WHAT IT IS REALLY LIKE MOVING TO FRANCE I Part 2 of Spilling the Tea
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2024
- ⭐If you are new to Unintentionally Frenchified, I am Kate, an American living in Paris for the last 10 years! Ekkkkk. I’m now working for a large international company, married to my favorite grouchy Frenchie and have a 12 month old little girl named Eleonore! Oh how life has changed when I was 22, got dumped by my first French boyfriend and decided to move to France and show him how wrong he was by thriving in France by myself. Fast forward ten years and I’m bursting with life experiences that only living abroad can teach you!
If you haven’t seen part 1, check it out here! ( • HOW AND WHY I MOVED TO... ) Because today’s video is the 2nd in the series and it focuses on actually arriving in France. What is it really like moving to France? Is it as glamorous as people say it is? Spoiler alert: moving to France is never a glamorous moment. This episode focuses on how I managed to get my bags from the airport, through the RER, into the metro and to the train station. That's already a lot, but also how I found my first apartment and opened a bank account too! It sounds like it’s easy stuff, but trust me, it is far from easy. What it’s like actually moving to France is a lot of frustration! It takes a lot of determination and setbacks to get yourself settled, but as long as you really want to make it happen, you will!
If you like this video, please subscribe to the channel for more content in French and English!
Happy Watching! ⭐
#MovingtoFrance #TipsForMovingtoFrance
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If you ❤ France, being an expat in France or learning about French culture shocks, then SUBSCRIBE here: bit.ly/2Xg1UQ6! There's a lot more coming where this came from!✌
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Hop on board to the hot mess express that is Kate! I’m a pizza loving, wine guzzling American thriving in Paris. Eh… scratch the thriving part and put surviving. I’ve got an endless love/hate relationship with France, that drives me to do unexplainable things. If you like pizza recommendations and some expat excitement, you’re in the right place.
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...OMG! You had me in stitches about the bank account... I’m a French born dual citizen, living in Portland Oregon, and I went through something similar for an inheritance. The Notaire’s office (real estate/escrow/title Group) and the banks gave me such a run around. And my father had accounts with them for 50 years!
I identify so well with your story - I've only been here for 4 years now, but I watched to relive the trauma of 1/being dumped by a frenchie and having to scramble to get a new living situation, 2/moving to a new city and trying to find a place to live, and 3/ THE BANK ACCOUNT. Ugh. TAPIF also saved my butt by the way.😂 Thank you for all the laughs, even though for me they are all bittersweet laughs.😁
I love how almost every European train system has a "quiet car" concept. It makes sleeping on long journeys much easier! I also love picturing you carrying two suitcases and dashing through the airport, train, and metro stations. Perhaps the makings of a new comedy TV series?
😄😄 Omg, what an adventure "welcome to France"!! You crack me up, you did it💪👏. I also had challenging situations when I moved to the US 20 years ago. I am a Parisian living in NH. Thank you.
On our first visit to London in '92, I had to find a hotel room for an extra night (before heading to Paris) and after walking several blocks (while my husband and mom waited on a bench) I finally ended up settling for a room like you had, with the toilet in the shower. There wasn't even a shade on the one hanging lightbulb in the room and the closest door was hanging on one hinge and the dark carpeting hadn't been vacuumed. I vowed to never book a room after I've already arrived at my destination ever again! This was before the internet, so I had booked all our accommodations in advance by phone, except for that one night. Big mistake!
p.s. I think this is your funniest one yet.
Pro-tip: the Air-France shuttle buses are a convenient, fast and inexpensive mean of transportation from CdG Airport to several spots of Paris city centre. You can then take a taxi or the tube to make the last few km/miles.
Oh girl.. opening a bank account was such a struggle for me as well as a Frenchman in London ! And in these situations one feels so unwelcomed as a foreigner 😅
Yeah the hell in London is the proof of address. But the lady at Halifax was very helpful and advised me to exchange my French driving license for the British one. I would recommend to do so, time saver for many situations with the English administration. If you don't drive you can have provisional driving license
Totally impressed you got your apartment in 3 days. There were some agencies that refused to work with us. Luckily, one of my husband’s coworkers called for us and we got to see 2 apartments. Also totally understand the bank! My husband and I opened a US account at HSBC because there was a branch of HSBC in the city where we were moving. It still took 2 1/2 weeks. I remember walking in thinking we could open the account....and we had to make an appointment.
