Welcome to The Local's "Americans in France" newsletter for members, featuring all the news and practical information you need as an American resident, visitor or second-home owner in France. You can sign up to receive it directly to your inbox before we publish it online via the link below.
Dear Americans in France,
The midterm elections are around the corner, and thankfully we have a bit of clarity regarding voting from abroad. The Supreme Court blocked the postal service from enforcing the Trump administration's executive order to restrict mail-in voting. As a result, mail-in voting in this year's midterm elections will proceed normally.
The US Vote Foundation has plenty of helpful resources for requesting your ballot and checking your state's voting guidelines and deadlines.
It is worth noting that the Supreme Court's decision was short and focused on the last-minute roll-out of the new rules, rather than the substance of Trump's executive order. We may not have seen the end of this, but for now, the confusion is over.
As I write this newsletter, I have another window full of apartment search tabs - Seloger, Leboncoin, the works. I'm starting to plan a move in the next few months. I'm already dreading the rat-race that is finding a Paris apartment.
Many fellow readers of The Local seem to feel the same way. In our ongoing survey of tips, advice and questions for Americans in France, one anonymous reader just wrote "Don't try to rent".
Another reader, Jody McBrien, wrote "It is BRUTAL to find housing, especially rentals, at least in Paris. You can know some French, you can have 4 times the amount that you need - still, GOOD LUCK."
And reader Greg Liebergen cautioned that "finding an apartment and getting set up is very hard."
For those interested in renting, we put together a guide for what to expect. You'll see the word dossier all over the place - here's what it means.
For people over the age of 65, it can be even harder to rent. This is true not just in Paris, but across France. France has special protections for lower income older tenants, but unfortunately this can be a double edged sword, as landlords might be hesitant to take on an older client.
And as the system is set up to require pay slips (or proof of monthly income, such as a pension), it can be challenging for self-employed people with fluctuating incomes and those living off savings.
This is one of the great differences I've noticed between France and the US. In France, consistent income usually matters more than the amount of money you can show in a bank account. I think this speaks to different cultural approaches to money and spending.
Beyond money itself, Americans and Europeans spend differently. Official statistics show that the biggest expenditure item across the European Union is food, while in the United States it is housing. American readers of The Local in France had some theories as to why that is.
Of course, Americans do enjoy dining out. A close friend of mine visited France for their honeymoon recently, and they were most excited about the prospect of eating French food.
One small problem: My friend's wife is gluten-free. I am not gluten-free, but I have noticed a greater selection of 'GF' alternatives at restaurants in major cities, especially Paris. Many boulangeries even offer a sans gluten pain pavé, but gluten intolerance remains less understood in France than in the United States.
I recommended they read Google reviews and stock up on GF snacks at organic shops like Naturalia. I also thought it might be wise to print out a little explanation card in French, as that takes some of the pressure off navigating the language barrier.
Do you have any tips for visiting France for gluten-free people? Restaurants to recommend or phrases to memorise? Share your thoughts in survey here.
I'll conclude with one funny France vs. US conversation I've enjoyed with friends recently - are American parenting styles spoiling French kids? The New York Times ran an article about the debate in French society about the controversy around imported 'gentle parenting'. The psychologist they interviewed lamented that children “just don’t hold back anymore (...) If they want to fart, they fart; if they want to burp, they burp".
While I do not have kids yet, I find the debate to be exquisitely French: both sides have penned strongly worded open letters to the newspapers of record.
Just last week a new-mom friend of mine said she was reading Bringing up Bébé. On the other side of the Atlantic, French parenting remains mythic.
If you have an opinion on French parenting, or you just want to give advice or ask questions to Americans in France and/or our team at The Local, we'd love to hear from you. As always, you can do so via our ongoing survey.
À la prochaine.
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