Why did you move to France?
I was always a big Francophile. Friends would tease me that one day I'd move to Paris, get double-citizenship and never turn back-- and things turned out much that way! It makes me reel to look back at the ten years I've spent here. When I moved here in 2001, I thought it would be for a year or so, and packed accordingly. It's amazing to contemplate that from a distance.
How did you do it?
I spent my junior year abroad in Grenoble, and fell so in love with France that after I finished college, I secured work as a language assistant at a French high school just outside Paris. There's an official program: http://www.ciep.fr/assistantetr/index.php.
I ended up doing this for two years, then enrolled as a student at the Sorbonne to pursue a Master's degree. This in my opinion is one of best ways to go if you're interested in staying for the long haul. Not only does it force you to immerse in French (reading, writing, public speaking, bureaucratic loop-jumping, you name it) and allow you to work part-time, but if you complete a 2-year Master's at a French university, you're theoretically eligible to apply for French citizenship. Which is what I did.
Tips and Tricks
- Be persistent and patient. If this is really your dream, be aware it won't come easy at first. It took me years to really find stable ground, and every year for almost 8 years I had to renew my papers, which can be an exhausting process. Focus on your goal and don't get discouraged. Once you get the hang of things, it does become easier. But unless you marry a French person, have a European passport or are independently wealthy, it's not easy. Not for the faint of heart.
