If you have ever been to France, you already know that the French life is something more than a cup of coffee with a croissant for breakfast, old historical buildings all over the city centre, and lavender fields in the Provence. Before you immigrate to France, you need to get a deep insight into the culture, lifestyle, and work-related nuances because visiting this country may be different from living there on a daily basis.
Moving to France from the USA or any other country could be a crucial stage in your life for sure. Thus, it is essential to get ready before you immigrate to France by learning as many facts about this country as possible and decide on how to move personal belongings to France in a safe and affordable way.
We have prepared a comprehensive guide for you to check it before moving to France from the USA or any other country in a hassle-free manner. For that purpose, check a concise list of facts about this country and discover a simple way to move personal belongings to France with Eurosender.
If you plan to move to France from overseas it may seem a bit difficult and challenging, especially when relocating from the USA to France. Arriving in a surrounding with different traditions and life values means that you will need to get accustomed to a new environment. Before relocating from the USA to France, you also have to take care of the official documents such as a visa and residence permit and choose the right services for the international removals to France.
Relocation to France for a long-term is associated with moving lots of personal belongings, electronics, valuable items, and even household goods overseas. It is practically impossible to take all of them with you, so Eurosender is here to give you a hand. Depending on your chosen route, our booking engine will craft an optimal solution based on the price-to-performance ratio. It means that international removals to France would be an affordable option to transport numerous packages. Moreover, you will benefit from booking shipping services with Eurosender as:
Immigration to France is a comprehensive task, so you need to be holistically prepared for a move. Check some basic facts about France in this section and way more detailed information about the country, its culture, healthcare system, and even the cost of living in further sections of this article.
| Location | The mainland of France is situated in Western Europe. However, France has multiple overseas territories all over the world. |
| Capital city | Paris |
| Climate | Lowlands in the mainland of France are characterized by the oceanic climate as the country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. |
| Currency | The euro is the official currency of France. |
| Population | France is a multinational country as people of different nationalities and ethnic groups live there. The largest ethnic minorities represent groups from Northwest Africa, the Americas region, and other European countries. |
| Language | French is the official language in France. Even though you can notice many people speaking English and other languages in tourist zones, inland people hardly ever speak any language other than French. Before relocating to France from the USA; it is strongly advisable to learn basic daily phrases and words in French. |
| Timezone | UTC +1 |
| Surprising fact | The Eiffel Tower, the symbol of France, was supposed to be demolished right after the exhibition in 1909. |
Moving to France for employment, education, or family reunification purposes means that you will have to get accustomed to the lifestyle and culture in the country. This applies even to those who are going to live in a certain ethnic minority group and speak the native language instead of French. If you grasp the way daily life goes in France, this will help you to accommodate in the country and understand the mindset of its people. Living in France could be a cherished dream of many, but expats and native people report both advantages and drawbacks they frequently encounter.
Advantages
Drawbacks
The cost of living in France may vary across the country greatly, which is not surprising at all. Moreover, the quality and the cost of living may differ in the districts of the same city. While the minimum monthly salary is €1,480 and the average monthly salary is €2,200 after tax, you will need at least €600 to support your living. Additional spendings are associated with apartment rental and utilities.
The most expensive cities in terms of the cost of living in France are Paris, Nice, Grenoble, Nantes, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Lille. While the price for food and utilities will be pretty similar in those cities, the cost of the apartment rental in Paris will be higher than that in Bordeaux, for instance. However, you may try to find an affordable furnished room in a good region of Paris for about €400 or €400 per month.
As many French people value the culture of communication, they like to spend their mornings and evenings in cafes. Sometimes it is hard to find a seat in a local restaurant because dinner time may last for about 2-3 hours. The meal of the day costs about €10-12, while a cup of cappuccino with a croissant will be €3-4 euro.
When you decide to immigrate to France for a long-term period, you have to prepare all the necessary documents in advance. For the EU and the EEA nationals, no specific documents are needed to live and work in France, but applying for a residence permit is essential. For citizens of other than EU or EEA countries, one needs a visa. The most common types of visa expats apply for before moving to France are related to work, study, and family reunion purposes.
For detailed information, check all visa requirements with your local French consulate or embassy.
As the healthcare system of France has gone through transformations recently, both working and non-working foreign residents living in France have obtained access to medical services under the Protection Universelle Maladie. The healthcare system is partially funded by the French government and the patient in the form of social security contributions deducted from salary. In France, every resident should obligatorily have private or public health insurance (sécurité sociale). The latter one does not cover all the expenses for medical services, so residents usually decide to upgrade their insurance packages by purchasing private health insurance that is partially or fully reimburses the costs of the medical services.
