The arrival of autumn last week was underlined by rain and punctuated by cold: summer is officially over in the City of Light. It was, by all accounts, one of our quietest summers in recent history, as we were bereft … Continue reading
Commentary on Current Events
Mailbag: the Non-Existent “American ban,” Work Possibilities with the PL Visa, & Snake Oil
In the last eight weeks I have received an avalanche of questions from those hoping to immigrate to France. In the past when I received a lot of questions I would collect them into a post like this and call … Continue reading
My First Flight Since Lockdown (and Ten Things I Learned)
“You are?” my European friends responded, bug-eyed, to my disclosure that I was flying to America this week. They had been watching CNN or some other similar network, in which the impression was being given that the country was burning … Continue reading
The Old Normal is Alive and Well in Paris
I’ve spent my entire life in countries with unrestricted freedom of movement. Not only did those countries let me go where I wanted, whenever I wanted, as long as I wasn’t breaking laws, the countries were indifferent to my location … Continue reading
Cracks in the Quarantine
Two weekends ago the weather was particularly lovely and while I was out for a Sunday stroll in my neighborhood what I had already been sensing over the previous weeks became crystal clear: many Parisians were not abiding by the … Continue reading
Coronavirus Financial Aid for Small Businesses Arrives
This is the time of year when I often have to remind non-EU nationals who live in France most of the year that they need to file taxes. With all that has been going on I was particularly glad that … Continue reading
Quarantined in the City of Light
While Paris started the year in the midst of a transportation strike that the strikers by and large lost in the end, there was only a brief respite for the hospitality industry as the specter of the global panic pandemic … Continue reading
Strike Hype
So I should confess that I’ve mostly avoided any experience of the strikes here in Paris. I flew out of Paris on December 4th for a long-planned holiday Down Under. The next day, the strikes began. I just arrived back … Continue reading
The Airbnb Wars in Paris: For Now, a Truce
I’ve covered the Airbnb issue here previously, both my perspective as an entrepreneur and what Paris had been becoming more strict about. On December 1st a “truce” will officially be in force as legislation first passed this summer comes into effect. … Continue reading
Losing at Home to the Portuguese
My heart sank. In the fan zone at the Eiffel Tower, tucked away behind one of the smaller screens I was standing in front of, the small group of Portuguese near us lost their minds in celebration. I hadn’t ever … Continue reading