Love your positive attitude! When you can, when lockdown is over, come for a visit to Gensac!
I can relate so much to n°1 haha
I'm from the French province and I had to go to Paris to get my visa to move abroad and I took 2 suitcases of 25kg each also thinking there would be elevators in the underground hahaha silly me!
Got lucky though that many people were kind enough to help me on my way in and out of Paris in the underground ❤️
You’re one of the lucky ones to get help!
I am French but I think opening a bank account is difficult for US citizens anywhere in the world because of the laws applied to foreign banks which have subsidiaries in the US. When I worked in a American company in China, myself and a colleague we had to open a bank account at Citibank in China and it was very challenging for her and very long (2-3 months). My opinion is because US citizens need to pay taxes even if they do not live in America, so the bank is probably running some background check with the IRS for my colleague. As for me, it took a quite long for me as well to open the account at Citibank (2-3 weeks). I remember I had to check a box in the form which could be translated as 'I swear I am a non-US citizen and I do not possess a green card' and they also probably checked if any match with my ID in the US. My advice for Americans working abroad would be to open an account in a bank which has no subsidiary in USA.
Thnx for the info. Honest & refreshing take on the hard adjustments of living abroad!
I was born in France, i´m French and after 29 years, i left to travel... 6 years later, back in the Euro zone in France and i try to open a bank account. I couldn´t.. I had thousands of $ on my bank account in NZ but i needed a job to open my bank account... No work contract ? No bank account.. And guess what they ask you when you start a job... Yes.. A bank account to pay you as they can´t just give you cash.. And of course, even if i had a job, i can´t just walk in and open one.. No no, i need to make an appointment, like 2 or 3 weeks later because they can´t do it earlier and come back with 10 different papers to open it.. Photocopy of my ID, last tax return, proof of address and this and that plus whatever... Then this summer, i had a job, a contract, everything and i had an accomodation with that job... As i didn´t pay for gas or electricity or water or anything, i had nothing as a proof of address, they needed a bill. Nothing else was accepted. I had one from my phone company so it worked. But as i was changing, my new phone company ask me for a proof of address.. It was just never ending and i still can´t understand how this system is still running.. I remember that i tried to open a bank account online but in order to do so, i needed to do a 1 st 500 euros payment... from a French bank account.. My NZ bank account wasn´t accepted... And it´s just a big summary of all of it... We had to enter this old mobile phone bill to create my file and, as they needed 24/48h to process and accept it, i was able to use my "temporary" bank account opening to have a brand new mobile number so then i could go back to the bank, once the "old" mobile phone bill has been rejected, to give them the "new" bill... That was just crazy insane
That’s insane! And you’re French 😳 I would have just cried in a corner and probably had an existential crisis for the 5th time in a day 😅😂 I thought opening up a bank account in Germany was a headache. Jesus Christ was I wrong 😳
@@elsierodriguez3215 I can' t believe it' s still like that.. In Australia and even in New Zealand, i just walked-in a bank, ask to open a bank account and it was done in 2 h.. You can even choose your pin number.. In France, you receive it by mail, separated from the credit card itself (like few days apart), apparently to avoid fraud, you can' t choose it.. And for overseas French Territory it' s even worse, like in French Polynesia, they don' t have any credit card overthere so they have to order it from mainland France and you get it like a month later.. And it only works there, no chip.. It' s still the middle age for many things.. Way too much administration.. But it creates jobs.. They don' t see that they could replace it by people doing it online. It wouldn' t erase a job, it would be a different one.. Same for an accomodation, same for everything.. You need a ton of useless things.. One thing has changed : the Police clearance, you can ask for it online, it' s free, you have it in a couple of hours, by e-mail, no paper document if you don' t want to.. But that' s like THE exception
@@FabulousFab84 ... The police 👮 👮♀️ clearance! For what?
@@christinelachance8012 Visas.. For any kind of working visa, you usually have to present a clean police clearance that is less than 3 months old : Canada, New-Zealand, Australia... So, many people were actually asking for a new police clearance as soon as they had one.. In case it took like 2 months to get it.. For Canada, once you are selected to apply for the visa, you have like 15 days to present a complete application.. If you wait for them to offer you the chance to apply and start collecting your documents in this 15 days window period of time, you might just receive your police clearance 3 weeks later = too late... It got better now but just a couple of year ago, that was a nightmare.. You have to have all of your documents ready to go and renew them, over and over.. One example, the international drivers licence.. Years ago, it was done by your own "Prefecture" in your "departement".. But they changed it and decided to have only one place dealing with all of the applications instead of like 100. Now you have to wait 4 or 9 months to get it.. So you better plan everything in advance. So if you apply just a month before you go, that' s just not going to happen..
