It’s easy to find 100 reasons why you SHOULD move to France. It’s a beautiful country, after all, and French cuisine is some of the best in the world. Some reasons aren’t that serious, like the amazing and affordable wine, bread and cheese. Others are more hard hitting that I’ve discussed before like the work-life balance and healthcare system. It’s easy to talk about all the positive aspects of life abroad in France because it’s a great place to live. There are many and I do it often.
But it’s always been important to me to show both sides of what life can be like abroad and not just the shiny, happy stuff — otherwise, without the proper research and planning, your French dream could easily become a nightmare. To that end, let’s get into the bad things about living in France.
Moving to France? Biggest reasons NOT to live in France.
First, many of the bad things things about living in France that I mention below could apply to moves elsewhere, even within your own country and aren’t specific to just moving to France. Depending on what you’re looking for and your personality, not everything below falls into the category of bad things about living in France. A lot depends on you and your personal experience.
Also, if you’re looking for what NOT to pack when you move to France, read this.
OK, so don’t move to France if….
1. You don’t plan on putting some effort into learning the French language beyond the basics. Contrary to what you might have heard, the French don’t speak fluent English. Outside of major cities especially, you need to know French. This is especially true if you plan on building a life here and aren’t in France for a semester or job contract.
In terms of language skills, it’s a good idea to learn French to a solid intermediate level or beyond. It’s necessary to integrate, to be part of the world around you, to show respect and to thrive.
Imagine a foreigner moving to the U.S. and not speaking much English. It can be done in some areas, depending on what language they speak, but overall it would be very hard to have a fulfilling life in the United States without speaking decent English. At the very least, a language barrier would definitely limit you. Same thing in France.
I’m not suggesting that you need to speak perfect French by any means, I sure don’t, but a solid intermediate level is a good goal to aim for if you plan on making a life here and aren’t just passing through for a year. Just take it one step at a time and remember these truths when you’re stressed out.
If you have no intention of learning French, reconsider a long-term move. It is one of the biggest reasons not to live in France.
2. You’re not a socialist and think of it as a dirty word, or anything a country does that leans in that direction. I’m kidding. Kind of. What I mean is if you’re into the belief of each man for himself and don’t believe in social programs, universal healthcare and a hefty chunk of your pay going to social charges and high taxes and this kind of thing really gets under your skin, maybe rethink that move to France.
I see this a lot where people move to France because they are in love with the idea of France but are really put off by the way of life here when it comes to paying into the system for the greater good of all. France is a social democracy and if that’s going to be incompatible with your values, consider yourself warned.
It’s expensive to hire employees if you’re in business for yourself. French companies pay a ton of social charges no the backend for employees so salaries are low. Taxes/social charges are BIG. Inheritance taxes are bigger.
3. If you’re not open minded and cultural differences bring out your judgmental side and/or you’re really stuck in your ways. I think it’s important to remember that France is not our home country so it’s best to not expect things to be done like they are at home. Even simple things can be difficult.
My first couple of years here, I had to remind myself of that often. What we perceive as normal or the most efficient way to do something holds no relevance in France because things are done differently — of course they are because it’s a different country!
It’s best to observe, learn, and adapt to the French way. And I know it’s tempting to refer to things in France as “wrong” or inefficient or dumb or antiquated, but if you are moving to France, resist that snap judgment about French culture — and at the very least resist saying these things in the presence of the French people.
Learn and understand the French way and then just go with the flow. That’s the most respectful thing to do. The truth is we’re all flawed humans and no one is perfect. It’s normal to judge things in France when you first arrive and are working through the culture shock just trying to make sense of it all.
American social norms to AVOID in France >>
4. If you haven’t done your research. So many people embark on big life changes without doing their research and that applies to moving to France big time. It’s so easy to think life here aligns with the romanticized notions we see in the media and we don’t dig deeper.
The truth is that life in France is real life. I think life here is great but there are pros and cons to life anywhere. It’s important to research all aspects of life in France and see different perspectives to better prepare yourself, not just with the language and culture but maybe things that we don’t always think of ahead of time.
Research things that can cause stress and anxiety, like buying a house, opening a bank account, visa applications, work culture, taxes, and even the weather.
Surprises can be a lot of fun, but these aren’t areas where you want to encounter too many surprises after investing so much to move. Being prepared by doing as much research as possible is the best thing you can do to set yourself up for success.
