This is the latest in an ongoing series about my transition to a citizenship path. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here. Most people who find out that I’m self-employed in France assume I … Continue reading
Cobblers, Tailors, & Their Side Hustles
If you pay attention and spend a bit of time thinking through the economics, you’ll see that there are dozens of ways that people build incomes for themselves in Paris. I wanted to tell you about two of them. Cobblers … Continue reading
Profession Liberale, Part 3: Delays, No Taxes, But Money Back
This is the latest in an ongoing series about my transition to a citizenship path. You can find Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. It had been 14 months since the glorious granting of my Profession Libérale visa and … Continue reading
No-Frills Train Travel: a New Trend
What if I told you that train companies were using principles pioneered by RyanAir and EasyJet and applying them to the convenience and speed of train travel? If you love train travel as much as I do, you might be … Continue reading
Métro Bureaucracy
I was standing with a number of my fellow passengers that had just disembarked at the Saint-Germain-des-Près métro station. There were a number of ticket inspectors in front of me scanning the Navigo passes or simple tickets of the passengers. … Continue reading
An Honest Locksmith
“Does anyone know any locksmiths who are not crooks?” This was a question I posed over a year ago to a Paris & France Facebook group that I help moderate that has a fair number of Parisian residents in it. … Continue reading
Changing Your Mailing Address in France
Most Americans are used to being able to go online and for the cost of $1 (USPS says this is for identity verification) and the time it takes you to fill out the necessary online form you can change your … Continue reading
The “Three” Paris Airports
I promised myself for ages that I wasn’t ever going to use the Beauvais Airport. “Paris Beauvais Airport” is a farce. Not only is Beauvais not in Paris, but it’s also not even in Île-de-France! It’s in Oise, not far … Continue reading
Getting My French Carte Vitale and Going to the Doctor…Finally
It felt futile. I knew the French didn’t operate this way, but I was feeling worn out and was reverting to American habits. I was writing, in French, on a post-it note, the following message: “I am very happy to … Continue reading
Troubleshooting: Récépissé for Visa Renewal
***Please note that practices have changed since Covid-19. You may be able to get an electronic récépissé. Check with your local prefectures.*** One of the things that keeps me really up-to-date in my immigration journey is the monthly newsletter of … Continue reading