When I was doing my semester abroad program in London in 1984 as a college student I was told by the program coordinator that I had to quickly go to a local bank and open an account so that my parents could send me money if they wanted to. Turns out the only account type available to American students doing a semester abroad was a "patience required" savings account. The only way you could take out money was to fill out an application to withdraw a specific amount of money seven days in the future.
Alors.... Thanks for sharing Kate. You reminded me of my former stupidity. I remember my first trip to Europe. I brought WAY too much, including a guitar! (Don't ask.). Eventually I could travel to France all the way from Alaska with just one carry-on bag. And a day pack for my laptop. Banks are tricky. I keep my bank account in Alaska and will do so till I die. Fortunately I've never done the French bank/apartment mambo, which sounds like un vrai cauchemar. But I did do that in Georgia. Which led me into Georgian bureaucracy. The way I compare the three. American can be menacing if you don't do the right thing. But they'll usually help extricate you. There is no extrication in France. And I have twice landed on quelques cornes bureaucratiques. Thanks Napoleon! And in Georgia it's a comedy, and no one knows what's going on. But I did get the bank account and apartment with relative ease. More please!
Je pense qu 'il faudrait baisser le volume de la musique pendant tes intros / transitions car c'est vraiment fort par rapport au volume de ta voix ;)
Bonne continuation Kate
I agree, music volume is far too loud :(
If someone needs the information, in Belgium ING is the most “friendly” bank with expats (at least it was when I moved here and I didn’t speak the languages, 6 years ago). They offer an account in English for non residents. I still use it. Try to organise everything when you’re in your country if you can. It will make your life easy and of course practice mindfulness because Europe is beautiful but state loveeeee extra papers and papers of the papers 🤯
When the company I was working for told me that I had 1 week to pack my things to go working in HK, one of the first thing I did was to open an account at hsbc France and ask them to open an account for me in hk. It has been super smooth. When I moved to Luxembourg, it took 1 day or so to open an account at ING. I was living in an apart hotel and so I could use the contract as a proof of residence.
There is also a bus link from the airport's to the centre of Paris. It's called a "navette", a Shuttle service. The exploit is finding the departure point at the airport and then, if you're lucky, which happens, they can be on time.
You're right about how difficult it is to navigate the Paris subway system with heavy luggage, let alone a baby stroller--most stations only have stairways instead of escalators or lifts, because they were built at a time when the needs of anyone but able-bodied people were just not a concern, and except on the newer lines, the infrastructure hasn't really been upgraded since then. Let's not mince our words, the lack of wheelchair accessibility is an outrage. Things are slowly improving, but it's taking much too long.
I took three extra large check-in bags, a carry-on bag and a backpack. Luckily I managed to avoid Paris and went through London, where there was a very nice gentleman who helped me go from the International Airport to the National Airport where I flew on to Poland where everybody is very nice.
More of this please! Loving these. Thanks for the tips, too.
I was wondering too how people with mobility issues can even use the metro! On my family trip to Paris last year, we didn’t overpack but we did have a stroller and the Parisians were actually always happy to help us get through the metro turnstile with our stroller :)
Brilliant! I have to laugh about the bank and the phone....my husband and I bought a house in Italy last year and went thru the same thing there. He's dual and we still had nightmares with the bank, it's just as Byzantine and difficult in Italy. We did find picking one small branch office helps as you're more likely to get someone who's patient and understanding. The goal is to get the IBAN as most banking is online and in the bank's phone app now (at least in Italy.) Loved your suggestion about the international bank tip. Setting up utilities is another exercise in frustration...perhaps you can talk about that in France on another video. And my Italian is good but I always dreaded when the Italian cell phone would ring. All of a sudden my brain would freeze and my Italian would go out the window!
Oh my goodness. You poor thing. Thank you so much for being so real and sharing these important points with us. 😘
You are hilarious...I’ve been to France many times and enjoy your tips. Happy new year from San Diego
First comment! Thanks for part 2 Kate. Very useful info & I love listening to your experiences. I’ve made some of the same mistakes too 😅
I feel you girl 😂😂 looking forward to another JUICY episode lol
Good vidéo, très entraînante, rythmée.
