On this week’s podcast, I spoke to French-Texan Céline Flores-Tavukcuoglu who runs Céline Concierge, a private concierge service for residents and visitors to Paris alike. After living here for 11 years and dedicating her life to providing know-how to those in need, Celine shares her golden rules for moving to Paris.
Here comes a useful insight into the French mindset, even for those without any intention of living in France.
The Earful Tower episode
Listen below, or wherever you get your podcasts. Keep on scrolling to read the tips.
1) Pre-visit as a local
Paris is a wonderful city to visit, but it’s so different when you’re a permanent resident. “Before you make the big move and start setting roots down, come and visit… and scope it out and see what it would feel like to live on a Parisian street, in a Parisian building.” Stay as long as you can (at least two weeks) to check out your potential local amenities, adjust to the local culture and speaking another language. An extra tip – explore outside of your favourite district, you might be surprised at what you find elsewhere.
2) Anticipate the paperwork
“France is notorious for its paperwork, its red-tape. Things go wrong all the time with French bureaucracy and you have anticipate and know that going in.” Prepare your dossier – a file you need to have with all your important documents and paperwork (and make sure you have plenty of copies of everything). Expect that things will go awry and try to have a sense of humour about how complicated it can be.
3) Prevent the housing Catch-22
“I don’t know if it’s preventable, but you can be ready for it.” The housing Catch-22 is this cycle of practicalities and documents you require to establish yourself and find accommodation in France. You need a bank account, but without an address you can’t open a bank account – it’s a vicious cycle. Celine’s tip to hack the system is, where available, use a friend or contact’s address to prove your legitimacy here. Oh, and don’t forget the infamous dossier.
4) Be prepared to fit in
Moving abroad involves knowing that you will be different. However, there’s no reason not to integrate. The French appreciate seeing newcomers making an effort at speaking the language and embracing the culture. “If you really want to thrive here, there has to be an openness of heart, where you want to learn the culture.” Even the smallest effort will go along away to endear you to the locals.
5) You’ve gotta speak French
Moving here without any intention of learning the language will make life pretty challenging for you. Come with an open heart, motivated and ready to make mistakes. Celine’s top tip is to watch French movies and TV series with the French subtitles on, which will develop your knowledge of popular culture here (also very useful).
That’s all for now, folks. Hopefully these tips will help create a smooth experience for those of you choosing to move to these shores.
Thank you to Céline Flores-Tavukcuoglu from Céline Concierge for her insights. If you want to avail of her services or follow what she’s doing, find Céline Concierge on Instagram and YouTube.
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