Jennifer Gruenke became an accidental Francophile when she had an opportunity to spend a month in France through a Rotary Club exchange program in her twenties. This program took her through the heartland of France with cities like Montluçon, Saint-Julien, Périgueux, Rodez, Aurillac, Le Puy-en-Velay, and Anvers. This was a long time ago, and she enjoyed it so much that she learned French using cassette tapes!

On her first trip to France, Jennifer found French people open and welcoming. She finds that is still the case today. She realized that while average French people don't have as much money as the average American; they take the time to enjoy a simple life. That appealed to her a great deal. She earned enough to retire early, sold everything, and moved to Paris with two large suitcases. She's now been in Paris for a year and she plans to stay because she loves both the lifestyle and the city.

Her story will give encouragement to folks who aren't wealthy but would love to enjoy living a simple life in Paris.

Jennifer shares the names of companies that helped her move successfully. Among them Interactive Brokers (to move money around with low fees), Mondassure (for health insurance), and LCL (but she could not make any French on-line bank accept her as a customer as she explains in the episode).

 

Table of Contents for 'An Accidental Francophile Moves to Paris' with links to the text transcript  

• [00:00:00] Intro
• [00:00:36] Today on the podcast
• [00:01:09] Podcast supporters
• [00:01:28] Join Us in France Newsletter
• [00:03:16] Accidental Francophile
• [00:04:03] Exchange Program and Trip
• [00:04:50] Learning French
• [00:06:27] Arrived in France with Stereotypical Ideas
• [00:07:45] Montluçon
• [00:08:47] Aligot
• [00:09:22] Anvers
• [00:09:51] La France Profonde
• [00:10:48] People are Hospitable
• [00:13:03] Joining Associations Helps
• [00:14:33] Conversation Exchange
• [00:16:02] How did the move happen?
• [00:16:27] Making money from the housing market
• [00:18:56] Applied for a visitor visa first
• [00:20:15] The cost to get a visa
• [00:21:27] Necessary income to live in France
• [00:22:40] In Paris, rent is the biggest expense
• [00:23:12] Lodging
• [00:24:17] You need local pros to help with rentals
• [00:25:38] The first apartment
• [00:26:51] Found a better studio apartment
• [00:29:05] An small apartment in Paris can be as much as a house in the French countryside
• [00:30:07] Keeping a US phone number with Google Voice
• [00:33:11] Banking and getting a French bank account
• [00:34:07] Opening account with N26
• [00:34:59] LCL Bank
• [00:36:40] Brokerage
• [00:40:09] Cost of healthcare
• [00:40:14] The cost of healthcare in France
• [00:40:17] Marker
• [00:42:25] Why French doctors are so cheap compared to American doctors
• [00:43:08] What Americans pay to get into the French healthcare system
• [00:44:04] Is France an Expensive Place to Live?
• [00:44:35] Season fruit is not so good at Lidl
• [00:46:02] What happens when the tourist visa expires?
• [00:47:25] Does she intend to stay for several years?
• [00:51:29] Thank you, patrons[00:51:29] Outro
• [00:52:12] Bootcamp and Patreon
• [00:52:25] Elyse’s Patreon
• [00:53:15] Preparing a trip to France?
• [00:54:36] Self-guided tours
• [00:55:06] Travel News – Weekend du Patrimoine 2022
• [00:56:20] No cars allowed in Paris weekend
• [00:57:27] Jean-Luc Godard
• [00:59:04] Personal Update
• [01:00:22] Something wonderful and unexpected
• [01:01:38] Show notes

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