Merci de votre travail.
I'm doing the TAPIF program and I leave in 2 days to Bordeaux! :) Thank you for the great tips, Kate!
Great video! Really helpful tips for a fellow Minnesotan.
Awesome tips! Thank you!
Pretty Kate, i m eating Blueberries and following your french arrival in France presentation.i had got the same trouble to rent a flat, but not any trouble with the bank, i had made and still make nightnarres here, i m a wild animals whom lived in the alpes and under the forests waching movies on television , listen to music as god! bisous
Will you be making more videos in French ? I'd love to see more of those videos (thank you for this great video and all of its tips!)
Thank you so much such a informative video
When I arrived in Paris I had my 50lb ,11yr old emotional support dog with me and I got lost and couldn’t find my luggage, my dog was so tired and couldn’t walk anymore when I finally reached my luggage. I was sitting on the floor with my tired panting bulldog and three suitcases of luggage and people stared and some even asked what’s wrong with my dog but no one offered to help me with my luggage. I was a complete mess.
Love your video it is fun and very useful
About the bank account, I didn't know it was that harsh in France... when I arrived in Germany, due to a regular transferrement from my french regiment in france to my french batalion in Germany, I had to open an account in Germany to be able to receive a part of my salary which was paid in Deutsch Mark (german money at those time, euros was not yet avalaible). I went to the PostBank, and it took me five minutes ! They did a copy of my french national identity card, my military identity card, my FFSA card (French forces based in germany, an official card too), a proof from my batalion which mentionned I was serving there in Saarburg (Rheinland Pfalz - Rhineland). That's all. I received my credit card less than a week later and it was in .... 1997 !
Omg! I love your honesty!
Thank you very much :)
You are amazing and So much fun!
Thank you very much :)
Excellent advice.
Ahh I got the same lesson :D they rarely help even when you ask them, thank God I got a taxi!
Thanks for the video! A couple questions for you to maybe answer in future videos: What has it been like for you as an American paying taxes while living in France? Do you pay in both countries? Also, what about a shared bank account with your French hubby? How does that work?
Come on, Kate, don't leave us hanging! At 2:40, did you ever get your luggage back? 😅
travelling in Paris with several luggages is really difficult. Some metro station have special door for luggages but with the stairs, it's .... !!
Similar adventures moving to Malta, despite having dual citizenship (Maltese ancestry, not a golden girl). I still don't have a bank account, after almost two years.
Love your humour! Tried two years ago opening a bank account in London. Next to impossible
Love the MUG! 😃
Oh my God, I'm so sorry but I laughed, I laughed, and I'm still laughing 😂 😂 😂. It must have been a real nightmare...😀
Such a cute personality!
I recently spent about 2 hours updating my address with my bank so I could get a new card, turns out they sent it my OLD address.
I feel sorry for the tea after watching both parts😂😂😂
just a small note the fact that bank process are long or hard it is to avoid banks to do some "illegal"( like things not that legale or illegale but just abuse of laws) stuff for exemple when wheels fargo scandal when they were opening many bank accounts for a random person or just not inflate bank numbers with void numbe etc (dont know if i got my point lol)
in france: te governementtries to keep everybody in check and not abuse the laws
Haha the description of the bathroom was just a description of most Copenhagen bathrooms in decent Copenhagen apartments :P everyday stuff :)
I've always had good luck with people helping me with my suitcase in Paris, not sure why🤷🏻♀️
many metro stations don't have elevators because Paris had it's first metro line in 1900, and they can't be upgraded with an elevator. But all the new lines, and the ones which could be upgraded, all have elevators and/or escalators. I'm pretty sure charle de gaul airport has escalators and even elevators (dont know since when though), you can even check if the elevators are working at the ile-de-france mobilité website me-deplacer.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/ascenseurs/ligne/line%3A0%3A810%3AB
Will you do another Q&A?
Did you ever do Part 3?
Always entertaining and informative, thanks. ('bis' is pronounced 'bisse', not 'bise'.)
Wow never knew opening a bank account could be so complicated...
People help you in the metro if you have a stroller... Though the people who helped me were mostly foreigners if I remember correctly lol
Hi, I do not know if a bank accepts a Certificat d'Hébergement, ie someone - if you have friends or family in France - vouching that you live temporarily at a specific address, which could later be changed. Just an idea.
I'm pretty sure they do, you kinda can get awat with everything in France with a simple "déclaration sur l'honneur"
Love the t-shirt, very nice design.
