The essential sequence for your first days and weeks in France as an American. This section gives you the practical actions that matter most in the right order: getting a French phone number on day one, setting up a banking bridge while your French account is being arranged, starting your housing search immediately rather than waiting until you feel settled, activating utilities and internet as soon as you have a lease, and preparing your CPAM registration dossier so it is ready to submit the moment you hit the three-month residency threshold. We cover the administrative dependencies that most newcomers discover too late, the common mistakes that add weeks of delay, and the first-month rhythm that gets you operationally stable as fast as possible.
If you read one guide on this topic, make it How to Move to France from the US: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide for Americans (2026).
Moving to France from the US, in order: the visa and its income test, the consulate file, then OFII, housing, a bank, healthcare and taxes. 2026 figures.
Maxime Roseau22 min read
The order of a US family's move to France, from official pages: a visa for each of you, your children's status and travel document, school, health cover, CAF.
Aurelio Maurici17 min read
The apps and tools that plan a move to France, compared from their own pages: what each covers, before or after arrival, phone or web, and the price.
Aurelio Maurici8 min read
Home insurance is due at key handover, health cover before your visa. What France legally requires from Americans, in the order each policy falls due.
Maxime Roseau13 min read
ChatGPT is reliable on stable French admin concepts and fails silently on 2026 rule changes. Six answers to verify before they enter your dossier.
Maxime Roseau16 min read
Relocation quotes are not comparable. What France charges you either way, what housing help may legally bill, and what a consultant actually removes.
Maxime Roseau14 min read
Moving art or antiques to France? The 5.5% import VAT, the 2025 EU cultural-goods rules, CITES traps, and why weight-based mover cover leaves you exposed.
Maxime Roseau17 min read
The 12 most common and costly mistakes Americans make when moving to France, and exactly how to avoid each one. Based on what actually goes wrong.
Maxime Roseau14 min read
Your household goods enter France duty-free, but only under the transfert de résidence exemption and only if you file the declaration. Miss it and you pay.
Maxime Roseau17 min read
A pre-departure checklist for France takes 90 days at least: most tasks run two to eight weeks. Order apostilles first, two to four weeks in most states.
Maxime Roseau21 min read
France has no official retirement visa. Americans retire on the long-stay visitor visa, on passive income of about the net minimum wage or more.
Aurelio Maurici42 min read
The visa is 99 euros. The permit tax rose to 300 euros on 1 May 2026. The full one-time bill for moving to France from the US, line by line.
Maxime Roseau16 min read
Paris rents run from 23 to 32.8 euros per m² depending on the area, a Navigo pass is 90.80 euros a month. The cost of living in Paris from official figures.
Maxime Roseau11 min read
Relocation firms, visa services, consultants, assistants and apps for a move to France, with the prices each publishes on its own page, and the state's fees.
Maxime Roseau13 min read
The 2% tax on fortunes above 100 million euros is not in the 2026 Finance Law. What passed: a 20% levy on luxury assets in family holdings. IFI unchanged.
Aurelio Maurici20 min read
Official median rent: €1,108 a month in Paris, €658 to €850 in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Montpellier. Plus transit passes and GP visits, all sourced.
Maxime Roseau15 min read
Choosing where to live in France as an American: do not default to Paris. Rent runs 35 to 50% lower in Lyon and 45 to 55% lower in Bordeaux.
Maxime Roseau18 min read
Where to live on the Côte d'Azur as an American: Cagnes-sur-Mer, Nice, Antibes, Cannes, Menton and Villefranche compared on rents, homes, trains and the airport.
Maxime Roseau14 min read
Côte d'Azur, Provence or Occitanie? Compare cost, climate, transport and expat life to find the best places to live in the South of France.
Maxime Roseau17 min read
Portugal closed its NHR tax break, Spain ended its Golden Visa in 2025, France favors retirees by treaty. Which country fits Americans in 2026, by profile.
Maxime Roseau19 min read
Neither country wins outright. Healthcare, safety, time off, pay and family life compared, then which country fits which kind of American.
Maxime Roseau18 min read
Living in France as an American trades speed for stability, healthcare and time. Public healthcare opens after three months; US tax filing lasts for life.
Maxime Roseau13 min read
Violent crime rates run below US averages, but pickpocketing in transit hubs is real, and the American mental map of bad neighborhoods does not transfer.
Maxime Roseau13 min read
In your first month in France, order beats speed: the bank needs an address and the lease needs a bank. Phone first, bank in week two, lease in week three.
Aurelio Maurici31 min read
Your first year living in France as an American is about more than admin. How to settle in, explore the regions, and actually enjoy the country.
Maxime Roseau16 min read
