Planning a Solo move From US to South of France

My best advice to you since I lived in Paris would be for you to learn the language start now and become good at it.

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@gulruu94? ?? ?? ?? ?

Hello and welcome !

What kind of help would you need and what visa are you applying for ?

Regards

Bhavna

Hi - I can help! 10 years experienced doing exactly this, 22 years in France, great reputation and lots of word-of-mouth recommendations.

I will PM you.

Best regards, Nicole

@Bhavna

hello

i am in france with a titre de sejour expiring in 2025.  am looking to extend Or french citizenship.  my daughters are living here Jayma 26, Lara 28

i have a small appart Here.  no job however never taken any allotments

@gulruu94? ?? ?? ?? ?

I am not aware of any all-in-one service.

Governmental agencies may or may not provide anything you might describe as assistance.

I can recommend a tax agency depending upon your specific nationality and whether you have a pension.

I can recommend a person to help you navigating the ONLINE ONLY services for a drivers license at ANTS.

From personal experience I can suggest you must do things in a certain order, or you will make NO progress.

For example,

     I personally am entitled to be here as I am an EU citizen.  I had to obtain an apartment. I leased an Air BnB for 90 days. I then had to obtain an "Herbergement" or attestation from the landlord that SHE was the owner of the property, I had to obtain one of HER bills - electricity is typical. I then had to print out proof that I have a lease.

     Only after these steps was I able to get a bank account. Credit Lyonaise apparently got into trouble over documentation and as a result BEGAN to open accounts for foreigners. They were my first stop after a rental. I took all my documents, Herbegement, lease, electric bill, passport, ID, foreign bank, proof of income etc and opened a limited account.  After a lot MORE filling out of documents. This is the result of French bureaucracy, EU bureaucracy and specific to France, fear of internal terrorism.  ANY service connected to funds is tightly scrutinized in an effort to restrict funding of terrorists. This is part of the "know your neighbor" policy.

Then the next step a phone from Orange. This was ONLY be a temporary phone. They wont open a normal account for 90 days.  I then needed to find a permanent apartment. This was awful. I have a Non-eu pension, most rentals go through real estate agencies and they will not rent to foreign bank account holders. I had to do a direct lease owner to owner.

Every step you make has to be preceded by the prior steps.

I am not familiar with what your situation is or the steps you must go through. If there is an all-in-one, perhaps someone here will tell you.  Good luck.

@Bhavna

Hello Bhavna,

Well, as I indicated earlier, I am looking for help on finding a good relocation specialist who can guide me with their expertise.

I am retired.  So,  will probably apply for a long-stay visa. 

Everything is still in its infantry stage.

Any suggestions?

It was to my understanding that the Expat Forum would be the right platform for thIs.

Meaning: Expats helping Expats.

By the way, I am not getting the question marks attached to my title/I.D. is it possible to delate them?

Thank you,

Gülden

@gulruu94

Noted for the question marks, I have removed them.

You might want to have a look at the professionals registered in the Immigration agencies in France section and contact them.

Regards

Bhavna

@gulruu94? ?? ?? ?? ?

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Good luck.

@Sepharad

Hello,

Sorry for answering so late....just saw your comment which was posted in July 2024.

I am a US citizen.   From what I understand,  the French government is giving us a break to a certain extent.  So, I will take that as a gift and try to make the best of it.  Yes, there are all-in-one relocation companies.  But, which one to select is the question.  Isn't it?.

@gulruu94

IF, you are a US citizen and IF you have a USA Pension, You can pay your taxes in the USA. This is HUGE. In my case the difference between 10% and 42%. It makes retirement possible.  It all depends on your particular situation. I believe only 4 E.U. countries have treaties which WAIVE taxation if you are a US citizen with a pension.  I found out much to my pain that Portugal will ignore this part of your situation if you are a dual citizen. France does not (Malta is another). I just finished paying a 12,000 euro tax bill in Portugal where I am a dual citizen, and will not be going back. My French Tax return was zero owed.

Yes, I am paying my taxes in the US.

Hopefully, upcoming tax season will be my last in the US as I plan on being in France sometime in 2025.  This is the dawn of major decisions.  So all systems on alert:)  In the meantime, US elections getting closer...