There are 29 (and maybe more!) different ways to move to France as an American — and we spent months feeling that we were on the right path, until something happened that almost blew the whole plan apart. This episode walks through the visa landscape: things we read, who we hired, and the almost absurd moment we discovered that a Master's thesis Abbie wrote years ago on French formal gardens was the credential that made our application possible. We also get into the three weeks we nearly scrapped everything for a quieter, lower-stakes option — and what it took to come back from that doubt and submit anyway. From a government approval email read in a parking lot to a visa that came back in six days, this is the part of the story where the dream started becoming real.

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Books, businesses, and people discussed in episode four:

Foolproof French Visas by Allison Grant Lounes

Valérie Aston of Start Business in France

Jason and Raina of Baguette Bound

Johnny Benoit of French Lifestyle

Mallory and Ben of France of a Lifetime Tours

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