Something else I want to point out is that many of us can do all the research in the world and be SO prepared and still struggle. It’s impossible to know if living abroad is right for us long term until we try it. Living abroad isn’t for everyone and visiting as often as we can might work fine.
We may have the best intentions before moving to France and assume we’ll adapt just fine because we prepared ourselves. We’ll integrate and make French friends and love the culture and pick up the language right away. And then the reality settles in that maybe things are harder than expected and will take more time. Or we may decide to go home.
All of that is OK and normal. If we don’t try new things and live our lives, we’ll never know. There is no shame in making a change that’s best for you and your situation, whatever that may be.
Check out this post on things people MAJORLY overlook before moving to France.
5. If you can’t deal with strikes. Yup, strikes make my list of reasons not to live in France. They exist, it’s not a myth, especially when it comes to public transportation. Striking is part of the culture. It’s an accepted thing and the French roll with it.
Strikes have been around since the revolution and include train and air traffic control, farmers, truck drivers and more. If you have a hard time dealing with disruptions to your regular routine and get stressed by traffic jams and cancellations, this might be something that’ll be really difficult to deal with time and time again.
6. If you’re moving to escape your problems at home. I think this one is huge and can apply to a move anywhere. Society romanticizes life in France and it’s easy to think that life here is a paradise and a 24/7 vacation. If you’re having trouble at home with any aspect of your life, move abroad and your worries will disappear. Magic!
Except that’s not reality. Your struggles from home will move with you, so I don’t think it’s a great idea to move abroad to escape loneliness, grief, a toxic relationship, mental health issues and that sort of thing.
Maybe it works in some cases if the problems are specific to your immediate geographic area, but don’t let that escape be your only reason to leave where you currently are living for France. Life’s problems don’t go away just because we’ve changed our scenery. They may even get worse when you add in culture shock, homesickness, a new language and culture.
Big questions Americans ask me after learning I live in France >>
7. If you’re not ready to be a foreigner and the challenges that come with uprooting your life. If you haven’t traveled much and are very comfortable where you live and have strong ties to your community, it can be really uncomfortable or even jarring to move abroad and suddenly stand out as “other.” This is especially true in smaller towns.
You get used to it, but at first being the foreigner, the one who is different and doesn’t quite fit in, might be a bit of a learning curve if you aren’t ready for it. Starting over from zero is daunting. Dealing with the bureaucracy and French government isn’t for the faint of heart either.
Being away from loved ones, losing touch with people you care about, adapting to a new culture, and the stress of it all is something I think a lot of us sweep under the rug or don’t spend enough time thinking about ahead of time. Why? It’s not pleasant.
These challenges are not insurmountable by any means and they aren’t deal breakers. They’re just things that we should give as much mental attention to as we do to our vacation plans, our apartment search, and our language lessons to be better prepared.
8. If you expect a fast-paced, 24/7 society. Life in France moves slower than it does in the US. Even comparing New York to Paris, well the French way of life isn’t the same, and that’s a good thing.
But if you are looking for a 24/7 society where grocery stores are open all night or very late, and businesses have extended hours and you can bank all day on Saturdays and everything else we might see as normal, France might cramp your style.
Living here has taught me to slow down and it’s for the best, especially if you move from a big US city to small-town France. In some cases, the slower life can be a blessing so it just depends on your personality, what you’re looking for, and what you can adapt to over time.
9. If you’re not secure in who you are. This goes for most major life changes in general, not just to France. What I mean by this is if you aren’t super confident in your abilities, in who you are, in your job, in your relationships, in you mental health, taking on the challenge of moving abroad can make anything you struggle with worse.
For example, let’s say you weren’t the greatest employee back home. You were not super reliable, not the best team player, and not motivated at all. Then you come to France, and you’re still not the best employee but now you have the added stress of learning a new professional environment, in a new culture with language and it’s that much harder.
All this is to say work on yourself as best you can before moving abroad. That way, you’re starting things in France as the best version of yourself.
Planning a trip to France and want to be prepared? Get my eGuide (just a few bucks for a limited time!) >>
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Finally, don’t think you need to have it all figured out before you move abroad. I sure didn’t. I’m prone to getting easily overwhelmed and I wasn’t on top of everything 100% before I moved to France.