Looking at moving in 2 years time.(2023)
These videos are helpful of what to expect!
I have applied for TAPIF this year. What would be your suggestions to finding an apartment and opening a bank account in 2021?
Like she said; find an International Bank in the states and have them transfer your account to their overseas branch. Pay the money.
@@slidenapps Thank you. I am from India.
I’ve been trying to find an apartment and open a bank account for weeks now. Administration is the worst.
Housing and banking are the biggest challenges dissuading me from moving to France! Are you staying with friends temporarily? I reckon you're African American, and being a minority myself, I'm curious if you've heard of this being an issue when you speak with other expats. 😮
‘There’s gonna be nice people” HA!
The vidéo is very cool.
Just for your information the "s" of "bis" pronounce "s", like the s of "simple", not "z" like "se" in "bise"
So true.... Just a little comment: have you ever tried asking a french person to pronounce unintentionally? Not an easy thing.
write a book! You are soooo funny, and I know this is all true!
hello friend
it is called an italian shower.
Hey ! I am watching a lot of your videos and I really like them. But in every single one of them there is a weird background noise ... What is it ? Some kind of brrrrrrrrrr !
It’s the camera’s autofocus
@@semilvr thank you so much !! It was driving me crazy
find an appartment in 3 days ?! Are you a genius ? even for a french, i need weeks (or months) to find the good appartment ! now with internet, you can look for a first list before arriving.... you'll save lot of time and stress.
A Poitiers c'est tout à fait possible ! À part à Paris et quelques grosses villes dans l'ensemble si on a un budget moyen c'est hyper faisable
The way you pronounce "bis" sounds like "bise" (kiss)...
Hearing these stories seriously make me reconsider moving to France. So much unnecessary drama and red tape.
if you give up at the first difficulties?
concerning the opening of bank accounts. French and European banks have branches in the United States. and US laws require US nationals to pay taxes in the United States. even French citizens who were simply born and stay 10 days in the United States not having American nationality are subject to this tax, this represents big risks for the banks so they take all the precossions
@@ybreton6593 Not just bank account, but carte séjour, etc, etc... why all the red tape? It’s one difficulty after another. I’ll be retired with good health insurance and a healthy source of income. I won’t need the government to pay for me, yet there is all this drama. I already have an address to use, but 6 months to open a bank account is crazy!
Welcome to my country and especially to know the joys of the French administrations. our technocrats must come out of the national school of administration to justify their salaries to the detriment of French and foreign citizens. good luck, once you get used to it you will see that behind their shells the French are friendly and that France is a country where life is good. thanks to my job I had the chance to travel all over the world; every country has its ups and downs. except Arabia-saoudia where it is very complicated
@@ybreton6593 It’s like searching for form A88.
I'm here again
For your french, "25 bis" is NOT "25 bises" but "25 biss" .
25 "bis" is like saying 25 "b". (Latin). ;+)
OMG .....mort de rire ...vous avez vraiment voulu venir en FRANCE pour endurer tout ça chapeau .....et ce frenchie qui vous largue ... pas vraiment gentilhomme ce gugus vous n'avez rien perdu
Tes commentaires ne sont pas très rassurant pour des personnes désirant vivre et travailler
en France , aussi je conseille fortement à nos amis étrangers de se faire aider par des amis Français , voir des assistantes sociales pour leur éviter tous ses désagréments que chaque
personne peut trouver à l'arrivée dans un nouveau pays .
why do all english speaking women do that same bullet point reading higher tone of voice :)
and then THIS happeneddddd.. and then THIS happenedddd... :)
What you are describing is why places like France and Italy have a lot of poor people. It is nearly impossible to start a business. Most of the people want to be employees, very few want to be the boss. There is a lack of risk taking and innovation. Very different from the attitude and entrepreneurial culture of the USA. This is why they are in a steep demographic decline and now being overrun by cultures bent on their destruction. The French are not fighters, they easily surrender and are doing so in the face of mass immigration by people who will overwhelm and replace them. It is hard to watch. A dynamic flexible economy is resilient and achievement oriented. Protestant Anglo cultures tend to invent stuff and have a much higher standard of living with wealth production. Europe is deeply in dept and devolving into irreverence. They have become the lap dog of the USA.
With how difficult it is just to get situated in France, how in the world do the millions of illegal immigrants that they allow into the country manage to get all that done?
Living in Paris isen't a life 😄