coucou

Kim sits down with Lauriane Blanc, a French woman who left the Loire Valley for New York City and went on to co-found Women Abroad Club, a community helping women build meaningful lives abroad.

With Kim building a life in France and Lauriane building one in America, they compare what each culture gets right, from career ambition and education to food, fashion, friendship and the very different ways French and American women connect. Lauriane also shares what surprised her most about American life, what still makes her feel unmistakably French and why moving abroad can completely change your idea of home.

They also get into the less glamorous side of starting over somewhere new: learning a language, finding your people, navigating work and putting yourself outside your comfort zone again and again. Lauriane shares why community and even one meaningful relationship can make such a difference when you’re trying to create a life in another country.

Resources:

• Women Abroad Club

• Women Abroad Cast

• Lauriane Blanc on LinkedIn

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Produced by NOVA

September in France means la rentrée, a return to school, work, routines and everyday life after summer. But after four years living in Aix-en-Provence, Kim has realized it can also be a chance to return to yourself.

After a summer road trip through the French Alps, Switzerland and Italy, Kim is reflecting on the things she wants to carry with her into this next season. She shares what living in France has taught her about being present, slowing down, letting go of constant productivity, making space for creativity and becoming more comfortable with uncertainty.

She also opens up about anxiety, guilt, watching her children grow older and the complicated emotions that come with building a beautiful life far from family. Rather than making another list of resolutions, Kim is thinking about another way to live, one centered on the things that actually make a life feel meaningful.

Resources:

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Produced by NOVA

Kim is answering more of your questions about life in France, from how French parents balance work, kids and weeknight dinners to what motherhood looks like when women don’t completely change their style after having children.

She shares how her friendships have evolved after nearly four years abroad, the one part of French culture she’d take with her anywhere, and the unexpected things her kids noticed during their recent trip back to the U.S., including screen time and the way Americans talk about food.

Kim also revisits Bringing Up Bébé after raising her own children in France and shares which observations still feel true. Plus, drawing on her years working at Sephora, she compares French and American beauty standards, from skincare and “baby Botox” to perfectly polished beauty versus the French preference for leaving something a little imperfect.

Resources:

• Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman

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• coucou Podcast Website

Produced by NOVA

What happens when you build a life that looks successful from the outside, but somewhere along the way stop asking whether it actually feels right?

Kim reflects on the life she and her family built in Marin County,  San Francisco, CA before moving to France, from corporate careers and private schools to the subtle pressure of titles, homes, cars and keeping up appearances. She shares a vulnerable moment on the Golden Gate Bridge when everything she had been pushing down finally caught up with her, and how a lyric from The National’s “Fake Empire” gave her language for what she was feeling.

Three years after leaving that life behind, Kim shares how distance has changed the way she thinks about success, comparison and the choices we make without questioning why. France didn’t provide an instant answer, but it gave her enough space to ask a different question: If nobody else were watching, would you still choose the life you’re living?

Resources:

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Produced by NOVA

After three years living in France, some of the French behaviors Kim once found strange don’t seem so strange anymore. From topless beaches and bikinis at every age to a much more laissez-faire approach to parenting, she reflects on the cultural differences that have made her question some of her own American habits.

She also shares what she’s learned about the French tendency to complain, critique and say “c’est pas mal,” and why that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re less happy. Instead, she’s beginning to see how much value the French place on enjoying the day that’s actually in front of them rather than constantly chasing what comes next.

Plus, Kim shares her advice on the best time to visit the South of France and why June, September and October may be better choices than the peak summer months.

Resources:

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Produced by NOVA

Kim thought moving to France would mean she’d naturally “pick up” French. What she quickly realized was that immersion alone isn't enough and becoming comfortable in another language takes far more patience, courage and deliberate practice than she expected.

In this episode, Kim shares the do’s and don’ts she’s learned while studying French as an adult, from creating her own immersion through podcasts and French TV to giving herself daily “bravery challenges” that forced her to speak even when she was afraid of getting it wrong. She also shares some of the mistakes she can laugh about now, including accidentally buying diarrhea medicine for her daughter’s fever, ordering a Thanksgiving turkey for the wrong day and completely misspelling her daughter’s name on a birthday cake.

More than anything, learning French has taught her what it feels like to be a beginner again. It’s been an exercise in patience, humility and getting comfortable with making mistakes, while recognizing just how rewarding those little breakthroughs can feel.

Resources:

• Alliance Française

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Produced by NOVA

Living abroad can look like rosé in Provence, beautiful markets, cobblestone streets and weekend trips to Italy. And sometimes, it really is that dreamy. But after more than three years in France, Kim is sharing the parts that don’t always make it onto Instagram: exhausting travel days, time zone differences, language barriers, homesickness and the strange feeling of no longer fully belonging to one place.

She also opens up about raising kids between cultures, from school and sports to American traditions they’re growing up without, and the questions that come with deciding what parts of your home culture to hold onto. Along the way, Kim reflects on the personal work that moving abroad can bring to the surface and why changing countries doesn’t automatically change who you are.

It’s a look at the beautiful, complicated reality behind choosing Another Way to Live, and why even the hardest parts can still be part of a life you’re grateful to have created.

Resources:

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Produced by NOVA

After three years living in Aix-en-Provence, Kim returned to the U.S. for three weeks and found herself seeing American life with completely new eyes.

From enormous iced coffees, packed schedules and noisy restaurants to generous strangers, family reunions and the unmistakable warmth of American culture, she reflects on the things that suddenly stood out after becoming accustomed to a slower pace of life in France.

Kim shares what she noticed about American attitudes toward time, food, parenting, convenience and productivity, along with the French habits she has come to appreciate, including lingering over meals, embracing downtime and being more present in everyday life.

Rather than deciding one culture has it figured out, she reflects on what both France and America have taught her about living well, and why sometimes leaving home is exactly what helps you see it more clearly.

Resources:

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Produced by NOVA

What if the moments that matter most aren’t the extravagant trips or perfectly planned experiences, but the quiet ones happening right in front of us?

Kim begins by sharing the very American collection of food, medicine, beauty products and everyday essentials she brings back to France after visiting the U.S. Then, she reflects on how living in Provence has changed her understanding of an “extraordinary” life.

From camping under the stars in the backyard and watching movies projected onto the ceiling to late-night swims, messy summer days and an unexpectedly memorable trip to McDonald’s, Kim shares why ordinary moments often become the ones we remember most. She also talks about letting go of overscheduling, asking what her family actually needs and learning to be fully present for the life they’re already living.

Resources:

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Produced by NOVA

Kim is back with the second half of her listener Q&A, recorded after a technical issue cut the video short during the original session. She answers questions about building a life in France, from the biggest changes she has experienced as a mother to the realities of French paperwork and starting a business abroad.

Kim shares why parenting in France has helped her worry less, give her children more independence and step away from the pressure to fill their schedules. She also talks about the preservation of childhood, France’s slower adoption of screens in schools, the friendships she has formed with other mothers and what French women really think about the world’s fascination with them.

Plus, Kim shares the French fashion brands she wears most including Sézane, Soeur, Ysé, Stella & Suzie, Zara, J.Crew and Tuckernuck, her approach to building a wardrobe and what she learned while navigating visas, freelance work and the French administrative system.

Resources:

• Sézane

• Soeur

• Ysé

• Maison Stella & Suzie

• Zara

• J.Crew

• Tuckernuck

• France-Visas: International Talent Visas

• France-Visas: Self-Employed or Liberal Activity

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Produced by NOVA