Living abroad doesn’t just work out for the special few who do everything right ahead of time. But do take my list of reasons not to live in France seriously.
My French wasn’t perfect (still isn’t!). I wasn’t rich. I didn’t know everything about visas and taxes. I wasn’t the 100% confident best version of myself. I didn’t research everything I should have. But I made it. I’m still here.
In a perfect world, we’d have all our moving abroad ducks in a row, so to speak, ahead of time. But life is messy. We’re humans — imperfect and living in an imperfect world. We have to work through our challenges and experience some of the difficult aspects of moving to France to grow and learn. I know that’s part of the process, a beautiful one.
Wherever you are now, please know I’m rooting for you. If you want to move abroad — or make any change for yourself — I hope some of my advice here spoke to you in some way. You’ve got this, ok?
Above all, I think life in France is incredibly rewarding and has been a positive experience for me overall or I wouldn’t still be here. But as I said in the intro, I don’t want to use Oui In France to paint a picture of only the highlight reel. Or a place where we only talk about easy, superficial crap that’s been recycled 100 times all over the web.
I have never focused on only talking about aspects of life abroad that are easy and Instagram worthy. None of that will prepare you for real life, so it’s definitely a balance. I hope you understand where I’m coming from, especially if you’re new here. 😉
Speaking of being prepared, if you’d like to visit France for a vacation or even longer before officially deciding to move, I can’t recommend Plum Guide properties enough. Plum Guide is an Airbnb alternative that features some of the best vacation rental properties in France!
What advice do you have for someone moving to France or moving abroad in general?
P.S. Thank you all for your kind words after I shared my mom just passed away. The support means more than you know. I am putting one foot in front of the other still and trying to do the best I can.
PIN my reasons not to live in France post:
I just got back from exploring Annecy as a possible retirement location. The mountains, the lake, the location, all convinced me to check it out. I’ve been working in French for decades so language is not a problem.
The old town is where the tourists gather. Very medieval. The trouble is Annecy itself is a good-sized town, but there’s no public transportation. Cars are essential. But parking space is difficult to find.
I was also looking for a place with a temperate climate. It snows in Annecy but it doesn’t get real cold. I read the summers were mild, without the recent extreme heat one finds in the cities. I found out the summers are rough, though less so than other town. August and September can be especially hot. But there’s no air-conditioning, and no breezes off the lake, like Geneva. I know AC is seen as a uniquely American requirement, but I left Florida to escape heat and humidity.
I felt claustrophobic, especially farther away from the lakefront.
So, the search continues.
Hi Richard, I’ve heard that Annecy is beautiful but I’ve never been there and have no idea what it would be like to live there. I think you’re doing all the right things to prepare. It’s so important to see and get a feel for a place first hand. I know you’ll find somewhere that suits you. 😉 Thanks for reading!
I love Annecy and you are correct about AC and transportation. Annecy is in the top 10 places of experience housing. Plus during the Summer it does it quite crowded with vacationers I would recommend renting first before you buy a place. There are so many great places to live in France. One of the greatest things about France is everything is pretty close and traveling is easy.
I find it funny how some North Americans idealize life in Europe in general, especially in France and Scandinavia. These days, it’s so easy to fact check and get feedback from people who actually live there… taking the time to read about the good, the bad and the ugly is the safest way to make a dream come true (or just reconsider plans!)
Hi Juliette, it’s definitely a thing, that’s for sure! And perpetuated on social media like crazy. Hope you’re doing well! 😉
I agree with everything, but I think #9 is asking people for the impossible. Anyone who’s totally secure in who they are–without having gone through a lot of self-searching and hard emotional work–is probably a psychopath. I kid, but only just.
I thinks it’s important, though, to realize that the French are very direct. If something looks terrible on you in a store, the salesperson will you tell you how bad you look. If you use the wrong word or say le chaise instead of la chaise, you might be sneered at. And of course, les fonctionnaires are just the worst.The French can take your self-esteem, drench it in gas, and light a match. They don’t see this as being “mean.” Right or wrong, they see their directness as simply being “truthful.” Now, you can rightly say that the truth is not always so easy to tease out, and that holding back a little on what we in North America would consider being downright nasty is not a bad thing at all, but that’s just the way it is in France (and other European countries too, according to what I’ve heard) and you just have to get used to it.
