Welcome to The Local’s “Americans in France” monthly newsletter for members, featuring all the news and practical information you need as an American resident, visitor or second-home owner in France. You can sign up to receive it directly to your inbox before we publish it online via the link below. 

Dear Americans in France,

There are a few longstanding stereotypes about French people (and Parisians specifically). One is a tendency toward grumpiness and complaining. I cannot deny this categorically, but I will say that in the past few weeks, the mood has been brighter in the City of Light, thanks to the Olympics and Paralympics.

I managed to attend a few Olympic events –  luckily I did not see any France v USA face-offs in person, when we were head-to-head in basketball, I opted to split my allegiances, supprting the US women’s team and the French men’s team – and now we have the Paralympics, using the same stunning Paris venues that you may have seen on TV during the Olympics.

I enjoyed seeing US athletes like Ilona Maher going viral for their videos during the Games. I especially enjoyed the videos by rugby player Ariana Ramsey, who was dazzled by the accessibility of free healthcare in Paris. 

It’s not technically accurate to say that the athletes benefited from the French public healthcare system, since the clinic at the Athlete’s Village is funded by the Olympics organising committee but, as an American, I remember being shocked by the quality and affordability of French healthcare. Apparently it’s a big reason people move here too.

Americans have plenty of culture shocks when they move to France, but I recently stumbled upon the website French Morning, the leading news site for French people living in America (it’s basically The Local in reverse). They outlined some of the biggest surprises French people encounter in the United States.

As you’d expect the Frenchies miss their fresh pastries, bread and cheese, but many were confused by the concept of a credit score.

You might say this surprise goes both ways – Americans might expect that the high credit score they’ve spent years accruing would open doors in France, but in reality French society operates without credit scores and (largely) without credit cards.

If you have any other questions about surprises you might encounter when moving to France, or any general questions or comments, please take a moment to fill out our ongoing ‘Americans in France’ survey.

You can let us know if there are any topics you would like to see covered, and you can also give helpful tips (the ones you wish you had known beforehand) for other Americans looking to move to France.

I’d also like to highlight another survey – the White House Office of Public Engagement has shared a questionnaire in hopes of hearing from Americans living abroad about issues such as taxation and voting. You can take the short survey by clicking this LINK.

For many Americans abroad, taxation will be the most important issue to address with the US government. You may also be curious to read a recent article written by the head of the campaign group ‘Tax Faireness for Americans Abroad’, Brandon Mitchener, on why the system needs to change.

And on the topic of American politics – the US presidential election is not too far away. Don’t forget to request your absentee ballot!

As usual, I like to conclude with the advice of a fellow American in France. Here is a tip from Kevin Phillips in Nice: “Leave your expectations behind, adapt as best you can, embrace the French way.”

Of course feel free to get in touch or leave a comment. You can reach me at genevieve.mansfield@thelocal.com