The healthcare system model in France is similar to that in the USA and other countries of the European Union. After you obtain health insurance coverage, you also need to register with a family doctor. You can easily choose a general practitioner (médecins généralistes) in your area. It is necessary to address a family doctor if you have any health issues to get an appointment to any other medical specialist. However, this does not apply to the case when you need to visit a gynaecologist, a dentist, or an ophthalmologist.
When moving to France with a family, you need to take care of your children as well. All children residing in France should obligatorily attend school starting from the age of 6. Thus, you will need to contact the service des écoles at your local municipality upon arrival. In case your children are not fluent in French, there are primary schools with French-language courses for beginners.
The French education system includes compulsory primary, secondary, and high school. In France, a secondary school establishment is called collège, while high school is lycée. If your child attended school in a home country but needs to enrol in a collège or lycée in France, then you should go to the education authority in your area of residence for more information.
Even though high school is compulsory in France, one can choose whether to attend lycée general, lycée technique or lycée professionnel. Depending on the type of a chosen educational establishment, students either get ready for vocational studies, to work in the sphere of technology and IT, or to pursue a bachelor’s program in the university.
Even though the French economy was temporarily in a crisis, it is on the way to recover. Expats usually find decent job opportunities in the field of aerospace, motor industry, electronics, textiles, tourism, and agriculture. Over the past few years, more and more professionals in the sphere of IT and engineering are in high demand. Thus, the experts with corresponding skills in those areas could easily find a job opportunity in France.
As a rule, the citizens from the EU and the EEA do not need a work permit to work in France. Meanwhile, the expats coming from the US, Canada, and other non-EU and non-EEA countries need to prepare corresponding documentation to work legally in France.
However, there is also good news for IT, engineering, and other highly-qualified professionals whose skills are expected to be highly beneficial for France. The EU Blue Card for non-EU citizens and competence de talent card ensure that the process of visa application would be simpler than usual. Subsequently, it would be easier to get a permanent residency permit in further.
Before you immigrate to France, you also need to choose an apartment, villa, or a house for living. Depending on the purpose of your stay and the number of the family member moving to France together with you, consider different options for renting or purchasing a real estate property in France.
We have prepared a list of average monthly costs for the apartment rental in some French cities – the most popular hotspots among expats.
| a private room | 1-bedroom apartment | 2-bedroom apartment | a country house | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | €750 | €1500 | €1900 | |
| Lyon | €500 | €900 | €1500 | |
| Toulouse | €400 | €800 | €1300 | |
| Bordeaux | €600 | €1200 | ||
| Nice | €600 | €1200 | €1800 | €2500 |
There are several basic tips for driving in France:
Before relocating to France, you need to discover the average moving costs, check how long does it take for a parcel to arrive in France, discover the cheapest way to move furniture to France, estimate how much is shipping from the USA to France, etc. We have prepared the answers to these questions along with the shipping tips to move personal belongings to France safely, cheaply, and fast.
Eurosender offers exclusive shipping services for expats and international students at the affordable cost of moving house to France. When using Eurosender platform, you can instantly discover average shipping costs and book services just in a few minutes. Furthermore, you will obtain a range of benefits as:
Before booking shipping services, you need to measure the dimensions of your parcel. If the parameters of a parcel do not fit standard dimensions, you have multiple packages or need to ship heavy items, contact our logistics experts and they will craft an individual offer for you.
Before moving to France from Italy, you obviously need to send your excess baggage via courier and find the cheapest way to move furniture to France. Eurosender is here to offer the right solution for you. We are able to accommodate shipping to France and grant lower than average shipping costs. As we want you to have the best experience while moving to France from Italy, you can always track your parcels online and contact our customer support team in case of any issues. Our agents will answer your questions and provide relevant information whenever you need.
Nearly half of Canada speaks French fluently. If you want to leave Canada and move to the land from where your ancestors came to settle a new country several centuries ago, use Eurosender services to move personal belongings to France. We collaborate with logistics providers for freight shipping and courier companies for parcel shipping. There is no need to spend time comparing different prices on the Internet for courier services before moving to France from Canada. We can instantly find the most affordable and reliable way to move personal belongings to France from Canada or other overseas countries and territories. All you have to do is use our easy-to-use booking engine.
Disclaimer: The materials provided in this article were collected from other credible resources to be used for general information purposes only. Given that the legislative basis of the country and its economic development have a changing nature, the information provided in the article could be subject to change. Whilst we endeavour to keep the information up-to-date and correct, Eurosender will not be liable for any inappropriate, incomplete, or inaccurate information. Certain links will lead to websites which are not under control of Eurosender. Thus, Eurosender accepts no liability in respect of materials, products or services being not under control of Eurosender.