I would advise people to not take things too personally, or just let it roll off your back. I learned this the hard way.
Hi Wendy,
That’s exactly what I’m saying! To do the hard work, the “self-searching and hard emotional work” before you move if you’re able (not YOU wendy, saying in general). It’s impossible to be totally prepared for anything in life. But I think it’s a lot easier to adapt and let things roll off your back when you’re secure in yourself and what you bring to the table. I think it’s worthwhile and maybe even essential to do that work for life in general…. the earlier the better. Makes us more emotionally aware and better people. That absolutely translates to life abroad and how we’ll fare. We deal with life better when we know who we are and are secure in it. 😉
I haven’t found the directness to be too big of an issue. It’s how I tend to operate which has gotten me in trouble back in the US but served me well in France.
Thank you for taking the time to read this one and hope all is well with you! Bon week-end !
Thank you for your truthful and insightful comments about the cons of moving abroad, specifically to France. We hope to move there for an extended period at some point in our retirement, though not to stay permanently. My husband lived in Caen as a student and we’ve traveled and spent time there with our French friends. That is NOT the same as moving there and these are good reminders for both of us.
Continued thoughts and prayers for healing and comfort for your losses and fur baby.
Robyn
You’re very welcome, Robyn! Glad you found the reminders helpful. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Interesting post indeed
I always enjoy reading your blogs and what you share. It is always quality content and well worth reading and so informative about the French life.
Please know I’m continuing to pray for you and your family as you adjust and adapt to life without your mom, yet keeping her close in thought and in your heart! ❤️
I really appreciate that, Sharon. Thank you very much on both counts!
I lived in France (not Paris) and then south Belgium before coming here to the Netherlands. The economy is slightly better here, but I generally preferred life in Belgium. Over 20-odd years I’ve met many who have been disappointed with their choice to move abroad. Not just from English-speaking countries, people from anywhere are among the dissatisfied, though U.S. citizens may find it harder. Usually ones who have been transferred by a company or women who have followed a partner and are finding it hard to integrate/learn the language/find work.
It’s difficult to transplant yourself and then realise that all the friends/relatives you may have had around you as a support aren’t going to be on-hand. That the longer you stay some will become permanently estranged. This is just a fact, because you can’t fully maintain two lives in two different countries. Nor will that help in your day-to-day life.
I’ve been disappointed with my choice, more than once. I think this is just a knee-jerk reaction to when things are not going smoothly in general. When you’re in your home country you can blame it on other things; in a foreign country it’s common to blame it all on the problem of being an immigrant. Some of that is real. There are some aspects of life in NL I have never accepted and don’t care for, but it’s my minority opinion, so it’s just tough. I fitted-in better in Belgium because my mother was a Belgian francophone; I know the language and I’d spent a lot of time there as a child (short hop from the UK really), but even there it was ‘foreign’. Anyone moving abroad must accept they will never really be in the same position as they are ‘at home’. Some integrate better and surrender more of themselves to their adopted home, whereas some find it more difficult.
I absolutely believe your advice on moving to France, or not, was excellent. Great advice. I lived in Germany for two years, getting to know long lost relatives. It was a wonderful experience. Getting to know my neighbors, we were in the country and very few in the community spoke English, but my neighbors were kind and patient with me as I learned. I came back here for a visit, and just never left. Always within a one or 2 day srive of my family here.
My advice would be to give yourself “x” amount of time to adjust, and if you haven’t by then, you should move back to your ‘home’.
I don’t know how up to date your blog is but there a few more cons I could mention. i seems to me that the French have been resting on their laurels too long with regard to their cuisine and their healthcare system. Outside a big city, you will rarely get good food made with good ingredients and not fried or stewed.
The healthcare system is collapsing. The care providers are well trained but try to find an expert. If the secretary lets you make an appointment (many of them could have trained Hitler), you could be waiting months. The word “urgent” has no meaning here. Two out of three of the doctors i’ve encountered recentlly have been extremely rude (vous me fatiguez, monsieur, etc). Back home (Australia and Uk), they’d be struck off for the way they’ve spoken to me. But the French generally don’t care and you gloss over such things a cultural differences. No. There’s civilised behaviour and non-civilised. Like another poster, I’m also Belgian and will move back there, despite the weather, asap.