those things you tell yourself to feel like your life has possibility. Then a friend, tired of hearing it, looked at me and said: “Why don’t you just shut up and do it?”

So in 2013, I did. I left the United States with a suitcase, a backpack, and a one-way ticket to Paris. No apartment lined up. No job waiting. No friends on the ground. A level of French that would be generous to call “conversational”—I could order coffee and apologize, and that was about it.

What I had was determination and a willingness to figure it out as I went.

Over a dozen years later, I’m still here. Still figuring things out, honestly—that part never entirely stops. But I’ve learned an enormous amount about what actually works when you’re building a life in Paris, and I’ve helped hundreds of people do the same through apartment searches, relocation consulting, and guiding newcomers through the particular maze of French bureaucracy.

This course is everything I wish someone had handed me before I got on that plane.

What This Course Is (And Isn’t)

Let me be clear about what you’re getting.

This isn’t a travel guide. You can find restaurant recommendations and Eiffel Tower tips in ten thousand places, and half of them are outdated by the time you read them anyway. Tripadvisor exists. Google exists. You don’t need me for that.

ParisDiscovered is for people who want to live here. People who need to understand not which café to visit, but how to get a phone that actually works. How to set up electricity without accidentally signing a two-year contract. How to navigate the préfecture without losing a day of your life. How to find a doctor, open a bank account, build a social circle, and eventually stop feeling like a permanent tourist in your own neighborhood.

The questions I answer are the ones you don’t know to ask yet—the ones that only become apparent when you’re standing in a government office with the wrong photocopy, or when you realize at 8 PM that everything is closed and you forgot to buy dinner.

Over the coming chapters, we’ll cover the entire journey:

Before You Go — Visas, paperwork, banking, insurance, and the logistics of getting yourself (and possibly your stuff) to France

Finding Your Place — Understanding neighborhoods, hunting for apartments, dealing with landlords, and setting up utilities without accidentally electrocuting yourself

Navigating Daily Life — Transportation, healthcare, money, the bureaucracy (oh, the bureaucracy), and the unwritten rules that nobody thinks to mention

Discovering Paris — Food, culture, entertainment, the outdoor life, and building connections that make this city feel less like a place you moved to and more like somewhere you actually belong

How I Work

A few things to know about my approach:

I’m direct. If something is hard, I’ll tell you it’s hard. If there’s a shortcut, I’ll share it. If the French way of doing something makes no sense to American logic, I’ll acknowledge that—but I’ll also help you work within the system rather than fight it. Fighting it never works. Trust me.

I respect your intelligence. You’re making a major life decision. You don’t need to be coddled or talked down to. You need accurate information and honest guidance from someone who’s actually done this.

I have opinions. After forty years of visiting France and over a dozen years of living here, I’ve developed views on neighborhoods, services, administrative strategies, and French culture in general. I’ll share them. You’re free to disagree. Some of them might even be wrong. But they’re based on experience, not speculation.

I care more about how people live than who conquered whom. When we talk about French history—and we will, because you can’t understand French culture without understanding its past—I’m more interested in daily life than military campaigns. I’d rather explain why the café exists as a social institution, or tell you about the widow who essentially invented Champagne, than list which king won which battle. History should illuminate how you’ll actually experience this place, not prepare you for a quiz.

A Word About the French

Before we go further, let’s address something you’re probably wondering: Are the French really as difficult as everyone says?

Short answer: no. Longer answer: they’re different.

French culture operates on rules that aren’t immediately obvious to Americans. The emphasis on formality. The genuine expectation that you’ll say bonjour before asking for anything. The slower pace that isn’t laziness—it’s intentional. The firm separation between public and private life. The fact that “customer service,” as Americans understand it, essentially doesn’t exist here. (It’s not that they’re bad at it. They just don’t consider it a thing.)

Once you understand these differences—once you stop expecting France to work like America with better bread—Paris becomes not just livable but genuinely wonderful.

The French aren’t cold; they’re private. They aren’t rude; they have different expectations about social interaction. They aren’t difficult; they’re precise.

The expats who struggle here are usually the ones who keep waiting for France to become more American. The ones who thrive are those who adapt—who learn to appreciate what France offers on its own terms. One of my goals is to help you make that mental shift. It’s the real key to everything else.

You’re Not Alone

Moving abroad can feel isolating. You’re leaving behind the network of friends, family, and familiar systems you’ve built over decades. You’re starting over in a place where simple tasks become puzzles and confidence evaporates the moment someone at the préfecture asks you a question you don’t understand.

But you’re also joining a community.

There are tens of thousands of Americans living in Paris, plus substantial British, Canadian, Australian, and other English-speaking populations. Organizations exist specifically to help newcomers find their footing—some have been connecting Americans in Paris for over a century. Churches function as community centers regardless of what you believe. Volunteer opportunities give you purpose and connection. Expat Facebook groups will answer your panic questions at 2 AM.

Building a social life here takes effort. More effort than you’re probably used to. The French don’t invite you over after knowing you for a week; friendship here is slow and then suddenly deep. But it’s absolutely possible, and the friendships you build often become the most meaningful of your life.

Personally, I had more friends in France after five years than I ever had in forty years in the United States. That’s not a criticism of America. It’s an observation about what can happen when you start over with intention.

Let’s Begin

Paris changed my life. Not in a small way—in a fundamental, wouldn’t-go-back-if-you-paid-me kind of way. The person I am now is someone I couldn’t have become in the United States. Living here stripped away assumptions I didn’t know I had, forced growth I didn’t know I needed, and gave me a quality of life I didn’t know was possible.

I can’t promise Paris will do the same for you. Every experience is different, and moving abroad isn’t the right choice for everyone. It’s hard. It’s expensive. It’s frustrating. There will be days when you want to throw your titre de séjour in the Seine and book a one-way flight home.

But if Paris is calling you—if you’ve felt that pull for years and you’re finally ready to answer it—then I’m here to help you make it work.

Bienvenue. Let’s get started.

In the next chapter, I’ll tell you more about who I am and how I ended up here. You should probably know something about the person offering you all this advice.