Thousands of Americans of all ages come here every year in the hopes of a job, career, new friends -- in short, a new life. Paris is very séduisant (seductive), so if you come here on vacation once or twice, it's easy to get hooked. Beauty, culture, cuisine, language, style, art, literature, history, romance, architecture...it's all here for the asking, as long as you're willing to pay the price.

To start, by law you are expected to have a long-stay visa if you plan on staying more than three months (carte de séjour). Entering the country as a tourist is not a "visa." You must apply for your long-stay visa long before you come to France (from a French consulate). Immigration laws and procedures are quite complex and we recommend that you consult with the consulate, a professional before proceeding to fully understand what kind of visa you should be applying for, if at all.

Obtaining The Right To Be In France

Thousands of Americans are living in France without a visa. The process to acquire a carte de séjour is long, tedious, and extremely bureaucratic. From the outset, you will spend hours waiting to be seen by a fonctionnaire (civil servant), whose only real authority is over your right to be here. Be sweet - these powerful folk could determine your residence here, or lack thereof, in a matter of moments.

It makes a big difference if you can speak French, at least a little. More and more French people speak reasonably good English, but you can never really be a part of France without a certain level of the language. You can enrol in a language school or take private lessons or immersion courses to get up to speed. The French-English Conversation Group I co-host (Parler Parlor, http://www.parlerparlor.com/) is a great way to practice, but its tough to start speaking without a basis in grammar and a moderate level of vocabulary. Don't assume that three months in a good crash course of French is going to turn you into a fluent speaker. Unless you are 9 years-old with a brain like a sponge, it will take years to learn this language well. And besides, who wants to spend all their time in Paris in a classroom suffering over the subjonctif? My advice is to relax, take courses or lessons at an easy pace, and let osmosis do the rest, while you enjoy every minute of your new life in France.

While finding a job or creating a new career for yourself in France is the ultimate challenge (especially without working papers!), adapting to the cultural climate is something that could take you an entire lifetime. You might be fooled into thinking that we and the French are much alike, but I can assure you, in every aspect of life the French have a different perspective -- a perspective that changes their behavior patterns tremendously from ours. 

This is the subject of many books on France, particularly the two (which have become bibles for many) written by Polly Platt: French or Foe? and Savoir Flair: 211 Tips for Enjoying France and the French. She writes: "French people are different. Wonderfully different and differently wonderful. The trick is in knowing what the differences are."  Another I highly recommend is Ruth Mastron and Gilles Asselin's Au Contraire: Figuring Out the French. Going beyond the obvious, this bilingual and bicultural author team explores what lies behind what we see: the assumptions, attitudes, beliefs, values and patterns of thought of both cultures.

After ten years of studiously experimenting with their advice and having been the subject of one of Polly's tales about the French customer service (or lack of), I can honestly say I have finally crossed the cultural divide and now manage to maneuver very successfully within the system. 

I've learned not to smile at just anything or anyone. I've learned to say bonjour, au revoir, merci, and s'il vous plâit every 10 seconds, deserving or not. I've learned to flirt and use charm with every waiter or sales person to get what I'm after.